What Is Cause Marketing?

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By James Duncan

As you and your company work to develop creative marketing ideas, don't forget to look at cause marketing. So, what is cause marketing?

Cause marketing is actually a advertising technique in which there is a win-win for both a for-profit firm along with a charitable cause charity. The charity receives direct monetary benefit and usually also valuable exposure, which can result in more donations. The marketer or company advantages include essentially positive publicity and goodwill, which, if handled appropriately can translate into increased business.

In this article, we're going to examine a fantastic case of a cause marketing campaign executed well. We'll also use the sample case to highlight much more clearly some possible issues that can arise in cause marketing that companies need to be cautious about and the best way to not encounter them.

Our sample case also has a very clever feature regarding how it's paid for. Amazingly, it is 100% cost-free.

Begin with actually wanting to do some good

Absolutely everyone would agree that it is terrific to help a cause they believe in. Find the charitable organization that you would like to aid based on what your heart says. As you select a precise charitable recipient within your chosen cause area, it is best to select a major, well-known charity. Doing this offers the most folks a sense of comfort that the effort is safe and nothing irregular. If you are a local business, like our case study below, pick a local chapter of a major charity if you can. An additional solid solution can be a well-known local charity.

You also need to be happy with your cause choice but consumers are typically very receptive of programs with charities such as the Humane Society, March of Dimes, Red Cross, UNICEF and so on, as opposed to Joe's Truly Huge Children's Charity. Okay, that is not a true charity but you get the concept. Picking an well-established charity is more essential the broader your market demographic is. CharityNavigator.org is an excellent resource for examining the legitimacy of a charity if you're not positive.

Program structure and PR plan are critical

The next key is getting the positioning of your cause marketing program just right. You want people to know you are doing this for the sake of doing good, not just looking good. We'll talk about this more in our example.

You also must take great care with how you let prospects and customers uncover what good works you're doing. It is much better if they learn about it on their own. You should make sure they learn about your charity work on their own rather than being fed PR and marketing messages to ensure they know about it.

In the end, if you've planned your positioning and PR well, you'll see that prospects and clients will perceive your company better than before. Then, theoretically, it is more likely that they will buy your product or service.

Here's our case study

Hybrid Realty Group is complete service real estate firm in Miami, Florida. Like most Realtor firms the company's website hybridrealtygroup.com has elements such as articles about properties, the market, and a property search function. Nonetheless, it also features a home page menu tab called Marketplace. Visitors are directed to the website page "Shop For Charity." (Go see it as you read this--it'll enable you to recognize how this cause marketing approach works). Featured in the Shop For Charity are ads for goods and services that new real estate buyers or sellers would find of interest.

This includes products in categories like home and garden, technology, recreation and more. In other words, the section is a service to Hybrid Realty's customers and this makes it a fantastic inclusion for that purpose alone. The ads are all acquired from a high-end affiliate advertising and marketing network in which advertisers pay commissions to web sites that run their advertisements.

A special charity angle

Here's the special angle: Hybrid Realty Group donates 100% in the affiliate ad commissions it receives towards the Humane Society of Greater Miami. This entire plan costs Hybrid absolutely nothing, but assists a charity in a very real financial way. Hybrid also boosts their presence by giving the charity a banner ad on its home page and participating in local events in the charity also, backing up their assistance with much more activity throughout the year.

Here are some of the things Hybrid Realty did to make this program work and position it just right:

-They state clearly that 100% of the ad commissions go to the charity. This firmly establishes that they have no profit motive behind the move. After all, website advertising is not their business, real estate is. Unless your main business is online advertising/an affiliate site don't create this kind of program and then tell people that only "10%" or "25% of our profits" go the the charity. This sends all the wrong signals, as if you're actually just trying to develop another revenue stream for your business.

-They do not trumpet the fact that they are doing this. They let people discover it on their own. Not talking about this in a PR-fluffed way creates a much stronger positive message than making fanfare about it. Do not issue press releases or plaster it too far and wide. Let your charitable act quietly speak for itself.

-They chose a brand name charity as the recipient. In their case they chose a local chapter of a nationally-known charity.

4. They carefully chose advertisers which can be genuinely helpful to their target web site guests, making a win all around.

5. They put no other marketing on their website and generally make certain that in all other ways they come across as a company focused on their real estate business. Not one looking to squeeze out extra profits at every turn.

-They back up their financial support with involvement at the local level by supporting and participating in local fundraising activities, adopt-a-pet days and so on.

-Last, but maybe most important, they truly believe in their chosen cause. This is clear from the commitment they display throughout the components of their campaign.

Cause marketing can be a great fit for most companies

A lot more can be written on what is cause marketing and different strategies to utilize it. It certainly can bring a refreshing and unique angle to your marketing approach.

In the end, search to find a cause to you believe in, get inventive to land on a unique approach, carefully plan passive communication, and sit back and enjoy increased buyer goodwill and the joy helping to make a slightly better world at the same time.




About the Author:

James Duncan is a cutting-edge marketing pro and Chief Editor at openthebusiness.com. There you can see more of his articles on marketing, social media marketing, business operation, startups and more. Also get a free 33-page marketing e-report now by subscribing to the site's free e-letter.