What is Cause Marketing?
Cause Marketing is a marketing initiative in which a nonprofit and a corporate sponsor team up to raise money for a specific cause. This partnership is mutually beneficial - while nonprofits gain monetary value, corporate sponsors benefit from a branding standpoint.
What It’s Not
Cause-Related Marketing is often confused with Ethical Marketing. Unlike cause-related marketing which focuses on a singular goal or objective, Ethical Marketing is more of a philosophy. A well-known example is TOM’s One-for-One (for every pair you buy, a pair is donated). Though there are differences between the two, the innate goodwill and creative elements used (tone, imagery, style, and language) are often similar - which is why they are easily confused.
Origins
Cause-related marketing was popularized in the 1980s when American Express and a nonprofit partnered together to raise money for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. The campaign was simple: for every purchase that American Express card owners made, a portion was donated to the restoration fund. American Express also donated to the fund when a new client signed up for their card. In just 3 months, they wound up (1) raising $1.7 million, (2) increasing American Express card use by 27%, (3) and became the first nationally renowned cause-related campaign.
Why is this relevant now?
Cause marketing is growing significantly. From 1990 to last year, it grew by more than $18 billion. Though there are many reasons for this growth, research suggests that one of the main reasons is this: consumers are more conscious of buying ethically and/or environmentally responsible products and services.
A Recent Example
One of the most impressive examples of cause-related marketing is Veganuary. Veganuary hopes to end animal suffering by changing public perception (and debunking myths) about veganism. The campaign asks the public to: (1) Sign a month or year-long pledge and give veganism a whirl! Their website is stocked with information for those making the transition (i.e., recipes, vegan brands to try, and more), and (2) Donate to help them raise money to support the 5,000 poster ads that they hope to place on the London Underground. Last year, they crowdfunded $30,000. Veganuary is also supported by three corporate sponsors: Indigo Herbs, Vegan Food & Living, and Spoon Guru. Each sponsors’ services and/or products are geared for vegans. Because of that, these sponsors greatly benefit from being listed as a sponsor on the Veganuary website, where many new and/or current vegans and/or animal rights activists go to find resources on being vegan.
How ClearVantage Assocation Management Software Can Help
In ClearVantage, you can:
- Create and send HTML emails with CV Echion, the new drag-and-drop email editor.
- Track marketing initiatives by setting up campaigns and appeals.
- Create fundraising events and manage the entire process from registration to post-event emails and feedback surveys.
Resources