Just Cause:  Finding the Right Cause-Marketing Fit

During the early 1980’s, American Express created a marketing campaign to help restore the Statue of Liberty. A penny for each use of the American Express card and a dollar for each new card issued were given to the Statue of Liberty Restoration program. In just 4-months, $2 million dollars was raised and transaction activity increased by 28%--proving that doing good could also be good for business. This particular American Express campaign is often thought of as the official start of the “cause-related marketing” movement and thanks to today’s rise in interest for all things socially and environmentally friendly, the cause-marketing trend has become an important part of many marketing strategies.

But, what makes a good cause-marketing campaign? We asked John Rooks, President and Founder of The SOAP Group (Sustainable Organization Advocacy Partners), a creative communications firm specializing in architecting brands and promotions that activate sustainability and social justice, to give us some insight into how brands and organizations can create the perfect cause-marketing partnership.

Patti Minglin: Why is it good for brands to participate in “cause-related marketing”?

John Rooks: Cause-related marketing can help build a brand’s reputational value. Smart ones also offer a sense of “meaning management” for authentic brands. It is also an opportunity for a brand to go beyond its standard outreach and interact with its target market on a different platform. However, brands often miss an opportunity to use their promotion to serve as the change agent itself, rather than simply relying on NGO partnerships to do all that heavy lifting.

Minglin: To make sure they are lifting their share of the heavy load, what should brands consider when looking to partner with an NGO and/or cause?

Rooks: Mission alignment is critical.  The alliance must be on-brand, otherwise it will fail to be effective for the brand. A strong partnership needs to work for both sides to have true value and impact. As a result, it's important to ensure that the partnership is mutually beneficial. By first establishing the objectives and what both sides hope to get from it, you can better ensure that the decisions moving forward are mutually beneficial. Doing so will create a more valuable, effective and sustainable partnership.  

Minglin: What mistakes do some brands make with their cause-marketing efforts?

Rooks: Some brands make the mistake of relying too heavily on their cause-marketing efforts to serve as a halo for their own reputation. Also, brands can end up partnering with organizations that are not necessarily on-brand. These tend to be short-lived partnerships that create more clutter than value.

Minglin: So, what brands are doing it right?

Rooks: The best and most authentic are transparent, so we don’t see them. The most obvious ones stick out like sore thumbs.  We like the brands that use their marketing prowess and brands to activate sustainability and keep their NGO partnerships as philanthropy rather than paid halos.  The (RED) campaign is one we point to often as the way not to do it.  

Minglin: Tide's 'Loads of Hope' campaign comes to mind. Is this a good example?

Rooks: We often use Tide and its 'Loads of Hope' campaign as a wonderful “more than promote” example. There is certainly a corporate, civic and cultural value to it. This promotion provides positive exposure for the brand, provides a needed service to communities in need, while also pushing dialog a bit further about the little acts we can all do that often have a big impact.

Minglin: You mention “more than promote”—is that part of a new initiative for The SOAP Group?

Rooks: We’ve launched More Than Promote a new strategic brand approach that evolves the concept of cause-marketing.  It connects literal promotion to corporate, civic and cultural value.  Adding cultural value to marketing and brand activation is what we see as “next” in the marketing space.  We can measure all three-value points (triple ROI), and they engage customers and culture as a whole creating new opportunities, dialogues and value for brands.   

Minglin: That sounds so exciting—I love how the site for More Than Promote (http://www.morethanpromote.com) encourages us all to take the pledge to “develop promotion that has social significance.” Smart stuff. Thanks, John for taking the time to chat with us!

Here are a few noteworthy cause-marketing campaigns:

Tide “Loads of Hope” program
The Tide Loads of Hope program provides relief by means of a mobile laundromat. One truck and a fleet of vans house over 32 energy-efficient washers and dryers that are capable of cleaning over 300 loads of laundry every day. They wash, dry and fold the clothes for these families for free.

TOMS Shoes “Buy One, Give One” campaign
TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. Since our beginning, TOMS has given over 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the One for One model and plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.

Pamper’s “1 Pack=1 Vaccine” program
With the 1 Pack= 1 Vaccine program, Pampers donates the cost of one tetanus vaccine to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for every pack of specially-marked Pampers diapers and wipes purchased in the U.S. and Canada between February 10th-May 1, 2009. In its inaugural year, Pampers donated funding for over 45 million vaccines to UNICEF.

Dawn’s “Everyday Wildlife Champions” campaign
From donating funds to important conservation projects to giving Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean wildlife affected by oil spills, Dawn knows there are lots of ways to get involved with the cause. This year, Dawn has made it easier for consumers to make a difference. When they purchase a bottle of Dawn and activate the donation online, one dollar will be donated towards the International Bird Rescue Research Center and the Marine Mammal Center. After they contribute, consumers can connect with others on the Everyday Wildlife Champions’ Facebook page.

What have we missed? Email Patti Minglin and let us know what other cause-marketing campaigns are helping brands succeed by doing good.