Cause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing

involving the cooperative efforts of a "for profit" business and a non-profit

organization for mutual benefit. The term is sometimes used more broadly and

generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and other charitable

causes, including in-house marketing efforts by non-profit organizations. Cause

marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy) as the latter generally

involves a specific donation that is tax deductible, while cause marketing is a

marketing relationship generally not based on a donation.

The phrase "cause-related marketing" was first used by American Express in

1983 to describe its campaign to raise money for the restoration of the Statue of

Liberty. American Express made a one-cent donation to the Statue of Liberty

every time someone used its charge card; the number of new card holders soon

grew by 45%, and card usage increased by 28%. The Principle goal of a Cause

Related Marketing program has been to impact a company’s bottom line through

increased Sales. Some of its potential benefits include: Attracting and Retaining

Customers, Market Differentiation, out reach to Niche Markets.

One of the first examples of a "cause-related marketing" campaign was initiated

in 1979 by Rosica, Mulhern & Associates for Famous Amos cookies. In this

campaign, Wally Amos become the National Spokesperson for the Literacy

Volunteers of America According to the organization, Wally has alerted more

people to the illiteracy problem than any other person in history.

Cause marketing can take on many forms, including:

Product, service, or transaction specific

Promotion of a common message

Product licensing, endorsements, and certifications

Local partnerships

Employee service programs

Why use cause-related marketing?Cause-Related Marketing offers a potential boost in profits and also adds great

credibility to your branding. It also strengthens your brand loyalty. According to a

Cone/Roper Benchmark Survey conducted in 2006, 78% of respondents said

they are more likely to buy a product that's associated with a cause they care

about, and 54% said they would pay more for it. One-third of respondents said

that after price and quality, a company's responsible business practices are the

most important factor in deciding whether to buy its product.

The benefits of effective CRM activity include: Positive media coverage of the company

Improved public perception

Increased sales

Increased staff motivation, morale and loyalty

Improvements in staff recruitment and retention

A unique selling point over your competitors

Cause related marketing and its impact on organizational selling and brand loyalty:

The HLL announced a contribution of fifty paisa to a diarrhea project on

sale of each of its lifebuoy brand soap. It helped to improve market share

for ‘lifebuoy’

OBEROI Hotels had specially designed and printed envelopes placed in

all Oberoi properties where in the guest could contribute to CRY, a non

government organization and collected more than Rs. 6.50 lakhs in 18

months.

In India ‘whisper’ a brand in the sanitary nappies market where the

materialistic difference is minimal announced a contribution of Re 1 on

every pack of its sales for blind relief society. It helped to improve market

share for ‘Whisper’

NOVARTIS INDIA LTD. a pharmaceutical company in a cause related

marketing scheme donated 2% or value of sales of OVALTLINE PLUS

towards CRY’S (a NGO’s) Gujarat rehabilitation operations. Total amount

raised was approximate Rs. 40, 000

Recent Cause-Related Partnerships1. American Express

2. Ameriprise Financial

3. Anheuser-Busch

4. Bayer

5. Biolage

6. Campbell Soup Company

7. Centex

8. Coastal Living

9. Dell

10.Delta

The CRM trend rapidly caught on with corporates in India during the 1990s. CRM

became the vehicle by which companies indirectly propagandized their brands

and it has provided companies with a new tool to compete in the market.

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