Cause Marketing is Here to Stay

A lot of things have changed in media and advertising in the last decade. We have seen social media become part of our everyday culture. This has given way to many changes in how advertising messages are delivered and how companies vie for your patronage.

So, what is cause marketing?

Wikipedia defines cause marketing or cause-related marketing as “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... 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.”

In other words, it is when a company does something good for society in order to win over the hearts and minds of consumers. It allows a major brand to participate in the community through helping solve social problems. (One could also argue that this really just creates the illusion of a big corporation participating in a neighborhood.) The infusion of social media into our daily lives has allowed marketing professionals to give this type of campaign a real local feel which adds to the appeal of these messages.

This morning I read an article in the New York Times about the Pepsi Refresh Project, the new cause marketing campaign being launched by Pepsi-Cola. The author of the article describes the intention of the campaign like this –

• “The project is meant to tap into a booming trend for what is called cause-related marketing or pro-social marketing, by which corporations seek to back up their talk about benefiting society.”

Cause marketing is not new. Companies like American Express and Avon have connected with customers using this type of campaigns for decades. However, the launch of the Pepsi Refresh Project (http://www.refresheverything.com/) shows that it is now a mainstream way to connect with customers. Cause marketing is here to stay.


Here is the link to the New York Times article that inspired me to write this –

• Pepsi Invites the Public to Do Good