Thursday, November 1, 2012

Cause-Related Marketing Dos and Don'ts

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Stuart Elliott of the Times wrote an article about successful and unsuccessful marketing efforts around the storm.  Short version: making fun of the storm, BAD, offering branded help, GOOD.

Coincidentally, I learned of two examples of cause-related marketing while waiting out the storm that represent a best-case and a worst-case scenario.  Kia Motors asked Facebook friends to give “likes” for food while Google rolled out an enhancement to its location-based services such as maps that asks users to help locate missing children.

Kia received criticism on its Facbook page for its efforts, while Google’s effort garnered praise from the Examiner.com: “probably the best news we’ve heard from Google this year.”

Why did Kia get hisses while Google got kisses?  Both cases illustrate the dos and don’ts of cause-related marketing.


By cause-related marketing, I mean marketing where a brand embraces and publicizes a charitable effort.  Usually, but not always, the exercise involves asking the consumer to contribute in some way as well.  Good examples include Product (Red), which partners with brands including Apple and Converse to raise money for Africa and Revlon’s Breast Cancer Run/Walk.

  1. Relevance between cause and brand.  First and foremost, a marketer should only if the cause or the contribution somehow relates to the brand in a direct way.  When consumers can’t see a connection, they get suspicious that the brand just wants publicity for its own sake.
    What Google did right: With the AMBER alert project, Google offered help by doing what it does best: finding stuff.  The project seems like a natural extension of Google’s powerful mapping application.
    What Kia did wrong: While most moral people see an obligation to feed the hungry, they probably don’t see a correlation between hunger and motor vehicles.  If Kraft or General Mills had chosen to help the hungry, no one would think twice.  Likewise, perhaps Kia might have blunted some of the suspicion by donating a vehicle to a food-related charity such as God’s Love We Deliver or Meals on Wheels.
  2. Relevant contribution.  The contribution should likewise help make the link between the brand and the charity.  Most often, marketers offer a simple transaction: buy X and we donate Y.  This basic equation represents an “everybody wins” situation.  The marketer gets a few bucks, the charity gets something and the consumer gets a warm fuzzy.
    What Google did right: Again, the contribution aligns with the cause.  Google offers most of its products to customers at no cost to them.  However, Google does ask for consumers’ time.  Accordingly, the contribution takes the form of consumers’ time as well.
    What Kia did wrong: “Like” are, let’s face it, a pretty meaningless gesture.  It takes no effort from the consumer.  In essence, Kia will donate the money based on nothing.  This seems arbitrary to the consumer.
  3. Avoid emotional hostage-taking.

    I think National Lampoon did it best:


No animals were harmed in the publishing of this magazine

It’s easy for a simple value exchange to seem mercenary.  After all, a company either really means to help or it doesn’t.  It shouldn’t seem to make its help dependent on what amounts to a consumer referendum.

What Google did right: Google didn’t ask consumers whether it should help missing and exploited children.  It just made the feature available.  Now the consumer can choose whether to help add to the program’s success.
What Kia did wrong: Here, Kia made its biggest mistake.  Kia’s decision to help the hungry apparently depends on whether people like Sedonas and Optimas.  It makes Kia seem callous and calculating.  The move may have backfired in that it makes Kia look somewhat indifferent to hunger.


Creating and sustaining a successful cause-related program obviously involves a lot more than three basic points.  If you have some tips, why not share them below in the comments?

1 comment:

  1. Everyone has to agree with this...
    Relevance between cause and brand.
    First and foremost, a marketer should
    only if the cause or the contribution
    somehow relates to the brand in a direct
    way. When consumers can’t see a connection,
    they get suspicious that the brand just wants
    publicity for its own sake.
    This is truly amazing information

    digital advertising


    ReplyDelete