At the Boston Fundraising Summit, Stephen did a panel on Cause Related Marketing (CRM), following an excellent introduction to CRM and an interesting application from the Quilting Museum.
One of the cautions he offered was the potential backlash over “pinkification,” the ubiquitous application of pink during October to link a product or company to breast cancer fundraising, research, or “awareness raising,” which carries no contribution.
Given that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Susan G. Komen Foundation has worked hard to get their pink ribbon on dozens if not hundreds of products, it was not surprising that the Boston Globe published “Sick of Pink” in the Globe Magazine. It includes poignant perspectives of breast cancer survivors who’d rather not be reminded of their battle constantly, and of protesters who rightly identify profit as a big part of corporate motivation to engage in pink cause related marketing. Joe Waters, who blogs on cause marketing through Selfish Giving, thought the article was like ”Looking for bad when <you are> surrounded by good.”
Cause related marketing is about business first with “doing good” coming in second. Cause marketing is “Joint funding and promotional strategy in which a firm’s sales are linked (and a percentage of the sales revenue is donated) to a charity or other public cause. However, unlike philanthropy, money spent in cause related marketing is considered an expense and is expected to show a return.” (Source: Businessdictionary.com)
Like any initiative you consider, do so with your eyes open to the ways relationships can affect your organization in either direction. Entrepreneurial non-profits explore the landscape and engage with appropriate partners around relevant products. And in many situations, being more entrepreneurial allows you to reach more people, raise more money, have more impact but at the risk of businesses who partner to stand on the shoulders of an important cause with less than philanthropic motivations. It is a choice that is sometimes worth taking.
What’s been your experience with cause related marketing?
Photo Credit: http://www.stardoll.com/
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=92c656d7-fbd8-4429-ba75-498252e5f4b8)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I believe cause-related marketing actually works best when the relationship is personal. The Aveda shop that hosted a special day to raise money for a member of their staff with cancer treatment bills, versus a pink bottle for their new shampoo launch. When I can see the connection, I dig the relationship and will often spend my money with a company. When I see a long-term commitment to a cause–Timberland with City Year is one of my favorites–then I trust that the cause is something that truly informs the company’s values, not just their bottomline. However, if I just see a chance for $1 from my $50 purchase to go to some huge national or international cause–that doesn’t move me and it doesn’t seem effective. I encourage companies to do two things to make their cause related marketing more effective: 1) localize the cause–want to support the arts? partner with a small museum or a local theatre. want to “go green” give money to park clean-ups, green remodeling of local homes, or to support local growers or a local market. 2) engage your employees–once the commitment is local it is easier to get your employees involved–a volunteer program, discounts to the events you’re sponsoring, etc. When they get excited about where you are partnering your cause marketing has the effect of energizing your team too.