Global Cause Marketing

Edelman’s 2012 Global GoodPurpose study is out and it finds a world increasingly responsive to cause marketing and expectant of the virtues that come from the practice.

GoodPurpose surveyed public opinion of 8,000 people in 16 countries: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, & the United States.

Across the 16 countries 76 percent believe that it’s OK for brands to support good causes and make a profit at the same time, an increase of 33 percent since 2008, when the first GoodPurpose survey asked the same question.

Likewise, across the globe 53 percent said when quality and price are equal social purpose is the most important factor in selecting a brand, up 26 percent since 2008.

Seventy-two percent are more likely a brand that supports a good cause compared to those that don’t, 71 percent say they’re more likely to promote such a brand and 73 percent are more likely to switch to a brand that supports a cause. Those percentages are up 39 percent, 34 percent and 9 percent respectively over the corresponding figures in 2008.

I’m always interested in the numbers of people who will pay a premium for brands that support a cause and 44 percent say they’ll do that.

In the summary I saw, Edelman didn’t break out many of the results by country. That’s probably reserved for paying customers.

But Edelman did reveal that it is the Rapid Growth Economies (RGE) of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates that are the most responsive to brands that cause market. Edelman refers to the RGEs as ‘bull markets’ when it comes to brands that support causes.

For instance, 83 percent of people in the purpose bull market countries say they have more trust in brands that are ethically responsible versus 66 percent in all the rest of the countries, or what Edelman terms as purpose ‘bear markets.’ Edelman doesn’t venture an opinion on why this is so other than to suggest that growth in purpose is mirroring economic growth.

Writes Carol Cone in the introduction, “Purpose has assuredly claimed its spot as the 5th P in marketing and, increasingly, as a business imperative.” When Carol ran her eponymous agency, that was true basically only of the Commonwealth countries… UK. Canada and Australia… and the United States. What an amazing transition that it can now be said to be true for the rest of the globe.

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