Cause Marketing

The other day a new friend asked, “Is there such a thing as cause marketing targeted at children?” Of course cause marketing to kids would be a conundrum. While 4 to12-year-olds influence at least $128 billion in household spending , perhaps 5 percent of that total is money kids can actually spend on their own. And influence is a fuzzy notion. In my household, for instance, my kids have never influenced me to buy the sugary cereals whose ads run in hot rotation on Nick Jr. , although I might ask them whether they prefer Oreos or Pepperidge Farm cookies. But I couldn’t think of any cause marketing targeted at children so I promised to consult Alden Keene’s voluminous database of cause marketing ads . I was slightly surprised to find the example above, which comes from the September 2007 SI Kids magazine . Above is the third page of a three-page ad for retailer JC Penney. The first two pages are in a double-truck configuration and feature NFL player and all-around good guy Michael Strah...

At its launch on March 23 in Mumbai, Tata Motors Chair Ratan Tata announced that when you preorder a $2,500 Nano, a needy family in India would get a matching Nano. Details are sketchy right now. Apparently this was something that Mr. Tata said at a press event and it was picked up by the Associated Press . But there were no PR materials available regarding the buy one, give one scheme and Tata’s PR staff was flummoxed when asked for details. At a later event when Tata, who looks a little like Harrison Ford, was asked to comment, said only that the marketing scheme was in formulation and details would emerge in April. Needless to say this is the most intriguing buy one, give one offer since the buy a house, give a house campaign I posted about in February 2008. But in that case the house you bought was in Sacramento , California and the house you gave was in rural Burkina Faso in sub-Saharan Africa. When I learn more I'll pass it on.