Cause Marketing

Today I stray a little way from cause marketing to address the topic of media allocation, but there is a relevancy and application for cause marketers. Recently Prosper International released an analysis of the media mix the Big 3 automakers use against data collected by Big Research of what media people say influences them in their purchases weighted by consumption and cost. To put it more simply, they asked people who said they planned to buy/lease a GM, Chrysler or Ford product in the next six months what media would be most influential in their decision. Then they sliced and diced the data to balance which media people said most influenced them to come up with the media allocation that would gave the most bang for the buck. According to Ad Age , in 2007 GM spent its media allocation this way: Magazine…..12.4% Newspaper…5% Outdoor……1.5% TV………….39.4% Radio………3.5% Internet…….7% Other……….31.5% Prosper’s recommended allocation is above. As you can see, using Prosper’s modeling GM’s TV...

Get Your Chin off Your Chest It’s probably just superstition, but I have steadfastly avoided posting anything about the recession. After all, considering the amount of liquidity sloshing around after all the actions already taken by central bankers in Asia, Europe, and the United States, it’s plain that the real problem right now isn’t access to capital. The problem is one of confidence. This is just one small little blog on the semi-obscure topic of cause marketing, but I see little reason to pile on. So, assuming that the economy doesn’t turn into Oklahoma circa 1935 (Dustbowl deflation) or the Weimar Republic of 1923 (hyperinflation), this will be my first and last posting on the topic of the economy. In the States, economists are struggling with exactly which recession to compare this one to. Is it like the downturns of 2000, 1980 and 1974? Is it a second Great Depression? (Short answer: No. For one thing, unemployment was 25 percent in the States in 1933.) Could it be an analog to...

On October 1, 2008 Cone Inc. , in conjunction with the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, released the best validated proof yet that cause-related marketing gives certain products a sales lift. The study had two parts. In the first, 182 individuals aged 18-62 and broadly representative of the American consumer reviewed the contents of a new regional magazine. Each were randomly assigned to either a ‘cause’ group or a control group. The cause group saw cause-related marketing advertisements for four products: shampoo; toothpaste; chips; and lightbulbs. The control group did not see the CRM ads. Then the study participants were ushered into a convenience store setting with approximately 150 SKUS. Some of products had a shelf tag that said something like, ‘great value.’ Others said, “proud supporter of…” Study participants were given real money to shop with and were allowed to take home both the products they bought and any leftover money. While all four products saw a sales lif...