Cause Marketing

Over the course of the last 11 years KitchenAid’s Cook for the Cure campaign has raised more than $8 million for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. But don’t pay attention to the dollars raised. No, look at the 11 years they’ve been together. In cause marketing years that’s like 22 years. What’s an 11-year cause marketing relationship like? You know those really cute images from the movie The Notebook ? The movie posters depicted Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling bussing in the rain. But the more evocative parts of the movie, by far, are those of James Garner reading to his invalid wife, played by Gena Rowlands. Young love is cute. But old love is admirable. With KitchenAid and Komen the kids have come and gone. They’ve had disagreements and tense moments. But both parties are long past that euphoric ‘in-love’ phase and are now in a more mature part of their relationship. The real part. They’ve also gotten past that stage that some old couples fall into where they face each other across a rest...

I opened up the Alden Keene cause marketing database and set the dial to ‘way back.’ This ad from KitchenAid benefiting Susan G. Komen is from Sunset magazine in October 2002, the year most of today’s third graders were born and a just a year after KitchenAid started its sponsorship of Komen! There’s a few things that have changed. But many more that haven’t. Let’s analyze the changes and similarities one by one. The most obvious change is Komen’s name and logo. In 2002 Susan G. Komen for the Cure was still using its old silhouette logo and name. Unchanged is Komen’s use of the ribbon, now in its 25th year. The 9-cup pink-colored KitchenAid stand mixer, model KSM150PSPK is still available. Full retail price of the mixer is $299.99 . It’s hard to find independent confirmation, but I believe that’s the same price KitchenAid charged for the KSM150PSPK in 2002. Other pink KitchenAid countertop appliances that generate smaller donations include a blender, food chopper, and food processor, ...