Cause Marketing

One way to activate a cause marketing campaign when the sponsor sells a physical product is on the packaging. I started my career in cause marketing on the charity side and I can tell you that back in the day we were thrilled to get a logo on pack of a consumer packaged good (CPG) or even just a mention. Since then, there’s been a welcome evolution of what sponsors are willing and able to do with their packaging in order to activate their cause sponsorships. That said, even today some sponsors don’t seem to have gotten the memo that when it comes to explaining your cause campaign, more really is more, even on something as small as a can or bottle. The savviest sponsors realize that their only guaranteed means of reaching actual customers with a cause marketing message is by putting it on packaging. And the reach and frequency of the media on packaging for certain high-volume CPG items is almost certainly greater than radio, print or outdoor advertising, and, in many cases, TV. More to ...

Today we return to the subject of matching cause and sponsor and cause marketing. Without resurrecting every post I’ve written on the topic there’s basically seven approaches for sponsors… Pick a cause that’s a direct fit: for instance, a restaurant or a grocery store sponsoring a food bank. Pick a cause that’s an indirect but related fit: McDonald’s sponsorship of the Ronald McDonald House. Pick a cause that’s meaningful to company stakeholders: Many sponsors of the various breast cancer charities fit this criteria. Pick a cause that has tons of popular appeal: Target’s sponsorship of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is an example. Split the baby and pick multiple charities but with a single theme. JC Penney focuses much of its giving on after-school causes , for instance. Pick multiple charities without a unifying theme. Pick a charity the CEO or executive staff likes. Pick a charity for no rational reason. Looking at this campaign from July 2009 benefiting Mother’s Against Drun...

Place your palm of you right hand face up. Now in a quick single motion move it towards your forehand. As your palm strikes your head make the universal sound of “why didn't I think of that” and say, ‘DOOH!’ McDonald’s, the 800-pound gorilla of fast food, has tied a donation from the sale of each Happy Meal to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. No word from this ad in the June 28, issue of US Weekly magazine or from Happymeal.com how the donation mechanism works or what the donation amounts to. But what could be more obvious? Think of all this does for McDonald’s and RMHC. It gives the RMHC an automated and continuous funding source. Since McDonald’s has a pretty good handle on how many Happy Meals it sells every day, that means RMHC, can plan pretty accurately its annual donations. And for the chain itself, it gives the Happy Meal a little more coverage from the do-gooders who want McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants to separate the toys from the kids meals so as to figh...