Cause Marketing

The smartest charities have a rule that they must thank their donors in at least 5 ways. For good reason, too. Gratitude is a powerful inducement to future gifts. But how should sponsors thank customers/participants in cause campaigns? To site just the last couple of posts; how should Chipotle thank the customers that pay $2 for a Boorito and thereby benefit Jaime Oliver’s charity? How might the hoteler Kimpton thank customers who buy their specialty drinks and help make a donation to local AIDS/HIV charities? At left is how a local grocer thanked participants in making a donation to the American Heart Association. Because there’s no context in the blurb it’s hard to know what customers are being thanked for. Sans that context the blurb is merely a nice gesture, but less than helpful to Maceys or the American Heart Association. Transparency is chronically missing in cause marketing. And its absence means cause marketing campaigns are less effective than they could be. What would be be...

When you buy one of three special Red Ribbon Cocktails at any of more than 50 Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants in 19 cities across the country, Kimpton will make a $1 donation to local HIV charities from October 1 to Dec 1 In addition, when you book a stay through Kimpton and use the code RRC, Kimpton will apply a 15% discount and give another $10 per night to a local HIV charity. December 1 is World AIDS Day . Kimpton has supported HIV causes for 20 years. Last year the effort generated more than $100,000 for 19 charities. Kimpton links to all 19 benefiting charities and encourages patrons to make additional donations through the charity’s websites. That’s a thoughtful step that relatively few sponsors take. I’m a little surprised at the length of the campaign. Two months is a long time for a promotion like this to last, which demonstrates Kimpton’s commitment. Making the benefiting charity a local one is normally a good ploy. Local people care more about local charities. But since pe...