Today on the van Schouwen Associates Facebook page, we linked to a Harvard Business Review article by Tony Schwartz. We liked the article because it touched down at the intersection of business and personal... and thus touched a nerve. The article is Turning 60: The Twelve Most Important Lessons I've Learned So Far, and one of the lessons was "Add more value in the world than you're using up."Which brings us to cause marketing. Cause marketing meets at the intersection of doing good business and, well... doing good.
Wikipedia describes cause marketing as " involving the cooperative efforts of a 'for profit' business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit." You see cause marketing everywhere: think pink ribbons on nearly every product imaginable, to support breast cancer awareness. But many companies are involved in less prominent efforts as well.
At its best, cause marketing is a win-win. Cause marketing should benefit the philanthropic cause and the company.
It should be sincere and well-intentioned. Efforts to exploit a cause tend to become transparent and to backfire. Pink ribbons come to mind again – but this time, they are on a bucket of KFC, not exactly a food high on the breast cancer prevention list. Both company and non-profit cause need to commit to a mutually beneficial team effort, and to agree on what that means.
It should be relevant to the company's offerings and mission. vSA client Excel Dryer provides an excellent example, putting its muscle (and its energy efficient, resource-saving high-speed hand dryers) into causes that matter, including The Green Schoolhouse Series, which is building environmentally sustainable Green Schoolhouses at Title I, low-income public schools.
It should be a cause that the company's prospects, customers and stakeholders can appreciate, not resent. After all, this is marketing. Choosing to cause market for a hot-button issue? First think of the old adage "don't talk sex, politics or religion at the dinner table" and consider who's at your table, marketing-wise.
Cause marketing requires commitment. Are you ready for a serious marketing program? Just as you should not get a puppy unless you are prepared to love a dog... well, you get it. Prepare to be involved for a reasonable period of time and to commit appropriate resources to your cause marketing program.
Cause marketing has its proponents (it works! it benefits company and cause!) and its detractors (it's self serving!). Follow the guidelines above and plan your approach carefully, and you are likely to become an advocate.
