A decade ago if you dropped the phrase “cause-related marketing” in your conversation with a colleague, they would most likely return an empty stare. This is clearly not the case today as broadcast outlets, non-profits and corporations jump on the cause-related marketing (CRM) bandwagon.

In 1983, American Express pioneered the CRM movement by donating a part of their customers’ charge card receipts to refurbishment of the Statue of Liberty. While it was a very successful program, it lasted only a few months, offered limited opportunity to build the brand and create enduring relationships with customers.

“Cause-related promotion and strategic cause-related marketing are no longer synonymous,” points out Carol Cone, whose firm conducts a benchmark study on the subject. “Cause-related promotion is a tactic used to spike sales quickly and give image a short-lived boost. Cause-related marketing has become part of a company’s core business strategy and is directly tied to a range of business functions,” she observes.

Defining cause-related marketing is not easy because there are various models, various participatory roles each partner can bring to the table and it often gets confused with social issues marketing, a broader field of endeavor. Jonathan Polansky, who works with the Public Media Center in San Francisco, provides a definition that is as good as any of the classic text books on the subject.

“Cause marketing requires an agreement between a non-profit and a for-profit. The deal is struck to maximize perceived benefits to each partner. The for-profit partner is looking to (a) associate its product with a perceived social good and thus boost its appeal to a defined market segment which shares that perception, (b) increase a broader market segment’s perceptions of the enterprise as socially-engaged or responsible, (c) derive bottom-line benefits from increasing market share in the targeted segment.”

Broadcaster's Role

The broadcaster’s role in this creative partnership can vary but usually centers around local campaigns developed by stations in cooperation with non-profits which provide program support such as expertise on the issue, spokespersons, on-air materials and manpower for local follow-up or community events. In another model, the broadcaster may air national “public service” messages that have a corporate tie-in which air as paid commercials. However, because the airtime is paid for, the non-profit gets much better placement and frequency than it would otherwise get.

Given this win-win-win situation among all three parties involved in cause-related marketing campaigns, there appear to be no downside risks to such arrangements.

However, before entering into a CRM partnership there are some issues that all three entities need to think through very clearly.

For example, in many cause marketing relationships, broadcasters are asked to air news pieces on a particular issue which could violate the separation policy most stations have between their advertising and news departments.

This was the case with WHAS-TV in Louisville, KY, which aired a 15-part news series on colorectal cancer which encouraged viewers to pick up a test kit at their local Kroger store. Jean West, the station’s health reporter, was asked to deliver the line as part of her on-air reporting duties, and “I really resented it,” she says, “the project seemed so commercial.”

According to another expert on developing cause marketing programs, Jerry Wishnow of the Wishnow Group, “Working with broadcasters, particularly when the news department is involved with a CRM project can be tricky,” Wishnow said. “The news director is the emperor of his domain and has the final word on what goes on the air. I try to find a news hook for the particular issue...perhaps it's a series of investigative reports on the problem, a special feature involving the news staff, or using the station's on-air reporter as spokesperson for the PSAs we produce. Another technique is to see if we can get PSAs aired adjacent to the news. The goal is to find a way for all the parties in the project to get what they need and want from the relationship.”

Public Perceptions

An article in the Non-Profit Times indicated that non-profits are “expressing concern” about public perceptions of product endorsement deals. The American Cancer Society signed a $3 million agreement with Smith-Kline-Beecham to promote the Nico-Derm anti-smoking patch. While there is often a fine-line separating endorsement of a product and “educational partnerships,” Steve Dickenson, vice president of ACS commented on their role by saying, “We are involved in a joint partnership of awareness and education. We are not endorsing it [the patch] specifically; therefore, there is no liability on ACS for the product itself.”

Jim Bausch, president of the New York-based National Charities Information Bureau has another view, however, and worries about whether the ACS’s action will undermine its reputation and affect public confidence. “I understand the pressure because money is tight, but suppose a better product comes along and if the ACS signed an exclusive arrangement, they are stuck with a product that might be OK but perhaps less than good.”

An article written by Martin Cohen, a lawyer specializing in promotion law titled: "Partner With Charities, But Follow the Rules," points out some of the pitfalls of cause marketing.

"As with any advertising promotion, the commercial business (corporate sponsor) must comply with a variety of state laws. The mere act of associating with a charity will not result in an exemption of accommodation for the for-profit entity," Cohen said. "In many states, undertaking a commercial co-venture exposes the corporation to additional legal requirements."

And, Mr. Cohen went on to say, "what makes cause marketing arrangements even more complex is these laws vary by jurisdiction; there is no single policy to guide commercial ventures that is subscribed to by all states."

Still another problem is presented among government entities which are aggregately involved in dozens of social issues marketing programs on subjects ranging from health to taxes. Legally, it is difficult if not impossible for most government agencies to enter into cause marketing relationships that could give exclusive arrangements to a corporate sponsor. Thus, many government agencies with an important story to tell about many social issues may not be able to communicate as effectively as those in the private sector with access to corporate funds.

Mission Relevancy

Most of the experts in the field concur that the key to developing a successful CRM partnership is the link between the non-profit organization’s mission and the product or service being promoted. Professor Harvey Dale, director of the National Center on Philanthropy and Law at New York University’s law school said “the phrase ‘selling out’ is more emotional than objective. If a charity is doing good work and needs money and if it can find a way of getting it other than as a passive recipient through gifts, then it can be a good thing. The question is how appropriate is the cause or the sponsorship to their mission,” he said.

Growth of CRM

Cone Communications, a Boston-based consulting firm which specializes in developing cause-related marketing campaigns, produces a report called the Cone Roper Benchmark Survey. Its latest report shows a number of trends that demonstrate the increased interest in cause-related marketing programs among all parties.

• Compared to a few years ago, Americans are significantly more receptive to CRM efforts. 76% believe it is acceptable for companies to engage in CRM - a 10 percentage point increase since the last study was conducted.
  
  
• When price and quality are equal, 76% of consumers report that they would be likely to switch to a brand associated with a good cause, also a ten percent increase over the previous survey.
  
  
• When the previous study was conducted in 1993, 58% of consumers held a degree of skepticism about corporate involvement in CRM projects, suspecting that they were “just for show” to improve a company’s image.
  
  
• In the latest survey, only 21% of consumers questioned corporate motives and 58% of respondents said they have a more favorable opinion of companies which support causes.
  
  

No one who is knowledgeable expects the growth of CRM to do anything but continue an upward path in the future as the line continues to blur between classic product advertising and social issues marketing.

According to IEG Sponsorship's annual survey, sponsorship is the world's fastest-growing form of marketing. In 1999, corporations around the globe will spend $19.2 billion sponsoring sports, arts, entertainment, causes and events.

As broadcasters and non-profits look for new revenue sources and as more federal responsibilities are shifted to the public sector, cause marketing can provide important strategic benefits to all participants.

However, the one thing that everyone can agree on is that developing a successful partnership depends on very careful scrutiny of the cause, the corporate sponsorship and how both relate to the long-term mission of the non-profit.

CAUSE MARKETING CONSULTANTS

Asher & Partners, a full service advertising agency based in Los Angeles, specializes in developing strategic cause marketing programs on AIDS, child abuse and anti-smoking. Contact: Barry Schoenfeld, Asher & Partners, 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036; Phone: (323)692-5225
Email: Bschoenfeld@asherpartners.com

Cone Communications is a strategic marketing communications firm with a “passionate commitment to the new and innovative.” The agency has expertise in brand building, marketing, public relations, corporate communications, cause-related marketing and strategic philanthropy, and community relations. Cone also co-sponsors the Cone-Roper Survey on cause marketing. Contact: Carol Cone, President, 90 Canal St., Boston, MA 02114; Phone: (617)227-2111
Email: Carol_Cone@conenet.com

The Wishnow Group projects are characterized by a model pioneered by Jerry Wishnow, President. Once the social issue is defined, Wishnow creates a three-way community alliance between the media, public service and business with each partner sharing in the media attention and positive community reaction. Contact: Jerry Wishnow, 59 Washington St., Marblehead, MA 01945; Phone: (617)631-2444
Email: wishnow@aol.com

Best Start Social Marketing publishes the Social Marketing Quarterly and develops customized public education campaigns on social issues such as the “Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work” program launched for the USDA. Contact: Mary Beth Bown, Managing Editor, 3500 E. Fletcher Ave. Suite 519, Tampa, FL 33613; Phone: (813)971-2119
Email: rmcdermo@com1.med.usf.edu

IEG Network tracks and analyzes event sponsorship in all its differnet forms. They provide comprehensive, quality information on corporate sponsors, properties available for sponsorship and the agencies and vendors that supply the industry. They also produce educational workshops, conferences and various other collateral material on corporate sponsorship. Contact: Paula Berezin, President. IEG, 640 North LaSalle St. Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60610-3777. Phone: 1-800-834-4850
Email: ieg@sponsorship.com
Web: www.sponsorship.com
Also see Conferences for upcoming meetings sponsored by IEG.

Weinreich Communications, a consulting firm specializing in social issues marketing, has one of the best websites on the Internet dealing with the subject in all its facets. The firm produces a seminar on social marketing concepts, workshops on how to develop effective health communications, intensive hands-on training in research methods, message development, and other aspects of communications programs. Nedra Kline Weinreich is also the author of “Hands-On Social Marketing,” a practical guide to the field.
Contact: Weinreich Communications, 23724 Stagg Street, West Hills, CA 91304-5204; Phone/Fax: (818)346-2721
Email: info@socialmarketing.com
Web: www.social-marketing.com

The Academy for Educational Development (AED), founded in 1961, is an independent, nonprofit service organization committed to addressing human development needs in the United States and throughout the world. . In partnership with its clients, AED seeks to meet today's social, economic, and environmental challenges through education and human resource development; to apply state-of-the-art education, training, research, technology, management, behavioral analysis, and social marketing techniques to solve problems; and to improve knowledge and skills throughout the world as the most effective means for stimulating growth, reducing poverty, and promoting democratic and humanitarian ideals. Contact: Bill Smith, Executive V.P., 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20009-5721; Phone: (202)884-8000
Email: adminc@aed.org
Web: www.aed.org

Promoting Public Causes, Inc. is a socially responsible company supporting and strengthening private, nonprofit, and public sector organizations whose programs or services benefit society. Our mission is to provide high quality marketing communications services to organizations around the world that wish to promote a cause. Julie Chapman, President. 9812 Falls Road, Suite 114, Box 334; Potomac, Maryland 20854; Phone: (301)983-0500; Fax: (301)983-1152
Email: info@publiccauses.com
Web: www.publiccauses.com

Sutton Social Marketing, founded by Dr. Sharyn Sutton is a “recognized leader” in the field of social marketing. As co-developer of the Consumer-based Communication (CBC) process, she has established a strategic approach for social intervention that is science-based and consumer oriented. Contact: 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20007; Phone: (202)342-1333
Email: sutton@suttonsm.com
Web: http://www.suttonsocialmarketing.com/index.html

R. Belinoff & Partners is a social marketing consultancy working with health departments and others, specializing in outreach programs addressing children, teens and parents. The firm is experienced in working with community-based organizations to create programs that inform and involve communities in outreach and social change. To do this, the firm makes use of peer-to-peer communications, pass-it-on strategies, and the creation and production of broadcast programs and videos. Contact: Bob R Belinof, 1501 First St. NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102; Phone: (505)247-3808
Email: bob@mkt4change.com
Web: http://www.mkt4change.com/index.htm

Coalescence is a Miami-based consultancy that enhances and develop programs to help non-profits operate more efficiently. It helps organization get additional sources of unrestricted revenue, via previously untapped or underdeveloped revenue streams through earned income ventures, corporate partnerships and special events. Contact Scot Marken; 134 NE 100th Street; Miami, FL 33138; Phone: (305)759-8235; Fax: (305)759-8236
Email: scot@DoWellDoGood.com
Web: www.DoWellDoGood.com

Some advertising and public relations agencies also have departments or individuals who specialize in social issues or cause marketing programs. Such is the case with Fleishman Hillard PR, an international agency headquartered in St. Louis with offices around the globe. Beverly Schwartz heads up Fleishman’s outreach program as part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and has extensive expertise in social issues marketing. Contact her at 1615 L St., Suite 1000; NW Washington, DC 20036; Phone: (202)828-8820
Email: beverlys@fleishman.com

The agency that most would agree wrote the book on social issues marketing back in its infancy is Porter-Novelli under the leadership of Bill Novelli who now works to combat teen smoking as head of the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids program. Contact: David Zucker, Porter-Novelli 1909 K Street, NW, 4th Floor; Washington DC 20006; Phone: (202)973-5800; Fax: (202)973-5858
Web: us.porternovelli.com