Cause-related marketing: who cares wins 685
must be legal, decent, honest and truthful, the
key concepts that should form the foundations
of the communications are (Adkins, 1998, p. 17,
1999a, Chapter 25):
Communication must give balanced emphasis
to the business and the cause.
Both partners should promote the benefits of
the partnership.
It must not mislead partners or the public; in
particular, the benefits to all parties need to be
clear.
It needs to be compelling, sincere and not
patronizing.
The contribution of the consumers needs to
be acknowledged.
One aspect that is often forgotten in developing
these programmes is the importance of thank-
ing all participants, including the consumers,
for their involvement in a cause-related market-
ing programme. After all, it is only through the
consumers attention, action or purchase that
the objectives of the cause-related marketing
programme, be they from the charity or the
business point of view, are achieved.
The ‘media test’
A critical aspect of a cause-related marketing
programme is to ensure that it resonates with all
of the stakeholder groups, both internally and
externally. When considering the external audi-
ence, a critical group is the media, hence the
‘media test’. The exercise here is to take the
perspective of an investigative journalist who is
negative towards the business sector or organi-
zation. Pose the questions they would ask and
provide the answers. If the verbal equivalent of
small print and sub-clauses and sub-texts is
being used by way of explanation, then the
programme is wrong. Cause-related marketing
programmes, to be most effective, are based on
the ‘KISS principle’ of ‘keeping it simple’. These
programmes need to be transparent, sincere,
honest and truthful. Having gone through this
and considered the questions, if the answers are
all positive, simple and compelling, it is likely
that a strong programme is being developed. If,
on the other hand, the answers are weak, then
this sends a strong warning bell to review the
preparation and plan. The ‘media test’ is
actually part of the process that runs throughout
the duration of the planning of a programme,
right from the very start. It has many uses. Apart
from refining the detail of the programme as it
develops, ensuring that when the programme
finally launches it is well received, it also
provides a solid Q and A for the board,
employees and networks of the partners
involved, and the essence of the media brief
(Adkins 1999a).Monitoring, measuring and evaluating
the programme
Monitoring, measuring and evaluating pro-
grammes and partnerships is a clearly under-
stood discipline, and a requirement of effective
business management today. Cause-related
marketing is no different. The investment made
at the planning and preparation stage and in
identifying the key objectives is time well spent.
It helps to identify the performance indicators
against which the programme or partnership
can be monitored, measured and evaluated.
Monitoring the programme makes it poss-
ible to refine the details of the partnership;
measurement and evaluation provide the evi-
dence for continued investment or not. Effect-
ive data makes it possible to judge the success
of a programme and are the vital basis for
future support, without which the future of the
partnership is always potentially in jeopardy.
Monitoring, measuring and evaluating are
in the interest of all parties involved; resources
should be allocated from the outset. Depending
on the agreed performance indicators, the
following aspects should be considered for
monitoring, measuring and evaluating
(Adkins, 1998, p. 18): Funds raised.
Effect on sales, volume and/or customer traffic.