Cause-related marketing: who cares wins 691
so does the appreciation of the potential of
cause-related marketing (Adkins, 2001):
70 per cent of Chief Executives report that
corporate social responsibility is an essential
issue to their business.
89 per cent of Marketing Directors believe
that businesses should be involved in
addressing the social issues of the day.
96 per cent of Marketing and Community
Affairs Directors appreciate the benefits of
cause-related marketing in addressing business
and social issues.
77 per cent of Chief Executives, Marketing
Directors and Community Affairs Directors
believe that cause-related marketing can
enhance corporate or brand reputation.
69 per cent of all respondents believe that
cause-related marketing will continue to
increase in importance over the next two to
three years.
The situation, however, is not only entirely
threatening and confrontational. When organi-
zations get it right, they have and can earn the
respect and belief of their consumer and stake-
holder groups. Marketers have increasingly
understood that one-off transaction-based mar-
keting is yesterday’s world. Today, relation-
ships and loyalty are critical to the marketing
and business strategy, and these relationships
need to be developed carefully, nurtured and
grown on the basis of decent, honest, truthful
and values based propositions. The develop-
ments in legal codes, socio-economic and polit-
ical factors, as well as the ICT revolution,
ensure that it cannot be otherwise.
Price, quality and functionality are today
taken as given. These are no longer sustainable
differentiators. With the speed of communica-
tion, details of price, quality, functionality and
innovation can be broadcast at the touch of a
button and replicated in a matter of days or
weeks. This has accelerated the need for
innovation, and has also made businesses
increasingly transparent. It has enabled effective
benchmarking and informed debate. ‘Bedroom
protest’ is now a vibrant and powerful reality.
The concept of a silent minority no longer exists.
These new realities have driven the push for
new platforms for differentiation, which in turn
have pushed the focus on values and the truth
behind the brand up the agenda.
The symbiotic relationship between busi-
ness and society has never been more evident.
These changes in the way business and society
operate are not just a threat, but represent an
exciting opportunity for those businesses who
have a clear set of principles and values. The
drivers of marketing today are about integrity,
transparency, sincerity, mutual respect, partner-
ship and mutual benefit. Those organizations
that have these principles at their core or are able
to develop their values proposition will reap the
rewards. This is not, however, about gloss and
hype. Values run more than skin deep. Con-
sumers are far too cynical and sophisticated to
be fooled by tokenism and exploitation. Con-
sumers are powerful and unforgiving.
In such an environment where honest
value-based relationships are the way forward,
cause-related marketing is imperative in the
marketing tool kit. Where cause-related mar-
keting is implemented well, corporately or with
a product or service that is robust in terms of
quality, price and functionality; where the
partnership is built on the key principles of
integrity, transparency, sincerity, mutual
respect, partnership and mutual benefit; where
the cause has been identified and the partners
have a solid affinity; where the partnership has
been developed on a solid footing, and there is
a creative and compelling proposition, the
business and the charity or cause have a potent
proposition to present to their stakeholders.
There is no doubt about consumer expecta-
tion for corporate responsibility and support
for cause-related marketing. Over 80 per cent of
consumers clearly indicate that, price and
quality being equal, linking with a cause would
make a difference; they would switch retail
outlets, change brands and have a much better
perception of a company trying to make the
world a better place (Adkins, 1999b).