Cause marketing is a trend that’s here to stay. Today’s consumers are growing ever more concerned about climate change, sustainability and ethics, basing more and more buying decisions on how they feel about the brands behind their favorite products.
Companies are now using marketing strategies such as cause marketing to enhance their reputations, showing consumers that they care about a cause and are also prepared to do something about it by raising awareness and raising money.
Read on to learn more about how you could take your first steps into cause marketing and see how your company could benefit from doing something positive for the local community.
What is cause marketing?
Cause marketing is an increasingly popular form of marketing. Brands align their marketing efforts with a relevant and important cause – and shout about it! If the campaign is successful, the cause will attract the attention of its target audience.
It’s a form of marketing that allows any brand to show how much it cares about issues relating to sustainability and ethics by making a statement and backing it up with meaningful action. Companies using cause marketing tend to donate to worthwhile causes or use their platforms to put an essential topic in the limelight.
With cause marketing, companies often benefit from a significant upsurge in brand awareness and a real boost to their reputation. It’s then easier to market products to both new and already loyal consumers, and profits soon follow.
What are the benefits of cause marketing?
Cause marketing is a marketing approach that packs a punch in terms of benefits. It’s socially responsible, allowing brands to enhance their reputations in an authentic, believable way; it also makes a real difference to profitability.
When brands use cause marketing, they turn essential business practices into new ways to build meaningful relationships and improve customer retention at the same time. Here are just a few reasons to explore cause marketing.
- Reputation management: Brands can improve their image using cause marketing
- Building relationships: Cause marketing allows companies to create profitable links with local groups
- Morale boost: If employees are behind the cause, they’ll get a morale boost from the knowledge that their work is helping
- Loyalty: If the chosen cause is essential to customers, they will be more likely to return to the brand for repeat purchases
The most successful cause-related marketing examples
We’ve seen some brilliant cause marketing campaigns tackling social issues over the past few years, so you won’t need to look far if you’re looking for inspiration. Check out some of our favorite campaigns by brands who used their influence to make a real difference.
Uber’s Thank You for Not Riding
Companies rarely thank customers for not using their services, but that’s precisely what the lift-sharing app, Uber, did during the pandemic.
Uber partnered with Wieden+Kennedy and PRETTYBIRD to create a cause marketing campaign centred around the key message of the global lockdowns: stay at home.
The company asked filmmakers to document their days at home during the lockdown, sharing their videos to encourage the public not to go out. At the same time, Uber donated 10 million free rides and food deliveries to those who needed them most at the time, such as healthcare professionals and key workers.
YouTube’s Seat at the Table
Video sharing site YouTube needed to publicize its opening Originals series, called Seat at the Table. The series focused on the impending climate crisis and was released in the wake of COP26.
In partnership with Cheshire Wildlife Trust, YouTube created a cause marketing campaign with a difference.
The company rewilded an area of previously farmed land to get its message across. The drone footage was then used to show what the land looks like today, and real-world illustrations showed viewers how it’d look in five years, thanks to the company’s intervention.
The series proved enormously successful, quickly becoming YouTube’s most viewed UK show. The campaign behind it reached over three million viewers, turning eyeballs into action.
‘What’s Your Name?’ by Starbucks
Global coffee chain Starbucks is well known for asking customers’ names, but the brand decided to do something different with this idea in a recent cause marketing campaign. The campaign, known as ‘What’s Your Name?’, was designed to draw attention and support to LGBTQ+ customers.
‘What’s Your Name?’ used storytelling to share the story of James, who was regularly being addressed by his birth name, Jemma. In the video clip, we follow James as he goes about his daily life before stopping at Starbucks to get a coffee. When the barista asks his name, he can proudly say, “it’s James.”
The ‘What’s Your Name?’ campaign showed that there’s sometimes more to a name than we might expect. A decision then backed up its messaging to partner with charity Mermaids.
This partnership saw Starbucks launch a new mermaid cookie which soon became available in stores. All proceeds from this sale went straight to Mermaids, supporting young transgender and gender diverse groups.
Make a real difference with cause marketing
You can use cause marketing in a whole range of different ways, which is why we’ve seen so many incredible causes being championed by brands in all kinds of sectors and industries.
Both small businesses and larger corporations can benefit hugely from the opportunities this type of marketing presents.
Whether you’re looking to increase profit, champion your social good, make some noise on social media, or just start the conversation about corporate social responsibility, cause marketing can help you do it. The bonus is that all these efforts will help support a nonprofit organization at the same time.
Authenticity is, of course, key to the success of a cause marketing campaign, but there are endless ways to use cause marketing in a relevant way. Consider causes that align with your company’s work and choose one that matters to your team. Then, think about how you can make a difference to the cause in question.
For more tips on making cause marketing work for your brand, look at Don’t Panic London. The London-based creative agency works with brands hoping to activate their social purpose, ensuring authenticity and strategic resilience with its knowledge of not-for-profits. Take a look at the company’s recent cause marketing campaigns to learn more.
