Cause-Related Marketing - What is it?

So what is cause-related marketing?

Known by different terms, "cause-related marketing", "cause related marketing" and even CRM marketing, this refers to the efforts of a "for profit" business to help a non-profit organization (usually a charity). The premise behind this initiative is a win-win situation whereby businesses are promoted whilst at the same time good causes benefit too.

Corporate giving is usually seen as slightly different from cause-related marketing in so much as with corporate giving, tax-deductible donations are made. Monies do not have to be exchanged with cause-related marketing, it could be time, resources and materials for example.

Regardless of the semantics of marketing type. There is one fundamental characteristic all these terms/initiatives share:

Helping "good causes" makes for great business sense.

All things being equal, consumers would rather buy from a company which stands for something more than just profits.

American Express is widely attributed as one of the early examples of cause-related marketing in action (indeed Amex is attributed with first using the phrase). Not only important from a historical footnote perspective but also for the results achieved by the new type of marketing campaign.

In the campaign, Amex raised money for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Everytime a purchase was made by an Amex cardholder, one cent of the purchase was donated to the fund. This led to a marked increase in new customers 17% and also an increase in subseuqent sales (i.e. card usage) 28% ^{Source: CauseMarketingForum.com}

In other words, cause-related marketing attracts more customers and these customers are willing to spend more!

Brand loyalty is a hard fought battle and recent studies (eg the Cone Millenial Cause Study) have shown how consumers are more likely to switch brands to companies who are aligning themselves to a good cause.

So where does JointWinWin fit into this equation?

JointWinWin is an idea where member businesses agree to make a minimum donation of 0.8% of their gross revenue to charity. This means anyone who makes a purchase from a JointWinWin business is making a positive difference to the world we all live in.

In essence, the ethos of JointWinWin can be summed up into the following:

Whatever, whenever, whereever YOU buy, YOU make a difference.

As a business, you have a simple choice, help change the world one purchase at a time and make a stand for something or watch other businesses do so.

What causes should I give to?

This is entirely up to you, everybody has different alignments and attractions with good causes. Rather than mandate a specific charity, all JointWinWin mandates is a minimum donation and an adherence to our business code of ethics.

By committing to a minimum donation and allowing businesses to donate to a charity of their choice, this means JointWinWin businesses can help change the world one purchase at a time whilst helping numerous worthy causes.