Cause marketing
Cause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a for-profit business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. The term is sometimes used more broadly and generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and other charitable causes, including in-house marketing efforts by non-profit organizations. Cause marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy), as the latter generally involves a specific donation that is tax-deductible, while cause marketing is a marketing relationship not necessarily based on a donation.
The first known case of cause marketing in America was in March, 1974 when Carr & Associates International was formed by John T. Carr as a way of "giving back" by engaging Charitable Causes and Businesses to support each other. The organization was promoted by John T. Carr's focus on enlisting businesses to give back referral fees on what they might normally spend for marketing; and having those funds redirected toward the Charitable Cause of the buyer's choice.
In 1976, the first major cause marketing campaign was executed through a partnership between the Marriott Corporation and the March of Dimes. Marriott's objective was to generate highly cost-effective public relations and media coverage for the opening of their 200-acre (0.81 km2) family entertainment center, Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, CA. The March of Dimes's objective was to greatly increase fundraising while motivating the collection of pledges by the program’s deadline. The promotion was conducted simultaneously in 67 cities throughout the Western United States. This cause marketing campaign and partnership raised an unprecedented $2.4 million to become the most successful promotion in the history of Chapters West of the March of Dimes, while providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in free publicity and stimulating a 2.2 million person attendance, a regional theme park record, for the opening year of the Marriott entertainment complex.
Another of the first examples of a cause-related marketing campaign was initiated in 1979 by Rosica, Mulhern & Associates for Famous Amos cookies. In this campaign, Wally Amos became the National Spokesperson for the Literacy Volunteers of America. According to the organization, Wally has alerted more people to the illiteracy problem than any other person in history. This strategic cause marketing tie-in helped to tell the Famous Amos Cookie story while maintaining visibility, and is responsible for many new and expanded literacy programs. This case study is now used in university classrooms nationwide as an example of successful "cause-related marketing". In 1982 Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was an early pioneer of cause marketing, allowing millions to participate in the fight against breast cancer through businesses that share Komen's commitment to end the disease.
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