In the “age of responsibility” your corporation’s values are more important than ever and cause marketing programs are a way of amplifying these values and benefiting the bottom line.

Here are 10 reasons to initiate or continue cause marketing in a down economy (excerpted from an article by Massachusetts-based Causemedia).

1. Drive sales. 

In 2003, a Cause Evolution Study found that 87 percent of Americans would switch from their current brand to one associated with a good cause if price and quality are similar. 

Five years later, Duke University’s Behavioral Cause Study verified this finding. In the study, 182 consumers were exposed to cause-related and traditional corporate print ads for one of four brands in a regional magazine, then were sent to shop in a mock store featuring 150 products. The result: Consumers bought brands associated with causes. A shampoo brand with a cause marketing ad saw a 74 percent increase in sales while a toothpaste brand experienced a 28 percent lift. 

The bottom line: cause-related marketing helps drive sales while creating good public relations for your company.

2. Differentiate from Competitors. 

Strategic business partnerships between corporations and non-profits provide a positive ROI for the business and raise money and visibility for the cause. 

3. Re-Build Trust.  

Bailouts, CEO golden parachutes, corporate greed and scandals continue to be headlines.  Cause programs can help re-build your corporation’s brand image and help re-establish trust among your employees and external stakeholders.

4. Make meaningful connections. 

Cause marketing is an opportunity to link your brand to the wants, needs, lifestyle and interests of your stakeholders. Doing so will help you connect with them in a way no other marketing tactic can. 

5. Be accountable to consumers.

A Snider, Hill & Martin Study (2003) found that 82 percent of respondents believe that firms should engage in social initiatives, while 76 percent believe these initiatives would benefit not only society but also the firm. These findings were confirmed in the Cone Cause Evolution Study (2007), which reported that 83 percent of Americans believe companies have a responsibility to support social causes, and 92 percent value companies that positively impact social issues more than those who do not. 

6.  Improve employee recruitment and retention.

In 2007, Harris Interactive found that 87 percent of college students want to work for companies that support charitable causes. That trend isn’t just among Millennials. A 2004 Deloitte Touche Study found 72 percent of all employees in the U.S. want to work  for companies that support charitable causes. 

Your company can leverage the power of motivated, passionate employees for profitable growth and employee recruitment, retention and productivity.

7. Increase employee engagement. 

Numerous studies have shown the positive effects of volunteerism — not just for the cause or nonprofit but for developing superior leadership skills and encouraging cross-function teamwork among employees. Like your consumers, your employees are also looking for meaningful connections. 

8. Help your employees become brand evangelists.  

Your employees can be your brand’s best spokespersons and boosters, and cause marketing can help your workforce become more engaged in the business. The result: Your employees work for you not because they have to, but because they want to. This is especially true with larger retailers that have historically have high turnover rates. 

9. Benefit from positive ROI

Proctor & Gamble has practiced cause marketing for decades, executing both brand specific and corporate-wide programs here and abroad. P&G would not continue supporting and increasing cause marketing efforts if the returns did not perform at least as well as their other efforts. 

10. Make an authentic contribution to the community. 

Communities will reward the brand heroes that made a true connection with them and cause marketing is win-win tactic for the corporation and the social cause or non-profit. The cash infusion from corporations into the non-profit sector is critical, especially today given continued cut-backs in public sector contributions, and an anticipated drop in private sector contributions.

At the recent Forum Tremblant conference on corporate responsiblity, Peter Swinburn, President and CEO of Molson Coors said that the new philanthropy is coming from entrepreneurs and investors who are applying money-making techniques from the private sector to reach social objectives. Enter philanthrocapitalism. I hope that peoples’ ability to make a difference keeps up with the loss in their portfolios.

In the territory of simple capitalism, I was walking through the Bay this morning and saw a bizarre array of pink products in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. These included: Cashmere Giant toilet paper, Scotties Tribute Pak tissues, many Kitchen Aid products, “Sprinkles for a Cause” (pink cake decorating sprinkles), and a pink Health-O-Meter scale. Pretty hard to feel much cause in this cause related marketing.

Today, a friend sent me a link to Microsoft’s new “I’M” Widows Live Messenger. According to Microsoft, every someone uses Windows Messenger or Hotmail, they’ll share a portion of the advertising revenue with social cause organizations. From what the cause partners include the American Red Cross, National AIDS Fund, Sierra Club, Humane Society of the United States – all worthwhile and all US-based charities.

I don’t know if it’s just me but this initiative just doesn’t feel right. I’m all for charities getting support but why can’t people choose the organization that matters most to them? And, for a global program, why are all the groups US-based? Will this resonate with someone in the UK? And linking on-line chatting to important social issues seems a stretch. Perhaps a smarter approach would have been to use this as an opportunity to also facilitate dialogue about the issues that matter to users of Messenger or Hotmail.