Geoff Livingston has written a thoughtful post on the growing cynicism of cause marketing and how companies need to check their motives before they dive in.
As cause marketing continues to accelerate as a hot trend, many companies will enter the foray, not because their culture would make such a move intelligent, but because the marketers think it’s a good idea. . . . In reality, they will be committing the same mistake many marketers made when they attempted to brand their products green. The ensuing greenwashing backlash is still escalating as more and more companies try to enter the sustainable marketplace or differentiate from competitors with a dash of ecosense.
I agree with Geoff that we all, companies included, need to tread carefully. But I also believe this cynicism for cause marketing will lead to a better industry that is more responsible, accountable and successful.
Causewashing won’t keep companies clean for long. Consumers are already getting smart to which campaigns are legit. I’m getting more feedback from partners that shoppers are asking questions about where the money goes, how much of their donation supports the cause and how the retailer is supporting the nonprofit beyond OPM (other people’s money).
More companies will try cause marketing for the right reasons. They won’t have a choice. The upside of doing the right thing is so important, so valuable and so expected by consumers that companies will have to do cause marketing right. This isn’t traditional marketing, folks. This is marketing that impacts the greater good. That doesn’t mean companies will always be successful or rewarded, but the goal will be to be more sincere, more authentic. They’ll be no room for bad in good.
The appeal of cause marketing will broaden to other businesses. I’m really excited about this because cause marketing has been dominated for too long by the bigger companies and nonprofits. Not anymore. There’s too much to be gained from cause marketing for everyone, and consumer cynicism will lead the charge for better programs and higher standards. The resulting success will make cause marketing the must have ingrediant in the marketing mix of all businesses, not just the biggest.
The biggest threat to the spread of cause marketing isn’t cynicism but inertia. Geoff’s right: “We need to elevate this conversation so that more companies and communicators engage in cause marketing with real socially responsible motives.” But we also can’t paralyze businesses, especially the smaller businesses that are just climbing aboard, with doubts that they can’t be good cause marketers because they don’t have the marketing know-how of Seth Godin or a heart of gold like Mother Teresa.
What these businesses need is the resolve of Thomas Edison who tried some 700 times before he invented the working light bulb. They also need our encouragement that the road to cause marketing success is not a dimly lit and treacherous path. Or the light bulb that went on in their head about cause marketing to begin with will quickly go out.
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Great post and I agree with your point that cynicism in cause marketing will ultimately lead to better cause campaigns. The thing I love, love, love about cause marketing is that the companies that dive in "because they have to" and not from a place of authenticity are not the companies that will enjoy the greatest returns. Those that enjoy the greatest returns in this arena are those organizations that are doing it for the right reasons in a way that aligns with their core purpose and are, as you astutely point out, in it for the long run.
Two additional points that you touched upon that merit additional emphasis in my opinion:
1) Smaller companies are naturally better at this type of marketing and thus have an advantage. The huge corporates have the dollar advantage, to be sure, and some of them even take it seriously. In my opinion, most end up "causewashed" and are hard to relate to from a consumer perspective. Smaller companies and organizations have a true advantage here and should leverage it as much as possible. It's easier to get employees involved and to authentically demonstrate (through your cause campaigns) who you are to your customers when you're small. Choose a cause you really resonate with and then go for it! Baby steps are great.
2) These campaigns have to link to strategy. Don't put these efforts into a silo. Ensure YOU know and your employees know why you're doing this. How do you anticipate this affecting sales, awareness, goodwill, PR? Does the cause relate to your product or mission at all? If so, be overt in making the connection. Many business owners see this is self-aggrandizement, but in actuality (done well), you're simply communicating who you are. Cause campaigns should simply be an extension of your company's purpose.
Thanks for (another) great post!
@meganstrand
Great comments, Megan! I especially like your point on small biz doing cause marketing better. Totally true. When you're ear is close to the ground, you know very quickly if something is working with customers or not.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by NolandHoshino: Cause Marketing Cynicism is a Good Thing http://dlvr.it/Lyx1 @JoeWaters Pls RT!…
Dear Joe,
Thanks for this timely post on what cause marketing is really accomliishing, besides making more jobs for corporate responsibility officers. I hope that businesses will learn that they need to do more than pay lip service to causes. They need to go get their hands dirty. They need to commit to employee volunteerism and ongoing support of these causes. And they need to follow up and tell people how they're doing, why it relates to their brand.
I wrote a post on cause cynicism earlier this month:
http://www.wildwomanfundraising.com/greenwashing-…
Commitment from companies is huge, Mazarine. When they do everyone wins, especially the company's reputation. Thanks for pointing out your post.
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Good post, Joe. Yes, as the tension increases, companies will have to up the ante with more authentic efforts. Thank you for the rich conversation!
On target once again, Mr. Waters.
I don't believe that the cynicism that Geoff talks about is as broad or as deep as he thinks, but I do believe that the bar continues to be raised as to what constitutes good cause marketing.
Slapping a nonprofit logo on a product and handing over a check does not an effective CM campaign make. Fortunately, an increasing number of companies understand this and are developing initiatives that are far more integrated and strategic than that.
For most companies and causes, creating strong programs is an iterative process. They start with relatively small programs, learn from the initial successes and failures, and build over time.
The more we can create an environment that encourages businesses and nonprofits to invest serious time, thought, personnel and funding into building great CM campaigns, the better off we will all be.
Moving ahead, I hope that Geoff and his colleagues will put as much energy into applauding the good work being done and offering up success strategies as they have dedicated to critiquing it and warnnig about causewashing.
http://selfishgiving.com/cause-practices/cynicism-of-cause-marketing-good-for-industry
Cause Marketing Cynicism is a Good Thing http://tinyurl.com/y88fx5m