Cause related marketing (CRM) is an advertisement campaign where companies link products with social issues. The effect of CRM is to convince consumers the product is a win-win by the consumers get the product and the company provides some compensation towards the social cause. However, dishonorable companies may use CRM to advertise inferior products or fail to deliver on the promise of support to the cause.
CRM has been around for a while now and it has two concepts to it. First being that by tying a product to a social cause, companies hope to increase sales beyond the cost of supporting the cause, so they can earn a profit. Second being that companies seek to connect the franchise name with charitable work so they can gain market share via positive association. Consumers expect to receive a product they would most likely purchase anyway with the benefit of supporting a social cause. When the two viewpoints meet, there can be a very positive impact for companies, consumers and social causes.
In my opinion, CRM has the potential for marrying social justice with consumerism and having a positive impact on both. Kellogg’s “Share Breakfast” Campaign is a great example of this. According to the article I read, Kellogg set a goal of serving one million breakfasts to children who are in need of food.
They created Facebook post, tweeted it, and pinned it on Pinterest, but that’s not all they did. They promised to feed one child every time someone shares they posts. Even though they are doing a great thing, “…each post still links back to the organization, allowing them to track how many donations they’ve earned.”
Companies engaging in social related marketing are oftentimes preying on social pressures to guilt or shame consumers into purchases rather than encourage them by offering a superior product. However, some consumers may purchase the product as a secondary purpose, but with the primary goal of supporting a social cause they do not feel comfortable supporting in a direct manner. the arrangement certainly has potential for good, but the temptation for abuse is high.
