Brand Purpose Purveyor: Your Choice

By Larry Koffler, Executive Vice President, NYCPA CSR

Most of us enjoy having a choice. While there has been a heated debate in marketing and psychology circles about too much of a good thing (the average number of items carried in a U.S. supermarket is now over 40,000), the ability to choose among a few items seems to be preferable. According to a recent study, this applies to cause marketing as well. 

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship recently posted a summary of insightful takeaways from a Journal of Marketing study “Choice of Cause in Cause-Related Marketing” showing that consumer choice generally has a positive influence on response - its effectiveness varying with the characteristics of the cause, the campaign, and the audience. 

 

Edelman client eBay allows consumers to choose their own charity through its Giving Works Program (highlighted in this Forbes post from David Hessekiel). The program allows sellers to choose to donate a percentage of their sale to a charity of their choice when they post an item on eBay. It has been quite successful. In 2012, 186,000 sellers created more than 14 million charitable listings, resulting in $74 million raised for over 30,000 charities -- and bringing the total raised to over $350 million to date. In addition, eBay discovered that buyers and sellers that participate in eBay’s giving programs are more loyal and active customers. “Compared to non-donors, buyers who make a donation spend, on average, 36 percent more on the platform. Similarly, sellers who donate sell 35 percent more than those who don’t”

An activation Edelman helped develop for Citi surrounding their U.S. Olympic program tapped into empowered giving as well. The $500,000 donation to the USOC for the Every Step of the Way program benefited future hopefuls and athletes via donations that were allocated by consumers through Facebook and Twitter to sport programs that inspired the 13 athletes of Team Citi. 

According to research presented at the World Federation of Advertisers' annual conference, 88 percent of marketers surveyed said that CSR will be increasingly important in building brands in the future, and 60 percent of consumers claimed to be looking for brands with a sense of purpose. CSR efforts are something brands should stay conscious of, as cause-related purpose becomes an increasingly important factor in consumers’ brand preference.