CHAPTER 6

Cause-Related Marketing

Do well by doing good. —attributed to Benjamin Franklin

Cause-related marketing (CRM) is dear to my heart. Also known as “cause marketing” and “corporate social responsibility,” CRM is when a for-profit company aligns itself with a nonprofit or a cause and proactively supports it.

Aside from doing good, corporations can receive significant benefits to their own business by engaging in CRM. According to a Nielsen 2013 “Consumers Who Care” study, 50 percent of global consumers said they “would be willing to reward companies that give back to society by paying more for their goods and services1. … ”

However, CRM can backfire if it’s perceived that a company is engaging in cause marketing solely to build business, ...

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