Cause related marketing: can the arts afford not to participate?

Cause related marketing is a new way for for-profit organizations to increase their sales while appearing to enhance their focus on social responsibility. The key for private-sector organizations is to build partnerships with a worthy, notable cause and for them to promote that cause in a carefully structured commercial venture designed to enhance both organizations' financial viability. Over the last 2 decades the focus has shifted from the worthy cause of the arts, to issues of health and social need. The answer proposed in this paper is to broaden the definition of worthy cause to include needy non-profit arts and thus, return cause related marketing to its roots. This paper identifies the direction of rapid change in attitudes to arts marketing in just over 2 decades and indicates the possibilities of participating in cause related marketing activities as a result of this change.

An exploratory investigation of attitudes toward cause-related marketing

This paper reports on a study concerning consumer perceptions of cause-related marketing in Australia, and seeks to identify a direct link between consumer attitudes toward donating to charity (pro-social behaviour) and corporate philanthropy, and attitudes toward cause-related marketing. After a discussion on the related literature, there follows discussion on the research
model employed, and the fmdings of he study. Among other fmdings, statistically significant relationships between attitudes toward charitable giving and attitudes toward cause-related marketing are in evidence. In this study, respondents express a preference for local causes, as opposed to national and international causes, and also demonstrate a preference for cause types similar to those that already receive the highest level of charitable donations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the study and presents suggestions for future research.

Cause related marketing-commercialism or altruism: Finding the balance?

The objective of this paper is to describe a framework of questions that may provide guidance as to whether a company (i.e., a for-profit organisation) should engage in Cause Related Marketing (CRM) or not. CRM is an  intriguing concept in which one finds a cause and intertwines one’s  marketing push to sell both the cause and one’s products. The reality is that some companies do focus solely on the profit returns from socially responsible ventures and others do not, therefore, a framework of questions are provided that may guide companies as to whether to pursue a CRM-relationship with a non-profit organisation (i.e., the cause).

Cause related marketing: reflections on the first twenty years

Cause related marketing is an intriguing concept in which one finds a cause and intertwines one's marketing push to sell both the cause and one's products. During this first twenty years, developing a partnership had gone from charities seeking out companies to companies seeking out charities. The concept, in its pure form, appeared to be a rare approach, where both
shareholder and stakeholder value was increased in combination. All parties appeared to benefit in this relationship.

Can the overcommercialization of cause-related marketing harm society?

The role of social responsibility within business has been debated for decades. It appears that there is a growing understanding that doing the right thing for society can not only be good for business but is also a responsibility of the modern corporation. Causes, corporations, and society have benefited from corporate involvement with social issues. However, it also appears that in some cases, there may be potential pitfalls associated with merging social and corporate objectives. The "overcommercialization" of some activities designed to benefit society may in fact harm those that these activities are trying to help. This article examines potential pitfalls associated with cause-related marketing and provides recommendations for reducing the potential negative consequences

Cause-related marketing : an extension of the congruity concept

This paper considers the concept of congruity or 'fit' in a cause-related marketing (CRM) context. At present, there is a gap in the literature that explores how nonprofit-forprofit pairings affect a consumer's response to and evaluation of CRM campaigns. This paper develops the concept of 'fit' with particular attention being paid to three dimensions, namely, cognitive, emotional and behavioural congruity and the role these concepts play in determining consumers’ perception of the 'relatedness' of products and causes.

Outbound cause-related marketing at the West Coast Eagles : measuring awareness and impact

This paper examines sports sponsorship from the perspective of the sports organisation as the sponsor of charity and community events - an increasingly common practice. Most of these sponsorship activities fit within the framework of cause-related marketing, but their effectiveness and value to the clubs involved are not known. We examine the activities of one AFL club which is heavily involved in a range of outbound sponsorship activities. In order to assess the impact of theses activities, we surveyed season ticket holders of this club and examined issues such as their general awareness of these activities and the both the antecedents and outcomes of this awareness. We find that general awareness (recognition) levels were high, and that the correlated with loyalty, involvement and specific brand associations. The conclusion is that outbound sponsorship of charities and the community has a number of positive outcomes for sporting clubs, and should be encouraged.

A model of cause-related marketing for profit-driven and non-profit organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a model of cause-related marketing (CRM) for both profit-driven (PD) and non-profit (NP) organizations.
Design/methodology/approach – The model consists of two parallel internal and external organizational processes – one representing the process of a NP organization and the other a PD organization. They are interlinked as the outcome of a CRM-partnership is dependent upon their mutual efforts.
Findings – The authors argue that it is essential to remember that a CRM-partnership is a challenge and risk for both the PD and NP organizations that may harm their reputation and position in the marketplace and/or society. CRM has benefits as well as downsides that should not be underestimated nor neglected.
Research limitations/implications – Will the involvement of the PD or NP organizations in the resultant partnership be perceived as commercialism, altruism or a combination of both, in the marketplace and society? A focus on both processes opens up opportunities for further research.
Practical implications – A contribution is that the CRM-model may be used as a guide for both PD and NP organizations in order to reveal whether a CRM-partnership is appropriate for them with a potential partner or not. It may also indicate whether the motives are based upon commercial reasons or altruistic reasons or a combination of both.
Originality/value – The model enables these organizations to think through the process prior to engaging in CRM.

Cause-related sport sponsorship: An assessment of spectator beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions

Marketing communications utilizing a non-profit cause (i.e., the sponsorship of a nonprofit cause) have emerged as a mainstream practice as practitioners respond to rising consumer expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSRI. The increasing popularity of cause-related marketing programs (CRMPS) can be attributed to the Integration of sponsorship in many organizations' sport marketing strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and purchase intentions of consumers exposed to a firm's sponsorship of a sporting event associated with a non-profit organization. A survey instrument was developed by a panel of experts, pre-tested, revised, and completed by (442 event spectators. Results suggested consumers' attitudes, beliefs, and purchase intentions toward the sponsoring company were positively impacted by the firm's involvement with cause-related marketing.

The effect of provocation in the form of mild erotica on attitude to the ad and corporate image: Differences between cause-related and product-based advertising

Provocative advertising is characterized by a deliberate attempt to gain attention through shock. This research investigates the reactions of individuals to a provocative appeal for a cause as opposed to a provocative advertisement for a standard consumer product, using mild erotica as the element of provocative imagery. An experiment using 391 adult subjects was conducted, and two analyses were performed. The first examined the effect of stimulus type (mildly erotic/nonerotic) by product category (cause appeal/consumer product) on attitude to the ad. The second examined the effect of stimulus type (mildly erotic/nonerotic) by cause (AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]/SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome]) on corporate image. Both analyses also included gender as a third independent variable. The results suggest that people prefer mildly erotic ads generally, that an organization using mild erotica in appeals for a cause will be viewed more favorably where the erotica is congruent with the cause, and that women may be more responsive to mild erotica in cause appeals than are men.