by Nancy Ruspil, MGC
Add me to the statistics. I’m one of millions of consumers who can be swayed by meaningful cause-related marketing.
Yesterday, for instance. I’m standing in the detergent aisle at the grocery store. The brand I often buy works well, smells good and is reasonably priced. But as I scan the shelves of colorful bottles, my eye lands on the Tide “Loads of Hope” yellow-capped bottle. I’d seen commercials showing how Tide gives a portion of these proceeds to support families affected by natural disasters. Nice, my conscience whispers. I quickly compare prices with my usual brand – almost exactly the same. Nice again. I take the Tide bottle off the shelf and put it in my cart. At that point, my conscience is cheering.
Last week a friend and I were deciding where to meet for dinner. We narrowed it down to two favorite restaurants. Turns out that one of them was donating part of the night’s proceeds to a local youth services agency. We chose that one. Easy decision.
Examples are everywhere. Businesses of all sizes are finding that marketing with a conscience attracts customers and builds brand loyalty. The Lexus Eco Challenge asks teens to create environmental programs to improve land, water, air and climate in their communities. TOMS Shoes donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. In his article, Top Advertisers Add Meaning to Marketing, Jack Neff describes a variety of businesses that are weaving intrinsic value into their marketing – attracting customers, instead of repelling them.
What is your business doing to show support for a meaningful cause or an important value? If you want response and loyalty from customers, do good things for the world – and invite them to be part of those efforts. People like companies that care. It may sound trite, but it’s just the way we are.
Watch this effectively touching Land’s End video produced for their “Big Warm-Up” project. What a way to involve and inspire a customer.
