What Is Cause Marketing? Tips For Cause Campaigns

Consumers are getting smarter. Dare we say it, some have even outsmarted the smartest genes in the ad pool. They’re a lot more knowledgeable about business practices than they once were. Nowadays, given similar price and quality, consumers are more likely to opt for a brand that supports a good cause than not; in fact, the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer found that people want business to engage more on societal issues. The role and expectation for business has never been clearer, according to the study, and businesses must recognise that their societal role is here to stay.

What is Cause Marketing?

What is cause-related marketing? Cause marketing is becoming a key way for corporations to express their philanthropic side. Often referred to as cause-related marketing, cause-marketing is an opportunity to make the world a better place while serving genuine business goals.

Cause marketing tips

So how does it work? Here are our top tips for creating your own cause marketing campaign and our advice onhow to campaign for a cause.

Believability and Authenticity

For cause marketing campaigns to be successful, the campaign must come across as genuine. How can you achieve this? Well, the cause simply must be in line with the ethos of the brand. The best way to do this is through linking the campaign with your wider brand purpose. If you are yet to develop your brand purpose, here are our top tips.

Practice What You Preach

Cause marketing can be a highly effective tool to raise awareness of a for-profit’s products or services, attracting the attention and consideration of the coveted ‘conscious consumer’. However, cause-led marketing can’t simply be a badge that companies wear to look good. The campaign needs to be an authentic manifestation of everything the brand and the target audience holds dear, and should ultimately demonstrate a genuine social impact.Whether it’s raising money for endangered species, empowering diversity, or campaigning for political change, the action will feel meaningless if it’s not underpinned by a brand that lives through those values.

Audience participation

A good campaign is one that captures the consumer’s imagination, grabs their attention and encourages them to get involved. Particularly crucial for cause-marketing campaigns, there needs to be a focus on participation and not just communication.The best cause-led campaigns find clever and original approaches to present the issue on a human level, with an emotional trigger and a simple CTA (call-to-action). The CTA should turn audiences into participants and not just leave them as helpless onlookers.

Successful examples of cause related marketing

So, you’ve got the tips, now let’s take a look at some cause related marketing examples.

Hey Girls - The Pad

Many girls in the UK are still missing school because they don’t have access to sanitary products. Frustrated with the lack of change, social enterprise and femcare brand Hey Girls has created a Buy One Give One system, to offer consumers chlorine and bleach free, environmentally friendly sanitary products, with all profits going to supporting women and girls in need.In order to capture the reader’s attention and show the harsh reality that many girls are forced to make their own sanitary pads, they created a print ad in the shape of a DIY cut-out sanitary towel. Upon turning the page, the reader was faced with the stark fact that ‘One in 10 girls in the UK can’t afford sanitary products’.Hey Girls was able to talk to consumers with authenticity about period poverty because social purpose is built into the DNA of the brand. The impactful ad placement raised awareness of their product range, but also gave consumers a clear opportunity to make a difference through the purchase they make.

Ben & Jerry’s - Democracy is in your hands “Empower Mint”

Ben & Jerry’s social mission is to eliminate injustices within our communities by “integrating these concerns into our day-to-day business activities”. As well as using fairtrade ingredients and offering vegetarian options, the ice cream and dessert brand campaigns on social issues such as rights for refugees, LGBQT+ equality and climate justice. Ben & Jerry’s ‘Empower Mint’ flavour was launched as a push for change prior to the 2016 US elections. The new flavour was launched alongside their 60-second spot to illustrate the idea of equal access, the power of big money, voting rights, and to push people to vote. The campaign urged people to get involved and take action not only by voting, but by signing a petition which sought to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. To underscore the meaning behind the new flavour, the product was unveiled at an event in North Carolina, a state with notoriously restrictive voting policies, particularly for minorities. Ben & Jerry’s long history of campaigning on social issues and voting in particular (Rock the Vote in 2004), contributed to making this a successful cause marketing campaign. This ensured consumers knew the new flavour combination wasn’t just a gimmick, but can lead to genuine change. The brand believes that in order to have a voice in activism, you must be a company that stands for something.

Allbirds - Earth Day Campaign

Footwear brand Allbirds is rooted in its commitment to fighting climate change. Their products are made from premium natural materials that are sustainably sourced such as wool, recycled bottles and castor bean oil. In 2019, Allbirds launched a Limited Edition line of five different shoes, each corresponding to a threatened North American bird species. Proceeds from this collection went to the National Audubon Society to help protect bird habitats that are vital to our own environmental well being. To launch the shoe range and cause, Allbirds worked with The New York Times to create a paid partnership including a multi-sensory interactive editorial focusing on the importance of the birds, the issues facing them, and how consumers can help the birds in their local ecosystem.What made this cause marketing campaign successful was the focus on the birds rather than the shoes (you had to scroll down to the bottom of the page before the brand is even mentioned), highlighting Allbirds’ genuine commitment to the cause. This was of course anchored by the brand’s deep connection to creating a sustainable future, which is seen in every part of their brand, from the makeup of the shoes themselves, to their internal impact pledges.

IKEA - Buy Back and Give Back

IKEA’s mission is to “create a better everyday life for the many people”. One of the core IKEA values involves being a force for positive change - IKEA aims to do this by offering more sustainably sourced and manufactured products to help people live a more sustainable life at home.Ahead of Black Friday IKEA launched the #BuyBackFriday campaign which encouraged customers to sell their old furniture back to IKEA to give it a second life. The campaign was just one step in the brand's journey towards creating a circular and climate positive IKEA by 2030, which includes all IKEA products being made from renewable or recycled materials. IKEA’s commitments to sustainability and proven track record of implementing sustainable practices meant that the campaign felt authentic and believable.The campaign was centred around a clear and simple call-to-action, which allowed audiences to become participants. Customers knew that by donating their old IKEA furniture they would be giving their items a second life and helping to reduce waste. The authenticity and the clear call-to-action ensured that the #BuyBackFriday campaign was a great success.

Aldi - Giving For Good

Supermarket chain Aldi works towards a “fairer everyday” and one of the ways they do this is through donating food to vulnerable people, which the company has been doing since 2012. In 2019, ALDI partnered with Neighbourly, a B-corp that links businesses to charitable organisations - through the partnership, Neighbourly linked each ALDI store in the UK to local non-profit organisations in their area to collect surplus food up to 7 days a week. Alongside Neighbourly, ALDI launched the ‘10 million meal pledge’ which aimed to tackle child food poverty by pledging to provide 10 million meals to those affected in the UK throughout 2021. Not only did the campaign provide vital meals to families in need, it also helped raise awareness among UK citizens of the increasing number of families struggling to put food on the table. The campaign launched with an animation narrated by food poverty campaigner and England footballer Marcus Rashford. The campaign also had a call to action for customers who wanted to donate a meal via neighbourly. The 10 million meal pledge was a success because the campaign was in line with the ethos of the brand and demonstrated a genuine social impact by mirroring the philosophy of the issue they were supporting. The campaign also involved an element of audience participation, rather than solely communication. ALDI’s audience were able to get involved via a simple call-to-action to donate a meal - by giving them an output, the audience felt more inclined to get involved as they have the power to make a worthwhile difference beyond sharing online.

Summary of what makes a successful cause marketing campaign

So, let’s recap on how to start a campaign for a cause. A successful cause marketing campaign requires authenticity and must be aligned with the values of the business. It should not be a one off campaign without a link to the mission of the brand. Similarly, it should aim to create a real impact, rather than simply generate buzz. Successful cause marketing campaigns are ones which go beyond just raising funds, but initiate change within the business in order to serve the cause or issue being supported. Lastly, a great cause related marketing campaign gets the audience involved by giving them an output, demonstrating they have the power to make a worthwhile difference that means more than a share or a like.

We are a cause marketing agency

If you’re looking to create a cause marketing campaign but don’t know where to begin, get in touch, we are a social purpose and cause marketing agency! Or if you’re looking for some inspiration, take a look at some of our cause marketing case studies.

Our Boutique Agency

At Don’t Panic, we don’t just talk the talk – we’re busy walking the walk too. To see our work, click here, or if you’re after an attention-grabbing campaign of your own, click here.