"Cause and Effects"

cause marketing is set to become the third wave of sponsorship

by Scott Lyall, corporate relations manager of the WWF


With the convergence of philanthropy and sponsorship, there has been a wave of interest in "cause"marketing.

Cause marketing combines the best elements of traditional marketing with the well established concept of corporate social responsibility.

It is a mutual benefit partnership between company and cause.

eg:WWF(World Wide Fund For Nature)

"The future isn't cheque book philanthropy. It is a marriage of corporate marketing and socail responsibility"
(Journal of Consumer Research Mar3 1993)

"Unlike advertising in the main media, sponsorship doesn't confront the consumer with a proposition, but rather it comes alongside, like a friend, because the sponsor is supporting something which the consumer wants supported.(Tony Wheeler,Marketing June 1992)

Goverment agencies see sponsorship as a way of replacing declining government funding , but may not yet have fully explored the affect this may have on the independence of the bureaucracy.

Some corporations are setting up their own foundations to be the beneficiariew of their cause marketing activities.

Cause organisations are supplementing the moral power of their members and the commercial value of their name or logo. Once they fully realise the advantages of doing so responsibly there will be no going back to "cap in hand" philanthropy.