2020 has presented your clients with a range of opportunities to engage in brand cause marketing. Are they asking you about the importance of cause marketing? Do they need help connecting the dots between this kind of marketing and an increase in revenue? Here are a few details for them to consider.

Consumers Notice Cause Marketing

Not surprisingly, 40% of consumers say they learn about brand support of causes through ad campaigns. This statistic comes to us from The Checkout’s (The Integer Group) winter survey of over 1,000 consumers. On-​product messages (30%), news reports (28%) and signs at retail locations (22%) also successfully inform consumers about marketers' support of various causes. In the online world, 19% of consumers notice brand cause marketing efforts through social media.

Consumer Motivation to Act on Cause Marketing

Not every cause marketing initiative undertaken by brands will impact the bottom line. Survey results indicate that 70% of consumers are more likely to support brands that show long-​term support for a cause. For example, they prefer to do business with a brand that continuously supports the American Cancer Society, versus a brand that is suddenly collecting funds for the victims of a tragic event that may have taken place in another country. In addition, 57% of consumers like brands to support a local initiative, such as the nearby food bank, instead of a global organization.

Consumers also like to feel as though they have some control over what their spending is supporting. Just over half, 52%, of consumers support brands that allow them to select where the donation goes. Keep in mind that consumers also expect authenticity to go hand-​in-​hand with cause marketing. As a result, your clients should select causes that fit with their mission.

Millennials say the top causes that motivate them to do business with specific brands are:

• Child welfare 18%
• Animal welfare 14%
• Disease prevention and health 10%

Researchers report that younger consumers are far more likely than older consumers to pay up to $2 more on ‘everyday’ items in order to support favorite causes. To learn more about the specific media formats that influence cause responders, check out the AudienceSCAN profiles available from AdMall by SalesFuel.