I was motivated this weekend by the strangely rosy-tinged NFL coverage on Sunday to take a look at cause marketing. Anytime I see a grown man wearing pink shoes tackling another grown man wearing pink shoes I am going to think twice…
Which is exactly the point of the NFL’s October long campaign to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Players and coaches in pink, local events to raise awareness and money for a variety of foundations, and a chance for the NFL to remind us that they care about more than just football. They aren’t alone!
What can cause marketing do for you? A lot! The numbers show that cause marketing is a great way to increase sales and customer loyalty, and it’s a great thing to do to support a cause that you care about.
Some things to think about:
- Pick a cause that relates somehow to your business; heart health, sustainability, fishermen’s benefits. Or a local organization that you can partner with – the food pantry down the street from your plant for instance.
- Decide on the goals of the project in advance; raising money and awareness, establishing a long-term relationship, boosting employee morale.
- Establish a system to measure and document progress. If you’re donating $1.00 from every pound of Yukon Keta salmon sold to a non-profit organization, you need to be able to document and back up that commitment.
- Toot your horn! Write those tweets, post those facebook updates – let the world know the good things you’re involved in.
Have you participated in any interesting cause marketing campaigns or have a story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it!
