Economy Weighs on Cause-Marketing Efforts

A recent study by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business has shown that corporate marketers are putting less emphasis on cause-related and environmental marketing. It seems that, in a bad economy, socially beneficial causes and environmental issues rank below priorities such as developing customer insights, sharing marketing knowledge and preparing for marketing crises.

AdAge, in its article about the study, quotes Donna Goldfarb of Unilever Americas:

"There's a hierarchy of needs, and if people are struggling to buy food or put their kids through college, they're going to see [green or cause-related appeals] as a nice thing to do, but not essential."

Don't despair quite yet though, since much research indicates that Americans think the best of companies that are socially responsible, with consumers buying from them, and employees wanting to work for them.

We might have to tweak our tactics, however. That is the subject of an article by Joe Waters at the Selfish Giving Blog. Waters explains seven ways to keep your cause-marketing programs strong. See Marketers Agree: Cause Marketing Doesn't Work.