Companies Urged Not to Cut Cause-Marketing During Downturn

We reported on a study recently that indicated businesses might be cutting back on their cause-marketing due to the bad economy. Those businesses might not truly understand how insistent consumers really are about 'cause-buying.'

An article in Advertising Age says that some companies are smarter about consumer sentiment and are actually bumping up their cause-marketing efforts. The article names Sears, Target, OfficeMax, General Mills, and P&G as companies that believe cause-marketing actually helps "persuade weary consumers to spend." Makes sense. If you don't have very much to spend, why not get a bonus by buying products that support good causes? That can be especially true if one is cutting back on personal contributions to charity, something that typically happens during a recession.

Research bears this out. This year's Cone Cause Evolution Study showed that:

• 26% of consumers expect companies to give more support to causes and nonprofits in bad economic times.
• 52% expect companies to maintain existing programs.
• 79% say that if price and quality are similar, they would switch to a brand that is connected to a good cause.

The AdAge article quotes Bob Thacker, chief marketer at Office Max, which recently increased by 30% the number of schools aided by donated supplies from the company:

"It's easy when things are tough for [marketers] to just fold up their tents and go home....[but] These times demand even more of a focus on contributing and giving and saying thank you....Cause marketing, I think, will become even more important."