November 2003

Is it the end of cause-related marketing?

Robin Houghton

October: Tesco wins the 'Ethical Marketing' award in the Marketing Week Effectiveness Awards 2003.

Is 'ethical marketing' the same as 'cause-related marketing'? I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with cause-related marketing as a win-win and increasingly essential element of any marketing plan. But isn't 'ethical' something else entirely?

I know of many people who would be quick to condemn cause-related marketing as yet another cynical ploy. Capitalism's philanthropic face; the bittersweet pill dished up by global brands in their quest to divert the public from the real issues.

The question is not academic: it has real implications for business. Take the controversial 'sports equipment for chocolate' initiative.

Current proposals from the government's food watchdog would outlaw these kinds of schemes, since the Food Standards Agency is recommending a ban on any marketing initiatives encouraging children's consumption of unhealthy food, cause-related or otherwise. The relationship between marketers and their good causes is clearly set to be challenged.

Interestingly, many charities advocating cause-related marketing are still quoting a very old piece of research - that 86 per cent of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service that is associated with a good cause (Source: Business in the Community 1996).

I wonder if that statistic is still valid. 1996 was a long time ago - well before the internet made its mark on public opinion and corporate accountability. The web has speeded up our collective disillusionment. Being associated with a good cause is longer enough on its own.

So is it the end of cause-related marketing? Hardly - but maybe it will become so mainstream that it no longer gets its own awards category.

And if that happens, together with a greater focus on ethical operations (from the inside out), it could serve everyone better in the 21st century.


Related links
Combining corporate integrity with the bottom line
- a review of David Batstone's new book Saving the Corporate Soul & (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own from Knowledge @ Wharton