How cause marketing benefits Canadian brands and the nonprofits they give back to

There’s power in partnerships. From helping send a kid to camp or fighting food insecurity, cause marketing is a way for brands to give back and raise their profile.

Buy a coffee and help send a kid to camp. Purchase a lipstick and donate to breast cancer research. Order takeout and donate to your local food bank. From retail and restaurants to large-scale corporations, examples of cause marketing are everywhere.

What is cause marketing and why are brands jumping on board?

Unlike traditional marketing with the main goal of driving profits, cause marketing has brands partnering with nonprofits to give back and do good.

It’s not entirely selfless, however. This type of partnership also raises a brand’s profile and perception, which can lead to consumers feeling good about supporting an organization who donates to charity, spending more, and thus increasing the company’s bottom line.

A?2013 global study?on corporate social responsibility by Cone Communications/Echo Global found 91% of consumers were willing to switch to a brand that supports a good cause given similar price and quality. 92% would buy a product with a social and/or environmental impact if given the opportunity.

Many brands take advantage of ‘Giving Tuesday’ (held every year on November 30th) to make a difference. In 2021, food delivery company?Skip the Dishes partnered with Food Banks Canada?for the second year in a row, with one dollar from each order being donated to fight food insecurity. The first campaign provided 732,000 meals across Canada. This was in addition to the $1 million donation Skip the Dishes made to Food Banks Canada at the beginning of the pandemic.

Walmart Canada also donated a whopping $6.6 million?to Food Banks Canada in April 2021 with their ‘Fight Hunger. Spark Change.’ campaign that would provide the equivalent of 13 million meals.

How brands can do cause marketing well

Whether it’s saving the rainforest or helping underprivileged youth succeed in sports, there are some key considerations brands should follow in order to do cause marketing well, according to?Brandwatch, a digital consumer intelligence company.

1.??????Choose a cause you believe in?

Cause marketing will work to your benefit if?the cause is something that your employees can get behind, put in the effort and feel good about helping. Some employees may even feel encouraged to volunteer.

Actually, paid time off for volunteering is one of the few employee benefits that has increased considerably in recent years. According to?Statistics Canada, in 2018, roughly 34% of employed Canadians had an employer-based program or policy to encourage formal volunteering.

?2.??Find a cause related to your industry

?Support a cause that show’s your company’s values, and makes people associate your brand with helping that cause after the campaign is well over.

For example, if your company manufactures and sells sports equipment, you might consider partnering with an organization that helps disadvantaged kids with the financial support they need to get involved in youth sports. Your campaign goal could focus its community outreach efforts on raising awareness about the sports program and driving donations to ensure kids have equal access to sport and recreation.?Canadian Tire Jumpstart?has been particularly good at this.

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