Sales Impact of Cause-Related Marketing

1- Introduction

The paper aims to investigate the sales impact of cause-related marketing promotions (CMPs) in retail settings, particularly in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.

CMPs tie consumer purchases to charitable donations and have become increasingly popular in the market.

The study explores the short-term sales impact of CMPs as a function of the brand and category context in which they are executed.

• Paper Name: Cause-Related Marketing as Sales Promotion
• Authors: Christina Schamp, Mark Heitmann, Yuri Peers, and Peter S.H. Lee?ang
• Publishing Year: 2024
• Published In: Journal of Marketing Research

3- Literature Reviews

The paper discusses the tradition of cause-related marketing promotions and the surge in CMPs, citing American Express's early CMP as an example.

It also mentions that most CMP research has been based on experimental lab settings and compares it with the actual market conditions in the FMCG industry.

The study provides insights into the impact of CMPs on sales at the point of sale and investigates the role of market context or brand positioning in retail environments.

4- Conclusion

The paper presents several key findings:

• On average, CMPs run 11 weeks and donate 3.2% of product price, resulting in an average sales lift of 4.9% per week.
• The sales impact of CMPs can more than double when the category assortment is smaller, the category has less price dispersion, the brand is a category leader, or the brand is priced below the category average.
• Brands operating in less favorable market conditions can achieve above-average CMP impact by combining CMPs with price promotions to ensure consumer consideration.

5- Suggestions for Enhancing Marketing Role

To enhance your marketing role in today’s world, you can consider the following:

1. Utilize cause-related marketing promotions (CMPs) as a sales promotion strategy.
2. Pay attention to the brand and category context in which CMPs are executed to maximize their sales impact.
3. Combine CMPs with price promotions, especially in less favorable market conditions, to ensure consumer consideration.