Consumer perceptions of cause related marketing campaigns

Abstract

PurposeBy replicating two seminal studies on cause‐related marketing (CRM) campaigns, this paper aims to investigate the influence of gender and of donation size on consumer perception of firm behavior, consumer attitude to product, consumer goodwill toward the CRM campaign, consumer perception of the benefit to the NPO, and consumer attitude toward CRM.Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment was conducted with 306 students from a German university to evaluate their responses to a CRM campaign. The presented campaign supported a German children's charity, and varied with regard to donation size.FindingsConsumer perception of firm behavior, consumer goodwill toward the CRM campaign, and consumer attitude to product vary significantly by gender. Donation size has a significant influence on consumer goodwill toward the CRM campaign and on consumer perception of the benefit to the NPO. The impact of donation size is rooted in external perceptions, and partly moderated by gender.Research limitations/implicationsThe chosen non‐forced stimulus presentation may overestimate the measured impact. The applied stimuli may underlie specific gender characteristics that influence responses. Further research might thus apply forced stimulus exposure designs to a broader set of causes and products.Practical implicationsResults imply that CRM campaigns promise to be particularly suitable for promoting products to women. When addressing men, small donations appear to be sufficient.Originality/valueThe authors expand existing research in three ways. Campaign impact is differentiated by consumer attitudes toward the company, toward the product, and toward the NPO. The article shows that the impact of donation size is gender‐specific. By investigating CRM response in Germany, the study regionally expands existing research.