Cause-related Marketing Campaigns Research Articles

Retweet to donate? Cause-related marketing in the era of social medialization

Purpose The objectives of this study are threefold: to delineate the phenomenon of “You Share, We Donate” (YSWD) campaigns and what distinguishes them from sales-based cause-related marketing; to contrast the effectiveness of YSWD and sales-based cause-related marketing campaigns and provide an explanation for the differences in the effectiveness; to explore boundary conditions of the proposed differences. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to empirically test the differential effect of campaign formats (i.e. YSWD vs sales-based cause-related marketing), the underlying mechanism and structural as well as contextual features moderating the differential effect. Findings The findings suggest that YSWD messages elicit consumers’ message-sharing intentions more than traditional cause-related marketing messages. The effect is explained by consumers’ sense of empowerment and can be enhanced through donation cap non-specification. The findings further indicate that YSWD campaigns are especially fruitful in low power distance cultures. Research limitations/implications This study contributes toward corporate donation campaign literature by focusing on the usage of social media. Practical implications From a managerial perspective, this research provides marketers with guidelines on how to choose between the two cause-related marketing campaign formats and how to enhance the effectiveness of YSWD campaigns. Originality/value This paper extends cause-related marketing literature by not only introducing the phenomenon of YSWD campaigns to the literature but also exploring strategies to enhance the effectiveness of such campaigns and shedding light on an outcome beyond the sales impact of cause-related marketing campaigns, i.e. an increase of visibility in social media. From a managerial perspective, this research provides marketers with guidelines on how to choose between the two cause-related marketing campaign formats and how to enhance the effectiveness of YSWD campaigns.

Consumer Brand Engagement Fostered by Cause-Related Marketing in Emotional and Functional Brands

ABSTRACT This study analyses the role of consumer perceived value in mediating the relationship between cause-related marketing and consumer brand engagement with emotional and functional brands. Two real brands that had developed cause-related marketing campaigns were selected as case studies for this research. In a survey with 369 participants, one brand was classified as emotional and the other as functional. A second survey with 268 participants tested the hypotheses using PLS-SEM and bootstrapping procedures. The results confirm that consumer perceived value exerts full mediation (in the case of the emotional brand) and complementary partial mediation (in the case of the functional brand) on the relationship between cause-related marketing and consumer brand engagement. The multigroup analysis reveals that the indirect effect is significantly stronger in the case of the emotional brand than in the case of the functional brand. This paper suggests the positive effect of cause-related marketing campaigns on consumer brand engagement and proposes that this relationship is enhanced when consumers perceive the brand as valuable, particularly in the case of emotional brands. This study is the first to test consumer brand engagement as an outcome of cause-related marketing and highlights the importance of brand value in this effect, which is reinforced by brand management that fosters the emotional side of brands. This study is also the first to test the effect of brand type – emotional and functional – on the engagement developed by cause marketing.

Keeping promises in cause-related marketing campaigns: development and validation of promised impact evidence scale

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the potential positive effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns that show evidence of commitment to espoused causes. It examines whether consumers respond positively when a CRM campaign promises to deliver proof of the espoused cause.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted the grounded theory approach to conceptualize the promised impact evidence construct. A promised impact evidence scale was developed and validated using robust qualitative and quantitative methods, including item response theory estimates.FindingsThe study provides evidence for promised impact evidence as a reflective second-order latent construct. The promised impact evidence scale demonstrates strong internal consistency, reliability and validity. In addition, this study posits that promised impact evidence is an antecedent of advertising trust, purchase intention, advertising credibility and persuasive and selling intent.Originality/valueThis study positioned the promised impact evidence scale against the theoretical underpinnings of the persuasion knowledge model. Specifically, this scale contributes to existing knowledge because it applies the persuasion knowledge model in CRM campaigns by adopting an acceptance focus, as opposed to the rejection focus used in developing persuasion knowledge model scales.

Investigating The Impact of Cause Related Marketing on Consumer Attitude and Purchase Intention

Cause-related marketing (CRM) is a marketing program that closely relates to corporate social responsibility. The increasing popularity of CRM has led many researchers to investigate effective CRM campaign strategies. This study employs an experimental design with a factorial design to assess the impact of time duration, proximity, and congruence on brand attitudes and intentions. The study was conducted with college students from two cities in Indonesia, and statistical analyses, including t-tests and regression, were utilized. The results indicate that respondents' attitudes vary with respect to time duration and congruence, and attitudes towards brands related to CRM programs positively affect intentions. Therefore, marketers should consider the attributes of CRM, such as duration and congruence, to ensure that the program is accepted by consumers.

The effect of emotion type and similarity of experience on consumers' willingness to pay for cause‐related products: Construal level perspective

AbstractInformation complexity hinders consumer processing and reduces positive responses to cause‐related products. Previous studies on cause‐related marketing (CRM) have focused more on messaging effects on reducing information complexity, such as the presentation of the donation amount, cause description, and image displays. This study discusses the effect of construal fit on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for products sold through CRM by focusing on the emotional and perceptual aspects of prior experiences. Notably, sadness has a low‐level construal fit with a high similarity of experience, whereas happiness has a high‐level construal fit with a low similarity of experience. Study 1 employs a between‐subjects design, examining how the construal fit influences WTP for cause‐related products. The results of Study 2 reveal that when consumers are in a sad (happy) emotional state, the higher (lower) they perceive the similarity of their experiences with the cause, the greater their WTP increases owing to processing fluency. Study 3 reconfirms the mediating roles of perceptual and conceptual fluency irrespective of text‐based and visual advertisements for CRM, thus showing the robustness of the construal fit effect on the enhancement of the two types of processing fluency across advertising contexts. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of the construal fit between emotional and perceptual experiences in enhancing processing fluency in CRM and suggest that marketers can create a teaser ad that induces either a sad or similar experience or a happy or less similar experience before introducing a CRM campaign.

Mitigating effect of providing specific information on consumers’ negative reactions to cause-related marketing

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has received attention from companies around the world in recent years. Companies in Japan use CRM, but they are struggling with it because Japanese consumers have little interest in social contribution and have negative attitudes toward CRM. This study addresses the reason why Japanese consumers display negative attitudes toward products related to CRM from the viewpoint of company motives toward CRM. An online survey was completed by 290 university students in Japan. We estimated the data using the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method. We found that Japanese consumers displayed negative willingness to pay (WTP) toward a well-known brand’s product with CRM information (β = −2.485, WTP = −106.7, p < .001). Providing information on the company’s motive for long-term commitment to CRM (the company’s positive motive for CRM) mitigates the negative effect of CRM (β = −1.721, WTP = −46.3, p < .001). Given this information, the overall assessment (WTP) of CRM (whether a CRM campaign has positive effects on product choice or not) is 2.6, which value is larger than the −45.2 WTP value where a consumer is not given this information. Our results contribute to the theoretical and practical aspects of CRM. Theoretically, we investigate the negative aspects of CRM, whereas many studies focus only on the positive aspects. We concluded that, in Japan, a company is required to demonstrate the motive behind their CRM campaign for it to have an impact on product choice.

Perceived altruism in cause-related marketing

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to analyze how corporate image may mediate the effects of cause-related marketing on consumer behavior, aiming to expand existing literature in the field of corporate social responsibility. Altruism was used as a moderator of the proposed relationships. The conceptual model presents 7 hypotheses, and the testing is based on a sample of 463 valid respondents from Brazil and Portugal. Data was collected through an online survey and statistically analyzed using the structural equations modeling. The Ekos line of the Brazilian brand Natura is used as an object of study in this research. Brand-cause fit, consumer-cause identification and trust in cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign showed evidence of a positive relationship with corporate image. Corporate image showed a positive relationship with purchase intention, life satisfaction and brand attitude. However, results show how different levels of altruism may affect consumer perceptions. The study has several limitations, in particular due to the use of a convenience sample. This research finds evidence of relevant impacts of brand-cause fit, consumer-cause identification and trust in CRM campaign in the construction of a credible corporate image, which in turn influences greatly purchase intention, consumer satisfaction and overall attitude towards brand, giving precious clues to how to redirect marketing campaigns. The research offers a model that depicts the chain of effects between a CRM campaign and customer decision, introducing the possible impacts on life satisfaction and the moderation of consumer altruistic values.

Consumers' willingness to pay for an animal welfare food label

Consumers increasingly rate the ethical dimensions of food production, including animal welfare, as important to them but how these concerns influence their food choices remains unclear. To address this, a Discrete Choice Experiment assesses consumers' willingness to pay for chicken meat. The study aims to understand the effects of food labels (RSPCA Assured and Red Tractor), cause-related marketing campaigns, and price on consumers' willingness to pay. Drawing on a representative sample of 401 British consumers, we estimate a mixed logit model using the hierarchical Bayesian estimation method. The results for the full sample reveal a substantial price premium associated with the animal welfare label (RSPCA Assured); however, this is less pronounced than one of the cause-related marketing campaigns. A latent class analysis identifies two distinct market segments, price sensitive and concerned consumers, which differ on socio-economic and behavioural characteristics. Amongst price sensitive consumers, willingness to pay extra for an animal welfare label is negligible. Complementary, qualitative interviews reveal consumers' difficulties in comparing the varying standards that underpin quality assurance schemes.

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Brand Image, Perceived Quality, Brand Awareness, and Purchase Intention: The Moderate Role of Customers Skepticism

Over the past years, the relationship between companies and non-governmental organizations has witnessed remarkable cooperation and growth. Many businesses in Lebanon are taking advantage of the present economic and social situation to address social concerns and market their brand in a humanitarian manner. This study investigates the influence of cause-related marketing campaigns performed by companies on brand image, perceived quality, brand awareness, and purchase intention. In addition, the current study addresses the moderate impact of customer’s skepticism on the relationship between the examined variables. By employing shareholder value theory, the conceptual framework was developed to explain the outcomes of cause-related marketing on cognitive, perceptual and behavioral outcomes of customers. A quantitative method was used, and data was collected from 212 respondents in order to achieve the current research objectives. The findings of the present study reveal a positive relationship between cause-related marketing and brand image, perceived quality, customer’s purchase intentions. Moreover, the findings stated that customer’s skepticism negatively moderate the relationship between cause-related marketing campaigns and brand image. This study enhances marketing literature regarding the fundamental effect of cause-related marketing. Moreover, this study provides both marketers and companies’ managers with a better understanding of cause-related marketing outcomes and guides them to comprehend the effect customer’s skepticism on the outcomes of cause-related marketing campaigns.

Impact of Gamification on Consumers’ Favorability in Cause-Related Marketing Programs: Between-Subjects Experiments

Successful cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns can help companies stand out from their competitors; however, CRM may not have pleasant outcomes, even if it receives substantial investment. This research aimed to investigate how gamified CRM projects influence consumers' favorability. We introduced 3 different CRM projects in 3 different studies. Every project had 2 versions according to the level of gamification, and participants were randomly assigned into these 2 groups. Additionally, we used a 2 (gamification: lower, higher) 2 (rules presentation: without visual cues, with visual cues) between-subjects design to test the moderation role of rules presentation in gamified CRM projects. In Study 1, we identified that the highly gamified CRM program induces more enjoyment (F1,139=21.11, P<.001) and higher favorability (F1,139=14.57, P<.001). Moreover, we found that enjoyment played a mediation role between gamification and favorability (P<.001) in Study 2. In addition, the results of Study 3 indicated rules presentation in a gamified CRM program can moderate the indirect effect of gamification on favorability via enjoyment (index of the moderated mediation: 95% CI -1.12 to -0.10; for rules presentation with visual cues: 95% CI 0.69 to 1.40; for rules presentation without visual cues: 95% CI 0.08 to 0.83). Overall, this research contributes to the CRM literature and suggests gamification is an effective way of managing CRM campaigns.

Balancing Consumer Self-Benefits and Altruism in Online Shopping: Examining Consumer Preferences for Customized and Personalized Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns Versus Price Discounts

Recently, the well-established marketing concepts of personalization and customization have also been applied to cause-related marketing (CRM) to empower consumers and overcome issues of such campaigns with a specific, pre-determined cause. This study examines the effectiveness of customized and personalized CRM for apparel products compared to price discounts. The results of a representative choice based conjoint experiment among German consumers (n = 388) show that consumers prefer customized CRM to other types of CRM campaigns and price discounts. While personalized CRM is also perceived as more effective than price discounts, CRM campaigns with a baseline cause are outperformed by price discounts. The study also found that psychographic consumer characteristics, i.e., consumers’ personality structures and cultural orientations can be used to explain consumers’ heterogeneous preferences for different marketing appeals. Finally, three consumer segments were identified – pro-social consumers, pricesensitive consumers, and Amazon Captives – that retailers can target with tailored marketing strategies.

A close look at research on pursuing the right formula for cause-related marketing advertising

In a typical cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign, a company donates a percentage of product sales to a charity or nonprofit related to the chosen cause. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on this subject, and briefly discusses common antecedents of CRM advertising effectiveness. The exploration of the CRM literature starts with advertising and reviews two factors: emotional appeal and execution style. We further discuss contextual elements such as cause factors, company factors, and factors related to CRM activities. This paper integrates research findings across studies to develop a coherent and comprehensive picture of the extant CRM research conducted in the advertising field. Practitioners can use these insights to communicate with their target markets and enhance acceptance of their CRM campaigns. The paper further shows the growth and evolution of the topics covered in marketing-related journals and in the International Journal of Advertising. Lastly, the paper discusses under-researched topics, and important upcoming trends and research avenues.

The Effect of Promotional Format, Message Framing, and Psychological Distance on Perception and Engagement of Cause-related Marketing

Aims: This research provides a unique lens by offering a more comprehensive consideration of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign effectiveness. Specifically, we propose that the relative effectiveness of contribution type (monetary vs. in-kind) may hinge upon message framing (loss vs. gain-framed).&#x0D; Study Design: Integrating construal level and prospect theories with related CRM, message framing, and psychological distance literatures lead to propositions.&#x0D; Methodology: Literature reviews were first conducted. Rationalized on the construal level theory, multiple propositions of the effect of psychological distance on different contribution types and message framing are presented. The relationships among these concepts are proposed to have significant and positive effects on the effectiveness of CRM promotional campaigns based on the literature reviewed.&#x0D; Conclusion: The proposed research model not only advances the collective knowledge of construal level theory and psychological distance literatures, making a theoretical contribution specifically in the CRM field, but also should provide important marketing insights to guide CRM practices.

Impact of skepticism on CRM luxury campaign participation intention of Generation Z

PurposeThis study examines the influence of consumer skepticism on cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign participation intentions of Generation Z consumers from emerging market perspective. This study was undertaken due to the paucity of relevant literature in the public domain to directly investigate whether and how consumers' skepticism affects CRM participation intentions, specifically in the luxury retailing context.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted among 552 Generation Z consumers and path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of skepticism. The mediation and moderation analysis was used to explore and test the authors' hypotheses via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM).FindingsThe authors' findings provide empirical evidence that corporate social responsibility, religiosity and cause involvement positively affects consumer participation intentions, and this link is also established indirectly through skepticism toward the CRM campaign. These findings provide novel theoretical contributions by establishing skepticism's complex role in determining the CRM participation intention in the Generation Z consumers' context. This study further demonstrates the moderating effect of gender and luxury store format on consumer skepticism and CRM participation intentions.Originality/valueThe Generation z group will represent a quarter of the Asia–Pacific region's population by 2025. However, little is known about Generation z consumers' CRM participation intentions. This research would help practitioners, including luxury retailers, CRM managers and advertising professionals, to effectively design CRM campaigns. The paper contributes by highlighting the theoretical implications and managerial implications based on the current findings in the emerging market context.

How much can Saudi corporations benefit from cause-related marketing? Insights from exploring the charitable incentives of Saudi consumers

PurposeThis study aims to explain the impact of donations to a charity, company-cause fitting, corporate reputation, corporate philanthropic involvement and message content on Saudi consumers who purchase products that are promoted using cause-related marketing (CrM) campaigns.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modelling partial least square is used to analyse the responses of 293 Saudi respondents.FindingsUsing Smart-PLS, the results show that donation size is positively related to the Saudi consumer’s purchase intention. However, differences in the donation amount did not affect the purchase intention. Regardless of the cause that motivates firms to donate money to philanthropic organisations, Saudi customers do not generally pay attention to the company-cause fit association. Retail corporate reputation, corporate philanthropic involvement and message content positively influence the purchase of products sold using CrM campaigns. This study explores the psychological and social attitudes Saudi customers demonstrate towards CrM campaigns. Regardless of corporation motives, Saudi customers care about charitable deeds. Moreover, positive message framing is effective when the content is emotive, comprehensive and persuasive.Originality/valueThis study explores the psychological and social attitudes Saudi customers pay towards CrM campaigns. The message content relied significantly upon the cause fit and the magnitude of the donated money. Marketing research would benefit from investigating the role of applying efficient persuasive tactics to convey and frame public messages.

Donating to a good cause: Optimal coordination design of a dyadic supply chain with socially aware consumers

Socially aware consumers care about giving to a good cause through their purchases. In reality, though, while some consumers respond favourably to companies' social responsibility initiatives, others apprehend because they do not trust the company or the effectiveness of the cause. That variability in consumers’ perceptions and purchase decisions inevitably adds to demand uncertainty. This paper studies the optimal design of a coordination mechanism for a socially responsible dyadic supply chain (SC) with a manufacturer supporting a cause-related marketing campaign (CMC) and a retailer selling to socially aware consumers. Unlike in pertinent literature, we take demand as uncertain due to consumers’ diverse and unpredictable responses to announced CMC. In a Stackelberg game setting, we determine the optimal donation size (a percentage of the selling price) for the manufacturer and the retailer’s optimal order size. We show that a two-part tariff (TPT) contract coordinates the SC. The numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed TPT contract incentivizes the manufacturer to reach out to socially aware consumers by pledging to a charity. We also show that the proposed coordination model can achieve a Pareto-improving solution.

Testing the Influence of Donation Message-framing, Donation Size, and Product Type (Androgynous Luxury: Hedonic Vs. Eco-friendly: Utilitarian) on CRM Participation Intention

ABSTRACT Cause-related marketing (CRM) is generally referred to the practice of organizations associating their products with purchase-triggered donations to establish differentiation and to create a meaningful impact. This research study investigates cause-related marketing (CRM) participating intentions of generation Z consumers. Through two experimental studies, this study contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the impact of donation message-framing, donation size, and product type on CRM participation intentions, thus guiding marketers to design effective CRM campaigns. The findings established that generation Z, who buy androgynous luxury product (hedonic) and eco-friendly product (utilitarian), prefer exact donation message-framing while engaging in CRM initiatives. The present study further revealed that vague donation message-framing and smaller donation size would not appeal generation Z while buying CRM-linked androgynous luxury product as well as eco-friendly product. This research offers insightful observations for marketers to design CRM campaigns effectively by carefully crafting structural elements of the campaign to boost the overall CRM success.

Private-label grocery buyers’ donation intentions and trust in CRM campaigns: an empirical analysis by employing social identity theory

PurposeBusinesses embark on corporate social responsibility initiatives such as cause-related marketing (CRM) as a strategy to enhance behavioural intentions. This study was undertaken due to the limited ability of the existing CRM literature to directly examine whether and how consumers’ trust affects the donation intention, specifically in the private-label grocery retailing context. This study employs social identity theory as a unified theory to explain the variables adopted and contributes to the body of knowledge on CRM-linked private-label consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis study used SPSS 25 and AMOS to analyse the quantitative data. The structural equation modelling was adopted to test moderation and mediation effect and the sample consisted of 456 private-label grocery shoppers.FindingsThe findings of this study established that general trust in CRM alone would not translate into triggering donation intentions for CRM private-label brands and further validates the mediating role of trust in retailers’ CRM campaigns (TRCC) in shaping monetary donation intentions. Moreover, religious values confirmed a significant moderating role while translating TRCC to donation intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study was the restricted focus on private labels. This research may be limited to only one private-label packaged product but may focus on other private-label products in future research.Practical implicationsThis study has practical significance for advertising managers in designing and implementing campaigns. More specifically, it establishes that consumers who trust the CRM phenomenon and seek private-label products associated with CRM campaigns are likely to provide monetary donations towards non-profit organization (NPOs).Originality/valueThis information will help practitioners, including grocery retailers, NPO managers and advertising professionals, design effective CRM campaigns for private-label products by understanding the fundamental relationship between trust in CRM campaigns and monetary donation intentions.

The influence of cause-related marketing campaign structural elements on consumers’ cognitive and affective attitudes and purchase intention

This study explored middle- to high income consumers’ awareness and opinions of cause-related marketing and the influences of selected campaign structural elements on consumers’ responses. The study was conducted using qualitative focus groups and a quantitative 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment. A communications approach was adopted to investigate consumer responses to the cause-related marketing communicated campaign itself with education as the beneficiary. The qualitative research revealed that South African consumers are positively disposed toward cause-related marketing in an educational context and that they prefer positive, prosocial campaign messaging. The experiment confirmed that campaign structural elements exert significant independent and interactive influences on consumer intentions, attitudes, and perceptions. A low-involvement product, a specific donation recipient, and a high magnitude actual amount donation were found to have the most significant impact on consumer responses.

An Analysis of Cause-Related and Social Marketing Strategies in the South African Sport Management Industry

There is a dearth of sport marketing research investigating the strategic potential of socially responsible sport marketing practices for organizations in the sport management industry. Despite the more recent focus on this the emergent topic within marketing literature, there is a lack of application of cause-related marketing (CRM) and social marketing (SM) strategies in the sport marketing context. Furthermore, these strategies are often confused with corporate social responsibility (CSR). The main purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the adoption of CRM and SM marketing strategies by professional sport organizations (PSOs) in South Africa. An interpretivist philosophy and qualitative approach was adopted for the study, which centered on in-depth interviews conducted with key individuals from six South African PSOs. The findings revealed encouraging evidence of South African PSOs engagement in CRM and SM activities. However, it also revealed that the strategic potential of these elements were not leveraged, mainly due to a lack of understanding of these concepts. The differences and similarities between CRM and SM are identified, according to practitioner understandings. The study contributes to sport marketing literature and practice by proposing a conceptual framework to guide the effective planning and execution of strategic CRM and SM campaigns by PSOs. This framework can assist PSOs to engage in social responsible marketing approaches to improve their marketing performance while maintaining socially responsible business practices.