Social Cause Marketing - The Regis Group Inc

EXECUTIVE
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cause marketing to increase prices and profits, but should be
aware of the implications of placing different products on
cause marketing,î Rajan said. ìFor public policy officials and
consumers who may believe that cause-marketing firms are
more caring firms and are genuinely interested in helping
others, it may be insightful to understand that cause marketing
also allows firms to increase their prices and profits.î
Source: http://www.physorg.com
To Stay Relevant and Entrenched, Brands
Must Act as Social Anchors: Shantanu
Khosla, MD, P&G India
Over the long course of consumer history, different factors have
weighed in on the relationship between brands, consumers,
and society. For most part, brands have focused primarily on
the consumer, relegating societal linkages to the periphery. In
the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s this was appropriate as consumers
had no real access to what was happening in the world or what
issues were shaping the future and how brands they purchased
were involved. Accordingly, the purchases made at the store
had no connection, in their mind, to anything else taking place
in the broader society. Cable television, 24x7 news media and
the Internet has changed this paradigm.
Consumers became increasingly conscious of the linkages
between the issues that face society and their consumption
practices. They worried that rain forests were being depleted,
children were being left uneducated, oil spills were
killing marine life, millions were dying of cancer and HIV
AIDS, children in Africa did not have access to basic medicines
and a myriad other issues. At the same time, lifestyles
became more hectic, time more precious, and personal resources
limited.
There seemed to be no resolution to this dichotomy
of ëI careí and ëI canít do anything
about ití. This ëconsumer needí to feel involved
and yet not being able to, defined an important
gap and, therefore, an opportunity for brands to
act as a social anchor; enter Cause Related Marketing
(CRM). Essentially, CRM is an enabling
mechanism for consumers to participate and
engage with their environment within their existing
means. It is a win-win arrangement between
the enabler and the enabled. It is important to note
that CRM is not CSR or corporate philanthropy.
In fact, it is distinct in 3 important ways:
1. CSR is focused on creating a show-and-tell of the corporate
conscience, while CRM is all about consumer conscience.
It is therefore more inclusive (not what ëIí am doing
but what ëweí can do).
2. CSR is dependent on corporate largesse while CRM is
driven by consumer participation. This has two implications.
One, the cause has to resonate with consumers and
two, it is more sustainable.
3. CSR programs are linked to the corporate brand (the
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company) whereas CRM programs are directly linked to
product brands. As product brands have a continuous
pipeline of consumer communication (as compared to corporate
brands), the equity rub off on the brand is tangible
and immediate. P&Gíís experience in cause related marketing
is substantial.
The most effective CRM programs are able to build the
brand and impact the chosen cause in equal measure.
There are 4 key principles ñ the 4Cs of CRM ñ that are fundamental
to an effective CRM program.
1. The Cause: Identifying the right cause is the first and
the most critical step. The key here is that the chosen cause
should appeal to your target consumers. Before we
launched ShikshaóP&Gís signature cause in India that
helps educate underprivileged children via contribution of
sales proceeds of our brandsówe conducted extensive
consumer research that established ìChildrenís Educationî
was top of mind for our consumers (across multiple
brands). Now in its 5 th year, Shiksha continues to inspire
consumers and has become a national movement that has
improved the lives of 87,000 children.
2. The Collaboration: CRM programs are by definition
a collaborative process. It is collaboration between cause
and marketing.. While we as manufacturers are the experts
on marketing, we need to have the right partner for executing
the cause element.
Choosing the right collaborator for your cause is important
for 3 key reasons. These are credibility for the chosen
cause, consumer confidence in implementing the program
on ground and endorsement of your brand. One of the most
successful CRM programs run by P&G is a partnership between
Pampers and Unicef. Here for every pack of Pampers
that a consumer buys, we contribute 1 tetanus vaccine to
developing countries.
3. The Commitment: Having narrowed
down on the right cause and right collaborator,
to really reap the benefits of the program,
brands should commit to building the program
year on year. In India, with Shiksha, we have
stayed committed to educating underprivileged
children for 5 years now and I can confidently
say that we will continue to do so.
4. The Campaign: The difference that we
can make to the cause as marketers is by bringing
the same rigour that goes into building our brands in
building the cause. For Shiksha, like for any other P&G
brand, we have a multifunctional team that looks into each
element including creating and engaging ATL and BTL programs,
designing effective in-store communication, creating
mnemonics like brand characters etc.
In an integrated society where brands have become an
expression of both the individual and society, it is critical
that we take a broader view of how we as marketers respond.
Providing not just superior products but social anchorage
via genuine cause marketing can truly elevate your
brand to the next levels.
Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE