This marketing tool enables charities to raise the profile of their organisations and raise money at the same time. The corporate partner benefits from being linked to a charitable cause, demonstrating their commitment to social issues, differentiating their product and often benefiting from secondary media coverage of the partnership.
According to Business in the Community research, cause-related marketing raised over £50 million for charities in 2002, an increase of £17m on the previous year - and including £17m worth of gifts.
Blockbuster Entertainment Limited - Blockbuster and Starlight Children’s Foundation
The winner and example of excellence of Business in the Community’s Dolllond & Aitchison Cause Related Marketing Award for Excellence 2005 is Blockbuster Entertainment Ltd. Blockbuster has formed an integrated Cause Related Marketing partnership with Starlight, which aims to grant the wishes of seriously and terminally ill children and entertain them while in hospital.
The partnership involves two main fundraising mechanics. The first initiative is ‘Starlight Weeks’, which involve various in-store activities. These range from sales staff encouraging customers to make a donation to the charity with each transaction through to staff organising fundraising events.
The second initiative is the ‘Starlight Ball’, an annual fundraising event at which Blockbuster leverages its business partner and entertainment network in aid of Starlight.
Please see www.bitc.org.uk for the full case study, highlighting clear impacts which include: increased team spirit and motivation helping turnover rates improve by 24%; additional video rental and retail sales from in-store activity during Starlight Weeks; over £568,000 donated in 2004 alone (over £1million in total), representing 20.7% of Starlight’s income; the number of children helped by Starlight has risen more than five fold to 250,000 ill children per annum.
There is growing evidence that cause-related marketing brings benefits in the marketplace. According to Business in the Community’s Brand Benefits study in 2003, nearly one in two consumers has switched brands, increased usage or tried new products as a result of a CRM campaign. However, cause related marketing needs to be planned very carefully, as it can backfire if it is not managed with integrity, transparency, sincerity, mutual respect and benefit. For more information go to www.bitc.org.uk/
The business of giving
This free report available in pdf version and online via Business in the Community measures the current level of giving in Great Britain (February 2006). The research identifies the most popular was through which the public have and would like to support charities and causes.
Key findings include:
- Nearly 9 out of 10 (86%) of the public have supported a charity or cause in the last 12 months
- Two fifths (42%) of the public claim to have supported a charity or cause on a monthly basis
- The top 5 ways through which the public have supported a charity or causes in the last 12 months are:
1. Given goods to a charity or cause
2. Given money at a collection point in a shop
=3. Brought a product or used a service that supported a charity or cause
=3. Given money to someone collecting on the street
5. Given money to someone collecting on the doorstep
www.bitc.org.uk/
Charity of the Year Partnerships
These partnerships can be seen as part of a Cause Related Marketing programme, as well as a CCI programme in its own right.
Charity of the Year Partnerships (‘COY Partnerships’) are increasingly popular with charities because of their huge potential to secure significant financial and other support such as employer supported volunteering and ongoing fundraising relationships with staff. They are also popular with business because they are an effective way to focus their charitable activity and to involve their employees in volunteering and fundraising.
The term, Charity of the Year Partnership, is now commonly used to describe several types of annual adoption by a business of a charity.
You can view research on Charity of the Year Partnerships conducted by the non-profit organisation bcconnections on
www.bcconnections.org/