11. Cause/Brand Alliance

     A cause/brand alliance is the result of a marketing strategy based on the image of public service. The strategy itself is called cause branding.

     First, there’s the cause. It may be flood relief in Taiwan, the search for a cure for AIDS, or something more humble such as supporting a local Little League Baseball team.

     The brand—that is, the company that markets the brand—does something to benefit the cause. The cause benefits because the company provides donations or other support. The brand benefits from the alliance because people associate the name of the brand to a popular cause.

Which benefits more, the cause or the brand?

     Studies have shown that both the cause and the brand benefit. Which benefits more depends largely on which starts out better known and is more popular.

     It’s like taking two different objects and rubbing them together—two different rocks, for example. Some of each rock will rub off on the other. In the case of the cause and the brand, the more popularity one has, the more it will rub off on the other.

     You’ve also seen something like that in college social life. Suppose “John Smith” starts dating “Jane Doe,” and let’s suppose that Jane Doe is the most popular female student in the school. Other students may not see what Jane sees in him, but they will have more respect for John because he’s dating so popular a woman as Jane. If they’re both popular, both gain something from the relationship.

     There is a hypothetical condition attached to this fact: “All other things being equal, that’s the way it works.” Of course, in the real world, all things are not equal.

What conditions may influence how well cause branding works?

     First of all, people supporting the cause must believe that the company involved in this cause/brand alliance is sincere. Foremost in almost everyone’s mind will be the question, “Does that company really believe in the cause, or is this just a cheap public relations gimmick?”

     Potential customers will look at the company’s reputation. They will be influenced by signs of goodwill, especially with regard to issues related to the cause.

     Suppose the company in question were a clothing manufacturer, and suppose that company had donated uniforms to a local Little League baseball team. That sounds like a good fit (there’s that word again). But what if that company were marketing tee shirts and other clothing items related to the cause/brand alliance? Then the company’s support of the team would look like a loss leader in a cynical advertising ploy.

     It would be a better fit if the CEO of the company were known to be a community leader and a baseball fan.

Let’s take a couple of hypothetical examples of an appropriate fit between a brand and a cause. (Mind you, these examples are only hypothetical.)

     Let’s suppose that Alpo, a popular brand of dog food, wanted to form an alliance with a popular cause in the United States. Two suggestions are made. During the advertising campaign, Alpo could donate 5% of their earnings to:

1. Animal spay/neuter clinics associated with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA.)

2. The Wild Horses Preservation Society (WHPS.)

Question: Which of these would make a more appropriate cause/brand alliance fit?  Why?

Answer: A cause/brand alliance with the ASPCA would make a better fit.

Question: What about a cause/brand fit involving the McDonald’s fast food franchise? Here are two suggestions:

1. Free medical treatment for the children whose families are too poor to afford medical treatment.

2. Free treatment for young people suffering from anorexia nervosa.

Now it’s your turn!

How would you and your team build a cause/brand alliance involving your product?

How would you convince the cause to ally with your brand? Remember, both the cause and the brand must respect each other's reputation enough to see any benefit to the alliance.