Rally to the Cause

Corporations are all ears as the consumer call for philanthropy gets louder.

Now, it’s even better to give than to receive.

While that old philosophy has had corporations linking with charitable organizations and causes for decades, it’s never been truer than today, based on results from the 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study.

Conducted by cause-marketing consultants Cone, Inc., the study polled more than 1,000 Americans in March, then again in October. What it found was that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks dramatically affected consumer attitudes: 79 percent of respondents in October said that companies have a responsibility to support causes, up from 65 percent in March. Likewise, 81 percent said in October they will switch brands to support a cause when price and quality are equal, up from 54 percent in March.

“What Sept. 11 did was accelerate these trends” toward a more cause-minded citizenry, says Mark Feldman, executive vp of Boston-based Cone’s branding practice. “Americans are reflecting on their lives and on relationships they have with friends and family, with their workplace, and with products and services they purchase.”

Of immediate concern were relief efforts, and corporate America came out in full force to send money to disaster organizations (like the American Red Cross and the United Way) and supplies directly to rescue sites. More than $100 million in corporate aid was donated in the week following the attacks, with some companies, including Coca-Cola, DaimlerChrysler, and General Electric, pledging more than $10 million each. While most companies did issue press releases to announce their actions, others chose not to — but all kept the trumpeting to a minimum.

“It is so unprecedented, I can’t compare it to anything in the organization’s 120 years,” says Devorah Goldburg, spokesperson for the American Red Cross, Washington, DC. (The organization’s Liberty Fund alone has collected more than $667 million.) “We didn’t have time to be proactive,” adds Heidi Seiffert, director of cause-marketing relationships. “Any promotion was in response to calls that we received.”

Existing Red Cross partners immediately stepped in to lend a hand. Lowe’s Companies, Inc., in the final year of a three-year alliance that guarantees $250,000 in donations annually, already had raised $1.6 million before Sept. 11, and collected an additional $3.3 million after, according to Robert Egleston, the home-improvement chain’s community relations specialist.

A New Halo Effect

What’s more, the rush to assist the nation’s needs didn’t have as adverse an impact on other charitable organizations as was feared in the first few weeks after the attacks.

“We thought, when the tragic events happened, that it might be difficult for us to find funding,” says Linda Murphy, director of cause-related marketing for the Reston, VA-based National Wildlife Federation. “But we have seen an increase not only in people opening their doors to us, but in partners approaching us.”

That supports Feldman’s theory that the increase in cause-mindedness on the part of both consumers and corporations reflects a trend rather than a tragedy-inspired fad. (It may also explain the negative backlash to some of the patriotism-tinged marketing seen in late 2001: Most consumers considered a rally behind the flag to be the required response, not a commendable action.) “I don’t think this is a short-lived trend of people feeling generous,” says Carrie Varoquiers, president of San Francisco-based specialist agency Cause Partners.

Not everyone is certain, however, that this new level of public awareness is sustainable. “The question is: Will the rubber meet the road? It’s probably going to be several months before we see the answer to that,” says Michael Malekoff, national director of corporate alliances at the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, White Plains, NY.

Spending on cause sponsorships reached $733 million in 2001, a 4.7 percent increase over 2000. But sponsorship marketing gurus IEG, Inc., Chicago, had actually forecast the growth to be twice as much. That’s a direct reflection on the economic downturn, says IEG editor Andrew Gold.

But a recession isn’t necessarily a negative when it comes to supporting causes. “When people are tightening their belts, it makes them think beyond themselves,” says Gold. “Some companies look at [cause sponsorships] as a more palatable way to market than a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign,” says IEG editorial director Jim Andrews.

“I think a fascinating number is that 88 percent [of Cone/Roper respondents] say that, during an economic downturn, it’s more important for companies to support causes,” says Cone’s Feldman. “It pushes companies to make it a part of their business practices.”

Maybe that’s why IEG is bullish in its forecast for 2002, when it projects a 13 percent increase in spending to $828 million on North American charity sponsorships.

In Normal Times

Whatever lingering effects Sept. 11 has, there’s no debate over the fact that corporations are seeking stronger, deeper ties with the charities they identify as being the best brand enhancements. In many cases, that means sponsorships are gaining in quality while declining in quantity.

“Four or five years ago, it was like pulling teeth to get a multi-year contract. Now, companies want three- or five-year deals,” says Jay Aldous, a senior partner at cause-alliance consultancy The Brighton Group, Brighton, UT, who used to work the other side of the table as vp-marketing for the Children’s Miracle Network. “Our partners want longer deals — and that helps us build our objectives,” adds Harry Abel, vp-partnership development for the Special Olympics.

“We shy away from pure sponsorship deals and are more interested in partnerships,” says Egleston at Lowe’s. “Our philosophy, whether it’s advertising or cause marketing, is ‘fewer, bigger, better — and do it the right way.’”

Wilkesboro, NC-based Lowe’s is currently working with one of its vendors to sell a line of Red Cross-branded items including a penknife and antique model ambulance; 10 percent of net sales go to the cause. Later this year, it will produce its fourth-annual Hurricane Readiness Guide (with content supplied by the Red Cross) for distribution to customers, and will team with Red Cross chapters in more than 20 coastal markets to host hurricane-preparedness fairs in stores.

The Timberland Co., Stratham, NH, has a five-year-old relationship with two East Coast nonprofits: youth service organization City Year, Boston, and anti-poverty group Share Our Strength, Washington, DC. A portion of all proceeds from the company’s cause-branded City Year Red Boot Collection (which includes footwear, apparel, and accessories) went to the nonprofit. For the last two years, Timberland has sold a “crib bootie” infant replica of its signature boot, donating a portion of sales to a program it runs with Share Our Strength called Giving Hunger the Boot.

Cause partnerships have come full-circle by going “back to basics,” says Steve Miller, director of corporate development at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Phoenix. “Ten years ago, we started [the pitch] by promoting that visceral, feel-good experience a company could get from partnering with us. Then, we moved beyond that and strategically presented cause marketing to support business objectives,” he says. “And now, the feel-good has come back around.”

Product Focus

Deeper ties often mean a direct link between cause and product. Sometimes, attaining that link is as easy as painting yourself pink, as sponsors of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation have learned.

Whirlpool Corp.’s KitchenAid USA, Benton Harbor, MI, customized its Cook for the Cure campaign last year by offering to donate $50 to the Foundation for every purchase of a pink-colored mixer (for $289.99) made available through the company’s Web site and a special toll-free number. The offer was so popular it will be renewed in 2002, says Brian Maynard, KitchenAid’s brand director of integrated marketing.

KitchenAid makes similar donations for the purchase of major appliances, and also hosts classes conducted by celebrity chefs at culinary schools around the country, with registration fees going to the Foundation. (An epicurean auction on eBay is in the works as well.) “We realize that cause marketing can be a tie-breaker when consumers make purchases,” says Maynard. “And since breast cancer affects our target group, it was a good fit.”

Similarly, General Mills’ Yoplait USA division believes its four-year-old partnership of the Komen Foundation’s fall Race for the Cure initiative (which through the years has expanded to “presenting sponsor” status) has benefited greatly from the pink-foil lids the company places on yogurt cups come fundraising time. “The color is important, because it immediately connects the brand with the cause,” says director of consumer promotions David Fisher. “It’s something our consumers look for now.”

Finding the Fit

Not that every tie-in is easy to identify or as simple to execute. Take Luxaire, for instance. Norman, OK-based York International Corp.’s central heating and air-conditioning brand didn’t have as natural a fit with any type of nonprofit. So it took a close look at five with a variety of missions before ultimately signing a three-year, $750,000 commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“Make-A-Wish does a lot of grassroots programs that our dealers and customers can participate in,” says Doug Widenmann, director of residential marketing for York’s Unitary Product Group. “And we didn’t feel like we’d get lost in the organization.”

It’s not necessarily a perfect fit, but the ability to create original programs that really makes a sponsorship work, says the March of Dimes’ Malekoff. “You have to look for new, innovative approaches.”

To foster that innovation, the March of Dimes shares information among partners. “A lot of people are afraid to let sponsors speak to each other, [but] the synergy can be amazing,” Malekoff says. “A product we are working with that’s [sold] in Kmart creates opportunities to work on co-promotions.”

Good example. For three years, Troy, MI-based Kmart Corp. and the Florida Department of Citrus, Lakeland, FL — both sponsors of the March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica program — have teamed for a spring in-store campaign designed to promote the intake of folic acid among women (one of the organization’s big educational thrusts). The partners sample orange juice and distribute free cookbooks.

Kmart raises millions of dollars for the cause annually through an in-store WalkAmerica promotion that sells paper sneakers for $1 apiece. The effort is advertised through P-O-P materials and weekly circulars. “People might fault us for not paying for big promotional advertising, but we just hope our sponsorship reflects good light on the kind of corporation we are,” says Dawn Orzel, senior community relations specialist.

Clark Retail Enterprises, Oak Brook, IL, has likewise hosted a Sell a Medal promotion for the Special Olympics, Washington, DC. Clark raised more than $200,000 in 2001 through retail activity, employee volunteer efforts, and straightforward fundraising. The company also recruited some of its business partners, including Coca-Cola and Ben & Jerry’s, to donate a portion of their chain sales to the cause. “It’s an excellent way for us to help serve the communities in which we do business,” says Clark vp-marketing and facilities John Matthews.

Atlanta-based Cingular is in the middle of a four-year, $40-million commitment to Special Olympics. “Our brand position is about self-expression, and there was no other organization that embodies that like the Special Olympics does,” says chief marketing officer Virginia Vann. “Consumers are beginning to choose wireless plans based on the brand, and they like a brand that gives back to the community.”

Sounds like Vann is up on the latest trends.