These days, it seems like everyone has a cause to promote and a soapbox on which to do it: Al Gore is saving the environment; Oprah is saving uneducated girls in Africa;
Angelina Jolie is saving the world. True, these people have limitless resources at their disposal, but the celebrity-ization of goodwill ambassadors is suggestive of how aligning
with a cause can galvanize a brand. Thus, we have cause branding.
The executives at Cone Inc. define cause branding as "a business strategy that helps an organization stand for a social issue to gain significant bottomline and social impacts
with making an emotional and relevant connection to stakeholders." This definition hits on two key pillars of PR and communications: building relationships with influential
stakeholders, and contributing to bottomline business results.
If that isn't reason enough to build a cause-branding strategy, then consider the statistics from the 2007 Cone Cause Evolution Survey:
- 83% of respondents said they have a more positive image of a company that supports a cause they care about;
- 87% reported being likely to switch from one brand to another (price and equality being about equal) if the other brand is associated with a good cause; and,
- Advertising and the Internet are the two main ways Americans prefer companies to communicate their social and environmental issues and practices (45% and 41%,
respectively).
With these numbers behind it, cause branding is a must-have in communications and business strategies. Here's how to incorporate it for the biggest return-on-investment - and
the biggest positive impact, of course.
*Conduct a Key-Issues Analysis: Every organization has a specific audience (or audiences), each of whom has different preferences. Before deciding on one cause, communications
professionals must do extensive research to find out exactly what their target audiences care about, and, more importantly, how it relates to the brand.
An analysis of key issues can be conducted via the following methods:
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Internal executive interviews: "Seek qualitative and quantitative results based on customer interests, critical relationships and core competencies," says Kristian
Darigan, a VP with Cone. "On the quantitative side, ask them to rank their opinions on risk tolerance, longevity of the potential program, interest in taking a leadership
position, etc."
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Expert interviews: Then, branch out to experts by calling on colleagues, academics, consultants and those who work in the corporate, government and nonprofit sectors to
offer opinions on what could make the biggest impact.
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Competitive analysis: "This means looking within the industry sector the organization is in to see what its competitors are doing," Darigan says. "Then, look at those who
are supporting a major issue category - children's health, for example - and look at what's going on so you don't reinvent the wheel."
*Then, pick the right cause and forge a strategic partnership. "Picking the right cause has to do with your customers, because you are looking for relevance and your core
competencies," Darigan says.
(RED) is a prime example of an organization that chooses partners wisely. It is an economic initiative created to address the AIDS crisis in Africa, and it joins forces with
the likes of Apple, Converse, Hallmark and Gap.
"Because our shareholders are the people in Africa [who receive proceeds from (RED) product sales], so we are almost like an agency," says Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of (RED).
"Partners need to be able to deliver to these shareholders. Some are very much about targeting - Converse, for example, which is a small company but very in touch with a key
audience."
With this in mind, remember that a healthy partnership depends on these factors:
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A well established brand, because you are seeking to share a reputation;
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A capacity to execute on the ground, especially with nonprofits;
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Access to senior leadership;
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Sophistication in client service; and,
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Financial soundness.
"It's a conversation around our partners," Ellis says, in reference to engaging consumers and partners in conversations. "They keep the brand fresh and stay relevant to the
target audience." PRN
CONTACTS:
Kristian Darigan, [email protected]; Susan Smith Ellis, [email protected]
Cause Branding and Nonprofits
Though the two are not codependent, they often aren't mutually exclusive, either. Cause branding and nonprofit organizations make a good pair for obvious reasons, and coupling
the two is a recipe for success - and positive social impact. Kristian Darigan, VP at Cone, Inc., says, "Effective nonprofit cause branding connects an organization to the right
issue for its target audience and then cultivates support by aligning its communication resources, development activities and mission-based services." She identifies the following
elements of successful nonprofit cause branding that enable organizations to harness the power of issues-focused PR:
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Dialogue: Darigan cites Save the Children when discussing the role dialogue plays in cause branding. The organization not only creates awareness with the public; it
actively solicits feedback from audiences. "[Save the Children] provides anyone with the opportunity to engage deeply with the organization through Volunteer Councils and similar
activities."
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Passion: With shoestring budgets and small staffs, nonprofit communicators must have passion in order to get the biggest return on their investment. The same holds true
for behemoth organizations like (RED), which takes on the AIDS crisis in Africa through strategic corporate partnerships but stays true to the passion behind the mission.
According to (RED) CEO Susan Smith Ellis, "I'm all for shareholder value, but it's very exciting to have passion. It's a very hopeful mission - that's the zeitgeist."
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Reciprocity: "Today, giving has to go both ways," Darigan writes. In that vein, organizations like the American Heart Association are especially significant. The
Association's Go Red For Women effort raised awareness of heart disease in women, and its success was dependent on giving back. According to Carol Cone, chairwoman of Cone, "When
you create a movement, you need to create multiple ways for money to go to the cause, and simple but compelling ways for people to get involved."