Mike Hess, director-global research and consumer insights for Omnicom Group’s OMD, New York, says that cause marketing should not only have a positive ROI, but should generate a better return than other marketing efforts, AdAge reports.
He suspects cause programs may pay off better than most ad campaigns because consumers’ emotional connections in equating a cause with a brand may be stronger than the connections forged by other advertising.
Research backs up his claim. Seventy-two percent of consumers say that they have purchased a brand because it supports a cause they believe in, according to a 2007 PR Week / Barkley Cause Survey.
A company that has attached its brand to a recent cause is Haagen Dazs ice cream. Since 30 of its 73 flavors contain ingredients pollinated by honey bees, Haagen Dazs has launched a HDlovesHB campaign.
Haagen-Dazs Brand Director Katty Pien said this marks the first time the brand has ever lent its support to a cause and this one is “seven-figures serious,” according to AdAge.