Last week I gave an overview of cause marketing. In short, a for-profit business partners with a non-profit organization or cause for a mutually beneficial marketing relationship. It is important to determine the goals of the campaign for both parties when deciding which cause marketing method to use. Once these goals are set, here are 5 ways to develop a cause marketing campaign:

1. Sponsorship - This form of cause marketing entails donating a sum of money to a particular cause or event. (Yes, last week I said cause marketing is more than making a donation, but stay with me…) The business uses the donation or pledge to bring awareness to the cause or event and themselves through a marketing campaign. This campaign isn’t a simple “Look what we did”. It should showcase the organization and why the business chose to partner with them. Showing participation or engagement with the cause or organization can help show the business’ sincerity.

2. Sales Incentive - In this case, donation is made to the organization or cause based on the sales of particular items or on a particular day. In some campaigns, businesses offer unique or limited time only products or packages specifically for the cause marketing campaign to draw even more interest. Businesses can also pledge a percentage of sales on a National (insert cause) Awareness Day. To protect themselves, businesses may want to establish a donation cap with the organization.

3. Co-Branding - A business and a cause join forces to promote each other. In marketing materials, the business may share the story of why they feel the cause is important. The organization representing the cause can testify to what a sincere and important partner the business is. Co-branding can also be as simple as the business arranging a licensing agreement with the organization to use it’s logo in promotional materials.

4. Facilitated Giving - Here the business asks its customers if they would like to add a small amount (I’ve always been asked for $1.00) to their purchase to be donated to the cause. Usually, this campaign includes writing the donor’s name a piece of paper and displaying it prominently in the place of business as an extra incentive for customers.

5. Internal Drive - Not all cause marketing must be done to outside audiences. Employees want to know that they work for a company that cares. Internal events and pledge drives create awareness and additional funding among the workforce for the cause. This can also help strengthen employee loyalty as they see that their employer supports the same causes.

For each of these campaign formats, it is important to remember the marketing in cause marketing. The campaign should bring awareness to the cause or else it’s just marketing. It should also promote the business, or else it’s a wasted opportunity.

What are some of your favorite causes or cause marketing campaigns to be involved in? Please share below.