All in for Cause Marketing

According to a recent survey, 83 percent of consumers have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about.

BrandMe - KFC Cause MarketingThe Cone Cause Evolution Study also indicates 88 percent of Americans say it is acceptable for companies to involve a cause or issue in their marketing, 85 percent of consumers have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about, and 90 percent of consumers want companies to tell them the ways they are supporting causes.

The survey also found that consumers will even switch products based on cause marketing. Eighty percent of Americans are likely to switch brands, about equal in price and quality, to one that supports a cause. In addition, 61 percent of Americans will try a new brand or brand they’ve never heard of before, 46 percent will try a generic/private label brand (as opposed to a name brand) and 19 percent will buy a more expensive brand.

Causes Work Across Industries

Supporting social and environmental causes has a large impact on how a brand drives consumer preferences. Seventy-nine percent of consumers say supporting a cause affects which companies they want to see doing business in their community, 76 percent say it affects which products and services they recommend to other people, 75 percent say it affects what they buy or where they shop, 69 percent say it affects where they work, and 59 percent say it affects what stocks/mutual funds they buy.

The largest percentage of consumers (82 percent) say cause branding is important for the food/beverage industry. However, more than three-quarters of consumers say cause branding is also important for a wide variety of other industries.

Mothers and members of the millennial generation are more sensitive to business support of causes than consumers as a whole. For example, while 88 percent of consumers believe cause marketing is acceptable, that percentage rises to 94 percent of Millennials and 95 percent of moms.

Differences are most pronounced in two areas. Seventy-three percent of both moms and Millennials will try a new/unknown brand because it supports a particular cause, compared to 61percent of total consumers.

When asked to name leading issues they think companies should address, the largest percentage of consumers said economic development (such as job creation and income generation) and health and disease (77 percent each). Hunger followed closely at 76 percent. Other leading issues include education (75 percent), access to clean water (74 percent), and disaster relief and environment (73 percent each).


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