Cause marketing can be a great relationship (just be careful who you marry!)

Here’s a 5 Hour Energy commercial that demonstrates the concept of cause marketing (or cause-related marketing if you prefer that term) at work. As we’ve discussed before, cause marketing is a win-win-win opportunity for marketers (revisit that here if you like).

This commercial is almost a walk-through of how cause marketing can affect the consumer’s decision-making process. The consumer’s decision to purchase may be weighted more heavily in favor of the purchase which gives her the opportunity to not only get the benefits she’s seeking, but to also help a cause she likes. It’s value-added for her in that regard.

Something that may also occur is that the consumer may be attracted to a product because they like to support a particular  cause. They may, in fact, seek out products in particular categories that support specific causes they like. In any case, when it all comes together, everybody wins, which is why cause marketing can be a very powerful strategy.

Of course, there are cautions to be observed, too. If either the organization offering the product or the cause represented suffers negative circumstances, one can have an adverse affect on the other. So like any relationship, a good deal of thought needs to go into its development.

Cause marketing definitely offers some benefits and definitely warrants consideration as a strategic option, so think about what causes might help your organization deliver a win-win-WIN relationship for the marketplace!