Cause Marketing: Which side are you on?
North American corporate cause sponsorship spending should expand by 5.0% in 2011. According to the IEG Sponsorship Report, this will be “driven by marketers seeking to earn goodwill from consumers and other stakeholders still recovering from the recessionary economy”.
A majority of Canadians consider themselves to be ethical consumers and are willing to spend more for products and services from socially responsible companies. An Abacus Data, survey conducted in late 2010 revealed that most Canadians (72%) said they would be willing to spend more for a $100 item if they were absolutely guaranteed that the item was ethically made.
What’s happening here? The IEG research typifies the old paradigm: marketers looking for new ways (in this case, cause marketing) to sell the same old stuff.
Paul also writes a blog about Corporate Responsibility for Canadian Business online, sits on the Advisory Board for the Centre for CSR at the Queen's School for Business, and has written extensively for publications in Canada and the United States.