An Effective Guide to Cause-Related Marketing + Examples‍

Cause-related marketing is the talk of the industry at the moment, and for good reason. Brands partnering with charitable causes is not new. Still, how they are being used to benefit corporate companies and nonprofits is becoming more innovative. And they’re delivering incredible results. 

With today’s consumers becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of the brands they buy from, the importance of cause marketing is growing daily. 

Some of the best-known companies are using their platforms to draw attention to many great causes, championing everything from sustainably and carbon offsetting to social issues like human rights and education. 

Cause marketing allows brands to demonstrate that they’re doing good in the world, and it does so in a meaningful and authentic way that resonates with consumers. Read on to learn about cause marketing, from how it works to what you need to do to run a great cause-related campaign. 

How does cause marketing work? 

Cause marketing works by pairing corporate companies with relevant charitable causes. Companies choose a cause that means something to their team or their intended audience and think of a way that they can support the cause in question. 

Brands typically use cause-related campaigns to support nonprofits financially; however,  such campaigns also provide a much-needed boost in exposure for charities. 

Often, charities will also benefit from the skills and experience of their brand partners, with many brands choosing to offer support with marketing and event management in addition to donating their profits. 

For brands, such campaigns provide many opportunities. They’re an excellent way for companies to improve their reputations, and they can help companies to enhance brand loyalty while also enabling them to branch out into previously unexplored markets. 

Cause-related campaigns help companies get the attention of consumers. They also encourage consumers to help spread the word about a cause - and the great work the company is doing. 

Read on to learn more about running a great cause marketing campaign. 

How to run a cause marketing campaign 

Brilliant cause-related campaigns are always the result of detailed planning and vast amounts of hard work behind the scenes. Take a look at our step-by-step guide to managing a cause marketing campaign before you begin. 

Define your goals

Before planning your campaign, think about what you want to achieve. You might be hoping to improve brand awareness, get the attention of a new group of consumers or simply boost customer retention by improving your reputation. 

Think about the goal of your campaign and try to narrow down what success would look like. It will make delivering a campaign with clear, concise messaging far easier. 

Choose a relevant cause 

Once you know what you want to achieve with your campaign, you’ll be able to start thinking about relevant causes that might work for your audience. 

Before making any decisions, consider the most important causes for your target market, paying careful attention to the ones your key demographic is talking about on social media. 

Decide how your company can help 

If you’ve got a brilliant cause in mind and feel it’s relevant to your company’s mission, it’s time to start thinking about what your business could bring to the partnership.

Cause marketing campaigns often use a donation pledge to hook consumers, but if budgets are tight, you could also lend your support in other ways. 

Some cause-related marketing campaigns see brands partner with charities to offer professional support, such as marketing help or event planning. Think about what your team is best at and see how you could help a relevant cause. 

Spread the word 

Once you have a partnership in place and are clear about what your company is doing to help, it’s time to start talking about it. 

Begin by sharing news of your campaign via social media marketing and targeted emails. Then, use content to draw attention to the cause as you demonstrate what your company is doing to help. 

Encourage your audience to get involved by sharing content, donating, or participating in challenges and events. 

Analyse your campaign 

When your campaign ends, you’ll want to take a step back and analyse how it went. Look into what worked, what didn’t work so well, what got people talking, what raised awareness and what delivered in terms of ROI. 

Analyse your campaign in as much detail as possible to learn how it went. Bear in mind that the more you know about the success of this campaign, the better equipped you’ll be to run an even more effective cause marketing campaign next time. 

4 of the best cause marketing campaigns

Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible cause marketing campaigns. These successful, socially conscious campaigns have delivered long-term results, raising funds and awareness for a number of important causes. 

The Girl Who Built A Rocket by WaterAid

WaterAid wanted to engage the public in the global water crisis. They made a splash by creating a newsworthy and award-winning campaign linking the 2021 Mars missions going into orbit with water scarcity on earth. 

They produced a charming animated story about a little girl called Fara from Madagascar who attempts to find water for her village. After overhearing on the news that water has been found on Mars, she begins building her only rocket ship to travel to Mars herself. Read more about the campaign and watch the advert here.

#WhatsYourName by Starbucks

Starbucks took on the cause of transgender rights and raised awareness with its #WhatsYourName campaign. The campaign felt relevant as it used the coffee chain’s habit of writing customers’ names on cups to deliver a hard-hitting message. 

To explain the campaign, Starbucks released a video about its customer James, who no longer wanted to be known by his birth name, Jemma. Watch James’ story to see how Starbucks drew attention to this cause. 

Time to Care by The Body Shop

Beauty brand The Body Shop supported healthcare workers and local communities with a cause-related marketing campaign. This campaign, Time to Care, saw the company donate supplies, like body and hand soap while spreading awareness of an important cause with the hashtag #TimeToCare. 

The #TimeToCare campaign championed self-care tactics and encouraged the company’s audience to take time for themselves. There were giveaways to support the cause, giving customers more opportunities to engage with the campaign. 

Act With Pride by Squarespace

Squarespace planned a cause marketing campaign to coincide with Pride month, supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The Act with Pride campaign provided the company’s followers with free story templates, encouraging them to share their own stories and helping to expand the reach of the company’s message. 

The response to Squarespace’s campaign was phenomenal. Users engaged in huge numbers, organically expanding the campaigns’ reach and getting the message out there. It was a huge success for the company, thanks to its clever timing and inventive ways of encouraging user-generated content. 

Find out more about cause-related marketing 

Cause marketing is an invaluable marketing strategy perfect for socially responsible brands. No matter what product or service a company sells, there’s likely to be a relevant cause that’s close to its founders' hearts. 

Companies can now help a huge range of different causes by spreading awareness of the work of nonprofit organisations while simultaneously boosting profits for their own business. 

About the author:

Sean Begg Flint is the founder of Position Digital, a digital marketing agency for ambitious startups, e-commerce, B2B, tech and purpose-led brands. He is passionate about purpose-driven content marketing and using outreach for good.