Cause Related Marketing Influences Sales

Thanks research brief for these number around how causes effect marketing results

The 2008 Cone/Duke University Behavioral Cause Study, released recently by Cone and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, confirms that cause-related marketing can exponentially increase sales, in one case as much as 74%, resulting in millions of dollars in potential revenue for brands.

182 participants evaluated a new regional magazine and were exposed to either a cause-related or generic corporate advertisement for one of four focus brands. Afterward, they entered a mock convenience store with nearly 150 SKUs and were given real money to purchase a product in each of the four categories.

Results revealed:

74% increase in actual purchase for a shampoo brand when associated with a cause (47% of participants who saw the cause-related message chose the brand while only 27% of those who saw the generic corporate advertisement chose the brand)
28% increase in actual purchase for a toothpaste brand when associated with a cause (64% of participants who saw the cause message chose the target brand vs. 50% who viewed the generic corporate advertisement)
Modest increases in the other two product categories tested (chips and light bulbs) - Qualitative consumer responses showed that the issue, the nonprofit and the inherent nature of products were key factors in making cause-related purchasing decisions, and helped explain why movement in these categories was not significant.


In the second phase of the research, Cone and Duke validated the sales increases for shampoo and toothpaste by replicating the study online among a nationally projectable sample of more than 1,000 adults. The participants spent nearly twice as long reviewing cause-related ads versus the general corporate advertisements.

This resulted in a 19% sales increase (similar to the lab study for the target toothpaste brand.) Although the shampoo brand increased only by a modest 5 percent, sales among its target audience of women increased by nearly 14 percent.

Gavan Fitzsimons, Duke marketing professor and lead researcher on the study, observes tha "... consumers are paying more attention to cause messages, and... are more likely to purchase... "

Additionally, Cone conducted the 2008 Cause Evolution Study, to better identify what drove substantial product sales for only two of the four brands. The following factors appeared to be important when deciding to support a company's cause efforts:

84% want to select their own cause
83% say personal relevance is key
80% believe the specific nonprofit associated with the campaign matters
77% say practical incentives for involvement, such as saving money or time, are important
65% find emotional incentives for involvement, such as it making them feel good or alleviating shopping guilt, important


Alison DaSilva, Cone executive vice president, Knowledge Leadership and Insights, said "The findings... show (that)... consumers want to feel a connection to the issue and the nonprofit while fulfilling their personal needs... "

According to the study, the leading issues that Americans want companies to address in their cause programs are consistent with growing domestic and global needs. The issues include:

Education - 80%
Economic development (i.e.: job creation, income generation, wealth accumulation) - 80%
Health and disease - 79%
Access to clean water - 79%
Environment - 77%
Disaster relief - 77%
Hunger - 77%


For more details from the study, and additional information about Cone, please visit here.

ING café

In the heart of downtown Chicago, ING Bank has a branch where coffee is king and there isn't a teller in sight...

Across the road from the Sofitel Hotel, the giant 'coffee shop' is hard to miss - it's decked out in the distinctive bright orange and blue of ING Bank's corporate colours and has about twice the footprint of a typical Starbucks in the surrounding neighbourhood, which is home to many middle and upper income earners dwelling in a fast-growing collection of high rise condominiums.

Customers buy their barista coffee at a counter like they would at any other coffee shop. It's served in bright orange takeaway cups - and if you're wearing orange on a Friday, it's free.

If you choose to 'drink-in' you can relax at a table with a newspaper or some ING Bank product information, or sit at an internet terminal and surf the web - once you've navigated away from the ING Bank home page of course. Large screen TVs broadcast CNBC news bulletins and sharemarket information inside a moving orange frame which offers some ING Bank news and the going interest rates.

There is ING Bank merchandise on display - ranging from golf balls and mugs, picnic baskets and baseball caps - and even an office shredder to get rid of all those annoying paper bank statements securely. All in orange, of course.

A flip menu board on the tables offers not an array of food choices, but some clever slogans to reinforce ING Bank's mantra. "Change begins in your pocket, Become a Saver" was a stand-out. Others included 'Write a cheque without lifting a pen'.

If you're hungry, you can augment the coffee with food. Our visit was around breakfast time and we selected a pre-mix yogurt and muesli parfait. It came with a slice of bright orange mandarin and a single blueberry on top - even the food comes in corporate colours! You might want to follow the coffee up with a mint - or in this cafe's case an "invest-mint".

And don't despair - if you're short of cash there may not be a teller on call - but there is an ATM in-store. An ING Bank one, of course.

As a branding exercise, ING Bank's Chicago cafe stands out. If the message is layered on a little too thick, the trowel of humour excuses it. It presents a myriad of complementary messages about the bank, its products and its corporate philosophy without any high pressure sales tactics from over-zealous sales people (a stark contrast to those pesky American Express salespeople in airports!).

By Robert Stockdill

LED Dance Floor

Illuminated dance floors are nothing new. In the seventies they where all the rage, the problem was that dancers flared hot pants would cover the floor panels and kill the effect. Now, flares or not, the illuminated dance floor is back, this time in LED form. Using the latest in pressure sensitive LED technology, these panels are designed to interact with club goers moves as well as D.J's sets. Special plug ins can be downloaded into the D.Js computer equipment allowing an entire set to be pre programmed where the music and lights work together. The panels are not restricted to work only on dance floors and can be fitted to walls, bar tops and Lionel Ritchie's favorite place to dance, ceilings.

Equally as popular are the silent disco parties. Originally developed in the Netherlands, the concept involves a DJ, numerous sets of wireless headphones and a huge number of people who are not afraid to look stupid. The concept is very unique and pretty funky, however if you happen to not be wearing a headset, you may think someone spiked your drink as you witness a lot of dancing and no music. The DJs tunes are broadcast on a particular frequency that only the party goers headsets can pick up. The company known as 433fm.com, came up with the concept in 2002 and say the aim is for people "to go off in silence".

coolhunter.com.au

Plans to go

Make plans on the go with Phonevite

Since the debut of its Express service in June, Phonevite has been gaining steam. The free service allows you to send announcements and reminders to a group of people at once from your phone or PC. All that is required is a working phone number. While group messaging isn’t a new idea, Phonevite makes it simple than anything we’ve seen—you don’t even need to register.

Considering that the young and mobile set make plans these days via text (email is so 1999), this is a great idea. Just look at the tweet-up phenomenon. Need to tell friends you snagged a reservation at Momofuku Ko? Can we come? How about remind your coworkers it is 5pm and time to leave the office? Hiring? Seriously, though, people are using it in a variety of ways. Clubs are using it to organize get-togethers and parties, while some school systems use it to notify parents when their children have ditched class, said Techcrunch.

The system actually works very much like eVite, but on mobile. Recipients of your message can RSVP yes, no or maybe by punching in 1, 2 or 3 in their phones. They can even record a response - all of which you can track on the Phonevite website. You can message 25 people for free, or up to 2000 people for $0.05 per call.

We would love to see this service team up with sites such Meetup or Going, or even become a Corporate solution.

Thanks to NGT for this post. Full article found at:
http://www.nextgreatthing.com/wordpress/2008/10/08/make-plans-on-the-go-with-phonevite/