Does cause-related marketing carry a cost?
Take a charity. Add an attractive brand. Woo the buyer. And so a consumer-led solution to the worlds problems is born. Thats the theory behind cause-related marketing. Whats more, everything suggests its working. The cause-related marketing sector has gone from virtually nothing 25 years ago to an estimated $1.3bn a year, according to US-based market researcher IEG. But cause-related marketing is flawed and wrong-headed, this controversial paper argues. There are plenty of critics out there who snipe invidiously at cause-related marketing for wasting resources, stimulating consumer cynicism or sullying the image of charity with the world of profit-making. Angela Eikenberry is not one of them.
