cause marketing

‘The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you' – Anita Roddick

A 2010 Edelman survey on the Indian consumer only confirmed what CRY – Child Rights and You, has experienced through working with companies committed to children for over 34 years. And it's this – Indian consumers do want to engage with brands that prioritize social issues! In this survey, 78% of the consumers said they would switch brands if a brand of equal quality supported a cause. In a study that CRY commissioned independently through Hansa Research in 2012, we saw a repeat of the same pattern – CSR was the third most important attribute determining brand choice after brand name and price, higher even than consumer promotions, after sales service or celebrity endorsements.

CRY's own experience in partnering with companies that have chosen the cause marketing approach has been very insightful. What we have found, is that it's the companies that are truly committed to making a difference and are willing to commit to a programme that is long term, that see the maximum benefit in terms of consumer goodwill, employee motivation and stakeholder support.

Some of our most successful partnerships have been with companies like Procter & Gamble and Aviva and more recently, with Hindustan Times and Marico. All of their programmes have a few essential characteristics in common:

ŸThe programmes are long term, spanning several years

ŸThey work to engage every stakeholder in their eco-system

ŸThey truly want to bring about significant change in children's lives

Take Aviva for example, a key player in the crowded Insurance market which had more than 24 players in 2009 when they identified children as the focus of their CSR strategy. Aviva chose to launch its global 'Street to School' programme in 2009 along with a new brand thought around 'Education is Insurance'. They created an impactful stakeholder engagement programme that reached out to consumers, sales offices, employees and the media. Sales branches adopted schools and conducted donation drives.

Aviva employees volunteered to work in the community to improve children's lives through hands-on work. They also donated one day's salary to support CRY projects across the country. Special days were created for employees to bring in their families to office for an engagement with CRY on children's issues. There was also a large amount of media and PR support through advertising and multi-city press conferences.

All of this has resulted in a deep sense of organisational pride amongst their employees as well as a 26% increase in sales over three years. Brand consideration also rose dramatically from 27% in 2009 to 40%. But most importantly, they have brought learning, hope and happiness to close to 50,000 children who now have access to quality education.

Doing Good can be Good for Businessby Yogita Verma Saighal

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Similarly, last year Hindustan Times launched 'You Read they Learn', a programme that donates part proceeds of the subscription value of the newspaper to CRY supported projects in Delhi city. This year, they have taken reader engagement to a completely new level by offering them a chance to volunteer and enrol children into school over the summer. Hundreds of volunteers have spent time in the slums of Delhi identifying children who were out of school and enrolling them into a government school. It has been tremendously inspiring to watch students, working professionals and senior citizens come together to ensure a brighter future for Delhi's out of school children.

Procter & Gamble is another interesting example. They launched project 'Shiksha' in partnership with CRY in 2005 with a high octane 360-degree marketing programme that covered employees, distributors, retailers and of course the consumer. Part proceeds from sale of P&G products were donated to CRY projects. Employees that supported the programme most effectively were recognized at an internal awards function, as were high performing distributors and retailers. Extensive media and PR support was put behind the campaign. In the first five years of the programme, sales saw a four-fold increase enabling CRY to significantly impact the lives of 96,000 children.

Marico's Nihar Naturals has also partnered with CRY to launch 'Chote Kadam Pragati ki Or' that focuses on children's education through donation of part proceeds from product sales. It is already seeing incredible response from its consumers, employees and sales force and is committed to using this programme to deepen the engagement with mothers and their children.

In our assessment, what distinguishes the above companies from others is that they are authentic in their commitment to children. And this authenticity is recognized, valued and strengthened by all who engage with the brand.

Yogita Verma Saighal is the Director - Resource Mobilisation & Volunteer Action at CRY - Child Rights and You

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