• USA Today, Thursday, November 4, 2010 10:47 AM

"Cause-related marketing, as we know it, is dead," says Carol Cone, managing director of brand & corporate citizenship at Edelman. "It's not about slapping a ribbon on a product any longer."

Almost half of American respondents to Edelman's good-purpose survey feel brands only support good causes for publicity and promotion. That should get CMOs thinking. "Americans seek deeper involvement in social issues and expect brands and companies to provide various means of engagement," Cone says. "We call this the rise of the 'citizen consumer.'"

Citizen Consumers cite five brands that are doing things right: Pepsi, Newman's Own, Nike, Coca-Cola and Tide. One wonders what they think about the "Movember" movement in which men grow mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer. Caroline Smith writes about how it all got started in BrandChannel.

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