• PROMO Magazine, Friday, June 23, 2006 11:30 AM

An increasing number of marketers are discovering the benefits of philanthropy. According to a consultancy that specializes in project sponsorship, cause-marketing spending by major advertisers will increase 20.5% this year to $1.34 billion. The company, IEG Research, said the projected rise makes cause marketing the fastest-growing segment of sponsorship, outpacing the industry's overall growth rate of 10.6% to a projected $13.4 billion. "Companies are realizing the powerful marketing benefits that can be gleaned from nonprofit affiliations," said William Chipps, senior editor of IEG Sponsorship Report, in a statement. One example cited as a successful program was Federal Express and Home Depot's "alternative Spring Break" campaign with United Way of America and MTV that sent college students to construction projects in hurricane-damaged communities. The projected growth gives cause marketing a 10% share of overall sponsorship spending (up from 9% in 2005). Sports sponsorship, by contrast, is expected to fall to about $8.84 billion, 66% of total sponsorship spending (from 69% last year).

Read the whole story at PROMO Magazine »