• by Kyle Lacy , January 7, 2013

Last month, I watched the Chase Giving Awards on NBC and was enamored with the stories that were told about individuals who spend every waking moment trying to make the world a better place. Then it hit me. Cause marketing is officially a movement that is out to change the world. I was literally watching an awards show for non-profits. The night was a little more special for me because my cousin’s non-profit, Krochet Kids International, was awarded $500K to further its mission of helping women in Africa and Peru.

Then the second lightning bolt struck. 

One of the reasons that non-profits all over the world are being recognized is because of digital media. Digital media and marketing have created an ecosystem that drives huge amounts of information and support to people all over the world. We are talking about miles and miles of data and people. And cause marketing is strong not just because of the message but also because of the technology. 

I’m not saying you need to create an awards show and get millions of people to vote for organizations in order to run a successful cause marketing campaign. The Chase Giving Awards is just one example of a corporation using cause marketing to make the world a better place. Another example of the combination of digital and cause marketing is the international non-profit, Feeding Your Kids Foundation. They improved the eating behaviors of 9,000 families from 85 countries with a new email and SMS campaign.

The program, free to more than 12,000 parents worldwide, powers daily messages featuring region-specific nutrition information and educational resources, resulting in 83% of participants reporting they learned new ways to improve their children’s health.

“Our organization equips parents around the world with the knowledge and tools they need to feed their children healthier foods and teach better eating habits,” said Carey White, Feeding Your Kids Foundation chairman.  

In addition to the six-week email program, parents can also receive time-relevant text messages, providing additional nutrition and wellness information. It is really about driving relevant content to the people who need it -- the people who are helped by the cause.

And that is really the truth of the matter. Cause marketing is about using digital technology to equip people with the necessary information to change their lives. Plain and simple. 

Let’s look at the different strategies the Feeding Your Kids Foundation used to drive success.  

1. They Embraced Text Alerts. Cause marketing campaigns tackling alert communications may also see an interesting phenomenon develop—advocates who request alerts through multiple channels. Why the duplication? Consumers may not know which channel will have their attention at the moment an alert posts. As a result, they actually invite companies to over-communicate—a rarity in today's world. If you find your brand in that situation, resist the temptation to expand the content beyond the alert the consumer has requested—at least not without obtaining express permission.
   
   
2. They Segment and Optimize. After subscribers participate in your campaign, ask them if they’d like to opt-in for future messages. Offer them incentives such as promotions or alerts. This will help you build an opt-in database of user profiles based on user-generated data and behavior to ensure the most contextually relevant relationship via SMS for future campaigns.
   
   
3. They Mobilized Their Audience Building. As the mobile web grows in importance, it will be critical to have effective audience-building efforts built into your mobile site or mobile cause marketing campaign. Audit what you’re doing now from an email and social opt-in/promotional standpoint, and share the findings with your team. The smaller screen is no excuse to abandon subscriber, fan, and follower acquisition efforts.
4. They Used Trigger Email Sends. Promote the “keyword + email address” call-to-action during the cause marketing campaign whether online or at any other location where consumers/advocates interact with your brand. For example, “Text INFO and youremail@email.com to 12345 to receive additional information.”

Non-profits embracing digital marketing are not the only ones seeing success with cause marketing. Consumers around the globe are rewarding brands that promote a social purpose, according to public relations company Edelman.  Edelman found that nearly half of those who bought from cause supporting brands in 2012 said they did so monthly, compared to only 32% who brought with the same frequency in 2010.