Why Cause Branding?

Be memorable in the mark that you MAKE

 What is a Brand?
• A brand is a symbol that makes a promise of an
experience.

• Is the shared emotional perception participants and

supporters hold in connection with the programs and
services an organization offers.
 Forming a Brand
• Brand recognition and reactions are created by use
of products and services through the influence of
Advertising
Design
Media
Communication
 What is Cause Branding?

a strategy to unit a brand’s core value(s) with consumer passion and to

raise awareness to positively impact a societal need

forges a true emotional connection between a brand and its

stakeholders to support a cause that reflects the brand’s core values
and the passions of clients and consumers
 Why Cause Branding
• To enhance the organization’s reputation
• Stake a claim in the minds of consumers
• Differentiate one’s offering from that of competitor’s and at
the same time building an emotional chord with consumers
• Provide valuable leadership and differentiation strategies
• Enhance brand equity and credibility
 Cause Branding Today

• Leading companies are turning a concern for causes into long-term

brand equity

• Comprehensive social commitments have become an integral way to

conduct business and a core component of corporate reputation,
brand personality and organizational identity

• 77% of CEOs and Marketing Directors believe Cause Branding can

enhance corporate and brand reputation. (source: Business in the
Community, 2001)
 Good Things Come To Brands That Give
• In Kenya - Coca-Cola is helping teach children how to test drinking water for
contamination. The company also is providing water-purification systems for some
of the country's most poverty-stricken areas.

• In India - Starbucks is addressing sanitation-related health problems by donating $1

million to WaterAid.

• In America – Product (RED) was created to engage the private sector in the fight
against AIDS in order to deliver a sustainable flow of funds to the Global Fund To
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and to raise public awareness about
HIV/AIDS in Africa.
– 20% of the general population was aware of the Product (RED) campaign and
what is stood for within 3 months on the market
 What Makes a Successful Cause Branding
Program?
• In-depth understanding of one’s brand
• Long-term strategy
• Collaboration with other organizations
• Addressing a highly critical and visible social cause
• Involving employees at all levels
• Effective communication
• Impact of cause branding must be measurable
 Why Brand transform naija.net
• To generate mainstream knowledge and visibility around philanthropic activities
• Provide a tangible demonstration of the company’s corporate social responsibility
and its values and its ethics
• Positively differentiate company from competitors and provide an edge that delivers
other tangible benefits, including
– Enhance company image
– Motivated and loyal employees
– Positive public relations
– Outreach to niche markets
– Market differentiation
– Attracting and retaining consumers
– Enhanced brand value
 Building the
Brand

creating an indelible impression

 How to Establish a Cause Branding
Campaign that Enhances your Brand
• Cause branding acknowledges that companies have an
impact on society and the environment through their
operations, products and services as well as through
their interactions with key stakeholders.

• Cause branding means managing this impact so as to

add value to the company and the Brand and increase
economic and social well-being now and in the future
 How to Establish a Cause Branding Program
that Enhances Your Brand
Any strategic framework on Cause Branding needs to adopt a multi-stakeholder perspective and
to tangibly diagnose and factor two key aspects, namely relevance and impact of Cause
Branding issues and initiatives

1. Relevance has 2 dimensions:

1. To the core business & the brand
2. To the core stakeholders
2. Impact has 3 dimensions:
1. Impact on beneficiaries of the activities
2. Impact with key target audiences whose opinion regarding the company
is crucial hence impact on Brand Perception and Brand Reputation
3. Impact on the company itself
 Telling the Story…
• An integrated Cause Branding program – follows three stages:

1.

Stakeholder Impact 2.
Audit
Integrated Cause
Branding Strategy 3.
Development
Cause Branding
Action plan
 In Summary…
• A sustained Cause Branding program that
reflects the core values of the organization
and of your brand and contributes to
delivering the brand promise, will lead to
an improved brand perception and
reputation amongst your brand’s
stakeholders over time and thus increase
and protect your brand’s value