Brand image is everything in today’s highly competitive business environment and 24/7 information cycle. Regardless of your industry, you need a brand strategy to stand out among the noise and capture customers’ attention.

In 2020, beauty company The Body Shop made a decision to start a campaign to thank healthcare workers for their commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative called ”Time To Care” included partnering with shelters and assisted living communities to donate cleansing supplies, like body and hand soap to those critical workers. This is a great example of cause-related marketing.

SO WHAT IS CAUSE MARKETING?

Defined by Wikipedia, “cause marketing is marketing done by a for-profit business that seeks to both increase profits and to better society in accordance with corporate social responsibility, such as by including activist messages in advertising.”

Cause marketing is a great way for any company to enhance the perception of the brand. Back in the 80’s, when I was working for a personal injury law firm, it was one of my biggest challenges and successes to elevate the company’s image from “ambulance chasers” to “lawyers who care.” This involved a two part strategy including running testimonial ads and introducing the law firm’s “Safe Ride Home” campaign offering free cab rides between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to prevent drinking and driving.  

Additionally to improving a brand’s image and customer loyalty, cause-related marketing is an excellent opportunity for free publicity. Remember the old adage: “Pay for advertising and pray for publicity.” Depending on your market size, free publicity can translate into thousands and even hundreds of thousands of free mentions by the media and the internet. 

The history of cause marketing, like most things that we do not personally see can be debated. What we do know, is that historians say it began in the 1970’s when Bruce Burtch organized fundraisers between the Marriott Corporation and the March of Dimes. However, I believe it dates back to the 60’s with the first Jerry Lewis Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. During the telethon corporate executives stood on stage with gigantic checks pledging large sums of money to “Jerry’s Kids.”

Regardless of who, when, or where it began, cause marketing is here to stay. Some of the more recent examples include:

The Ad Council’s transmedia campaign asking internet users to use the hashtag #LoveHasNoLabels to tag their photos. The video went viral and accumulated over 40 million views. Thousands of social network users also add a graphic overlay to their personal photos to show support for equality.

One that also quickly comes to mind is “Small Business Saturday” launched by American Express back in 2010 to support small, local businesses. IN 2012, approximately 73 million people went out to shop at small businesses, and over 1,0000 neighborhoods signed up to support the day in 2013. 

Another highly visible cause-marketing campaign was launched in 2012 by the New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation to promote over 30,000 nonprofit organizations around the world. Held annually after Cyber Monday and Black Friday, #GivingTuesday continues to raise funds for charitable organizations around the world.

What do these three campaigns have in common?  Longevity. If you are going to create a cause-related marketing campaign, it is important to pick a cause that you are passionate about and one that makes sense for your brand. If there is no connection between your cause and brand, consumers may be confused and worse, they may see it as your company exploiting a cause of free publicity. Thus doing just the opposite of a successful cause marketing campaign.

If you have questions or what to brainstorm about developing a cause marketing campaign for your brand, please feel free to email me at schonercandace@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram and facebook.

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You think you know all about writing a professional press release. So, why aren’t you hearing from any of those reporters on your mailing list? The answer is simple. Your press release is competing not only against other companies trying to get their story in print or on the air but with actual news events. Yes, actual news trumps your story.  So what can be done to increase the odds that your press release won’t end up in the trash?
1. First and foremost, your press release should be timely. Don’t send a reporter a press release about an event that has already happened. This is old news.  They are looking for fresh stories to tell their respective audiences.  Do send them a story about a future event and be sure to include the date and location in the subject line of your email or press release.  Remember, if you want to get a story in a monthly publication, you will need to send your release at least eight weeks before the event to meet publication deadlines.
2. Send your press release to the right people. If you are sending a story about opening a new business in your area, your release should be addressed to the city and/or business editor.  Similarly, if you are promoting a community health fair, you’ll want to send your press release to the health editor, and so on and so on.
3. Don’t expect to hear back from everyone who receives your press release. Chances are, unless your story is the next cure for cancer you may not get a single response. Don’t let this stop you from getting results. Instead, pick up the phone and call the individual recipients. In some cases, you will find that they have not read your release yet. Use the call as an opportunity not only to pitch your ‘current news story’ but to establish a relationship with the reporter or editor for future releases.
4. Remember that print, broadcast, radio, and the internet are all different mediums.  If your story does not have much visual appeal, it is less likely to turn a broadcast journalist head. Think about it, why do so many five and six-car crash pile ups end up on TV newscast.
5.  Make your releases look professional and if necessary ask someone else to proof it. There should be no mistakes, typos, etc. in a professional press release. Make sure your contact information is at the top and your headline tells exactly what your press release is about.
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Does PR Work? That’s a common question for companies faced with the prospect of investing in public relations.

True, the benefits of PR can be more difficult to track as compared to other marketing tactics like advertising or trade shows. But that doesn’t mean you should skip PR completely.  In fact, you may find that a well-planned PR campaign can achieve a tremendous return on investment.

Walker Sands, an integrating PR and digital marketing, recently wrote an article containing the following helpful 7 Ways To Measure Its Impact.

1. Press Clippings. One way to gauge your success is to track the amount of press clippings that mention your company or products and services. The caveat is that articles and mentions should appear in publications viewed by your prospects. When you receive a large number of mentions in target media outlets, your PR program is successfully raising awareness for your business.
   
2. Media Impressions. Another method of assessing your PR efforts is to calculate the number of media impressions for a given period. Multiply the number of press clippings by the total circulation of the publication in which it appeared. For example, if The Wall Street Journal mentioned your company and it has a total circulation of two million, you achieved two million media impressions.
3. Content Analysis. In addition to the quantity of articles and impressions, companies evaluating the impact of their PR programs should monitor the content of the articles that are published. Quality matters – did the reporter mention your brand’s key messages? Is your company being portrayed in a positive light? To answer the question “does PR work?” you have to assess whether your press coverage is resulting in valuable content.
4. Website Traffic. Another way to determine the effectiveness of your PR investments is to measure the amount of traffic your website receives before and after launching your campaign. Sales leads often come from calls-to-actions listed on your website, so analyzing spikes in site traffic can help answer whether your PR efforts are working.
5. Lead Sourcing. A well-executed PR campaign directly contributes to sales leads, but it’s difficult to determine when press coverage triggers sales. To learn if your PR efforts influence your clients’ decision-making, simply ask new customers how they heard about your company and its offerings.
6. Market Surveys. Research is paramount to tracking a PR campaign’s success. Before starting your PR campaign, survey your markets to see if they’ve heard of your brand and offerings. After launching your PR strategy, survey your markets again to check whether awareness statistics are trending up.
7. Social Media Mentions. Yet another metric for measuring the impact of a PR campaign is social media mentions. Social media measurements should also focus on conversations about your brand, as well as social communities in your industry. If social media mentions of your brand increase after launching your PR program, you can stop wondering “does PR work?”
   
   

If you have questions about PR or need help creating a public relations strategy, writing a press release or media training, contact Schoner Communications, Your Partner in PR and Marketing!