Giving Back Gets Personal

The future of marketing is philanthropy and causes. As it has been for two decades. Ever since Evelyn Lauder unleashed the pink ribbon in 1992, marketers have executed a
“cause-marketing template” with a basic formula — big brands, big causes, big mass media campaigns, big results — that has remained relatively unchanged for 20-plus
years.

Until now.

Imagine instead: a woman sits on a subway tapping away on her iPhone 6 with the sudden, quick jabs of a mobile gamer. Unlike a typical
gamer who might hemorrhage money on Candy Crush, she is playing for free and the game is sending micro-donations to a breast cancer organization that she actively chose to fund. A lingerie retailer
provides the game, makes the donations and sends her offers just for playing, regardless of whether the woman buys a product. 

What if “giving back” becomes so
profitable that making the world a better place becomes common sense business strategy? What if consumers embrace and nourish new brands because they finally understand the “soul” of the
company and connect on an emotional level?

The fusion of mobility and giving is disrupting old models of cause marketing and making this future possible. People are using mobile
devices to vet non-profits on Charity Navigator, fund individual school projects on DonorsChoose.org and search for particular causes on GoFundMe. Giving is more personal, and, as the Ice Bucket
Challenge demonstrated, it works best when it is also social, viral and participatory.

With 9 in 10 global
consumers saying they will switch brands to one that supports a good cause, giving back is destined to become the heart marketing. However, cause marketing has to adapt to the new digital culture.
Consumers respect your brand for giving, but they want to participate, and they want choices.

So, I propose four new guidelines that can put all brands on the leading edge of cause
marketing:

1. Think Outside the Register: Don’t always tie donations to transactions 

Some of the most well-known cause-marketing campaigns tie
donations to transactions. For instance, every time you buy Ethos Water, Starbucks donates five cents to support water, sanitation and hygiene education programs in water-stressed countries. It works,
but don’t stop there. Cause marketing can be at least as valuable if your company links engagement to a donation. When you introduce “giving” to an earlier stage of the customer
journey, you build more trust because you give before you take. 

2. You’re Not the Boss of Me: Give consumers a choice instead of choosing for them

Typically, cause-marketing partnerships support a handful of charities, but the choices are made without consumer input. For example, the recent partnership between Toms and Target assigns
a set donation to each purchase item. But what if Target had instead let customers choose where donations go? Choice makes giving more active than passive, and it acknowledges that individuals care
more about certain causes than others. Depending on the size of your company, you can offer a mixture of local, national and global charities that allow customers to express themselves in the context
of charitable giving and your brand. 

3. Make It Habit-Forming: Ensure that giving back is fun, easy and routine

Create cause-marketing campaigns
around personal and habitual actions. Giving can be convenient. A free moment waiting on the bus or a five-minute break from work can be the context for doing good and interacting with your brand
simultaneously. We subconsciously check email, open apps and start playing games — giving can become part of our digital ritual, too. It can also become part of our daily commute if, for
instance, we drive a Prius instead of an SUV to work, knowing that we give back each day by reducing our carbon footprint. 

4. Commit to Getting Better at Doing Good: Place
data and measurement at the center

A strategy centered in mobility and engagement offers a wealth of behavioral data that has previously been unavailable in the field of cause
marketing and marketing in general. A data-driven approach helps both brands and cause organizations uncover synergies and optimize marketing partnerships to drive results for the cause, brand and
customers.

The bottom line is that consumers want to know what you stand for before they stand for you. There are more ways to invite people to participate in your social
mission — and the brands who are most effective will continue to rethink and advance traditional models of giving. Philanthropy is no longer an obligation; it is another frontier for
innovation.

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