Many successful marketing campaigns center around a good cause. However, not every campaign needs to promote a company or product; some of the most impactful ones champion an idea.
Today, we’ll explore cause-based marketing (also called cause marketing). We’ll define it and then delve into real-world examples, highlighting their strengths. We’ll also discuss why cause-based marketing resonates and the specific challenges it presents, equipping you for your own campaigns. Ready to make a difference? Let’s dive in.
What Is Cause-Related Marketing?
Cause-related marketing promotes a specific idea, cause, or goal, rather than a business, product, or service.
Cause-based marketing campaigns can be broad or narrow. They might promote a wide-reaching cause like LGBTQ rights, encompassing various organizations and viewpoints (like the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts), or focus on a specific goal, such as ending animal testing in cosmetics, targeting particular companies or product lines. Regardless of scope, these initiatives often involve a partnership between a nonprofit (usually driving the campaign’s message) and either an ad agency or a corporate partner (typically handling execution). While cause-based marketing campaigns often leverage PPC or social media, they can also incorporate guerrilla marketing tactics. Grabbing attention is challenging, so organizations get creative, as we’ll see. Many campaigns stem from grassroots movements, which also tend to focus on causes.
Cause-Related Marketing vs. Ethical Marketing: What’s the Difference?
One key difference is focus: cause-based campaigns target a specific objective, while ethical marketing emphasizes broader principles applied across an organization’s marketing efforts.
Image via Warby Parker Promoting a cancer research fundraiser is cause-based marketing. Buy-one, give-one programs, like those used by Warby Parker and TOMS Shoes, exemplify ethical marketing because giving back is integral to their brand identity and values. Despite differences, overlap exists, particularly in execution. Visuals, language style and tone, and overall positioning in a cause-based campaign may resemble an ethical campaign due to thematic and objective similarities. Now that we understand cause-based marketing, let’s see it in action.
6 Powerful Examples of Cause-Related Marketing
Countless social issues demand solutions, making cause-based campaigns as diverse as their for-profit counterparts. Here are some well-executed examples to inspire your own initiatives:
1. Veganuary
Plant-based diets exploded in popularity in 2017. According to the Vegan Society, the number of vegans in the United Kingdom has increased by 350% over the past decade. Protein bar and powder manufacturer Nellson reports that demand for plant-based food production has increased by almost 140%. Food delivery service Just Eat predicts veganism as the biggest food trend this year, observing a 987%(!) increase in demand for vegan options in 2017 alone.
Image/data via Veganuary Unsurprisingly, this year’s Veganuary campaign was massive. Veganuary, a month-long event promoting plant-based diets, began in the U.K. in 2014 with 3,300 participants. Last year, over 60,000 people joined. Veganuary exemplifies successful cause-based marketing. Their first real advertising venture launched in October 2016, with the charity crowdfunded $30,000 to place advertisements across London’s Underground. Following its success, Veganuary expanded to Boston’s subway system, Manchester (U.K.), and Sydney (Australia).
Professional vegan pole-fitness instructors Terri Walsh and Michael Donohoe promoting Veganuary outside King’s Cross St. Pancras Underground station in central London. Image via Veganuary. Beyond the growing interest in reducing animal product consumption, Veganuary’s success stems from integrated social engagement. Besides providing resources for new vegans, participants sign and share a pledge on social media, fostering community and organic promotion.
2. Movember
Every November, men worldwide embrace a noble cause – raising awareness for men’s health by growing mustaches. This tradition is known as Movember.
Image via Movember New Zealand Movember’s origin story, like many great tales, began in an Australian pub. In 2003, friends Travis Garone and Luke Slattery in Melbourne, lamenting the mustache’s decline. Inspired by a friend’s mother fundraising for breast cancer, they convinced 30 friends to grow mustaches throughout November. The rest is history.
Image via Movember By 2017, over 5 million men participated in Movember, raising awareness for issues ranging from prostate cancer to suicide. This led to the Movember Foundation, a charity partnering with men’s health groups globally, aiming to reduce premature male deaths by 25% by 2030. Since 2004, they’ve funded over 1,200 men’s health initiatives. Similar to Veganuary, Movember’s social aspect drives growth. Daily progress updates on social media keep participants motivated and the campaign visible, creating fundraising opportunities throughout the month.
The mustache itself is secondary; even those struggling to grow facial hair participate enthusiastically, proving the campaign’s effectiveness. Like many awareness campaigns, Movember blends lightheartedness with a serious message to broaden its reach.
3. Women’s March
On January 21, 2017, 500,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., protesting Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Image via CNN This event, now known as one of the largest protest marches in modern history, started as a Facebook post by Teresa Shook from Hawaii, inviting her network to march. Similar pages emerged and merged, forming the official Women’s March. Planned Parenthood assisted with organization, and over 100 organizations provided support. The organizers recognized the importance of unified branding early on. This helped transition from loosely connected groups to a cohesive event uniting hundreds of special interests and causes, from domestic abuse prevention to reproductive rights.
Besides strong branding, the campaign utilized hashtags effectively, particularly #WhyIMarch. Used beyond the protest day (surpassing 200,000 mentions in three days), it continues in subsequent events, demonstrating the value of evergreen hashtags.
4. Everytown for Gun Safety
The FBI defines a a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people, excluding the shooter, are injured or killed by firearms at the same time and location. By this definition, America experienced a mass shooting nearly every day in 2017.
A visualization of mass shootings by month in 2017, via The New York Times Regardless of your stance on the Second Amendment, America’s gun violence problem is undeniable. The data on firearm-related deaths reveals the problem’s terrifying scale, even if the solution remains elusive. Numerous gun reform organizations exist in the U.S., with Everytown for Gun Safety among the largest and most active. Founded in 2014 through the merger of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America,
Everytown advocates for comprehensive background check reform, legislation barring convicted domestic abusers from owning firearms, and ending federal statutes enabling legal gun trafficking in some states. They actively campaign about firearm dangers to women through domestic violence.
Image via Everytown for Gun Safety In terms of general awareness (or brand recognition), Everytown is a successful cause-based campaign. Even with policy influence challenges, it has become synonymous with U.S. gun reform, and a highly visible lobbying force. While lobbying for specific legislation, it’s their success as a growing anti-gun violence movement that demonstrates the power of cause-based campaigns. Like the Women’s March, Everytown’s branding is recognizable, visually clever, and provides a rallying point for supporters.
Actress and gun reform advocate Julianne Moore at an Everytown for Gun Safety rally. Image via Everytown for Gun Safety. Despite limited policy impact, Everytown thrives. They are one of the most prominent gun reform groups, garnering high-profile support from Emma Stone, Laura Dern, Julianne Moore, and politicians like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a major financier.
5. Feeding America
Despite its wealth, the U.S. has one of the world’s highest child poverty rates. About one in five American children lives in poverty children experience food insecurity, a devastating and potentially deadly aspect of poverty.
Some sobering statistics from Feeding America’s Hunger in America 2014 report Feeding America is a leading U.S. nonprofit combatting food insecurity in vulnerable communities. Annually, over 46 million people rely on their programs and food banks. The Feeding America network, comprising over 200 food banks and 60,000 pantries, serves one in seven Americans.
Image via Feeding America They frequently launch large-scale campaigns to highlight child hunger, utilizing print, billboards, online and social media. They also run crucial seasonal campaigns during challenging times like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Beyond their impact, Feeding America demonstrates addressing poverty without resorting to exploitative imagery. They prioritize dignity and respect, highlighting socioeconomic causes and their disproportionate impact on the poor and minorities, rather than blaming individuals. They also leverage modern trends to showcase hunger’s prevalence:
Image via Feeding America Feeding America exemplifies how cause-based marketing helps people and establishes nonprofits as leaders against pressing social problems.
6. WWF
The World Wildlife Foundation is a leading conservation organization. While known for protecting endangered species, they are also active in habitat conservation.
WWF has launched numerous cause-related campaigns, but a recent one highlighting rainforest deforestation stood out. The creative featured a rainforest resembling human lungs, partially clear-cut, reminding us that protecting rainforests benefits both wildlife and our planet. This powerful visual, created by French agency TBWA\Paris, lacked a specific call to action. Without a hashtag, landing page, or QR code (appearing mainly in ambient locations like subways), the campaign’s performance and objectives were difficult to track, making impact and ROI justification challenging.
Rebels with a Cause
As demonstrated, cause-based marketing effectively raises awareness for crucial issues. While performance tracking can be difficult, the need for such campaigns has never been greater. Which cause-based campaigns resonate with you? Have any persuaded you to make a change or reconsider your stance on a complex topic?