When you ask an expectant mother or father what they hope they are having, the response is usually “I don’t care if it is a boy or girl as long as they are healthy”. What if they aren’t? Meet Braelyn. She was due in April but born in January. Her parents live here in Murray, but Braelyn was born in Nashville. Because she was premature, she had to stay in the NICU. Once her mother was discharged from the hospital a few days after her birth, what was she to do? Would she leave her daughter in Nashville and return home to Murray? That’s not a likely option. She couldn’t afford to pay for a hotel, especially when she was told that Braelyn could be in the hospital for weeks. At that point someone told her about the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House is a safe place to stay within walking distance from the hospital; it is like a hotel with a dorm set-up that has rates based on your income. The Ronald McDonald House if mostly funded by donations. One way to donate is through cause marketing by buying a Happy Meal. Cause marketing (also referred to as cause-related marketing) is a type of marketing that involves the cooperative efforts of a “for profit” business and a nonprofit organization for mutual benefit. According to adage.com, the field of cause marketing began in 1983, when American Express raised money for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Adage.com states that “During a 3 month period, American Express offered to contribute one cent for each card transaction and $1 for each new card issued and backed the offer with a substantial media campaign.” An article on about.com entitled Cause Related Marketing: What you Need to Know goes on to say that “the results are now legendary. The Restoration Fund raised over $1.7 million and American Express card use rose over 27%. New card applications increased 45% over the previous year” Cause-related marketing campaigns can appear in a variety of forms and each form can benefit organizations in different ways. While conducting the research for this presentation, we came across many campaigns that can be categorized into the five forms that we are going to discuss today. We will tell how cause marketing is used with product sales, purchase plus, licensing, cobranded events, and social or public service marketing campaigns. I. First, let’s talk about product sales. Product Sales- sell specially branded with a portion of the selling price going to the organization’s cause. For instance, one company that relies heavily on product sales to raise awareness and raise money is the Red Campaign. The Red campaign uses product sales a good deal in their cause marketing campaign. a) According to the Red Campaign website joinred.com, The Red Campaign (RED) money funds grants that currently go to HIV/AIDS programs overseas. Over 7.5 million people have been impacted by (RED) supported grants. To date, (RED) partners and events have contributed more than $180 million. 100% goes to programs on the ground - no overhead is taken by (RED). b) Some companies that partner with the Red Campaign are Apple, American Express, Converse, GAP, and Nike. c) Some of the products that you can buy to support the Red campaign are a red IPad case from Apple, special cans of Coca-Cola, and red Converse shoes.

II. Next: Social Media Cause Marketing- Another form of cause related marketing takes the shape of social media marketing. Social media includes websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube. a) According to about.com, social media cause marketing involves the use of marketing principles and techniques to encourage behavior change in a particular audience using social media. b) One example of social media cause marketing is Macy’s campaign for the American Heart Association. i. For Valentine’s Day, Macy’s created a new campaign that allowed people to send their loved ones Valentine’s Day hearts via Facebook and Twitter for a small fee. ii. The money made from those hearts went directly to the American Heart Association.

III. Another type of Cause Marketing is the licensing of the nonprofit's logo, brand, and assets. This type of marketing is where you have an item like at T-shirt, mug, or credit card and you put the nonprofits logo on the item. The World Wildlife Federation participates in this type of cause marketing. According to the WWF website, WWF works with companies interested in providing their customers with opportunities to show their support and contribute actively to saving nature. WWF license the panda logo and WWF name to secure revenue and to build brand awareness. * One version of this is the World Wildlife Fund Visa credit card with Cash Rewards from Bank of America. The Bank of America will contribute $100 to WWF for each new qualifying World Wildlife Fund Visa® credit card account. * This past Christmas WWF partnered with Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola created a white can for an effort called Artic Home. Funds raised through Arctic Home will support WWF's efforts to protect the polar bear's home through research, local knowledge collection and community-based partnerships. Customers could look for special codes on white cans and caps in stores nationwide between November 1, 2011 and March 15, 2012 and Coke will match eligible consumer donations made with the codes up to $1,000,000.

IV. Cobranded events and programs is another form of cause marketing. In this form of cause marketing a nonprofit and a for-profit company pair up during an event. One organization that is huge on all types of cause marketing is the Susan G. Komen foundation. According to their website they were able to invest an additional $47 million in 2011 through events, products, and programs thanks to their partners and sponsors. * New Balance has been a National Series Sponsor of the Komen Race for the Cure® Series since 1991 and in 2002 launched the Lace Up for the Cure® and Collection. From the retail sales of this collection, New Balance donates 5% of the manufactured suggested retail price to Komen for the Cure with an annual guaranteed minimum donation of $500,000. Together, step-by-step, New Balance and Komen are making excellent happen.
SELF Magazine is a sponsor for the National Race Series. For the last two years online registrants signing up to participate in the Race for Cure events will receive a l year subscription of SELF. SELF magazine helps the Komen race for a cure by donating advertising space in their magazine to help raise awareness of the cause. SELF also created a 30 Day Race Challenge that helps participants prepare for the Race by offering tips on training, fundraising and other breast health information.

V. Finally, let’s take a look at purchase plus campaigns. A purchase plus campaign takes place at the register when you are asked if you would like to donate or buy an item. Locally I have seen this at McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and the Dollar Tree. a) At McDonald’s, they ask if you would like to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. When you do, they give you a piece of paper to write your name on to showcase your donation. They also have change collectors at the drive thru window and at the registers. Wal-Mart has also participated in a similar manner with the Children’s Miracle Network. Years ago, they had ‘balloons’ that you could buy for $1 and write your name on. They now have cans at the registers to collect the donations. b) The Dollar Tree here in Murray asks if you would like to buy an item. I have donated items such as school supplies for low income families and a toy at Christmas time for the Toys for Tots. Recently, I bought some items for families that lost everything when a tornado came through Ky in early March. By buying an item that only costs $1, you could give a little boy or girl pencils or crayons for school. You could buy a child something that may be the only thing they get that year for Christmas. You could help someone that has lost everything and only wants to wash their face or brush their teeth. *