Definitions of CRM

“the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities characterized by an offer from a firm to contribute to a designated cause when customers make purchases” (Varadarajan and Menon, 1988: 60). Despite being broadly accepted, this definition has been widened through the years with the contributions of other authors. Specifically, it was in the mid-90’s when Kotler and Andreasen defined CRM as “any effort by a corporation to increase its own sales by contributing to the objectives of one or more nonprofit organizations” (Kotler and Andreasen, 1996: 304).
Two years later, Business in the Community, an organization which develops CRM programmes in the UK, stated that CRM programmes were a commercial activity in which companies were linked to social causes for mutual benefit (Business in the Community,
1998).

And one year after, in 1999, Pringle and Thompson stated that CRM was “a strategic positioning and marketing tool which links a company or brand to a relevant social cause or issue, for mutual benefit” (Pringle and Thompson, 1999: 3). This statement widened the contributions made until that date, stating for the very first time that CRM was a strategic marketing tool and therefore a long-term strategy.

What was more, and according to these authors, “the distinctive characteristic of the true Cause Related Marketing is longevity. Charity promotions are by definition shorttermist both in the actual period during which they occur and also in the attitude that underlines them. […]. The Cause Related Marketing campaign is looking for a fundamental and long-term change both in brand image and in the approach to the tackling of an issue or a cause: it is strategic not tactical” (Pringle and Thompson, 1999: 102).

By that time, Sue Adkins had made similar contributions, stating that CRM was “a strategy that