Psychological antecedents of consumer trust in CRM campaigns and donation intentions: The moderating role of creativity

Cause-related marketing (CRM) refers to charitable donation contingent on consumer purchase of a product by supporting a specific cause that is linked to a non-profit organization (NPO). The present research examines the influence of consumer psychographic traits on trust in CRM campaign and its resulting impact on intention to donate money to NPO. The results indicate that collectivism and hedonism have positive effect on trust in CRM campaign, but individualism and utilitarianism have negative effect on trust in CRM campaign. Moreover, the result shows that trust in the CRM campaign had significant positive effect on donation intentions. We further have investigated the role of cognitive process and demonstrated the moderating effect of creativity on the impact of trust in CRM campaign and donation intentions, such that the higher level of creativity led to higher level of donation intentions, if consumers have trust in CRM campaign. This research offers marketers and advertising professionals’ practical insights to design effective CRM campaigns. Additionally, it assists NPO managers to understand the crucial role of trust and creativity in CRM campaigns and its positive impact on donation intentions. Academic and managerial implications of this research study along with future directions are discussed.     

The Role of Logo Recoloring on Perceptual Fluency in Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of brand esthetics on consumer response to cause-related marketing campaigns. Drawing on brand visual identity and advertising research, a processing fluency perspective is explored in the relationship between stimulus characteristics and consumer judgment. Processing fluency suggests color enhances the ease with which consumers recognize and process brand elements, and more broadly, cause-related marketing campaigns. Brand logos were recolored to enhance the perceptual fluency of the two entities. Its joint effect with conceptual congruence (e.g., fit) indicate that both low and high fit brands benefit from enhanced processing fluency, with a more robust outcome for high fit brands. These effects were mediated by logo evaluation, leading to a new path of fit perceptions in CRM initiatives.     

Cause-Relating Marketing: The Effects of Purchase Quantity and Firm Donation Amount on Consumer Inferences and Participation Intentions

A conceptual model for a cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign, which examines the effects of purchase quantity and firm donation amount on consumer perceptions of the firm (i.e., firm motive and corporate social responsibility) and participation intentions, is developed and tested in three separate studies. In Study 1, we find the positive effect of firm donation amount on participation intentions was fully mediated by consumer inferences about the firm and the negative effect of purchase quantity on participation intentions was only partially mediated by these inferences. In Study 2, and consistent with the persuasion knowledge model, we demonstrate that the effects of purchase quantity on firm inferences and subsequent participation intentions are moderated by consumer participation effort where higher participation requirements (e.g., mail-in proof-of-purchase) yield more negative purchase quantity effects. We extend the model in Study 3 to incorporate multiple exchange mechanisms and find that although purchase quantity does affect participation intentions by social exchange, the effects of purchase quantity are primarily the result of the economic exchange. Recommendations for the design of cause-related marketing campaigns and for future research are discussed.     

Integrating public service and marketing differentiation: an analysis of the American Express Corporation’s “Charge Against Hunger” promotion program

Dating back to the 1980s, American Express (AMEX) has been a corporate leader in successfully applying cause-related marketing (CRM) to boost membership and credit card usage in troubled markets. During a downturn in the mid-1990s, AMEX and Share Our Strength (SOS), a nonprofit organization tackling the problem of hunger in the United States, formed a strategic alliance to create one of the best known and most highly touted CRM campaigns. AMEX implemented an innovative cause branding (CB) effort to convince its cardholders to “Charge Against Hunger” (CAH) by utilizing their AMEX credit cards more frequently during the holiday season. Over the 4-year life of the program, the issue of hunger in the United States was put somewhat higher on the public agenda as more than US $21 million were raised for SOS projects. This study assesses how AMEX’s public relations efforts contributed to the success of the CAH campaign.     

Missing ingredients in cause-related advertising

In traditional cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, marketers focus on a promoted product and ads contain CRM messages only in small print at the bottom. Some recent marketers have chosen to highlight the cause, with the product taking a lesser role in the advertising copy. The purpose of this research is to compare these two execution styles. Moderating effects of product type and cause framing are considered. Experimental results indicate that a cause-focused ad is more effective in hedonic product promotion and a product-orientated ad is more effective in utilitarian product promotion. An other-benefit appeal facilitates the effects of a cause-related ad to individuals with a hedonic tendency towards the product, and a self-related appeal enhances the effects of a product-orientated ad to those with a utilitarian tendency towards the product. The findings underscore the importance for marketers to learn more about how visuals work, and in turn suggest how practitioners can avoid negative consumer reactions to their cause-related ads.     

Electronic Advertising

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of the internet and online sales as a viable way of doing business, many merchandisers have attempted to do much of their marketing by creating advertising campaigns directed at online customers. However, just as in the physical marketplaces of the real world, there are complexities to promoting online businesses. Although the ideas of prospecting, promotion, and push-pull marketing are the same, the manners in which they are approached are quite different, and different systems have begun to develop to address each of these needs. Several different campaign types have been developed. Branding campaigns, click-through campaigns, and sell-through campaigns are the ones that will be discussed here, as well as basic electronic prospecting and final advertising hosting of the campaign. The purpose of this study is to provide the managers with a systematic method for examining a more comprehensive understanding of electronic advertising, as developing the actual campaign. The implications of such examinations will be addressed, in regards to a few important issues. Costs associated with these systems will be touched on, not only monetary but also in terms of times and opportunity, and specific strategies for maintaining such a system will be discussed. Such information should be helpful in developing and maintaining a successful online advertising strategy, one that will stand the test of time.     

Employee Participation in Cause-Related Marketing Strategies: A Study of Management Perceptions from British Consumer Service Industries

The purpose of cause-related marketing (CRM) is to publicise and capitalise on a firm??s corporate social performance (CSP) by enhancing its legitimacy in the eyes of its stakeholders. This study focuses on the firm??s internal stakeholders ?C i.e. its employees ?C and the extent of their involvement in the selection of social campaigns. Whilst the difficulties of managing a firm that has lost or damaged its legitimacy in the eyes of its employees are well known, little is understood about the extent to which managers and their social partners listen to and involve their employees in the legitimation process. Through telephone interviews with non-profit organisations and senior managers of service sector firms, the extent of employee involvement in CRM campaigns and the perceived benefits of doing so are investigated.?Amongst other things, we find that (i) the extent of employee participation varies significantly across firms; (ii) larger CRM campaigns tend to be managed centrally with relatively less employee participation than smaller ones and (iii) financial services firms are more likely to make CRM decisions centrally, with relatively less employee participation than retail services firms.     

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Millennials’ Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions

This study, using scenarios, examined the impact of two kinds of cause-related marketing (CRM) efforts (a traditional donation of a portion of sales to a related cause and a more strategic one-for-one donation of donating a product to a related cause when that product was purchased) on millennials’ (those born between 1982 and 2000) attitudes and purchase intentions for four different consumer product categories. The four different consumer product categories selected included a specialty good (laptop), a shopping good (hat), a convenience good (bottled water), and a service (food restaurant). Given the importance of social media to millennials, this research also examined the role of social media on CRM awareness. While millennials had relatively low awareness of CRM campaigns, there was a positive correlation between social media use and CRM awareness. Additionally, CRM efforts may not work for all products as there was no impact on attitude or purchase intention for the product category of laptops. Additionally, the positive attitudes created by marketers’ CRM efforts will not always translate to increased purchase intentions. The use of a strategic one-for-one CRM effort though had a greater impact, specifically for products that deal with needed fundamentals, such as food and water.     

Guilt appeals in cause-related marketing

Despite the growth of cause-related marketing (CRM), little is known about how consumers process cause-focused messages that contain emotional appeals. The present research seeks to further the understanding of guilt appeals in CRM by clarifying the moderating roles of product type and donation magnitude, and exploring the situations when a guilt appeal backfires. Although experimental results indicate that a guilt appeal is more effective than a non-guilt appeal, a guilt appeal backfires when the perceived hedonic value of a product is high. A high donation magnitude also eliminates CRM effectiveness of the guilt appeal. There is an interaction between guilt appeal and donation magnitude when promoting hedonic products with CRM. The findings underscore the importance for marketers of learning more about how guilt appeals work, and in turn describe how practitioners can avoid negative consumer reactions to their guilt appeals.     

Explicit Donations and Inferred Endorsements

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, while not necessarily intended to constitute an endorsement of the brand by the participating nonprofit organization, may nonetheless be perceived by consumers as such. Our experimental findings of two common types of CSR initiatives (licensing associations and cause-related marketing) suggest that not only can the method of presentation of CSR initiatives in advertising result in perceptions of nonprofit endorsement, but also may be entirely confused with explicit seals of approval. Heightened processing motivation either fails to correct the misperception of nonprofit endorsement or may even enhance its perception as a result of the presentation of the CSR initiative in an advertisement. Level of fit between the nonprofit and for-profit brand may also result in increased perception of endorsement. Given the positive effects of third-party endorsements, our results suggest that some CSR initiatives may result in consumer inferences that are inaccurate but desirable for the company, even while these inferences have potentially negative consequences for the nonprofit.     

How much to give? — The effect of donation size on tactical and strategic success in cause-related marketing

In cause-related marketing (CM), companies promise a donation to a cause every time a consumer makes a purchase. We analyze the impact of the size of this donation on brand choice (tactical success) and brand image (strategic success). Our results reveal different effects of donation size on these success measures. For brand choice, the effect of donation size is moderated by a financial trade-off for consumers, whereas the effect on brand image is moderated by donation framing. Specifically, we show that donation size has a positive effect on brand choice if consumers face no financial trade-off; i.e., if they do not have to choose between triggering a donation or saving money. The effect is negative if a trade-off exists such that higher donations come at higher costs. Brand image is enhanced by larger donations if the framing is nonmonetary (e.g., the campaign promises the provision of vaccinations), whereas donation size has a negative effect if donation framing is monetary (e.g., the campaign states the Euro amount). If campaigns use a combination of both frames, the effect of donation size on brand image has an inverted U shape. Our results suggest that CM enhances tactical and strategic success only if firms select the right donation size, taking into account donation framing and financial trade-offs.     

Cause-Related Marketing: Keys to Successful Relationships with Corporate Sponsors and Their Customers

SUMMARY

An increasingly popular method for nonprofits to raise awareness, educate the public, and receive financial support from corporations is through cause-related marketing. The distinctive feature of cause-related marketing is the corporate sponsor's contribution to a designated cause being tied to customers' participating in revenue-producing transactions with the sponsor. The sponsor benefits from favorable publicity and increased sales. This article discusses factors contributing to the potential success of a cause-related marketing campaign: the sponsor's product quality, fair pricing, and customer traits; the nonprofit's and the sponsor's reputation, shared values, good communication, and commitment; a well-planned and executed campaign, and specific terms that protect both party's assets and clearly outline each party's responsibilities.     

Who Receives What? The Influence of the Donation Magnitude and Donation Recipient in Cause-Related Marketing

Cause-related marketing campaign structural elements (CSEs) are individual message components that are selected for campaigns and have the ability to influence consumer intentions and behavior. In this study, the impact of donation magnitude (small; large) and donation recipient (branded and well-known; branded and fictitious; unbranded and well-known) on the dependent variables of consumer attitude toward the offer, attitude toward the alliance, and participation intention is explored by means of a 2?×?3 between-subjects experiment. Despite significant differences in familiarity with and attitude toward the donation recipient, significant differences between groups in terms of the dependent variables were not found. The nature of the sample (Generation Y), their attitude toward helping others and charitable organizations, social exchange theory, and equity theory are explored in an attempt to clarify the lack of significant differences pertaining to the dependent variables.     

An Investigation of the Characteristics of Australian Charitable Donors

Ads using a range of emotional appeals have been used in different donation campaigns, but, if not managed well, can evoke anger and irritation and as a result alienate potential donors. An understanding of the key donors’ demographics, psychographics, and perception of charities can then help build a better advertising campaign toward donation intention. This research therefore aims to investigate this proposition by building and extending on previous research on an Australian sample. The sample was randomly drawn from the Australian White Pages, and identified respondents were mailed a self-administered survey. Results showed that donors are likely to be older and less highly educated. Religiosity was found to have low influence on charitable donations. Australian donors were also more likely to have positive attitudes toward international charities as opposed to national charities. Further research should focus on cross-country comparisons of donor characteristics to provide a more holistic perspective on donor behavior and thus assist managerial decisions in the marketing of charities.     

CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF CORPORATE DONATIONS Effects of Company Reputation for Social Responsibility and Type of Donation

In cause-related marketing (CRM), a company agrees to donate money to a charity each time a consumer engages in a revenue-producing transaction with the firm. Since the company benefits first before any obligation to donate is accrued, consumers might perceive this practice to be less altruistic than an unconditional donation to a cause. If so, CRM could backfire, injuring corporate image. This study investigated the effects of type of donation (conditional or not conditional upon corporate revenue) and reputation of the firm making the donation (firms described as scrupulous, average, or irresponsible in the discharge of their social responsibility) on consumer regard for the firm; perceived mercenary intent of the firm; and whether the social performance of the company is consistent with "good" management. Consumer responses were predicted based on the contrast effect and attribution theory. Results suggest that irresponsible firms increased their favor with consumers by pursuing either type of donation. The average firm enhanced its image by pursuing an unconditional donation, but a conditional donation did not damage firm image. Perception of the scrupulous firm was little changed after unconditional donation, but a scrupulous firm suffered a loss of favor by pursuing CRM. It is concluded that the average firm does not risk a loss of public goodwill when using CRM.     

An Evolutionary Process Model of Cause‐Related Marketing and Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature

Cause‐related marketing (CRM) is almost ubiquitous as brands of all price points participate in this marketing strategy in the United States and internationally, as well. The value that CRM brings to the firm, the consumer, and the nonprofit organization has made it a popular and valuable tool for marketers. Academic research on CRM has gained momentum in recent years as the strategy has matured. However, insights have occurred without a framework to provide structure and direction for this body of research. Given CRM's continued popularity, the purpose of this article is to (1) propose an evolutionary process model (EPM) of CRM to explain the iterative process (2) utilize this model as a framework for (a) organizing the systematic review of the empirical literature on CRM and (b) for identifying some gaps in the literature. Propositions based on these gaps are provided for future research.     

Consumer response to retailer use of cause-related marketing: Is more fit better?

Although marketers increasingly rely upon cause-related marketing strategies to increase sales, controversy exists regarding whether a retailer should partner with causes offering high or low fit levels with its core business practices. The present investigation extends prior research by examining how retailer–cause fit affects consumer evaluations of retailers’ cause-related marketing strategies. The results indicate that the effects of retailer–cause fit are moderated by consumer perceptions of the retailer's motive for engaging in cause-related marketing (Study 1), by the affinity that consumers hold for the social cause component of the campaign (Study 2), as well as by the interactive effects associated with the two moderators (Study 3).     

Cournot and Bertrand Competition when Advertising Rotates Demand: The Case of Honda and Scion

We develop a model to explain why firm behavior differs in the market for small cars. Firms such as Honda compete in output (Cournot) and produce marketing campaigns with universal appeal, while firms such as Scion compete in price (Bertrand) and produce targeted marketing campaigns. We show that this mixture of Cournot and Bertrand behavior can occur when advertising rotates demand. When behaving as a Cournot-type firm such as Honda, it is more profitable to pursue a mass-market advertising campaign that rotates demand counterclockwise when it faces relatively low unit costs and a flat demand function. When behaving as a Bertrand-type firm such as Scion, it pays to pursue a niche-market advertising campaign that rotates demand clockwise when it faces relatively high unit costs and a steep demand.     

Overcoming Consumer Skepticism in Cause-Related Marketing: The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Donation Size Claim Objectivity

Even though cause-related marketing has become an increasingly popular marketing tool, consumers have become skeptical about this strategy. Consumer skepticism is likely to lower the acceptance of advertising claims. The current study investigates how marketers might minimize consumer skepticism by varying the level of perceived corporate social responsibility and the level of claim objectivity regarding donation size. The results indicated that consumers were more likely to disbelieve the ad claim when the advertiser was perceived to be socially irresponsible than responsible. In addition, consumers were more likely to disbelieve the ad claim when the donation size was stated subjectively than objectively.     

How product–cause fit and donation quantifier interact in cause-related marketing (CRM) settings: evidence of the cue congruency effect

We are the first to examine the joint impact of product–cause fit and donation quantifier in the cause-related marketing (CRM) domain. We show that these two CRM cues interact in a unique manner, reflecting the cue congruency effect. Specifically, congruent combinations of these two cues result in high purchase intentions when the cues individually have positive effects. In all other cases, however, purchase intentions are low. Furthermore, we identify moderators of the above cue congruency effect. In Study 1, we show that the cue congruency effect is moderated by product-type, evidencing only in more hedonic product contexts. In Study 2, we show that the above cue congruency effect is moderated by purchase-type, evidencing in planned purchase contexts, but reversing in impulse purchase contexts. We discuss the process mechanism driving these effects, specify the contribution of this research for CRM, cue congruency and impulse purchases, and outline implications for practice.