Connect Your Brand to a Cause & Your Target Market

Segmenting a market for your product or service is usually based upon factors such as geography, demographics, beliefs, the “occasion of use of the product” or service, social factors, and the social channel in which the audience is consuming content. Once you identify your target market segment(s), you need to discover their issues or needs and position your brand to address their most pressing concerns. You must also create content that resonates with them at the right time and in the right social channel so that they share your branded content.

“It's difficult for audiences to remain disinterested when you develop content that interacts with them unconsciously and elicits powerful emotions. Your target audience will be more likely to share your content, and thus you will have a higher chance of being remembered.” - Forbes

Cause Marketing

One way to connect on an emotional level with your audience is to associate your brand or business with a charitable cause or social issue. This concept, called cause or cause-related marketing, is a great marketing strategy that can yield several benefits:

1. Corporate Social Responsibility: Your support of a charitable cause positively impacts your community on a social or environmental scale. This has the ability to generate significant goodwill (and potential loyalty) toward your brand.

2. Brand alignment with a non-profit cause also gives your public relations campaigns a purpose and can help you differentiate your business from the competition. Evaluate your competitors’ marketing strategies: How are creating value for their community, if at all?

3. Finally, cause marketing is usually low-cost, which makes it an especially attractive option for smaller businesses that may have a smaller marketing budget. Think about the potential return on investment (ROI) in cause-related marketing!

Examples of Effective Cause Marketing

Animal Welfare

A well-known example includes the Subaru brand and the company’s love of pets. They support local animal shelters, host adoption events at their dealerships, and have designed Subaru-branded pet gear for their pet-loving drivers. The American Pet Products Association (APPA) determined that pet market sales exceeded $100 billion USD in 2020. More than 114 million U.S. households have either a dog (69 million) or a cat (45.3 million) - and these furry family members travel in the car!

Environmental Sustainability

Patagonia, a well-known, privately-owned U.S. outdoor clothing company, has a “self-imposed Earth tax, 1% for the Planet, [that] provides support to environmental nonprofits working to defend our air, land, and water around the globe.” This is a strategic cause for the outdoor company, especially at a time when claims of “sustainable fashion” in the retail industry have come under scrutiny.

Social Issues

The personal care brand, Dove, is another example of a company using effective cause marketing by addressing social issues. With its Dove Self-Esteem Project, the company is responding to the impact of social media on the mental health of children and young adults. According to Dove, the

“Self-Esteem Project was created from a vision where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. We’ve reached over 60 million young people with self-esteem education, and by 2030, we're aiming to have helped ¼ billion build their positive body image. Our mission is to ensure that the next generation grows up enjoying a positive relationship with the way they look —helping young people raise their self-esteem and realize their full potential.”

Each of these companies has connected with their target markets (i.e., pet owners, outdoor enthusiasts concerned about the environment, and parents of children impacted by social media’s portrayal of beauty) and appealed to their emotions through cause marketing.

Conclusion

As Mark Schaefer has simply put it, “Branding is creating an emotional connection between what you do and the community… The most human company wins.” Small businesses can employ low-cost, cause marketing strategies to successfully differentiate themselves from the competition and achieve a high return on investment from their marketing efforts.

Mark Schaefer is the author of “Cumulative Advantage.” Quote captured during a presentation in Sandestin, FL for the Northwest Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) on January 18, 2022.

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ELEVATE NEXT is a strategic business consulting and digital marketing firm with over 10 years of ELEVATING organizations to the NEXT level. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation to develop a customized marketing plan to grow your business profitably.

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