RUNNING HEAD: Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

CAUSE RELATED MARKETING:

3m As A Corporate Sponsor Of The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

Sandra Obiyan

Royal Roads University

Author Note

This paper was prepared for MGMT 566 – Sustainability and International corporate

Citizenship Taught by Todd Thexton.

Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Brand Value and Ethical Consumerism using 3M’s Co Branding Strategy.

Cause related marketing seems like the ideal solution to many issues surrounding us in

the world today. Consumption philanthropy has the ability to give consumers the notion that they

are making a difference in the issues surrounding us in the world today; the mere activity in itself

is profit oriented. Ethical value is increasingly being viewed by organizations as a vital element

that could validate or potentially destroy a company’s brand (Edwards & Day 2005).

3M had every reason to further develop its strategy with the Canadian Breast Cancer

Foundation (CBCF). According to a 2007 survey of American consumers by cone Inc., 87

percent of consumers were likely to switch from one product to another if the second product

was associated with a good cause… (para. 2, Section Cause related Marketing). Brand value is

well rooted in ethical consumerism. Over the years, brand value has evolved as a major business

strategy incorporating ethical consumerism as portent.

According to Wall Street Journal article, “The Case Against Corporate Social

Responsibility” it was clearly argued that while companies can do well by doing good, more

often they cannot. In my opinion, doing what benefits the society is also equal to revenue

sacrificing and it is known for a fact that change is inevitable and that inevitability is driven at

times by consumers. Knowingly or unknowingly, people tend to display some form of ethics

especially when sacrificing is involved. Take the ALS case for example; 115 million USD was

donated to help support the research. Individuals took out time to pour cold water on their heads

just to support a cause. This just proves to show that there is a voluntary willingness to

participate in an ethical cause. Counter to this, it may come as a shock as to the many

inconsistencies existing across consumer’s ethical decisions.

Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Contextualizing consumer reaction from a brand perspective is a better way of

understanding how that reaction is linked to the way in which a consumer views or perceives a

brand. We start to ponder as to the reason why a customer would place a higher value on a brand

as compared to another; all of which could be determined by a wide variety of factors.

Consumers are increasingly adopting a critical attitude when making their buying decisions and

companies in some way or the other have been subjected to scrutiny to a large extent. If a

product does not meet up to its expectations, consumers would most likely boycott to other

alternatives. Companies are constantly aligning themselves to the wishes of their customers

especially based on the pressure they face to integrate their ethical predisposition into their

brand.

Key Success Factors for Cause Related Marketing

One of the main goals for 3M was to determine how to further activate its corporate

sponsorship relationship with the Canadian breast cancer foundation through a partnership with

the brand. A company has to have certain factors in place, these success factors for this cause

related marketing are as follows:

a. Fit

b. Duration

c. Financially stable

d. CSR integration

e. Communication
Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Cause related marketing should be fit; be it by image, geography or by functionality. The

cause and the company must fit well. Its success is often based of its level of match or

relatedness. Functional fit meaning how the product and the cause fit together and geography

simply refers to the marketability of a brand provincially or globally. Till and Nowak (2000, p.

483) found that long-term campaigns are more likely to stay in consumer’s minds over time as

the association between product and cause has been strengthened through repetition. The

invested resources however prove a sense of financial stability to the consumers; thereby leaving

a high trustworthiness image. The length to which the marketing is done is another factor, which

must be considered in order to allow consumers establish a suitable cognitive link. All the above

parts of the cause related marketing that has to do with communications must however be simple

as well as show transparency (refer to table 1).

The programs main strength is that of popular brand recognition. There is a broad sense of

awareness amongst customers. On the other hand, its weakness is the case of retailers feeling all

“pinked out”. There was also a high expectation placed on Nexcare product, which did not

perform as well as expected (p.2)

Cause Related Marketing: Ethical or Exploitative?

Since the realization of cause related marketing, the daunting question to mind remains

whether or not this technique is morally right by business standards or self interests (Gregory

Baylin, 2010). Controversy as to this being black or white should be considered separately as it is

a very broad topic.

Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Firstly, critics claim for a fact that cause related marketing reduces traditional corporate

philanthropy. Should companies use this means to contribute to the wellbeing of the society? Is

this the most suitable means? (para. 2). Secondly, critics question whether the widespread use of

cause related marketing would result in a transfer of responsibility fro supporting charitable

causes from private individuals to business institutions. Who exactly is responsible for this act of

charity? (para. 2).Thirdly, the debate swirls around aspects of cause related marketing itself and

the ethical standards, which should be used to judge it (para. 2).

The above mentioned criticisms of the cause related marketing align with that of 3M such

that this is what they stand for, but who then solves the problem of breaking even as a company

or not making profit at all. The fact still remains that the percentage of causes that are not

popular enough to be supported lay unsolved and unrecognized. Therefore it would not be “best

practice” per say if all causes were not addressed by all the different organizations in the world.

This is simply a practice done by companies in order to boost profits, which is seen in the case of

3M. Personally I see the cause related marketing replacing the traditional way of doing things. It

has brought about a shift in some way. Nevertheless, both have a part to play such that they both

have criteria to meet according to ethical standards. There are various types of giving, although

with corporations, philanthropy is more defined. Most companies tie their less achieved product

to a cause so that at the end of the day it is recognized and perceived by the consumer as good.

Therefore increasing sales. (Table 2 shows other companies like 3M who use cause related

marketing) Cause related marketing is no doubt a commercial activity. Society has now accepted

the fact that strategic giving can benefit society and the firm simultaneously (Freeman, 1992). In

summary there remains a desire for revenue combined with a sense of giving back has
Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.
characterized the traditional corporate philanthropy as well as Cause related marketing (Cause

related Marketing, Section Summary, p.30)

 Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Table 1: Key Success Factors for Cause Related Marketing.

Retrieved from:http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/MENA/2013/724720/724720.pdf
Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

Table 2:
Cause Related Marketing based on 3M as a Corporate sponsor of the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation.

REFERENCES

Cause related marketing:3m as a corporate sponsor of the Canadian breast cancer foundation

(2011) Retrieved from Royal Roads University Database

Cause related marketing: ethical practice or exploitative procedure? (2010) Retrieved from:

http://thephilanthropist.ca/original-pdfs/Philanthropist-12-2-125.pdf

Ethical consumerism as a key consideration for future brand strategy development in South

Africa (D.H. Tustin & D. de Jongh) Retrieved from:

http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/faculties/service_dept/docs/ethical_SABVI12_3Chap2.p

df

Ethical consumerism isn’t dead, it just needs better marketing (2015) retrieved from:

https://hbr.org/2015/01/ethical-consumerism-isnt-dead-it-just-needs-better-marketing

Success Factors of Cause-Related Marketing – What Developing Countries Can Learn from a

German Sweets Campaign (2013) Retrieved from:

http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/MENA/2013/724720/724720.pdf

To do well by doing good: improving corporate image through cuse related marketing (2012)

retrieved from: http://orca.cf.ac.uk/22132/1/Article%2082.pdf