Buy this toy as a holiday gift and IKEA will make a donation!

This week in IMC 617 we?re thinking about the impact of ?cause-related promotions,? the sales promotion part of cause-related marketing, a type of marketing communications more commonly associated with public relations. Although I?ve never thought about it in these terms before, those promises that ?10% of net profits from this purchase? go to help XX cause can actually be considered a sales promotion in the same sense that a coupon for ?10% off the everyday price? is a sales promotion.

Really, the difference between a cause-related sales promotion and a regular sales promotion is that the brand is putting 10% of your green backs, and its name, toward a charitable cause instead of putting those promotion dollars back into its channel partners or customers. The brand?s objective is to stimulate purchase as well as to transfer some attributes of cause commitment to its brand image.From an IMC perspective, the selected cause should be an enhancement of brand values and appealing to customers, including employees for whom the relationship with a charitable cause can increase satisfaction and pride and shoppers for whom the cause increases positive feelings about the purchase.

The tricky part, posed by Dr. Lee, is how to measure the impact of cause-related promotions! Do they really impact our purchase decisions? To me this is an interesting time to consider this, with most of us shopping for holiday gifts! I think cause-related promotions impact my purchase decisions, but ? to be honest, only if I?m pretty interested in the product anyway. And if the competitive product isn?t a lot better, or if there isn?t a competitive product nearby ?

My question for you this week: Has ?cause-related marketing? persuaded you to buy one gift over another this holiday season?

1) Have you bought from a particular brand because you know the brand supports causes you care about?

2) Have you been more likely to buy a particular gift because you know a portion of net profits for that product is donated to a cause you care about?

3) Have you not started shopping yet? ;-)

Hmm, OK, just in case you’re like me and you’re just in need of some shopping ideas, here are some holiday gift ideas from brands using cause-related sales promotion:

• Gap for (PRODUCT) Red: If any of you have walked by a Gap store anytime since last fall, I?m sure you?ve seen the (RED) window exhibits! The Gap donates 50% of the proceeds of sales of RED apparel and accessories to fund medical treatment for people with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

• IKEA: IKEA is offering a cause-related holiday gift this year! IKEA sells some funky soft toys, and will donate $1 for every soft toy you purchase until December 24th to a Save the Children/Unicef project to buy school supplies/enhance educational opportunities for children in developing countries.

• Patagonia?s Arctic Wildlife T-Shirt: Five dollars from the sale of each shirt goes to the Alaska Wilderness League.

• Coldwater Creek will donate 10% of the purchase price of this Pink Plaid Cookbook to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer research foundation.

• iGive.com This is a really different form of cause marketing ? “an affiliate program”! 685 retail brands participate in iGive.com ?online mall,? in which shoppers ?register? with any non-profit ?cause? and a portion of ALL purchases made at a participating retailer (via the www.iGive.com portal) is contributed to your chosen cause. What?s in it for the retailers? iGive.com claims it offers a highly loyal audience that will shop with participating retailers because they are strongly committed to their cause. Once the customer begins shopping with a participating retailer, iGive.com claims, that customer is more likely to continue shopping there.

There?s still time to enter! Todd, Heidi, and Denil have a pretty good chance of winning though! ;-) Leave a comment and tell us something YOU have learned that is unique to IMC as opposed to marketing in general ? or ? tell us why you want to increase your understanding in IMC. I will be awarding one of you with this fascinating (if you?re an IMC geek) and totally readable book written by Don Schultz (also author of our IMC 617 text!) and Heidi Schultz (his marketing consultant wife!) called IMC the Next Generation, Five Steps for Delivering Value and Measuring Returns Using Marketing Communication. You?ll have it in time to enjoy your Winter Break from the IMC program!

The lucky winner will be pulled at random out of my Boston Red Sox sorting cap. You?ve got a few weeks to stop by and share your thoughts about IMC ? the drawing will be held on December 14 at 11:00 pm EST. And of course, I will include the cost of shipping your new book to you absolutely free!!

As Always:

?Ask April? (like ?Ask Todd?) is Open! Click ?reply to article? and ask anything you?d like to know about IMC 617 Sales Promotion or the IMC program at WVU.