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July 10, 2008

Ways to Maintain Company-Charity Marketing Partnerships

Though charities are increasingly forming partnerships with corporations on cause-marketing deals, the economy’s downturn may discourage businesses from these ventures, writes Joe Waters, author of the Selfish Giving blog.

Mr. Waters, the director of of cause marketing for an unnamed Boston group, writes that, “Just this week a major partner slashed its sponsorship from $93,000 to $7,500. Ouch!”

He offers three tips to charities on retaining corporations in cause-marketing relationships. First, he says, keep your friends (or longstanding supporters) close. Secondly, keep your “enemies,” or less supportive corporations, closer.

“They are the ones who want to run when things get hot in the trenches,” he writes. “These are the companies that you have to hand-hold through the rough spells…the ones you have to give room to to adjust the timing, theme, and length of their cause-marketing program to fit their new reality. If they want to be an event sponsor of your April fund raiser but can’t do a point-of-sale program to pay for it until October, let them! Make it hard for them to say no and easy to stay your friend.”

Finally, Mr. Waters suggests that “if you can’t bite, nibble,” meaning create opportunities for corporations to give at a lower level, and look for other small ways to raise money that will not have a great impact on donors, such as raising ticket prices to a large event by a dollar or two.

How about your organization? Are you seeing a decrease in support from corporate supporters? Are you doing anything new or different to maintain these partnerships?

For more tips on cause-marketing, see our recent live discussion on the subject.

— Cassie Moore

Thursday July 10, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. Hi, Cassie. I’ve seen a lot of confusion in the trenches on the definition of cause marketing. If we take Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee’s viewpoint in Corporate Social Responsibility (Wiley 2005), cause-related marketing and sponsorship are two different things. Cause-related marketing is based on product sales or transactions and is dependent on on consumer action. Buying a table at a fundraiser, for example, is more akin to corporate philanthropy.

   What are your thoughts?

   Elaine Fogel
   Solutions Marketing & Consulting LLC
   www.solutionsmc.net

   — Elaine Fogel    Jul 12, 11:29 AM    #

Commenting is closed for this article.

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