Who Are You, and Why Should I Care What You Say?

Companies are becoming increasingly involved with sponsoring social causes, such as encouraging consumers not to drink and drive. These do-good practices are laudable. They also support socially redeeming causes, which are in the best interest of the community at large.

But does involvement with social causes benefit the companies themselves? The answer may depend on each company. Results from two recent experiments suggest that consumers view socially oriented messages differently based on the identity of the sponsor. For example:

Participants who viewed an anti-drinking and driving message sponsored by the non-profit organization, MADD, inferred more positive, society-serving motives to the sponsor.
Participants who viewed the same ad sponsored by Budweiser inferred more negative, self-serving motives to the sponsor.

The study also demonstrated that attributions telling why the marketers were participating in the cause-related marketing did not change consumer attitudes toward the sponsoring company. If the company had a perceived "bad" or otherwise "negative" reputation, their altruism was viewed as self-serving.

The message here for marketers? Prior corporate reputation affects public perceptions about corporate philanthropic messages.

The Po!nt: Match your history to your cause. Your reputation will proceed you when you engage in cause-related marketing.

Source: "Does Corporate Sponsorship of a Socially-Oriented Message Make a Difference? An Investigation of the Effects of Sponsorship Identity on Responses to an Anti-Drinking and Driving Message" by Lisa R. Szykman, Paul N. Bloom and Jennifer Blazing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2004.

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