Executive Interviews: Interview with Richard M Earle on Social Cause Marketing
September 2008 - By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary

Richard M Earle
Richard M Earle,
Senior Associate with the Regis Group, Inc.

• Studies reveal that social marketing helps in differentiating one’s brands, increasing market share and gain more brand loyalty. Despite these benefits, social marketing spending is less when compared with conventional marketing. What are your views on it?
  I believe strongly in the benefits of social marketing you have described. But they can seem somewhat intangible to many corporate marketers when compared to product-centred sales pitches. This is particularly true in a declining economy, such as we are experiencing globally. Hopefully, as corporate bottom lines improve and marketers become more sophisticated, we will see an upturn in social marketing as well.

• Do we need to (create?) exclusive social marketing initiatives, when the businesses in general are expected to be socially responsible and ethically sound? Why do you think there is a demarcation between commercial marketing and social marketing?
  First, their objectives (and techniques) are different. When there is a particular product or service to be sold, based upon specific tangible benefits, there is rarely room within a brief advertising message for the more altruistic benefits that promote a cause. More often than not these belong in a separate campaign, sponsored by a well-established brand whose product benefits are well-known and don’t need to be reiterated.

• Just the way brands are endorsed by celebrities (famous sportspersons, actors, etc.), should a social cause be endorsed by a powerful brand, wherein the powerful brand becomes the celebrity endorser for the social cause taken up? What happens if an important social cause is addressed by a not-so-well-known brand? Would it have the same reach as a powerful brand would have?
  Powerful brands are clearly the most potent and effective cause partners. A not-so-well-known brand would not have the same power. However, as stated earlier, I find that the strongest cause-related partnerships are those that have a solid ‘fit’, in which the sponsoring brand seems a logical partner for the cause. Should a not-so-well-known brand be one that is easily associated with the cause benefit, the cause-related partnership could in fact help establish that brand.

• At what stage of brand life cycle, would it be meaningful for any brand to get out of its comfort zone and start embracing social causes?
  When brand research demonstrates that it is well-recognized, and its benefits well-accepted and well-understood by the public. Unless, as stated above, it is a new brand that by its inherent nature can be closely associated with the cause.

• Are the social-cause marketing initiatives truly sustainable?
  I believe so, depending on the continuing needs of the cause. However, successive initiatives within a long-term campaign must be innovative to refresh the campaign and provoke new interest. In lengthy campaigns, it helps if the cause can be branded every bit as compellingly and memorably as their partner brands.



• We have created a matrix for deciding on the scope of adaptability for social-cause marketing? (See Exhibit) Please give your comments.
  I consider this matrix to be generally correct. I do believe that a carefully targeted cause-related campaign can in fact increase the social consciousness of the consumers, thereby increasing the scope of CRM. For example, in the US, clean energy or energy efficiency campaigns have traditionally been directed toward an upscale, better-educated consumer. But recently, energy campaigns have been redirected to a lower-income ‘green collar’ target. This should greatly expand consciousness and meaningful conservation.

• What according to you would be the new trends in social cause marketing – both in developed markets and emerging markets?
  I believe that there is much more awareness of important social causes throughout the world today. Therefore, social-cause campaigns that are honestly and sincerely designed can have an increasingly important role to play in any brand marketing strategy. And if the brand and the cause have an inherent synergy or ‘fit’, then the campaign is considerably strengthened.

  The uses of the new media; the Internet, YouTube contests, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and interactive media in everything from the web to cell phones to billboards can only increase the effectiveness of these campaigns, particularly among the young. Marketing executives in both developed and emerging markets that ignore this trend, do so at their peril! And the leaders of struggling cause organizations, finding that individual contributions are waning in tough economic times, had better seek out and develop a CRM partnership. Their survival may depend on it!