Cause marketing

Cause marketing is marketing done by a for-profit business that seeks to both increase profits and to better society in accordance with corporate social responsibility, such as by including activist messages in advertising. A similar phrase, cause-related marketing, usually refers to a subset of cause marketing that involves the cooperative efforts of a for-profit business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. A high-profile form of cause-related marketing occurs at checkout counters when customers are asked to support a cause with a charitable donation. Cause marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy), as the latter generally involves a specific donation that is tax-deductible, while cause marketing is a promotional campaign not necessarily based on a donation. The United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act on December 14, 1973. In response, 7-Eleven sold Endangered Species Cups, and donated one cent from the sale of each cup to the National Wildlife Federation. Donations from the program totaled $250,000, which the National Wildlife Federation used to purchase Bald Eagle habitat. The transfer of land to the U.S. Government and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took place on December 19, 1974, and came to be known as the Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge. In 1976, a cause marketing campaign was executed by means of a partnership between the Marriott Corporation and the March of Dimes. Marriott's objective was to generate cost-effective public relations and media coverage for the opening of their family entertainment center, Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California. The March of Dimes's objective was to increase fundraising while motivating the collection of pledges by the program's deadline. The promotion was conducted simultaneously in 67 cities throughout the western United States. This cause marketing campaign and partnership raised an unprecedented$2.4 million, to become the most successful promotion in the history of Chapters West of the March of Dimes, while providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in free publicity and stimulating a 2.