Examining company experiences of a UK cause‐related marketing campaign

The primary aim of the research was to examine commercial organisations' perceptions of the benefits of cause‐related marketing and the extent to which these benefits were achieved through their involvement with a UK cause‐related marketing campaign. The study also explored companies' views on the management of relationships between the profit and nonprofit organisations involved in a cause‐related marketing partnership. The research was conducted with companies involved in the cause‐related marketing campaign of one UK charity. Analysis of the data, gathered by means of a postal questionnaire, revealed that the benefits of cause‐related marketing perceived to be the most important in this context were increasing press coverage and raising brand awareness. Other important benefits included the opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility and enhance corporate reputation as well as building customer loyalty and increasing sales. Benefits achieved through participation in the cause‐related marketing campaign were limited to improved corporate reputation and social responsibility and press coverage. Recommendations for improved management of the partnership heavily emphasised joint planning processes, at the strategic and implementation levels.