It would seem like a no-brainer for companies: partner with a philanthropic cause and bask in the limelight when the nonprofit takes center stage in the media.
Easy exposure for feel-good work, right?
Not according to public relations executives that specialize in an old practice newly labeled “cause-related marketing.” They say companies stand to get bit if they treat this type of promotion as an afterthought, merely throwing money at a smattering of causes and expecting ink.
“Like any other investment you make in business, you want to do it smart,” said Laer Pearce, president of Laer Pearce & Associates, Laguna Hills, which helps regional and national companies come up with causes that fit with their markets.
It sounds easy enough. But Pearce and other PR execs say the work is challenging for several reasons.
One biggie: companies immediately expect publicity from their philanthropic involvement,a big boo-boo.
“We say no you’re not doing this to get ink,” Pearce said. “They have to begin to define some cause that resonates with their company mission.”
That means businesses can’t throw money at an organization just because they want to woo important people into approving a project, for instance, Pearce said.
And, while there may be a lot to think about, PR execs argue that there are more benefits than drawbacks to cause-related marketing,as long as a company plans and manages its moves well.
These days, such efforts are treated as business initiatives and have their own line items on budgets, said Sue Cannon, president of OC Public Relations, Aliso Viejo, which works with various nonprofit organizations.
Cannon has watched companies become more and more strategic over the years about how and where they place their dollars.
A good example is Joe MacPherson. Cannon said the auto dealer started donating to education way back before the concept of “cause marketing” had been so labeled. For each car sold, MacPherson had pledged to donate a chunk of money to a different school.
Over the years, Cannon said, the auto dealer has threaded the philanthropic efforts through all its marketing materials, including making license plate holders that play up the dealer’s education donations.
Rick Miltenberger, vice president and general manager at Corona-based Magnet Communications, also preaches the power of strategy. He said it is essential that businesses’ align themselves with initiatives that fit their overall missions,without going overboard.
If companies link with too many issues, he said, “that can sort of dilute things.”
Plus, Christopher Perez, senior vice president at Magnet, pointed out that ideally cause-related partnerships help to reinforce brands.
“If those partnerships are all over the map you can be sending mixed messages unintentionally,” he added.
For instance, Perez said, one undisclosed client in the food service industry was putting money toward research for a medical cure. But the research organization was testing on animals, which contradicted the company’s beliefs.
“They were unintentionally contradicting their brand,” Perez said. “Some general consumers called that into question.”
Perez reiterated that companies have to be willing to work with organizations when it comes to touchy situations, as was the case with Coors Brewing Co. The beer manufacturer wanted to put its name on an amphitheater in Chula Vista a few years back.
But Perez said the city and community were up in arms about having the Coors name branded on a venue frequented by minors. And nearby residents had threatened to picket in front of the building.
To calm the storm, Coors and Magnet organized an informational entertainment event, featuring local bands and former alcoholics and survivors of drunk driving accidents, among others, that discussed the dangers of drinking and driving. Coors then bused in students from San Diego and Chula Vista school districts to attend.
“We pulled no punches. They were really up there saying this is the danger of (drinking and driving),” Perez said.
But there’s also another side to cause-related promotions,the effect on the agency.
Pearce, for instance, said that his firm had done work for Orange County, which wants to turn the former El Toro Marine Base into an airport,a volatile issue in OC. When the agency did not get a second contract, Pearce said he was “very relieved.”
“We did get business from people who would not do business with us before, because we were representing El Toro,” Pearce said. n
