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Monday, October 17, 2011

Marketing Your Products With Charity Donations

In April of 2010, I wrote a post about charity donations. I thought I'd follow up with some more research on what charities customers prefer. Take a look in your refrigerator and pantry. Do you have any products that mention a charity donation? In my kitchen, I've got cereal, granola bars, and yogurt like that. Not all donation advertisements are equal, though. According to a study by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, 43% of women choose brands that donate with every purchase over brands that donate a set amount.

Does the type of charity make a difference to shoppers? The research says 'yes' (the study results can be found at www.shopperculture.com). Women are attracted to causes that invoke an emotional or personal response like disease prevention, faith-based, animal welfare, and child welfare. Men, on the other hand, seem to be attracted to causes of a social nature where money is a fix as compared to an emotional tie.



"Brands need to appeal to men's rationale side, delivering a more rational benefit for their participation in a cause program, which can lead to higher engagement. Men are more likely to support organizations like The Salvation Army or Goodwill, with women saying they support disease prevention causes such as breast cancer awareness," said Craig Elston, SVP, The Integer Group. "If you're targeting women, focus on the messaging as a means to evoke emotion."

As an ag entrepreneur, have you advertised charity donations with the sale of your products? If so, have you seen an increase in sales? If you have tried different charities, have you seen significant differences in the sales of one charity product over another?