Get the latest delivered to your inbox
Privacy Policy

Now Reading

Impact of Cause Related Marketing On Society Increases For Third Year Running

Impact of Cause Related Marketing On Society Increases For Third Year Running

Published 07-20-04

Submitted by Business in the Community

The annual measurement of the impact of Cause Related Marketing on society by Business in the Community has found for the third year running that more money is being raised and given to charities and good causes by businesses through Cause Related Marketing programmes.

The Business in the Community Cause Related Marketing Tracker 2003 has found that £58.2 million was raised for charities and good causes through Cause Related Marketing programmes during 2003, an increase of over 15% on 2002.

This figure, which includes over £24 million of leveraged funds through staff, customer and supplier fundraising, was raised by 67 businesses through 82 Cause Related Marketing programmes. In total, 64 charities and good causes benefited through these Cause Related Marketing programmes. The CRM Tracker, launched in 2001 was developed by Business in the Community to track the impact of Cause Related Marketing on society in the UK and to discover the trends and best practice examples. It is the only measurement of Cause Related Marketing programmes in the UK.

Key findings of the Cause Related Marketing Tracker 2003 The financial impact · Over £16 million worth of gifts in kind were given through 24 of these CRM programmes, which includes over £4,000 of leveraged gifts in kind from staff, customers and suppliers. Examples of the range of the gifts in kind highlighted through the CRM Tracker 2003 include airtime on Classic FM, donations of Wella gel sachets with every Comic Relief Nose and Ford Motor Company donating a Ford Focus to Breakthrough Breast Cancer's raffle prize draw Over £10 million worth of staff time was reported through 11 of the CRM programmes, showing considerable financial impact and support · The total value of leveraged funds is almost £24 million. This is largely due to the contribution of Tesco Race for Life, which raised over £17.5 million

The trends in charities and causes benefiting

  • Cancer Research UK was the charity to benefit most from Cause Related Marketing during 2003, the same as the previous year.
  • The top five charities to benefit during 2003 were 1. Cancer Research UK, 2. Comic Relief, 3. Breakthrough Breast Cancer, 4. Breast Cancer Care and 5.
    Barnardos
  • Health remained the cause benefiting the most from Cause Related Marketing programmes for the third year running. 44% of the total value was dedicated to this cause
  • There has been a significant rise in the impact of Cause Related Marketing programmes on development causes. During 2003 over £9.5million was raised, compared with £200,000 during 2002. This is largely due to Cause Related Marketing programmes supporting Comic Relief
  • Over £9.4 million was raised for children's charities in 2003 compared to £7.5 million in 2002. This cause has steadily grown since 2001
  • A considerable contribution is still being made to education causes, with almost £9 million being raised during 2003, however this figure has gradually fallen since 2001

    The trends in sectors

  • In 2003, 15 SMEs ran a Cause Related Marketing programme, making a contribution to the total value of impact on charities and good causes of £550,435. The impact of SMEs has continued to grow from 2002 to 2003 by 46.7%
  • For the third year running the retail sector is the top fundraising sector contributing over £41million to the total value of impact generated through Cause Related Marketing during 2003. This an increase from £33million in 2002.
  • Tesco remains the top corporate giver to charities and good causes through Cause Related Marketing
  • Food and drug manufacturers moved to the second highest sector, contributing over £4million, replacing utility sector, which has moved to fifth. The utility sector contributed over £2million to the total value of impact through just one partnership, the British Gas 'Here to Help' programme illustrating the substantial impact that can be achieved through one CRM programme
  • The media and entertainment sector has moved from fifth in 2002 to third in 2003, contributing £2.7 million to the total value of impact though just four programmes: BskyB through the Reach for the Sky programme; Candis through programmes with a range of charities including the British Heart Foundation; Blockbuster through the programme with the Starlight Children's Foundation and GWR through the donation of airtime
  • Transport moved to fourth in 2003 from sixth for the previous two years

    Sue Adkins, Director, Business in the Community, "The CRM Tracker 2003 provides an invaluable insight into the value of Cause Related Marketing. It shows that the actual positive impact on society is significant and allows us to identify and highlight the trends. The findings of the CRM Tracker2003 show that companies are increasingly using the power of their brands to generate significant funds and resources for charities and good causes through CRM programmes."

    For more information or photographs of the programmes or to interview Sue Adkins, Director Business in the Community, please contact Laura Small on 020 7566 8796 or on laura.small@bitc.org.uk

    Notes for Editors
    1. Summary of the key findings of the Business in the Community Cause Related Marketing Tracker 2003 · £58.2 million was raised by 67 businesses benefiting 60 charities and 4 good causes through 82 Cause Related Marketing programmes · £24million of the total amount was leveraged funds through staff, customer and supplier fundraising · Over £16 million worth of gifts in kind were given as part of 24 of these CRM programmes, this includes leveraged gifts in kind from staff, customers and suppliers · Over £10 million worth of staff time was devoted by 11 of these CRM programmes · The total value of leveraged funds has grown from £4.3 million in 2001 to almost £24 million during 2003.
    · In 2003, 15 SMEs ran a Cause Related Marketing programme, making a contribution to the total value of impact on charities and good causes of
    £550,435
    · In 2003 over £25.5 million was raised for health charities through CRM whereby in 2001 this value was £4.4 million · Retailers made a contribution of over £41 million to the total value of impact generated through CRM during 2003, which is 72% of the total. This is compared to £33milion in 2002 · Nearly £9 million was raised for the educational cause through CRM in 2003 whereas over £12.4 million was raised for the educational cause through CRM in 2002 · Over £9.4 million was raised for children's charities during 2003 compared to over £4.4 million raised for children's charities in 2001 and £7.5million during 2002. As a percentage of the total value of impact, this figure has grown from 13% to 16.2% between 2002 and 2003 · In 2003, the top causes to benefit from Cause Related Marketing were:
    (The figure shown in the brackets is the position they held in 2002) 1. Health (1) 2. Development (9) 3. Children (3) 4. Education (2) 5. Household poverty (-) · In 2003, the top charities to benefit from Cause Related Marketing were:
    1. Cancer Research UK
    2. Comic Relief
    3. Breakthrough Breast Cancer
    4. Breast Cancer Care
    5. Barnardos

    2. Business in the Community
    · Business in the Community is a unique movement in the UK of over 700 member companies, with a further 1600 participating in our programmes and campaigns. We operate through a network of 98 local business-led partnerships, as well as working with 45 global partners.
    · Our purpose is to inspire, challenge, engage and support business in continually improving its positive impact on society.
    · Membership of Business in the Community is a commitment to action and to the continual improvement of a company's impact on society.
    · Our members commit to:
    - Integrate, manage and measure responsible business practice throughout their business
    - Impact through collaborative action to tackle disadvantage
    - Inspire, innovate and lead by sharing learning and experience

    Further information about Business in the Community can be found at the website www.bitc.org.uk.

    3. The Cause Related Marketing (CRM) Campaign at Business in the Community was established by Sir Dominic Cadbury of Cadbury Schweppes plc in 1995, led by Sue Adkins and is chaired by Tim Mason of TESCO plc with Simon Waugh of Centrica as Deputy Chair. The Campaign is also supported by Avon, Barclays plc, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, Cadbury Trebor Bassett Ltd, Cadbury Schweppes plc, Centrica, Dollond & Aitchison, Ford Motor Company Ltd, GWR Group plc, Lever Faberge Ltd, Research International (UK) Ltd, Glaxo SmithKline plc, TESCO plc, Walkers Snacks and The Marketing Society. The Campaign aims to inspire, generate awareness and understanding of CRM promoting a greater quality and extent of programmes, demonstrating the power of brands in partnership with charities and causes, to make a positive impact on key social issues whilst sharing best practice. Through the provision of seminal research, advice, seminars, conferences, CRM and the first ever CRM Guidelines, the Campaign aims to provide the tools to assist in the full and effective consideration, planning, development, implementation and evaluation of CRM strategies.

    4. Cause Related Marketing is defined by Business in the Community as "a commercial activity by which businesses and charities or causes form a partnership with each other to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit". It is an additional tool for addressing the social issues of the day through providing resources and funding whilst at the same time addressing business marketing objectives.

    5. The Business in the Community Cause Related Marketing Guidelines were first launched in 1998. The Guidelines aim to help ensure the quality and integrity of partnerships between businesses and charities or causes and focus on The Key Principles that must underlie any CRM partnership or programme and The Key Elements in the process that should be followed. These Guidelines provide guidance and support for organisations striving towards excellence in Cause Related Marketing.

    Laura Small
    Operations and Communications Manager
    Cause Related Marketing Campaign
    DL: 020 7566 8796

    Business in the Community
    137 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7RQ
    www.crm.org.uk

    Business in the Community is a unique movement in the UK of over 700 member companies. Its purpose is to inspire, challenge and support business in continually improving its impact in the community, environment, marketplace and workplace.
    www.bitc.org.uk

    Events@Business in the Community
    The Cause Related Marketing Campaign was set up in 1995 and is sponsored by a number of leading businesses. Its mission is to generate awareness and understanding of Cause Related Marketing, inspiring a greater quality and extent of programmes.

    To find out more about our range of events, research programmes and publications visit www.crm.org.uk

  • Business in the Community logo

    Business in the Community

    Business in the Community

    More from Business in the Community

    Join today and get the latest delivered to your inbox