Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 460,503 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,210 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 460,503 cutting edge ideas.

3 Key Advantages of a Cause Marketing Strategy

Courtney Scharf
February 26th, 2013
Though not all companies take the charitable route, a cause marketing strategy has favored many brands, and has the potential to improve the reputation of your brand. These campaigns can be quite expensive, however, so what are the advantages of adopting this strategy?

Consumer perception. This is perhaps the most apparent advantage of cause marketing. Aligning a brand with a worthy cause can do wonders for a company's image, but only when the campaign is executed with great caution and tact. One of the most important aspects of choosing a cause is ensuring that the tie between a brand and a cause is clear. The AT&T 'No Text on Board' campaign is a great example of this, and capitalized on the buzz around the dangers of distracted driving. The company encouraged its customers to take a pledge against texting and driving, and even released an app that would make it easier to avoid being distracted behind the wheel. The video associated with the campaign was tasteful but effective, and clearly illustrated the tie between the brand and the cause.

The viral factor. The fact that many consumers are prompted to share and take part in charitable efforts gives cause marketing a huge edge over traditional advertising. When social media is appropriated as part of one of these campaigns, the message can spread like wildfire, particularly if a brand offers to donate a certain amount to charity with each re-share. Unilever led an unbelievably social media savvy campaign, wherein participants of the campaign were featured on the brand's Facebook cover photo in exchange for their efforts. Motivating people to be involved and making the campaign more public at the same time, the eco-conscious initiative was a success.

Innovation can be put on display. Because of the potentially huge reach of these campaigns, a cause marketing strategy is the perfect effort for a brand to show of its innovative side. The Volkswagen 'Don't Make Up and Drive' campaign is a great example of this, and quickly went viral as a result. Instead of taking a straightforward approach to getting the distracted driving message across, Volkswagen premiered a YouTube video that looked like many other makeup tutorials on the site, but was really a PSA. Shocking but effective, the campaign went far as a result of how incredibly clever the company was about addressing an important issue. When it comes to these campaigns, be sure to put innovation at the forefront of your creative approach to make the most of a cause marketing initiative.

Many brands can benefit from participating and taking part in a campaign related to a cause, but going about it can be tricky. Trend Hunter's Marketing Trend Report has insight into how brands are capitalizing off of innovative marketing, strategies.
References: trendreports