Buy a red T-shirt to fight AIDS. But does it really help?
Companies spent $1.34 billion on 'cause-related marketing' last year in the US, but critics cite a lack of transparency.
By Ben Arnoldy | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the March 12, 2007 edition
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SAN FRANCISCO - When John Cortez went shopping for a T-shirt with a (RED) logo at a local Gap clothing store this weekend, he knew part of the proceeds would be sent to HIV-positive women and children in Africa.
"I like the product, and it's a good cause, so I might as well buy it," says Mr. Cortez, explaining how he had "two good reasons" to spend his money at the Gap.
What he didn't know – and what Gap customers can't find out – is exactly how much money per item goes to Africa.
His experience hints at both the power for good and reasons for criticism of (RED), a high-profile campaign, partnering some of the world's most recognized brands like Gap with The Global Fund, an organization that grants money to fight diseases.
(RED), launched by rock star Bono and Bobby Shriver last year, has drawn praise for raising $25 million for AIDS medications in Africa, as well as some reservations about marketing costs and a lack of transparency. Such tensions are not uncommon within the rapidly growing business of cause-related marketing, which puts a corporation's advertising dollars behind a nonprofit's cause.
"There's a wide variety of cause-related marketing out there, and ... consumers need to ask the tough questions," says Mark Feldman, a Boston-based consultant who has worked in the field for more than a decade. "They have a right to know more of the details because the company is claiming an association with a cause."
Cause marketing is becoming a major force. Companies spent $1.34 billion on it last year in the US alone, up 20 percent over 2005, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report. Part of the reason: Eighty-four percent of Americans are likely to switch brands to help a cause, when price and quality are equal, according to a 2002 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study, an industry-based poll.
Among the more visible campaigns are the yellow bracelets that link Nike to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which aims to fight against cancer, and Upromise, an education savings program that receives sponsorship from corporations including ExxonMobil.
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