Does Supporting Causes or Cutting Prices Win With Today’s Consumer?

Posted on | March 18, 2009 |

By Holly Buchanan
We keep hearing about consumers who are switching brands to lower priced options to save money during the down economy. So I was curious - should brands continue to support worthy causes? Does that still matter to today’s shoppers? Or are shoppers saying, “I have to vote with my head over my heart right now.”

The answer surprised me a little.

Shopping brands who support causes is actually more important right now to consumers. I asked a PR executive why? She answered that since consumers may have cut back on their own contributions to causes, buying a product from a brand who supports a cause is their way of contributing.

Tom Watson, philanthropy consultant and author of Cause Wired pointed out the importance of supporting causes:

Turns out, causes may be an edge that consumer brands can use to their advantage in lean economic times. As Zmuda noted, the 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study revealed that 26% of consumers expect companies to give more support to causes and nonprofits in an economic downturn, while 52% expect companies to maintain existing programs. Another 79% of consumers said if price and quality were similar, they would switch to a brand associated with a good cause.

So, if you’re a brand or marketer looking for a competitive edge in today’s marketplace, consider highlighting or increasing your support of important causes.

As I pointed out in my post about grocery stores and getting the most out of cause marketing, It would definitely make a difference with me.