When I recently saw print and video advertisements about Tata Tea's Jaago Re! campaign, I was pleasantly surprised. It was pleasant because of two very important reasons. It's probably one of those rarest of rares - where a company is not advertising (at least directly) about its product. It is an equivalent of PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in marketing, probably! The advertisement is sensitizing the Indian people about their voting rights and almost convincingly arguing that it's a responsibility (once in five years hopefully). I am sure you would have come across " Har Subah Sirf Utho Mat. Jaago Re!" campaign. Wasn't it pleasant, for a change? Secondly, it is talking about the most powerful and vibrant part of any functional and operational democracy - people voice.
Of course, apart of Tata Tea, other Indian companies - HUL, for instance - have taken up social causes too. It's a welcome change from all these FMCGs? Why only FMCGs, by the way? I hope we would see more of these social cause marketing campaigns.
Of course, the cynics would have their plate full of arguments. Why not? After all, if there's no free lunch, why this? Just the way Adam Smith said, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages".
The arguments aside, I am intrigued about :
(a) Why social cause marketing? What is the intended objective? Why should companies commit their shareholders' money for social issues? Or is it to do with the company's values?
(b) What is the difference between a Social Cause Marketing initiative and a Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, after all?
(c) Just the way brands are endorsed by celebrities (famous sports persons, actors, etc) , should a social cause be endorsed by a powerful brand, in that the powerful brand becomes the celebrity endorser for the social cause taken up? What happens if an important social cause is addressed by a not-so-well-known brand? Would it have the same reach as a powerful brand would have?
(d) At what stage of brand life cycle, would it be meaningful for any brand to get out of its comfort zone and start embracing social causes?
(e) Are the social cause marketing initiatives truly sustainable?
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