Press Release: Americans Continue to Support Cause Marketing, Despite Gloomy Outlook

New Study: Americans Continue to Support Cause Marketing, Despite Gloomy Outlook

43% of Americans Want Companies to Increase Corporate Philanthropy

To read the reports on Cause Marketing and Sustainability, click here.

CHICAGO, November 16, 2011 – Undeterred by overall pessimism, the majority of Americans continue to support cause marketing and give money to charities. Up 4-6 percent from last year, over 62 percent of Americans believe the world and the United States are headed in the wrong direction, according to results from the Second Annual Public Opinion Survey on Cause Marketing by Do Well Do Good, LLC.

In the face of this gloomy outlook, 57 percent of Americans say they have donated money to charities or nonprofit organizations and 26 percent have volunteered in the past 12 months. These figures, though down from last year at 67 percent and 29 percent, respectively, remain strong. The survey results also indicate that Americans continue to support cause marketing. Over half of consumers, 55 percent, say that in the past 12 months they have bought a product because money was given back to charity as a result of the purchase.

“Consumers continue to want some of their purchases to have meaning,” said James Epstein-Reeves, president of Do Well Do Good, LLC. “Cause marketing is an effective tool to engage customers and employees, raise much-needed money for important causes, and help ‘round out’ corporate giving plans.”

Aside from personal giving, 43 percent of Americans think companies should donate more money to charities, with only 23 percent in disagreement. Findings from the cause marketing-survey reveal a discrepancy between the amount Americans think companies do give and should give. Most Americans, 74 percent, believe that corporations currently donate only 1-5 percent of their profits to charity, while 74 percent believe companies should donate at a higher rate of 1-10 percent.

In fact, consumers are willing to travel out of their way and pay extra for cause-marketing products. As much as 56 percent of American consumers are willing to travel up to 10 minutes out of their way to purchase goods that support a cause. For a product that costs $1, more than half of Americans, 57 percent, would be willing to pay an additional $1.97, on average, for a product that supports a cause they care about. And for a product that costs $1,000, the majority of Americans (nearly 70 percent) would pay an average of $17.76 extra.

The summary reports on cause marketing and sustainability for the Second Annual Public Opinion Surveys are available for free on the company’s web site: http://www.DoWellDoGood.net. The surveys were conducted through an online panel organized by Qualtrics Labs, Inc. From October 28 and November 2, 2011, the surveys polled 1,001 individuals, 500 women and 501 men. The survey is estimated to have an error rate of +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

Do Well Do Good, LLC partners with companies and nonprofit organizations whose leadership wishes to increase the positive impact of their sustainability, cause marketing, and philanthropy initiatives. Do Well Do Good, LLC provides the tools and enhances the skills of program managers in order to implement a clear and comprehensive strategy, improve communication between internal and external audiences, and integrate programs throughout all levels of the company. For more information visit http://www.DoWellDoGood.net.

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