A Study of Cause Related Marketing Initiatives and Consumer Insights:Evidences from the Indian Context

This paper is the first step towards systematically understanding Cause related Marketing (CrM)¹ practices in India and consumer perceptions about them. To understand the practice of CrM in India this study examines the incidence and the nature of CrM being used by organizations through a content analysis of 142 CrM initiatives identified for a period of 14 years. Details about the initiatives undertaken like activity name, duration, type of cause addressed and the amount apportioned were noted and analyzed. A survey of 350 consumers was conducted to understand consumer awareness, preferences and perceptions about CrM initiatives. Findings from the content analysis revealed very few regional and local organizations using CrM as a marketing practice. A significant difference across organizations adopting CrM was found. A significant difference in their frequency of occurrence of product categories associated with CrM was observed. The hypothesis for testing consumer perceptions about CrM was tested using MANOVA. It showed the gender differences in perceptions pertaining to ‘brand’ and ‘company’.