Charity and green brand link ups "are most popular with consumers"
Howard Lake | 25 March 2008 | News
Partnerships with charities and good causes are more likely to persuade consumers to buy a brand than links with sport, music, TV/entertainment, film, gaming and the arts according to new research conducted for marketing agency Ogilvy Action, part of marketing services group WPP.
The survey interviewed 10,000 consumers across ten global markets including the UK. Respondents were questioned about their lifestyle and product preferences to discover the links that they make between brands and categories of product. They were offered 180 sponsorship/linkage properties to choose from, across the arts, film, gaming, TV and entertainment, good causes, music and sports categories.
One quarter of those surveyed said that a sponsorship or link with a brand, such as a charity or celebrity, would influence their buying decisions.
But charity brands were the most popular. Of the top ten partnerships that would make UK consumers more likely to buy a product or service, eight were corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues or charity brands.
Top of the list is recycling issues, which increases likelihood to buy among consumers by 52%. The charity partnership led by U2 lead singer Bono, Red, was next; increasing the likelihood of buying by 51%. Also in the top 10 were charities and voluntary organisations Greenpeace, the NSPCC and the Red Cross and issues including poverty relief and animal protection.
There were only two items in the list which were not related to charities and green issues: they were the America’s Cup sailing race, at number eight with 35%, and fashion (32%), at number 10.
David Farrow, managing director of Ogilvy Action sports and entertainment, said: “These… findings… should help the right brands team up with the right good causes so they can develop more effective sponsorships for the commercial benefit of all involved.”
Research was conducted for agency Ogilvy Action, in conjunction with sister companies within the WPP group, including market research specialists Millward Brown who ran the field work and MindShare Performance, MEC Access and Hill and Knowlton.
The top 10 topics were:
Topic Percentage uplift in likelihood to buy
1- Recycling issues 52%
2 – Red 51%
3 – Environmental issues 48%
4 – Greenpeace 44%
5 – Poverty Relief 44%
6 – Animal Protection 43%
7 – NSPCC 38%
8 – Americas Cup 35%
9 – Red Cross 32%
10 – Fashion 32 %
www.ogilvyaction.com
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.