# Brand Spirit: How Cause Related Marketing Builds Brands

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/brand-spirit-cause-related-marketing-builds-brands-business/
- Published: 1999-04-28T21:26:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The only guide to understanding and making the most of one of the hottest trends
in branding today.**

Nothing builds brand loyalty among today’s increasingly skeptical, hard-to-please
consumers like a proven commitment to a worthy cause on the part of a company. Known
as Cause Related Marketing (CRM), this approach to branding has gained a great deal
of momentum over the past decade, thanks, in no small part, to such recent, notable
examples as McDonald’s commitment to saving the rain forests and BMW’s breast cancer
fund-raising initiatives.

Now, in the first book to explore the business benefits of CRM and its positive 
and negative impacts on business strategy, two experts explain the concept and fundamental
principles of CRM and its place within the contemporary discourse on branding.

And, with the help of numerous, fascinating, and instructive case studies, they 
demonstrate how marketers can harness the power of CRM to position and enhance customer
loyalty to a brand, product, or service.

## ⏎ About the authors

**Hamish Pringle** (London, UK) is a Principal in Brand Beliefs, Ltd. **Marjorie
Thompson** (London, UK) is with Saatchi & Saatchi.

## Reviews

Author Marjorie Thompson and Hamish Pringle of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi’s
Cause Related Marketing (CRM) arm Cause Connection, define CRM as “a strategic positioning
and marketing tool which links a company or brand to a relevant social cause, for
mutual benefit”. It differs from both charity-related promotions and the traditional,
incoherent list of corporate donations inspired by the chairman and his wife, in
the strategic considerations that go into its planning and the extent to which it
is communicated in advertising. It is as if someone has noticed that large companies
tend to give away quite a lot of money in dribs and drabs and has said: “Hey, lets
coordinate this so that we have an effect on the recipients and can get something
in return for our investment.”

In other words CRM has little to do with charity–which normally has a large dollop
of selflessness attached–and everything to do with companies needs to stand out 
in a crowded market place. But that, according to Thompson and Pringle, is alright.
In fact, it’s more than alright; it is an idea whose time has come because consumers
are ready for it. They have progressed from requiring rational benefits from their
brands, through emotional benefits and now want spiritual benefits–hence the title
_Brand Spirit_.

Whatever your view of corporate ethics, this is an excellent primer on the increasingly
fashionable techniques of CRM. It places CRM in the context of current brand thinking
and using dozens of detailed case studies to illustrate exactly how and why marketers
should harness the power of CRM for their brand. Well written, thoroughly researched
and compellingly argued, this is a valuable book for marketers and non-marketers,
as well as fund raisers and those working in the charitable sector–indeed for anyone
interested in how and why business communicates.
**Alex Benady**