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Rearview 2014: Cause marketing moves from fundraising to partnerships
Cause marketing went to the next level in 2014, beyond raising awareness and funds for a cause to deep partnerships between restaurants and non-profits.
December 17, 2014 by Brenda Rick Smith — Editor, Networld Media Group
Restaurants have always looked for ways to give back to their communities, restaurant industry veteran Marla Topliff observed earlier this year. What's different now is that they talk about it.
Topliff and others see that restaurants connect with customers through shared values and causes, with restaurants now asking customers to join them in raising funds and awareness through special promotions, cause nights and more.
"Everybody is looking for something, everyone is looking for some way to help. It's become popular to look for a way to do good," said Topliff, president of Rosati's Pizza. "I think it's because times are so bad. You look for a way to make things better."
As with so many other trends, millennials are in the driver's seat, said Topliff. A Neilson study earlier this year demonstrated that millennials are willing to put their money where their mouth is; 55 percent of respondents to a global consumer survey said they were willing to pay more for services provided by companies committed to positive social causes. More than half of those who said they would pay more were millennials.
It's personal
While many brands championed causes with widespread appeal and national prominence – ending childhood hunger, breast cancer, AIDS, disaster relief, environmental causes -- some brands launched cause marketing campaigns for intensely personal reasons.
Newk's Eatery launched its inaugural "Newk's Cares" campaign to raise awareness about ovarian cancer after Lori Newcomb, the wife of Newk's co-founder and CEO Chris Newcomb, was diagnosed with stage IIC ovarian cancer in early 2013. Newk's doubled its $50,000 fundraising goal, raising more than $117,500 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. In addition to fundraising, Newk's placed educational information on ovarian cancer at each store location.
Chicken Salad Chick also launched its own foundation to raise money for the American Cancer Society after CEO Kevin Brown was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. Brown and his wife Stacy, founder and VP of Brand Development for Chicken Salad Chick, had long wanted to start a foundation, but couldn't settle on a cause. Kevin's diagnosis made the choice clear.
"I knew the day we walked into the East Alabama Cancer Center. I heard a voice speak to me and say, 'This is your opportunity, Kevin, to do a lot of good and help a lot of people,'" he said.
Building partnerships
Philadelphia's Federal Donuts is redefining cause marketing by seeking tolaunch a restaurant aimed solely at generating income for the Broad Street Hospitality Collaborative, a Philadelphia non-profit that serves up meals, services and community to the city's most vulnerable.
Federal Donuts launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that so far has raised $179,380 – well past the $150,000 goal – to start a new soup concept: Rooster Soup will serve up soup made from the high-quality chicken bones and backs previously discarded by Federal Donuts each week. Profits from soup sales will help fund Broad Street. That means every time a customer purchases a bowl of soup, they will be making a donation to feed Philadelphia's hungry.
"Instead of a straight line between us and Broad Street, we wanted to create a circle with the whole community," said Steve Cook, a Federal Donuts partner. "This was an opportunity not just between us and a non-profit, but between us and the community."
Cook and others are on the hunt for the right location for Rooster Soup, which should launch sometime in 2015.
Community partnerships are also a part of the cause marketing plans for Starbucks, which launched its first two Starbucks Military Community Stores this year. Both stores are located on military bases – one is at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, and the other is at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas – and plans are in the works to open three additional Military Community Stores on bases by 2018, and 12 Military Family Stores near bases through 2015.
The Military Community Stores will donate a portion of their profits to non-profit veterans' programs. The stores are part of Starbucks' larger veteran support initiatives.
Teriyaki Madness also found an unusual way to partner with a non-profit agency: the Las Vegas-based Asian concept inked a five-unit deal with Brevard Achievement Center, an Orlando, Florida, area agency which provides employment training and other life skills support to disabled people.
The partnership benefits both Brevard and Teriyaki Madness. Brevard gains an additional revenue stream of potentially $600,000 a year as well as employment opportunities, and Teriyaki Madness gains a foothold in a new market as well as a partner with experience with public sector contracts.
"My goal is to help them be successful in achieving their goals, and I believe their goals expand beyond the five units," said Michael Haith, CEO of Teriyaki Madness. "We'll learn together. This is an opportunity for a for-profit business to expand our territory and help the community. Whenever we get a chance to do both, that's awesome."
What's ahead?
Cause marketing will continue to matter in 2015 and beyond. Customers want to feel like they are doing good for a cause they believe in even when they are dining out.
Causes that make it easy for brands to get on board – Share Our Strength's Dine Out for No Kid Hungry is often cited as an example – will have an edge.
But as millennials rise in leadership, look for deeper, more authentic partnerships to emerge, and for brands to find new ways to raise money and awareness.
Image credit: geralt via pixaby
Rearview 2014 is a five-part series where we take a look back at the big trends of 2014.
- Part 1 - Fast Casual is kind of a Big Deal
- Part 2 - Millennials take the wheel
- Part 3 - Here's what we were hungry for
- Part 4 - Cause marketing moves from fundraising to partnerships
- Part 5 - Mobile helps brands reduce friction, stay connected
About Brenda Rick Smith
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