The top two publications in the cluster are by Aquino et al. 2 and Robinson et al. 64, with a total of 574 and 201 citations, respectively. VOSviewer constructs bibliographic coupling networks by linking documents that share common references. The strength of the link between two documents is determined by the number of references they have in common. This method allows for the clustering of related documents based on shared citations, facilitating the identification of research themes and trends 51, 95. Furthermore, many CRM campaigns employ social media to encourage user participation. This is typically done by asking users to “like” or “share” CRM adverts, which increases the campaign’s visibility and impact 43, 71.
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The emergence of themes such as “skepticism”, “religiosity”, and “prosocial behaviour” indicates increased consumer vigilance about authenticity and ethical congruence. This shows that for CRM efforts to be successful, firms must guarantee openness in cause selection, consistency in message, and alignment with the fundamental values of their target audience. The study’s results underscore the significance of strategic cause–brand alignment and the capacity of CSR to improve brand image, loyalty, and consumer engagement when executed authentically. For practitioners, bibliometric trends offer a reflection of industry direction and provide evidence-based guidance for aligning marketing tactics with evolving consumer expectations and social norms. Consequently, the study serves as a decision-support tool for formulating CRM initiatives that appeal to contemporary consumers while generating societal benefits and a competitive advantage.
CRM benefits the business, the customers, and the society simultaneously 18, 62, 94. The yellow cluster is composed of keywords such as “social media”, “prosocial behaviour”, and “moral identity”. These reflect the latest turn in CRM research towards digital engagement, ethical alignment, and societal outcomes. “Social media” refers to the growing role of online platforms in disseminating cause-related messages and facilitating real-time consumer-brand interaction. “Prosocial behaviour” indicates a shift from transactional CRM to value-driven marketing that inspires cooperative and altruistic actions.
Project “Soup of Aid” as a Cause-Related Marketing Campaign
Describes how cause-marketing is expected to grow, how companies are asking consumers to change their behavior for the better and recommends best practices. While it traditionally involved monetary contributions to favorite charities, companies are now realizing that their good deeds can be incorporated into their overall marketing plans. Cause Marketing For Dummies helps both businesses and nonprofits reap the benefits of effective cause marketing. Cluster 1, comprising 62 articles overall, focuses on CRM and consumer behaviour. Strahilevitz and Myers 74 and Webb and Mohr 89 are the two most influential articles within the cluster, with a total of 790 and 591 citations, respectively.
This is not only crucial for creating a meaningful impact, but also for building trust and loyalty with your customers, employees, and stakeholders. However, finding the right cause to support can books on cause marketing be challenging, as there are many factors to consider, such as relevance, authenticity, differentiation, and scalability. In this section, we will explore some of the best practices and examples of how to align your brand with a cause that resonates with your audience and reflects your values.
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This relates to Theme 5 (Cause–Brand Fit and CRM), as recent studies have explored how a consumer’s moral self-concept influences their evaluation of brand–cause congruence and campaign authenticity 49. While Aquino et al. 2 do not focus directly on fit, they provide foundational insights into how moral identity drives prosocial consumer responses, which intersect with CRM effectiveness. Since customers have become more socially conscious during the past 10 years, business organisations’ funding on social issues has grown significantly 90.
- Recent study advancements are shown by green to yellow nodes, including purchase intention, donation, social media, moral identity, skepticism, and religiosity.
- American Express, a well-known American financial services corporation, launched a CRM campaign in 1983 with the dual goals of encouraging credit card usage and gathering money to rebuild the Statue of Liberty.
- It is recognised for its empirical emphasis and methodological variety, including survey-based investigations, experimental research, and model-driven analysis.
- CRM began when American Express launched its first CRM campaign in 1983 to rebuild the Statue of Liberty 71.
- Explaining how to implement a cause marketing program, he joins with the organization Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and discusses never-before-published case studies, such as Mattel, Eddie Bauer, General Mills, and Starbucks.
How to build a powerful cause marketing program that wins customer loyalty and boosts profits.
These elements should be the foundation of your cause marketing strategy, as they will help you communicate your story and connect with your audience on an emotional level. Today, most companies include some sort of cause-related plan as part of their consumer marketing strategies. Moreover, emerging countries like India, despite their substantial contributions to publications, are inadequately examined for context-specific CRM techniques and consumer behaviour 81, 92, 93. The changing tastes of Gen Z consumers, who emphasise authenticity, co-creation, and social value, necessitate a targeted examination of how CRM might meet their expectations 67. In answering the question of which authors, organisations, and nations have made the most significant contributions to CRM research.
His research examines the relationships between moral judgement, persuasive expertise, and brand appraisal, continuing to inform message framing strategies in CRM. BSR is a global resource for companies seeking to sustain their commercial success in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical values, people, communities, and the environment. Aerio is a sales and marketing tool built for publishers, authors, andbooksellers that comes preloaded with the ability to make charitabledonations. With Aerio, you can sell books direct to your readers, secure the retail profit, and offer some or all of that profit to acharity or non-profit of your choosing.
The reason this is such a powerful model is that the sponsor (for profit business) typically buys media time and space on behalf of the non-profit, rather than having the media provide it for free. This in turn, gives the non-profit much better exposure (reach and frequency) than they would otherwise get; the media gets paid for its time or space; and the sponsor gets the halo benefit of associating with an important cause. K.K spearheaded the study’s conceptualization, data collection and analysis, article preparation, and critical revisions to augment its intellectual rigor.
- Previous research, shown in blue, concentrated on fundamental issues such cause-related marketing, CSR, consumer behaviour, and brand image.
- This study combines citation analysis with various other bibliometric methodologies to provide more methodological depth.
- Cause marketing is a type of marketing strategy that involves a partnership between a for-profit business and a non-profit organization to promote a social or environmental cause.
- A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style.
- The orange cluster includes “skepticism” and “international marketing”, representing a bridge between psychological concerns and strategic global positioning.
Their works are co-cited across both theoretical and applied literature, highlighting their cross-cutting influence in unifying CRM’s behavioural and strategic domains. Cluster 3, in blue, includes researchers such as Dacin P.A., Brown T.J., Ellen P.S., Yoon Y., Vlachos P.A., and Gurhan canli Z., who concentrate on consumer-brand relationships, attitude development, and the impact of CRM on brand equity. These studies often investigate brand trust, value congruence, and identity-based assessments, therefore enhancing a relational marketing perspective in CRM research. This cluster represents a macro-theoretical perspective, emphasising business models and the consequences of cause alignment at the company level.
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: A Meta-Analysis
The present study utilises peer-reviewed articles and review papers as its primary document types. Finally, the current paper has only conducted a bibliometric review; future research can complement this with a systematic literature review. Moreover, themes such as skepticism, religiosity, and prosocial conduct suggest a need for a more profound comprehension of how personal values and ethical congruence affect customer reactions to CRM activities. Future studies may investigate processes for developing customer trust, especially in culturally diverse or religiously sensitive demographics 64, 78. With a capturedbook audience and a purposeful message, books make for an excellent causemarketing tool.