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Research Archives
September 11, 2007
Young People Care About Causes
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
This year's class of college students cares more about social causes than any group in the last five years, according to the Alloy Marketing and Media's College Explorer Survey. 37% prefer brands and companies that are "socially conscious," up 4% from previous years.
Students specifically ranked fair labor practices, environmental policy and philanthropy as the most important components of being socially conscious. In 2006 a different study of the general population found that 76% of people put a company's employee welfare ahead of all other considerations, underlining the importance of fair labor practices.
"There's a lot of research from Alloy, and other sources, showing that particularly among young people the notion of corporate social responsibility is a loyalty driver," said Samantha Skey, Alloy's executive vice president of strategic marketing.
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August 3, 2007
Doing Good is Good for You
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
We know giving makes you feel good, but it's also good for you. Dr. Stephen Post, a bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University recently published the book Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research that Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life, based on scientific research.
"Giving is the most potent force on the planet," says Post, "and will protect you your whole life."
The findings include:
- Generous behavior reduces depression and risk of suicide in adolescents.
- Actively helping others during the teenage years promotes good physical and mental health all the way into late adulthood.
- Volunteerism on the part of older adults significantly reduces mortality.
- Giving to others enables people to forgive themselves for mistakes, a key element in well-being.
- Praying for others reduces health difficulties among older adults.
(link via Good)
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June 26, 2007
Know What Works
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Whenever the research comes in, it's kind of scary.
Like the fact that 60% of nonprofits don't evaluate the impact of their communications, according to a recent survey. That means you have no idea what works and what doesn't. You're shooting from the hip and your chances for success aren't so good.
But, as Tim Bednar puts it, this could be an opportunity: If over 60% of organizations don't track their marketing performance, you could pretty easily beat over 60% of organizations. How? By doing the research and seeing what works and what doesn't.
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June 6, 2007
Great Resource for Watching Trends
Posted by Shawn Stewart | Filed under: Research
If you haven’t signed up for trendwatching.com's free monthly briefing--trust us, go do it. I've been getting them for a while and they're stuffed with great insight and info.
This month is a great one. It touches on corporate responsibility from the environment to ethics, but with a very interesting perspective on the reemergence of all things local.
Here's a quote from the briefing:
"(STILL) MADE HERE encompasses new and enduring manufacturers and purveyors of the local. In a world that is seemingly ruled by globalization, mass production and 'cheapest of the cheapest,' a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the storied, the eco-friendly and the obscure."
Like we said, great site.
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April 30, 2007
Busy People, Mothers, Women Volunteer More
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Blogger Tony Morgan shares some stats on volunteerism from the April issue of Men's Health:
- Women are more likely than men to volunteer.
- 32% of women serve in some volunteer capacity compared to 25% of men.
- Working mothers are the most active as volunteers.
- Busy people are more likely to volunteer.
Apparently being too busy isn't an excuse not to volunteer.
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April 11, 2007
Turner on Research
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Research
I recently stumbled upon a bold quote from broadcast behemoth Ted Turner. In a speech he gave at Harvard sometime ago (I was unable to track down the date/occasion), in typical Turner temper, he said:
"There's never a reason for a study if your idea is conceptually sound. You have to have confidence in your own ideas. I never did a market study on CNN. I do my own marketing analysis."
This disturbingly refreshing thought comes at a particularly exhilarating time for Personality™. In the last six months alone we've invested nearly $250,000 into honing our craft, tweaking our service offerings and testing our processes. For Ted Turner, $250k is pocket change. For us, $250k is a big deal.
Throughout this time, we've really been wrestling with the idea of research and analysis as it applies to our own processes. The question that continues to haunt us is at what point do we need scientific backing for some of the assumptions we are asserting.
Our gut says it works. Our clients say it is working. The anecdotal evidences we are encountering along the way are affirming. I believe we're conceptually sound and growing more and more confident every day. What gives?
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March 30, 2007
Cause for Concern
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Research
Today, during our weekly Brown Bag Lunch, I shared from the book Cause for Concern by Stephen M. Adler. I've been reading it off and on for the last couple months, and finally finished it last week. I was slightly bored through most of the pages--but I pressed on--mainly because I wanted to see if there was anything to learn from Adler. After all, he started an agency "nearly 20 years ago with the vision of creating mutually beneficial strategic partnerships between nonprofit organizations and corporations through integrated cause marketing partnerships."
Adler has accomplished a lot through his years of connecting companies and non-profits. From his work with the American Heart Association and Susan G. Komen for the Cure (formerly Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation) to Subway and BMW, Adler is no stranger to the world of cause marketing.
Cause for Concern is a great primer if you're new to the world of cause marketing. It's along the lines of Jocelyne Daw's book Cause Marketing for Nonprofits, but more from the view of the for profit.
Continue reading "Cause for Concern"
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February 28, 2007
People Will Pay 5% More to Support Charity
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Consumers are willing to pay more for a product when a portion of the proceeds go to charity. But how much more? Now we have the answer. Consumers are willing to pay 5% more for products that support chairty.
U.S. News & World Report covers the research of two Univeristy of Washington professors who explored eBay's "Giving Works" program. They found that supporting a charity did make a difference, up to a point. (link via Selfish Giving)
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February 21, 2007
What Motivates Donors?
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
The Donor Power Blog points us to some great stats on what motivates donors. The bottom line? Friends & family top celebs, word of mouth beats advertising, trust & personal involvement trumps media coverage. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it's easier to earn donors than it is to buy them.
What influences donors to support a charity?
- Family members (77%)
- Friends (64%)
- Their place of worship (60%)
- Co-workers (40%)
- Companies (30%)
- Celebrities (15%)
Continue reading "What Motivates Donors?"
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February 20, 2007
Giving Makes You Feel Good
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
That good feeling donors get is no longer just anecdotal. A new scientific study shows that giving makes you feel good.
Giving affects the same part of the brain stimulated by sex, drugs and money, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
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February 1, 2007
Giving vs. Advertising
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Research
In a Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) earlier this month, Gene Epstein of Barron's magazine, highlights some recent studies that show corporate generosity has its rewards. To the tune of 200% to 300% return on investment. Wow.
In addition to including some of the same research we mentioned in our entry earlier this week, Epstein takes it a little further in reporting the findings from the professors out of NYU's Stern School of Business and University of Texas at Dallas School of Management.
What these same firms spent on advertising alone was more than 50 times greater. For the rate of return on the charitable dollar to do as well, it need return only one-fiftieth as much. And, with a 200% to 300% return, according to the researchers, it does a lot better than that.
Epstein concludes his piece by suggesting that investors, fund managers and CEOs should not be asking if they're giving away too much, but rather if what they are doing is enough.
I love it when stories like this emerge that prove doing good really works.
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January 25, 2007
Giving Leads to More Sales
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
For every $1 a company donates they can expect sales to go up by as much as $6, according to a new research report mentioned in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
"Contributions have this advertising effect to them, this image-enhancing effect to them. What we see is giving goes up first and then we see the sales go up," said Christine Petrovits, an assistant professor of accounting at New York University Stern School of Business and a co-author of the report.
Companies that sell directly to consumers like retailers, finanical institutions and electronics manufacturers saw the most direct econcomic benefit from giving, but other companies also saw tangible benefits that had a less-direct economic component. The report advises businesses publicize their philanthropy to see the biggest return.
(link via Selfish Giving)
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January 10, 2007
Stats on Donations
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
And now for stats on donations from The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
- 83% of Americans donated to a charity in the past year.
- Average total donations per person fell from $1,352 in 2005 to $1,220 in 2006.
- Donors are most likely to give to religious causes (35%), groups that fight hunger (34%), and health organizations (31%). Donations to disaster relief charities fell from 49% in 2005 to 26% in 2006, primarily due to the lack of high profile disasters like the Southeast Asia tsunami in late 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
- 76% donate because "it's the right thing to do." Other motivations include tax write-offs (15%), employer encouragement (6%), news media attention (2%) and pressure at fund-raising events (2%).
- 45% planned to donate specifically for the holiday season. 9% planned to donate in someone else's name.
- Non-tradiational donations still make up a small percentage of donations: donor-advised fund (8%), bequest (4%), gift of stock (3%).
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Stats on the Non-Profit Sector
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Check out these stats on the non-profit sector from The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
- 7.2% of all employees in the U.S. work for a non-profit. If you add in volunteers, non-profits account for 10.5% of the American workforce.
- The non-profit world is larger than other major industries including utilities, construction and wholesale trade.
- From 2002-2004 the American workforce as a whole declined .2%, yet the non-profit sector grew by more than 5%.
- Most non-profit work is in the human services field. One-third of non-profit workers are employed at hospitals and another 21% work in other health-related positions, including clinics and nursing homes.
If you want to partner with a non-profit, it helps to know more about their field. Especially the fact that the sector is growing and that more than half of it includes health-related work.
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December 12, 2006
Volunteering is In
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Volunteerism is at a 30-year high. A recent report by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that 27% of adults volunteer, up from a low of 20.4% in 1989.
Other findings include:
- Teens ages 16-19 saw the biggest jump, going from 13.4% in 1989 to 28.4% today.
- More adults volunteer through religious organizations (35.5%) than any other type of organization.
- Older adults tend to volunteer with intensity--often serving more than 100 hours per year. In contrast, teens tend to serve less consistently with most serving less than 100 hours per year.
- Baby-boomers are volunteering at greater levels, showing a 37% increase since 1989.
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November 15, 2006
New York Times Giving Section
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Yesterday we mentioned a New York Times article covering the prevalence of cause marketing campaigns, but it seems the New York Times has an entire section dedicated to giving, philanthropy and causes.
You can check out a number of cause-related articles, including:
- What's Wrong With Profit? - An article profiling several "philanthropreneurs," folks with money who are pairing their philanthropy with entrepreneurial efforts (like Jeff Skoll and Participant Productions).
- Bono, Trying to Throw His Arms Around the World - A profile of the U2 frontman Bono and his reinvention of the idea of celebrity charity. (Be sure to check out the snazzy info-graphic detailing all of Bono's do-gooding)
- So Many Causes, So Little Time - The poor Hollywood types have too many charity dinners, balls and auctions to attend, and some speculate that the charity fundraiser will soon die out.
- For Those Who Aid Others, ‘Tourist’ Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story - This year 50,000-75,000 Americans will take part in a short-term overseas volunteer project. It's vacation with a cause.
- Younger Generations Lend a Hand In Their Own Way - A focus on the volunteerism of teens and college students, who often have little cash to spare and instead donate with their time (fits nicely with our recent entry Youth With a Cause which offers numbers to back up the trend).
- For an 11-Year-Old, Learning By Doing Good - A report on a father-son triple-header volunteer experience.
- Flexible Hours, Using Your PC and Never Leaving Home - The increasing trend of volunteering online.
- A Charity with an Unusual Interest in the Bottomline - A profile of one of our featured causes, the Acumen Fund.
- Putting Your Money Where Your Heart Lies - "People say in socially responsible investing that you can do well by doing good. Sometimes it’s better to do a little less well to do a little more good."
The section has even more stories than we listed, so dive in and check it out.
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November 3, 2006
Youth with a Cause
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Cause Marketing
The youth have spoken and they have a cause. A recent study surveyed 1,800 people between the ages of 13 and 25 and found that causes matter for young people.
Especially when it comes to where they shop and how they spend their money:
89% are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the second brand is associated with a good cause.
83% will trust a company more if it is socially/environmentally responsible.
74% are more likely to pay attention to a company's message when they see that the company has a deep commitment to a cause.
69% consider a company's social/environmental commitment when deciding where to shop.
66% will consider a company’s social/environmental commitment when deciding whether to recommend its products and services.
Continue reading "Youth with a Cause"
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October 26, 2006
Homelessness Isn't What You Think
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Research
Part of the trouble with a cause is that it's not always what you think. Changing the world takes more than the standard pat answers. Take homelessness for example.
Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink, wrote a phase-shifting article about homelessness for The New Yorker. The piece pointed out that homelessness doesn't follow a standard distribution, but it follows a power distribution (also known as the long tail) where a very small percentage account for the majority of the expenses.
One study showed that a full 80% of people are homeless for a day or two and then never again. The next 10% are episodic users, usually into drugs and turning to shelters during the winter for a few weeks at a time. The final 10% are your stereotypical homeless, the chronically homeless who had been so for years and often had mental or physical disabilities.
Continue reading "Homelessness Isn't What You Think"
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