Companies Urged Not to Cut Cause-Marketing During Downturn

We reported on a study recently that indicated businesses might be cutting back on their cause-marketing due to the bad economy. Those businesses might not truly understand how insistent consumers really are about 'cause-buying.'

An article in Advertising Age says that some companies are smarter about consumer sentiment and are actually bumping up their cause-marketing efforts. The article names Sears, Target, OfficeMax, General Mills, and P&G as companies that believe cause-marketing actually helps "persuade weary consumers to spend." Makes sense. If you don't have very much to spend, why not get a bonus by buying products that support good causes? That can be especially true if one is cutting back on personal contributions to charity, something that typically happens during a recession.