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Brand Spirit: How Cause-related Marketing Builds Brands Hamish Pringle and Marjorie Thompson John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chichester, UK 2001 v + 281 pp. ISBN. 0-471-49944-7 US$19.95
Keywords Brands, Cause marketing, Marketing, Alliances, Charities
At a time when corporations are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors, cause-related marketing (CRM) has appeared as an innovative way to add value to the brand. Pringle and Thompson have done a wonderful job of exploring the relatively new strategy of cause-related marketing. The book is a comprehensive examination of the inception and growth of this unique form of marketing that combines profit and philanthropic motivations.
Written in the UK, Brand Spirit incorporates both UK and US examples of companies that have successfully implemented CRM programs. The 27 chapters are short and cover virtually every component of CRM, from the early history of the strategy to specific pointers to keep in mind when establishing partnerships with non-profit organizations and implementing a CRM campaign. Almost every chapter contains an example of a relevant cause-related marketing program providing insight into the many ways that a CRM program can be structured.
The authors have divided the book into seven parts. Part I defines causerelated marketing and illustrates the potential for CRM in developing brand values and sales by providing a case history of American Express's very successful "Charge against hunger."
Part II, Chapters 2-5, looks at the attitudinal and behavioral reasons that established the pre-conditions for cause-related marketing. Each of the four chapters explores specific challenges that marketers faced which laid the foundation for CRM. According to Pringle and Thompson, one major problem facing brands was the rapid duplication of innovations by competitors and retailer brands compromising the brand's distinctiveness and placing brands in jeopardy of becoming commodities. The authors make the argument that CRM can enhance a brand's distinctiveness and build customer loyalty, providing a case study to illustrate their point. CRM also can cut through the clutter that exists in all the major...