cause marketing ‘The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you' – Anita Roddick A 2010 Edelman survey on the Indian consumer only confirmed what CRY – Child Rights and You, has experienced through working with companies committed to children for over 34 years. And it's this – Indian consumers do want to engage with brands that prioritize social issues! In this survey, 78% of the consumers said they would switch brands if a brand of equal quality supported a cause. In a study that CRY commissioned independently through Hansa Research in 2012, we saw a repeat of the same pattern – CSR was the third most important attribute determining brand choice after brand name and price, higher even than consumer promotions, after sales service or celebrity endorsements. CRY's own experience in partnering with companies that have chosen the cause marketing approach has been very insightful. What we have found, is that it's the companies that are truly committed to making a difference and are willing to commit to a programme that is long term, that see the maximum benefit in terms of consumer goodwill, employee motivation and stakeholder support. Some of our most successful partnerships have been with companies like Procter & Gamble and Aviva and more recently, with Hindustan Times and Marico. All of their programmes have a few essential characteristics in common: Ÿ The programmes are long term, spanning several years Ÿ They work to engage every stakeholder in their eco- system Ÿ They truly want to bring about significant change in children's lives Take Aviva for example, a key player in the crowded Insurance market which had more than 24 players in 2009 when they identified children as the focus of their CSR strategy. Aviva chose to launch its global 'Street to School' programme in 2009 along with a new brand thought around 'Education is Insurance'. They created an impactful stakeholder engagement programme that reached out to consumers, sales offices, employees and the media. Sales branches adopted schools and conducted donation drives. Aviva employees volunteered to work in the community to improve children's lives through hands-on work. They also donated one day's salary to support CRY projects across the country. Special days were created for employees to bring in their families to office for an engagement with CRY on children's issues. There was also a large amount of media and PR support through advertising and multi-city press conferences. All of this has resulted in a deep sense of organisational pride amongst their employees as well as a 26% increase in sales over three years. Brand consideration also rose dramatically from 27% in 2009 to 40%. But most importantly, they have brought learning, hope and happiness to close to 50,000 children who now have access to quality education. Doing Good can be Good for Business by Yogita Verma Saighal 43 Marketing Booster Jun-Jul 2013 I