Cause-Related Marketing

As we all know, cause related marketing is practice of linking a product to some worthy social issue in an attempt to generate greater profits and/or exercise social responsibility. This strategy can increase consumer awareness of your brand and attract customers who are strong supporters of the cause that your brand selects. Cheerios has incorporated cause related marketing into their overall marketing campaign by increasing consumer awareness of heart disease, promoting healthy eating, and giving direct donations to organizations fighting for the cause.

Cheerios has done an excellent job of implementing cause related marketing and their name has become synonymous with heart health. It is nearly impossible to navigate the Cheerios website without running into links with information on healthy living and eating, nutritional information for their products detailing how they promote a healthy heart, and promotions helping society fight heart disease. Traditional Cheerios boxes are stamped with a heart shaped bowl of Cheerios along with the claim that “as part of a healthy diet, the soluble fiber in Cheerios can help reduce your cholesterol.” In addition, many Cheerios boxes also include the American Heart Association’s seal of approval, witch is given to food products that meet the organizations health guidelines, to give credibility to Cheerios claims and further increase consumer awareness of the issue. Finally, Cheerios places codes on the inside of their cereal boxes and donates $1 to WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease for every code entered on their website. WomenHeart is a non-profit organization that provides free cholesterol screening for women.

Many consumers now associate a bowl of cheerios with a healthy breakfast or snack even before checking the nutritional information and Cheerios has successfully captured the business of many health conscious eaters.

Scott Hardy, MKTG 301 E