Cause marketing for Venus & Mars - By Mike Swenson

Late last year, the annual Barkley cause survey made a big discovery - men do have a heart. We talked to male consumers all over the USA and found out that men are impacted by cause marketing in nearly the same numbers as women. We also found out that only 3 out of 10 chief marketing officers were contemplating targeting men with a cause program. Sounds like some fertile ground for the right brand and nonprofit doesn't it?

At the Cause Marketing Forum in Chicago last week, I had the opportunity to meet with two small groups of fellow cause marketers to discuss cause and men. We had a great mix of people from agencies, companies and nonprofits. The discussion was spirited and we arrived at some interesting insights. The most significant one came when we talked about what motivates men in general and then discussed what that means when developing cause programs.

We all can agree that emotion plays a huge role in cause marketing. But while that is a primary motivator for women, is it the same for men? Our group in Chicago decided that it probably is not the primary motivator for men. Emotion will always be a factor in cause programs, but for men we decided that other dynamics may matter more - competition and accomplishment.

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