''Cause Related Marketing'' nets SVDP (Ireland ) over $60,000

A publisher’s promise to donate 1£ for every copy bought of “Irish Girls About Town” has netted Barnardo’s (a children’s relief agency) and the SVDP in Ireland a windfall of funds. This is an example of a new phenomenon called “Cause Related Marketing”.A Vinfam member sent me the following notice…. “In 2002, Barnardo’s benefited to the tune of over £30,000 when Simon and Schuster brought together the cream of Irish writers for the book Irish Girls About Town. The book, a collection of short stories from Irish women writers was given great reviews and for every copy sold £1 was donated and divided between Barnardo’s and the Irish based charity Society of Vincent de Paul.”

“Irish Girls About Town, an anthology of 16 short stories, includes works of well-known writers Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes and stories by relatively fresh names, as well. First published in UK and Ireland in 2002, the collection is now available in the United States. (I bought my copy last week at Target.) Sales benefit Barnardo’s, the largest UK charity run for the benefit of children, and the Society of St Vinent de Paul.”

The book’s foreword has this to say about the Society:

“[It] has … members in 132 countries, where it works tirelessly in a wide variety of activities to alleviate the effects of poverty and exclusion. These include providing financial support, running breakfast clubs and homeworks clubs for needy schoolchildren as well as pre-schools, providing advice/counseling services, giving education grants, and running 120 “good-as-new” clothing and house-goods shops. The Society in Ireland is also a major contributor to the development of public policy to eliminate poverty.”

“Some of these stories offer plenty of grist for the mills of both thought and conversation; a reading group, especially, could make profitable use of several selections. Taken as a whole, the anthology provides a fascinating overview of women writing fiction in today’s Ireland.”

What might be of more significance than this one instance is that this is part of what is refered to as “Cause Related Marketing”.

“Publicly linking with a charity can provide a credible incentive for customers and staff to select products or services to benefit a cause or charity. Cause Relted Marketingh (CRM) is the commerical activity by which a business and charity form a partnership to market and image, product or service for mutual; benefit.

For more on CRM visit http://www.barnardos.org.uk/supportus/corporate/marketing.jsp

For more on cause related marketing see Google.