Why not market for a cause?

Some of the hottest viral ads, promotions and clips throughout the holiday season are cause related. We see them each year - saving homeless pets, donating to a local green space or saving a historical landmark. As the holidays approach, consumers look for ways to do good works. Could this help your next campaign?

by Kristina Knight

If the cause is right, it could, and a new platform from Vidsense shows how some non-profits, consumers and businesses can carry out that Cause Campaign.

Vidsense launched the "Good Works Better Alliance" this week, a fund-raising initiative to help social net workers reach out on behalf of non-profit organizations. The platform allows consumers to link family-friendly television and movie clips to their profiles. Each time those clips are viewed, revenue is generated for their favorite cause.

This particular platform may not appeal to all businesses but the concept could be used by marketers throughout the country. Local marketers, especially, could partner with a non-profit for a good cause and increase their brand recognition in the process.

The important thing is to brand the campaigns but not necessarily stump for consumers to buy products. When cause marketing concepts are used, the brands associated with the cause will be remembered in the best light if those brands support they cause itself, not try to boost their own bottom line.