Purpose or Cause Marketing.

Purpose marketing or marketing for cause is a fantastic way for businesses that have similar cultural and ethical philosophies to work together. Many of these types of collaborations not only deliver operationally but are also successful in driving brand awareness and engagement.

From a marketing perspective, the benefits of purpose marketing are significant. Working with a charitable organisation is a great way to build corporate goodwill, both externally with media, buyers, and the business community, but also internally with employees and trade partners. Aligning brand position with like-minded organisations build trust and reputation with consumer and advertiser connections also opening up additional potential customers to do business with, while your workforce sees you as an organisation doing its bit to “give back” and support others.

Purpose marketing also enables partners to harness the power of each other’s digital marketplace and assets. Co-branding on physical assets like billboards, equipment, signage etc, along with a shared social media and website, presence can deliver real-time marketing results, increase followers, brand awareness and engagement, and ultimately, drive revenue.

At Chill, our collaboration with OzHarvest is a fantastic example of purpose marketing and the mutual benefits are evident.  As an organisation, we have always been aware of our corporate responsibility and have sought opportunities to work closely with organisations that share our ethos. With that in mind, in early 2021, we came on board to support OzHarvest’s Mobile Markets initiative, which delivers healthy food to regional NSW households in need. OzHarvest had plans to grow its operation in the new year, and we knew we could help.

We offered up vans and a cool room, enabling volunteers to keep chilled products cool for longer, reducing wastage. Our collaboration with OzHarvest is demonstrative of a partnership with purpose – we’re able to utilise each other’s shared vision and goals to provide something of value to people in need. OzHarvest is able to benefit from much-needed additional transport infrastructure to help volunteers manage the current deliveries and take the initiative to the next level. For Chill, the partnership allows us to live our commitment to promoting a brighter future for people and the planet, particularly in limiting food wastage.

Additionally, the collaboration provides critical brand exposure, with the vehicles being co-branded with OzHarvest and CHILL logos and branding, thus both partners had exposure across each other’s physical and digital platforms, including the website and EDM’s.

We were also able to take advantage of OzHarvest’s huge and growing social media following – 94,000 Facebook followers and 36,000 Instagram followers –in order to promote CHILL’s involvement and alignment with the organisation. So, what’s the secret to successful purpose marketing? Well, while there’s no silver bullet, aligning yourself with the right partner is important. Look for brands that meet your goals and collaborate with them on a shared vision. Our partnership with OzHarvest works because our organisations are ethically aligned and we were able to collaborate on a project that provided mutual benefits, both operationally, and from a marketing standpoint.