A new global business and public sector coalition, led by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, the US Chamber of Commerce and a number of nonprofits, launched a new initiative to survey in a socially beneficial way by making donations to causes on behalf of those individuals participating in funded market research programs around the world.
The innovative corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign has the potential to direct as much as 10 percent of the $18.9 billion spent on market research worldwide to thousands of nonprofits. By responding to, and completing, research, opt-in panel participants will enable millions of dollars in new funds to be channeled to their favorite causes, charities, and foundations of choice.
Dozens of leading nonprofits, market research groups, advertising and marketing associations, as well as the Business Civic Leadership Center of the US Chamber of Commerce have already registered to participate in the international campaign architected by Ed Martin, global head of insight and new methods at The Hershey Company.
"Market researchers typically earmark substantial funds to field research and reward panel and survey participants through incentives, rewards, giveaways, and other gifts that gain or induce response," noted Donovan Neale-May, the executive director of the CMO Council, which has more than 5,000 marketing executive members controlling an estimated $125 billion in annual spend. "By formalizing and linking survey fielding and response to nonprofit donations, corporate marketers and researchers can add a powerful altruistic appeal and ensure that market research dollars produce real social value and meaningful improvement to brand image and perception."
Fundraisers and foundations representing millions of concerned global citizens will anchor the program, enabling global marketers to access a large, diverse and motivated research panel. This will enable surveys to be fielded more cost-effectively and efficiently, and will also improve response rates among hard-to-reach demographics. Among those committed are the American Red Cross, Special Olympics, March of Dimes, Malaria No More, Feed the Children, Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, American Kidney Fund, and the Humane Society of the United States.
The group has set up a dedicated campaign website at www.surveyforgood.org. Major social media networks and portals have committed to support and promote the groundbreaking campaign to enhance corporate giving and social impact programs.
Three important, back-end panel registration/selection, cause verification and donation processing partners (Peanut Labs, Charity Navigator, and Network for Good) will enable global execution, compliance, visibility, transparency and scalability. Zooppa.com, a social network for creators of user-generated advertising, will spearhead public service campaign development with an online competition to its 42,000-member community to produce ads, videos, banners, and rich media messages. Participating media partners will run these in online, print, electronic and outdoor channels.
"The Pause to Support a Cause model will be driven by word-of-mouth in social networks and nonprofit communities, where members can talk up this innovative way to fund raise," stated Patricia Goldman, chief marketing officer of March of Dimes, one of the nonprofit advocates of the program. "Its real power lies in enabling people do something for a cause which they specifically care about with minimal time, effort and no out-of-pocket expense."
Each supporting company or market research firm will design their studies, create their survey instruments, and specify which audiences they would like to target and engage. The nature of the research, type of respondent, and length of the questionnaire will determine how much is donated to the cause. Panelists will need to go online to www.surveyforgood.org/ to opt-in to the program, profile themselves, and specify what topics and frequency of research they are willing to undertake. They will also be able to specify their favorite causes where donations will be directed based on survey completions.
"Pause to Support a Cause will also resonate with more difficult-to-reach consumers and research audiences and will give nonprofit partners a simple and effective way to increase their visibility, attract additional funding, and connect with new donors and contributors," noted Edward G. Martin of The Hershey Company, who leads the campaign as a senior fellow of the CMO Council. "It will help lower research costs, shorten fielding times, heighten response rates, and encourage more active year-round participation in market feedback, engagement and listening programs.
The CMO Council advocacy program will embrace a global coalition of top marketing decision makers, marketing research professionals, and nonprofit organizations to aggregate and involve millions of consumers in research undertakings that raise significant levels of new funding for those in need and entities at risk. Corporate advisors, supporters and underwriters include The Hershey Company, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Farmers Insurance, MTV, AmFam, Pepsi, Ipso, Lieberman, Think Vehicles, and AOL.