Target Hops on the Cause Marketing Bandwagon

Cause marketing has become an important advertising channel for big brands looking to make a big impact socially and to their bottom line. Companies that have made a name out of cause marketing include TOMS shoes "One for One" campaign and Chipotle's "Scarecrow" and "Back to the Start" YouTube sensations. Close on their heels is one of the largest, big-box retailers in the US - Target. And they're looking to get a piece of the action during the back to school season with it's Up & Up brand. This brand has a "One for You, One for Me" mission and also works with the Kids In Need Foundation. Taking a page out of TOM's shoes book, Target will give one Up & Up brand school-supply product to a student in need for each Up & Up school supply purchased between July 13 and August 2.

Ultimately, Target hopes to donate $25 million worth of supplies to the Kids In Need Foundation. Where the social media aspect comes in to the mix is with the tracking of its monetary goal and updating its consumers throughout the campaign. Most exciting about this cause marketing campaign is that if Target achieves its goal, it will be the single, largest donation the retailer has ever made. Perhaps more importantly, Target is eager to see whether the juice is worth the squeeze,

"We'll learn a lot this season, whether it's a model guests like -- a model they'll support," Ms. Reck said. The Up & Up brand is relatively new to the school-supplies category and building share, she added. 

Like any successful cause marketing campaign, the key is to exude authenticity as a way to bring your consumer closer to you by creating trust and hopefully securing lifetime loyalty:
Ms. Reck said Target will send out messages via social media when it hits milestones, such as $5 million donated. "It's giving us more pulse points to connect with guests in a way that's authentic," she said. "It gives us something outside of just deals that we can talk about with our guests." Good luck, Target, to opening those lines of communication!