Cause related marketing : how does a cause-related marketing shape consumer perception, attitude and behaviour?

American Express initiated a new marketing strategy twenty-five years ago. Forevery new card user the company donated one cent for the recovery of the Statueof Liberty. The success of the campaign exceeds the expectations. This strategywhere a company declares to spend a defined amount of money for a special causein order to push up its sales is called Cause-Related Marketing. Now more andmore companies use the cause-related marketing strategy as a way out of saturatedmarkets and growing consumer awareness. Billions of dollars are spent every yearin cause campaigns. Because it is a relatively new approach many researches has shown interest in thismarketing communication strategy. However, there is still lack in the field ofcause-related marketing and especially in the consumer part. This is also the field of interest for this dissertation and in particular how doescause-relates marketing strategy shape consumer attitude, perception and buyingbehaviour? In order to find out the answer of this question we relied on differenttheories and in addition we conducted a questionnaire among international students. The results, even though restricted trough the sample, showed that there is aconnection between the cause-related marketing and buying behaviour andattitude. Consumers are more likely to support companies which are engaged incause campaigns and tend to develop positive attitude toward this company and itsproducts. The research was limited to sample of students who took part in thequestionnaire. A further investigation in this field could deliver deeperinformation and be useful for companies and researchers in the field of marketingcommunication and marketing strategies