Customer response to message framing in cause related marketing

Abstract

Organizational campaigns promoting Cause Related Marketing (CRM) have gained significance with regard to consumer participation. This is evident as business organizations have been found to express humanity and values in emotionally compelling ways so as to meet the expectations set by customers, other stakeholders. A laboratory experiment was conducted manipulating message framing and reputation of the company. The experiment uses two levels of message framing and two levels of reputation and also measures Consumer Social Responsibility and WTP of the respondents. The paper attempts (a) To examine whether association of a product with a cause affects customers Willingness To Pay (WTP); (b) To ascertain whether message framing, reputation of the brand and Consumer Social Responsibility have an impact on WTP; (c) To determine the impact of message framing on WTP as moderated by reputation of the brand and Consumer Social Responsibility and the impact of Consumer Social Responsibility on WTP as moderated by reputation of the brand. The study reveals that association of a product with a cause increases customers' WTP. Consumer Social Responsibility has an impact on WTP. The impact of Consumer Social Responsibility on WTP is moderated by reputation of the brand. The findings of this study may help the marketers as products linked to causes have pricing implications. Besides depending on the social responsibility of the target group, pricing can be varied by the marketer. Differential pricing depending on the reputation for target groups with different Consumer Social Responsibility can be adopted.