The Cause Marketing Forum is the nation's premier gathering of cause marketing leaders. This year, Barkley sent its entire cause practice to engage with other cause leaders from around the country—and we are bringing the coverage to you. For a review of Barkley's CMF kickoff event, visit Mike Swenson's blog Citizen Brand. The following is an interview with Swenson about just where cause is headed in 2008 and beyond.
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The Cause Marketing Forum is the nation's premier gathering of cause marketing leaders. This year, Barkley sent its entire cause practice to engage with other cause leaders from around the country—and we are bringing the coverage to you. For a review of Barkley's CMF kickoff event, visit Mike Swenson's blog Citizen Brand. The following is an interview with Swenson about just where cause is headed in 2008 and beyond.

Most marketers realize the importance of standing for a cause, but now the market seems flooded with programs. How do brands combat cause fatigue?
We continually tell our clients that relevance is key. You simply cannot approach a cause program with a bandwagon philosophy. Barkley works closely with brands to discover what cause makes the most sense for their core consumers, their business and their future customers. Consumers can see right though disingenuous efforts, and our job as marketers is to remain authentic in every piece of communication—cause is no different.

Also, it's important to remain modern in your approach. Do your customers spend most of their time online? Or do they prefer word-of-mouth connections? Look at the entire spectrum of communication available to you. Utilize social media, buzz marketing, public relations and traditional marketing as part of your overall strategy. Cause programs will fall flat if you simply slap a logo on your price and item TV spot.

What are some of the key cause trends you see right now?
Today we are seeing a lot of talk and media attention focused on green initiatives. A variety of factors have come into play to make this a hot topic for today's consumer. While green is certainly a worthy cause, I think it's important to note that truly successful cause campaigns are not subject to trends. I can't emphasize enough the importance of discovering what cause makes sense for your brand. There are many brands for which green is a perfect cause and those are the ones that will truly make an impact.

With the increasing popularity of cause programs, do you think that brands will be subject to more regulations with regard to their philanthropic outreach?
Government regulations are certainly a consideration when you are in the development process of your cause campaign. I should note that in addition to official regulations, consumers are more than prepared to take a close look at the nature of your cause. They will demand, and rightfully so, that your contributions are genuine and significant. This issue leads into another core tenet of a successful cause branding campaign: transparency. Be upfront with your consumers. Today consumers have the power. In no case is that lesson more relevant than with cause branding.

We've seen a lot of attention focused on large national and global cause campaigns, such as PRODUCT (RED). Do you think there is a growing interest in ensuring a cause campaign reaches a national stage?
Reach is certainly a key consideration with a consumer outreach. However, I think that cause is a unique animal in this case. Cause branding campaigns can be small, grass-roots efforts and still have a substantial impact with your core consumer. For example, if you find that the best cause is one that is local to your business community, that outreach can still engage your best customers in a meaningful way. Cause branding has legs and works far beyond a :30 spot; it has measurable impact, whether it be on a local or national level.