Appropriate Cause Marketing

Cause Marketing makes sense and is supported by a range of stakeholder groups.

• Consumers and the public increasingly demand it.

• Employees are inspired by it.

• Government and industry regulators actively support it.

• Investors recognise the benefits of it.

• Causes benefit directly from it.

Just as with any other form of marketing a great deal of research needs to be carried out to identify Cause Marketing that naturally fits with customers' perceptions of what 'their' company should be doing. Therefore a fit between Cause Marketing and the overall vision and goals of a company is vital. A vision is a picture, set out in words, of what a business is seeking to achieve.

Vodafone's vision is: 'Enriching customers' lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities to be more connected in a mobile world'.

Goals are the end targets that an organisation seeks to achieve through its plans. Vodafone has six goals. Two of the most important of these are to 'delight our customers and be a responsible business'. The vision and goals therefore give important direction to the Cause Marketing programme.

As communication lies at the heart of everything that Vodafone does, it made sense to partner with a cause that is closely related to communication. As the leading provider of mobile communications, Vodafone has a unique opportunity to employ its strengths, size and marketing power to:

• help the NAS improve the lives of people with autism

• bring the issues to a wider audience

• increase the capacity and accessibility of NAS services.