The effects of featured advertising and package labeling on sustainability of cause-related marketing (CRM) products

This paper seeks to examine the relative efficacy of cause-related marketing (CRM) product package labeling versus featured advertising efficacy on market performance. One natural setting using scanner data from a grocery store chain and an open-ended survey were conducted to evaluate the financial performance of featured advertising and product labeling in terms of sustainability of cause-related marketing products. Our findings suggest that cause-related marketing product package labeling without featured advertising appears to provide a competitive advantage resulting in superior financial performance. Also, featured advertising without product package labeling boosts products sales. However, when featured advertising is applied to cause-related marketing product package labeling, the effect of such labeling is diminished. Based on our findings, we suggest that final and intermediate sellers of cause-related marketing products should deliver a persuasive message about the sustainability of cause-related marketing products in the context of a conspicuous environment (e.g., Facebook and Twitter). Although featured advertisements and product package labels are two of the most widely-used tools to promote cause-related marketing products, the cause-related marketing literature has largely neglected a meaningful comparison between the two. This paper seeks to fill the gap in the literature.