Many
publishers and authors will donate some of the net proceeds from book sales to
a specific charity or social cause. They
may do this because they believe in and support the very issues they are financing,
but they may also be charitable because they believe it assists with their
branding. They may even think that a potential
reader is more willing to buy a book because a website, flier, social media
post or book cover highlights the link between book sales and making the world
a better place. Does social do-gooder
marketing actually influence consumer behavior?
According
to a survey taken by Ad Week
magazine:
·
Up
to two-thirds of respondents said that they regularly or sometimes actively
seek out a brand that supports certain causes.
·
A
third of respondents say they are more likely to purchase from a brand that
supports a cause they agree with.
·
One
in four say they are much less likely to purchase from a brand that supports a
cause they disagree with.
·
Generationally,
the younger you are, the more likely they will buy from a brand that supports a
cause they support. 49% of Millennials said this; 34% of Gen X did; and 13% of
Baby Boomers agreed.
·
The
causes that people believe brands should support, in order of popularity, are
hunger/homelessness and medical relief; education; environmental sustainability
and wild life protection; and animal rights.
·
61%
support a domestic cause for brands, while 13% wanted to see an international
cause; 25% had no preference.
·
53%
believe a brand should support a cause and donate money to a recognized
charity.
·
39%
believe that a brand should integrate a cause into their business strategy such
as how TOMS donates shoes.
·
33%
believe that support for a cause by a brand should come through its promotion
of awareness for the cause through an advertising or marketing campaign.
·
25%
believe a brand should use its visibility to publicly discuss important issues
they would like to solve.
This
may work for Starbucks and others, but does it translate into the book world?
No
one will buy a book unless they truly think it would be a useful or interesting
read – or a great gift. But if given a
choice between two similar books, on occasion, the consumer may choose the one
that displays support for an issue he or she cares about.
It may also indirectly help the author get more publicity for his book. The media may subconsciously be drawn to helping authors they know supports the causes they value. It certainly helps on social media.
There
are no big studies out there that prove consumers buy more books from authors
or publishers supporting a charitable cause, but it seems like human behavior
would skew that way.
It’s
a win-win proposition for the book publishing community to support a
cause. At the very least it raises money
for a cause and helps increase awareness for it. If it influences sales or media exposure,
that’s gravy on top.
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