Charity Initiative Promises Huge Panel

In the US, professional association the CMO Council has announced the launch of 'Pause for a Cause', a program which aims to direct millions of dollars in funds to good causes in exchange for survey responses. Major charities and corporations are among those backing the initiative.

Joining the CMO Council in the launch coalition are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many notable non-profit organisations. The partners say that by encouraging consumers to 'survey the socially beneficial way' they can direct 'as much as 10 percent of the $18.9 billion spent on market research worldwide to thousands of non-profits', by creating a global panel of millions of respondents giving their time to their favorite causes.

The campaign is the brainchild of Ed Martin, Global Head of Insight and New Methods at The Hershey Company and a senior fellow of the CMO Council, who says that in addition to helping the causes, the campaign will 'help lower research costs, shorten fielding times, heighten response rates, and encourage more active year-round participation in market feedback, engagement and listening programs.' In addition to Hershey, corporate backers for the program include P & G, Ford, MTV, Pepsi, Ipsos and AOL, and many others.

Charities involved include the American Red Cross, Special Olympics, March of Dimes, Malaria No More, Feed the Children, Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, American Kidney Fund and the Humane Society of the United States; and major social media networks and portals have pledged to help support and promote the campaign.

At the back end three companies, Peanut Labs, Charity Navigator, and Network for Good, will help with panel admin and selection, and verify and process donations. Panelists will opt in at www.surveyforgood.org , provide profiles and select topics, and say how often they are prepared to take part in surveys, in addition to specifying the good cause of their choice.

Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council, comments: 'Market researchers typically earmark substantial funds to field research and reward panel and survey participants through incentives, rewards, giveaways and other gifts that gain or induce response. By formalizing and linking survey fielding and response to non-profit donations, corporate marketers and researchers can add a powerful altruistic appeal and ensure that market research dollars produce real social value and meaningful improvement to brand image and perception.'

The Council, online at www.cmocouncil.org , has regional chapters and advisory boards in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and together with its strategic interest communities links 12,000 executives across 90 countries.

A dedicated campaign web site is now live at www.surveyforgood.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.