Celebrity Endorsements of Cause Related Marketing, the Donation Message, and the Impact on Generation Z.

Cause related marketing enables unification of commercial and social interests, with the brand always making a public association with the cause. Cause related marketing cannot be described as philanthropy, as it is implemented to benefit both the company and the cause. The purpose of this research is to examine any differences in the effects caused by the variables of donation frame, celebrity endorsement and message frame. The two main donation methods are examined: a set monetary donation frame and an in-kind donation of resources. This research also addresses the message source, between the brand and that of a celebrity acting as an endorser, as well as the message frame, specifically between an impersonal or a personal message frame. This research has a quantitative approach and data was collected using experimental design, as it is the most applicable method for the testing of causal effects. 162 student subjects are used as the sample base as they are representative of Generation Z at the time of this study. The quantitative data was analysed using inferential statistics, more specifically using paired t-tests. It was found that only cause related marketing messages with a celebrity message source using a personal message frame positively affected the Generation Z attitudes towards the brand, which was found across both donation frames. Therefore, brands seeking to optimise return on investment should ensure the endorsing celebrity uses a message which speaks in a collaborative style with the audience. The brand as the message source did not manage to elicit significant change in Generation Z purchase intention. However, there was a significant effect when the celebrity acted as the message source, found across both donation frames. This indicates that generation Z are advertising adverse and celebrity endorsement can help mediate this scepticism. Cause related marketing was shown to have a positive effect on Generation Z word-of-mouth intentions across both message sources as well as across both donation frames, indicating that this is still a useful marketing technique for targeting generation Z.