An excellent read on the fine line marketers and organizations must walk when supporting a worthy cause.

Cause-Tied Marketing Requires Care

By Emily Steel

From a Lady Gaga prayer bracelet to special sushi rolls at restaurants, the disaster in Japan has led to a rash of relief efforts.

But as consumers become increasingly skeptical of cause-related marketing, celebrities, organizations and major marketers have to walk a fine line, trying to help without appearing to exploit the tragedy for profits.

“Companies have an opportunity in this crisis to show that they care. Customers want that,” says Dean Crutchfield, an independent branding consultant. “But to take something as sensitive as a crisis and combine it with a brand message is a volatile situation that easily could explode.”

Microsoft Corp.’s Bing learned that lesson early on. The search engine created a backlash when it posted a message on Twitter, offering to donate $1 to Japan’s relief efforts each time someone forwarded its message.

The missive set off a firestorm of complaints from Twitter users, who accused Bing of using the tragedy as a marketing opportunity. Within hours, the company responded. “We apologize the tweet was negatively perceived. Intent was to provide an easy way for people to help Japan. We have donated $100,000.”

Read the rest of the article here.