Millennials’ Response Toward Cause-Related Marketing Advertisements via Social Media and Magazines: Which Is More Effective?

Millennials are more involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and respond more positively toward cause-related marketing (CRM). In the past, CRM campaigns have relied heavily on traditional offline media channels to promote their cause to audiences. However, with the emergence of modern media channels such as the Internet and social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), many CRM campaigns have switched to these channels especially when targeting Millennials. However, research that examines the effectiveness of CRM campaigns that target Millennials via social media ads is still lacking. Therefore, we investigated the effect of social media ad versus magazine ad on Millennials’ response toward CRM campaigns by examining the impact of these two types of media on three responses: (1) attitude toward CRM, (2) trust in CRM, and (3) brand loyalty intention. We used a 1 × 2 between-subject experimental design (types of media channel for CRM campaigns; social media ad versus magazine ad). Based on the data collected from 135 respondents, our findings indicated that there is no significant difference between the effects of social media ad versus magazine ad on Millennials’ responses to CRM. The findings are particularly useful for managers and practitioners involved in the planning of CRM campaigns, CSR initiatives, and integrated marketing communications for companies.