A comparative impact of cause-related marketing and sponsorship leveraged internet display advertising

Advances in internet technology and e-commerce activities have facilitated the widespread use of internet cause-related marketing (CRM) and sponsorship advertisement frames. Typically, firms communicate with target audiences by offering a precise (PDA) or imprecise (IDA) donation amount to a charity or social cause. This study compares the effectiveness of precise (PDA) with imprecise donation amount (IDA) display advertisement frames, in terms of attitude and purchase intention, from a fundraising perspective. Using a web-based experimental survey design involving a national representative sample, the results of the ANCOVA analysis revealed no significant difference in attitudes between PDA and IPA ads. However, the PDA ad indicated higher purchase intention than the IDA ad frame, regardless of whether the perceived donation amounts were low or high. The study contributes to the understanding of the practical application of cause-related and sponsorship display ads.