The benefits of product customization in the context of cause-related marketing
(A2025-125897)

AUTHORS

Rocío Alarcón-López, Public University of Navarre; Monica Cortinas, Public University of Navarre

ABSTRACT

Product customization is omnipresent, and increasingly often companies allow consumers to modify product features according to their preferences to express their identity. Similarly, companies tend to launch cause-related marketing campaigns and donate a percentage of product sales to a social cause (e.g., research to fight against cancer). We examine how the interplay of these two marketing strategies influences consumer behavior. The results show that a cause-related product is more appealing when the brand allows customization (vs. no customization). In addition, customizing a cause-related product increases product appeal, which, in turn, boosts purchase intentions toward the product. We also demonstrate that this positive effect of customizing cause-related products is limited to consumers highly self-conscious. The implications of this research can benefit marketers by highlighting the importance of implementing customization procedures in cause-related marketing campaigns.