BiddingForGood (http://www.biddingforgood.com), a cause-related e-commerce platform connecting affluent consumers and marketers to online fundraising auction events, has announced the top performing brands and categories in its platform. And Apple is in the top 10.
Our favorite tech firm places number six on the list. Ahead of it are the Hillton family, the Marriott family, Starbucks, the Starwood family and Nintendo. Trailing it in the top 10 are Mary Kay, Four Seasons Hotel, Ritz-Carlton and the Cheesecake Factory.
Charity auctions are a unique cause marketing channel because they reach the nations most affluent consumers through their trusted causes just as they are making purchasing decisions in specific categories, such as travel, says BiddingForGood CEO Jonathan Carson. These affluent consumers are educated females who, in bad economic times, retain the buying power for luxury items, he adds. BiddingForGood works with brands to take advantage of this unique marketing channel.
“As more and more marketers see the measureable value that can be extracted from participating in online charity auctions, we expect to see more and more brand names getting involved”, says hotelier, Robin Brown who is on the company’s board.
As socially responsible consumers are becoming more prevalent, marketers are seeking more ways to engage consumers in a cause based environment. Numerous studies from Cone and others are showing that consumers are positively influenced when a brand supports a cause.
Now that charity auctions are moving online, its extraordinary level of consumer engagement is measureable with the average consumer has over 20 page views per online session and the average time on an item page is over 30 seconds.
“In today’s time compressed world where attention spans are rapidly shrinking and brands struggle to break through, we think this high level of engagement amounts to a virtual trial”, says Carson.