Center for Transparency founder examines funding from “Cause Marketing” campaigns.

Every October, we see a field of bright pink on National Football League players, cheerleaders, fields and fans, all to bring awareness and support for breast cancer patients, and endless products are bought to support fundraising for breast cancer research and care. But, what percentage of sales is actually donated?

One woman dared to ask, and as a result of what she found, the Center for Transparency was formed.

On April 13, 2016, Bobbie Shay Lee, founder and current executive director of The Center for Transparency, was the featured speaker for the the 9th annual Vangermeersch lecture. Through the Center, Lee has worked to provide clarity about the profits being made by corporations and details of exactly how much money is actually contributed to a company’s selected non-profit.

In her address, “Profit or Purpose? Looking beyond the surface,” Lee, the former NFL cheerleader, spoke about cause-related marketing campaigns and shared her personal journey of her battle with breast cancer. In her work, she teaches consumers to be well-informed about purchasing products with ties to charitable organizations.

Bobbie Shay Lee’s Expertise
An 18-year breast cancer survivor, Lee, who holds an MSW from Florida State University, is a national advocate for health care and consumer protection. She regularly writes and comments on health- and cause-related marketing issues as a contributor to Huffington Post and Everyday Health. She has also been featured in the Tampa Bay Times and Washington Post TV, and has served as a guest speaker for many organizations nationwide.  Prior to forming the center, she worked in account management and business development for a marketing firm and served as a consultant for several non-profit foundations.

“Cause-related campaigns demand transparency, not companies that hide behind pink ribbons just to generate profits from a horrible disease,” according to the Center’s for Transparency website. The center is dedicated to providing full disclosure of sponsorship activities, and rewards companies that are open about their campaigns and show how much money they’ve contributed.

Cause Marketing Research
A fact sheet provided to the audience shared statistics related to consumer behavior resulting from cause-marketing:

• IEG Sponsorship Report: Cause sponsorship reached $1.92 billion in 2015, an increase of 4% over 2014.
• 2013 Cone Communications Social Impact Study: 89% of U.S. Consumers are likely to switch brands to one associated with a cause, given comparable price and quality. U.S. Consumer purchasing of products associated with a cause is up 170% since 1993.
• Cause Marketing Forum: 75% of brands now engage in cause marketing (up from 58% in 2009) and 97% of marketing executives believe it to be a valid business strategy.

She encouraged students in the audience to work for a cause they are passionate about, “If you’re not emotionally attached you need to find a different career path.”

After the lecture, questions came from the audience of more than 100 College of Business students, faculty, staff as well as members of the business community. Our Twitter feed, #URITransparency, reached 5,000 users within 24 hours of the event. The event was streamed live by OSHEAN and the audio is available here.

The Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture was established in 2008 with a gift from URI CBA alumnus Deborah Ciolfi (’80), in honor of her former accounting professor, Richard Vangermeersch, who retired in 2004 after 34 years of teaching. The lecture series features prominent role models from the business community to interest and inspire our students.

View PHOTOS

Additional Information:

• Sports Illustrated October, 2015 “NFL’s breast cancer awareness month more about style than substance”
• Check the F.A.C.T.S: Center for Transparency’s consumer awareness web page

Photos by Joe Giblin Photography.