Effects of Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns on Consumer Purchase Behavior among French Millennials: A Regulatory Focus Approach

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns on consumer purchase behavior among French millennials contrasted with their international counterparts. Based on the regulatory-focus theory, the influence of the types of arguments and products is tested on French millennials' attitudes, intentions and behaviors in the context of CRM campaigns. Design/methodology/approach: Three experimental studies among French millennials examine the effects of a CRM campaign vs non-CRM one on purchase behavior (study 1) through varying the formulation of the argument (promotion or prevention \textendash study 2) and the nature of the advertised product (utilitarian or hedonic \textendash study 3). Findings: The results reveal French millennials' favorable attitude and greater purchase intention for products carrying CRM messages, displaying similarities with American and Dutch millennials. When exposed to CRM advertising with promotion messages for hedonic products, French millennials, similarly to their South African and American counterparts, show greater purchase intentions, exhibiting cause sensitivity with hedonic products to reach aspirational goals. Research limitations/implications: Inconsistent findings related to French millennials' willingness to pay are linked to possible message formulation and product nature biases. The study contributes to the CRM literature by bridging regulatory focus and product type in a CRM campaign context, while contrasting millennials' perceptions from diverse countries. Practical implications: To improve CRM effectiveness toward millennials, firms must ensure the consistency between the causes, types of messages and products. Social implications: CRM campaign efficiency is enhanced when promoted by brands, thereby increasing millennials' engagement toward the causes. Originality/value: This paper is the first to explore, in a single study, CRM campaign regulatory focus and product type among French millennials compared with their international counterparts. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.