Abstract

The following report is a study done to ascertain the impact of cause related marketing on brand

awareness with special reference to Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank, Colombo, Sri

Lanka. Initially, from an exploratory research, the researcher understood that the brand

awareness of Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank is not at a satisfactory level compared

to the competitors. Additionally, the exploratory research found lack of strategic marketing

initiatives as the route cause for weaker brand awareness of Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine whether Cargills Agriculture

and Commercial Bank could strengthen its brand awareness through cause related marketing.

The researcher constructed three objectives for this study with reference to the research

problem. In the first two objectives, the researcher focused on obtaining a deeper theoretical

and empirical understanding on the concepts of cause related marketing and brand awareness.

The third objective aims to analyse the relationship between the two concepts. Through the

literature review, the researcher constructed a hypothesis stating that “there is a positive

relationship between cause related marketing and brand awareness.” Together with the

literature review, the research is implemented on the mixed approach where both quantitative

and qualitative analysis are been conducted. The population of this study is determined as the

customers of Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank. Thereby, in order to collect the data,

the researcher randomly distributed questionnaires to 60 customers taken from the bank’s head

office in Colombo. Additionally, the qualitative analysis was based on interviews where the

researcher interviewed 10 customers of the same sample, in order to obtain the customers’

perspective about the relationship between cause related marketing and brand awareness with

regard to Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank. In the qualitative analysis, the researcher

identified that when the customers believe that cause related marketing initiatives could

enhance the brand awareness of Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank. As a result of this

the competitiveness and the stability of the bank will be improved.

This study has been carried out to find the relationship and the impact made by Cause Related

Marketing activities on the brand awareness of a business. The researcher has identified the

relationship that exists between the Cause Related Marketing activities and initiatives and the

brand awareness. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the researcher has thus been

able to ascertain that there is a positive relationship between these two concepts which will lead

to an increase or betterment of business performance when they are performed combined with

the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that would therefore contribute to the

enhancement of the performance of a business in terms of it’s improvement in market share and

financial profitability as well. From this outcome it can be understood that Cause Related

Marketing (CRM) could be considered as a factor in determining how well a business can

perform and how well it will survive in the industry. Therefore based on the quantitative and

qualitative analysis, the researcher has arrived at the conclusion that cause related marketing

has a positive impact on brand awareness.

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List of figures

Figure 1 , Source: Author developed...........................................................................................11Figure 2 , Source: Author developed...........................................................................................20Figure 3 , Source: Author developed...........................................................................................22Figure 4 , Chart 1.........................................................................................................................32Figure 5 , Chart 2.........................................................................................................................33Figure 6 , Chart 3.........................................................................................................................37

List of Tables

Table 1 , Source: Author developed............................................................................................21Table 2.........................................................................................................................................34Table 3.........................................................................................................................................35Table 4.........................................................................................................................................36Table 5.........................................................................................................................................37Table 6.........................................................................................................................................38

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Table of Contents1.0 Introduction...........................................................................................................................8

1.1 Background..........................................................................................................................8

1.2 Problem formulation...........................................................................................................10

1.3 Research Objectives..........................................................................................................10

1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................10

1.5 Significance of the study....................................................................................................10

1.6 The Structure.....................................................................................................................11

2.0 Literature Review.................................................................................................................12

2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................12

2.2 What is “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM)?.....................................................................12

2.3 What is Brand Awareness?................................................................................................15

2.4 The relationship between Cause Related Marketing and Brand Awareness.....................17

2.5 Gap Analysis......................................................................................................................18

3.0 Methodology........................................................................................................................20

3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................20

3.2 Conceptual Framework......................................................................................................20

Hypothesis...............................................................................................................................21

3.3 Data variables....................................................................................................................21

3.3.1 Operationalisation Table.............................................................................................21

3.4 Identifying the layers of the research - “Research Onion” model.......................................22

3.4.1 Philosophical stance – Critical Realism.......................................................................22

3.4.2 Approach - Deductive..................................................................................................23

3.4.3 Research Strategy.......................................................................................................23

3.4.4 Research method – Mixed..........................................................................................23

3.4.5 Time Horizons – Cross Sectional................................................................................24

3.5 Data Collection and analytical techniques.........................................................................24

3.5.1 Questionnaire..............................................................................................................25

3.5.2 Interviews....................................................................................................................26

3.6 Ethical Issues.....................................................................................................................26

3.7 Chapter Summary..............................................................................................................27

4.0 Data collection and field work............................................................................................28

4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................27

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4.2 Sample...............................................................................................................................27

4.3 Rational..............................................................................................................................27

4.3 Area / Region – Field work.................................................................................................28

4.4 Piloting the questionnaire...................................................................................................28

4.5 The rate of response..........................................................................................................29

4.6 Chapter Summary..............................................................................................................31

5.0 Data Analysis and interpretation.......................................................................................32

5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................32

5.2 Demographic Analysis.......................................................................................................32

5.3 Descriptive Analysis...........................................................................................................35

5.4 Reliability and Validity test.................................................................................................36

5.5 Correlations........................................................................................................................36

5.6 Linear Regression..............................................................................................................38

5.7 Coefficients........................................................................................................................39

5.8 Analysis of the interviews...................................................................................................40

5.9 Chapter Summary..............................................................................................................42

6.0 Findings and the discussion..............................................................................................43

6.1 Chapter Introduction..........................................................................................................43

6.2 Testing the hypothesis.......................................................................................................43

6.3 Demographic analysis........................................................................................................44

6.4 Chapter conclusion............................................................................................................45

7.0 Conclusion and Recommendations..................................................................................46

7.1 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................46

7.2 Recommendations.............................................................................................................46

8.0 Future opportunities for research......................................................................................48

9.0 Individual reflective report..................................................................................................49

10.0 References.........................................................................................................................51

11.0 Appendix............................................................................................................................57

11.1 Questionnaire...................................................................................................................57

11.2 Consent Letter – Interviews.............................................................................................61

11.3 Interview Questions.........................................................................................................64

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The impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand Awareness”.

(Special reference to “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Pvt. Ltd.”, Sri Lanka)

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background

It could be argued and more likely be observed as well; that the actions of a corporation for

which it is responsible, could be segregated mainly into four different forms or levels based on

their level or the degree of their engagement with the wider society and the civic. At the basic

level, firms would practice the strategy recognised and termed as the “Responsible Corporate

Citizenship” (RCC) which would be focused on championing a social cause and would be built

on the concept of social giving. The next level of strategy to be followed in the process is termed

as the “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM), where the corporation; whilst getting engaged in

worthy causes that would serve and nourish the enrichment of the standards of the society,

would focus on building and or improving it’s reputation and brand awareness during the

process. At the third level, strategic “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) attempts to go

beyond raising the profile of the corporation, and improves the competitive context in which it

operates. Finally at it’s peak of engagement with the society, the corporation attempts to create

a market space in which people who are socially and economically disadvantaged are located.

This strategy is termed as “Socially Responsible Business” (SRB) with CSR being the very

purpose on which it is built on and reason for it’s existence (Liyanage, 2005).

Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private Limited, Sri Lanka; is the newest addition to

the Cargills group of companies and to the list of licensed commercialized banks of Sri Lanka,

which has being the only bank to be licensed by the Central Bank after a laps of decades in the

banking and finance sector. “Cargills Ceylon Plc” was founded by the two British entrepreneurs

“William Miller” and “David Sime Cargill” back in 1844, during the colonial ruling era of Sri Lanka

and was established in the land mark building known to date as the “House of Cargills” in the

“Colombo Fort” area. In 1981 the company went into the hands of two reputed local business

typhoons, the “Page” brothers and got incorporated into their parent company known as the

“Ceylon Theaters Plc”. Cargills group became the pioneers of retail supermarket business in Sri

Lanka by establishing the first supermarket chain back in the year 1983 and took the pride of

introducing the supermarket shopping concept to Sri Lanka. The group today engages in a

range of businesses within the food and beverages sector and has been expanding their

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operations venturing into related areas of business such as meat processing, dairy products

such as ice cream manufacturing, agriculture processing with a range of products such as jam

and cordial and also acquired the franchise license for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The

company has also ventured into biscuit manufacturing and has entered into soft alcohol industry

as well, practicing strategic horizontal integration.

Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank being newly established (opened on April 2014), has

ventured into a highly competitive and an aggressively expanding arena which consist of a

number of both local and multinational banks and finance companies, all engaged in a heavily

raged battle to acquire more market share and expand in order to play significant role in the

quest of making the Asia’s next growth story in Sri Lanka, defined as the miracle of Asia, a

success. The bank being newly set up with only one branch along with the head office, is being

challenged with the quest of getting itself established as a commercialised bank in Sri Lanka

and carving it’s market share amidst heavy competition by winning over the confidence of the

potential clientele both retail and institutional.

Cargills super market chain which operates under the brand “Cargills Food City”, the prime

jewel of Cargills group has being able to successfully stay ahead of the heavy competition by

implementing a unique and an innovative “Corporate Social Responsibility” strategy which has

created a mutually beneficial partnership for both the farmers and the company. “Cargills Food

City” supermarket chain has initiated a backward integration strategy where the company has

implemented a process of reaching the farmers at their door step and purchasing fruits,

vegetables rice and milk directly from the farmers thus eliminating the costly intervention of the

intermediaries. The supermarket chain has therefore being able to provide the fruits,

vegetables, rice and dairy products at the best possible price to the consumers and pays around

20% more to the farmers for their products than the market does. Moreover it underwrites the

loans granted by the banks and facilitates collaborative arrangements that a number of NGO s

(Non Governmental Organisations) has with farmers in setting up cleaning and packaging

centers.

1.2 Problem formulation

Therefore in considering the current strategies and processes followed by the prime subsidiaries

of the group; in order to successfully establish itself in the minds of the target clientele and also

to successfully survive and operate sustainably amidst of the heavy competition, facing a very

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strong set of local and multinational competitors; this research intend to study the possibilities of

improving the “Brand Awareness” of the emerging subsidiary, “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank” through setting up a strategic “Cause Related Marketing” campaign which

could be successfully linked to the current strategies and operations of the rest of the

subsidiaries in the group such as the “Cargills Food City”. In order to further analyse and

examine the impact that could be created by a CRM process, the concepts of “Cause Related

Marketing” and “Brand Awareness” will be analysed in detail through the next chapter.

1.3 Research Objectives

1. To examine the concept of “Cause Related Marketing”.

2. To examine the concept of “Brand Awareness”.

3. To analyse the relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand

Awareness”.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is “Cause Related Marketing”?

2. What is “Brand Awareness”?

3. What is the relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”?

1.5 Significance of the study

At the basic level this study will enable the researcher to obtain academic knowledge about the

concepts of “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness” and their link to other corporate

strategies such as “Corporate Social Responsibility”. Also this study will also provide an

understanding on how to apply these concepts in practice in order to implement them and

obtain successful results whilst facing heavy competition, for a newly established and an

emerging entity such as the “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”. The study will enable

the researcher to explore into new knowledge horizons and to understand impact that could be

made to the society and to improve the awareness in the society on the importance of

performing CRM activities. By increasing the social and corporate awareness on CRM, it is

expected to create changes, made in policies at organizational level.

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The researcher also seek to improve the stakeholder awareness levels towards the level of

improvement in brand awareness, that will be created by CRM activities which would ultimately

contribute towards improving an organisation’s performance, thus trying to establish a link;

between the strategy CRM and the brand awareness of an organization; through CRM

practices.

1.6 The Structure

The structure of this research is formulated as follows,

Figure: 1 Source: Author developed.

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS

CHAPTER FIVE: DATA COLLECTION

CHAPTER SIX: DATA INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION AND RECCOMMENDATIONS

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

In chapter two, the researcher intends to discuss the theoretical aspect of the variables and

subsequently analyse the research questions and ascertain the relationships that exist among

each of the concepts mentioned above in the previous chapter, by using the recommended and

accepted literature from different scholars and authors.

2.2 What is “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM)?

The emergence of the concept of “Cause Related Marketing” could be traced back to the early

1980s where it emerged as an effective tool of marketing communication, which was based on

the idea of shifting a corporation’s focus from consumer needs to consumer interests. The

concept was initially practiced by “American Express” campaign which was aimed to raise funds

for the restoration of the “Statue of Liberty”. Every time the credit cards were used, the company

made a donation of two cents to the Statue of Liberty. Subsequent to this campaign eventually

the number of card holders grew by 45% and the card holders grew up by 28% (Liyanage

2014). In this case the “Cause Related Marketing” campaign was based on the idea that

involved with the promise to donate a certain amount of money to a non profit organisation or a

social cause when the customers purchased it’s products or services (Nan and Heo, 2007).

“Cause-Related Marketing” (CRM) could also be defined the public association of a profit

oriented company with a non-profit organization or a cause, intended to promote the company’s

product or service and to raise money for the non-profit. “Business in the Community”, a UK

based business-led charity focused on promoting responsible business practice, more popularly

defines CRM as ‘a commercial activity by which businesses and charities or good causes form a

partnership with each other to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit’.

Vardarajan and Menon (1998) as cited by Nan and Heo (2007), categorised CRM among the

CSR strategies that “Do Better By Doing Good”.

Cause-related marketing is a marketing-driven activity. Parties, be they businesses, charities or

good causes, enter a cause - related marketing relationship in order to meet their objectives and

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to receive a return on their investment, where that investment may be in cash, time or other

resources, or a combination of all. Vardarajan and Menon (1988) defined CRM as “the process

of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are categorised by an offer from the

firm to contribute a specified amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue

providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives”. As a type of CSR,

Cause Related Marketing has received particular corporate interest. This is due to the fact that

especially CRM might have positive effects on consumer behaviour (Zen and Bhattacharya,

2001). There has been numerous studies and research done on the impact of CRM on a variety

factors such as the consumer choice (Baron et al. , 2000), consumer purchase decisions (Webb

and Mohr, 1998), consumer attitudes towards CRM ( Barnes, 1992) and the impact made by

CRM towards companies that engage in such marketing initiatives (Webb and Mohr, 1998).

However Cause Related Marketing initiatives of a corporate could carry multiple messages

which could lead to the generation of different contradictory perceptions in customer’s mind on

whether the effects of CRM campaign could be beneficial or exploitative in terms of the cause.

There can be skepticism arising towards the initiatives in a consumer’s mind questioning the

fact that whether a company’s support of a social cause is genuinely designed to benefit the

cause or the company (“Report: Consumers Swayed” 1997; Smith and Stodghill 1994; Webb

and Mohr 1998) as cited by Barone et al.(2000). Therefore it could be ascertained that the

perception that the consumer hold in their minds about the genuineness of purpose, could

directly affect the effectiveness of the CRM strategies that are designed in order to influence the

consumer choice.

Scholars such as Drumwright (1996); Strahilevitz and Myres (1998), as cited by Nan and Heo

(2007), have suggested the existence of a relationship between the sponsoring brand and the

social cause involved in the CRM campaign. The level of success in coining this brand/cause fit

has proven to have a significant impact on improving the consumer perception towards the

company, brand and or product. By trying to influence the perception and attitudes that is held

by a consumer towards a company, brand or a product CRM could be identified as a strategy

which focuses more on stimulating the consumer interests rather than the needs. Thus it could

be argued that CRM tries to deviate the consumer’s mind from the needs that the person has

towards the interests that a person would have on the factors such as the well being of both the

person and/ or the society. Therefore through an effective CRM strategy, consumer loyalty

could be generated which would make the consumer spend more sometimes by giving

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preference to the CRM related brand over other similar competing brands which would offer the

same product at a lesser cost, thus placing his or her interest ahead of their needs.

In employing the company resources to a worthy cause by utilising the funds raised through the

sales of each product or service. According to Vardarajan and Menon (1988), as cited by van

den Brink et al. (2006) a CRM campaign aims at two objectives i:e; to support a social cause

and to improve the marketing performance. Therefore CRM programs are made responsible for

at least three key stake holder parties as the firm’s consumers, it’s shareholders and one

stakeholder not directly related to the commercial activity of the firm. CRM can be categorised

into two types as tactical CRM and Strategic CRM.

Strategic CRM is characterized by high senior management involvement, higher amount of

invested resources and a long term commitment towards the CRM campaign which will increase

the duration of the campaign comparatively. Tactical CRM on the other hand lasts for a short

period of time (Till and Nowak, 2000 and Drumwright and Murphy, 2001, cited in van den Brink

et al. 2006). Also the congruency between the cause and a company’s core competency is high

in Strategic CRM in comparison to Tactical CRM. Tactical and Strategic CRM differ from each

other mainly on the following four dimensions,

01. The congruency between the cause and a company’s core competency (Pracejus and

Olsen, 2004 as cited in van den Brink et al. 2006).

02. The duration of a campaign (Till and Nowak, 2000 as cited in van den Brink et al. 2006).

03. The amount of invested resources (Macleod, 2001; and Welsh, 1999 as cited in van den

Brink et al. 2006).

04. The degree of senior management involvement (Macleod, 2001; Miller, 2002 as cited in

van den Brink et al. 2006).

However CRM programmes can have mixed characteristics of both strategic and tactical CRM

with high and low correspondence of afore stated dimensions and therefore the CRM

campaigns do not necessarily has to be classified as tactile or strategic ( van den Brink et al.

2006).

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According to Ellen et al. (2000) corporate can be characterised as either extrinsically or

intrinsically motivated in their CRM campaigns, where, intrinsically motivated companies

considers the CRM programmes to be rewarding in itself, while the extrinsically motivated

companies will be looking for rewards from the environment for their effort.

2.3 What is Brand Awareness?

It is still debatable as to how industrial brand equity which comprises of brand loyalty, perceived

quality, brand awareness, brand association and brand satisfaction; could arise or originate.

Numerous studies have been done to ascertain the components of brand equity and aspects

which would lead to the creation of a competitive advantage to the business. Brand awareness

is considered to be the first dimension distinguishing the brand knowledge in consumer’s mind

and is related to strength of the brand node or trace in memory, as reflected by the consumer’s

ability to identify the brand under different conditions (Rossiter and Percy 1987, cited in Keller

1993).

Jones (2005) in his “Daisy – Wheel” model of brand equities has suggested that brand equity

forms by generating creative interactions between the brand and it’s stake holders. Therefore

social responsibility initiatives originated by companies, forms an important linkage between the

brand recognition and customer expectations. Cause – related marketing (Vardarajan and

Menon, 1988) concept was built on the idea of creating socially responsible attributes infused

into the brand and through that to differentiate the products in order to enhance sales. Brand

awareness could be defined as the basic level of knowledge that a consumer would have on a

particular brand involving at least of knowing the brand name. It could range from the

customer’s simple recognition of the brand name to a developed cognitive structure based on

detailed information (Hoyer and Brown 1990). Rossiter and Percy (1987) describe brand

awareness as being essential for the communications process to occur as it precedes all other

steps in the process. Without brand awareness occurring, no other communication effects can

occur. For a consumer to buy a brand they must first be made aware of it. Brand attitude cannot

be formed, and intention to buy cannot occur unless brand awareness has occurred (Rossiter &

Percy 1987; Rossiter et al. 1991, cited in Macdonald and Sharp 1996). When a customer

purchases a product, if a particular brand drive to the mind of the customer first, then it implies

that the particular brand has higher brand awareness (Malik et al. 2013). Therefore, it is evident

that and organisation could effectively crave it’s share and establish itself successfully in a

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favorable position in the target market through creating effective brand awareness for it’s

products or services.

According to Macdonald and Sharp (1996), the purchase decision of the consumers is

influenced by brand awareness, despite whether the consumers are the familiar and willing to

buy the product. Brand awareness can be referred to as the probability that the consumers are

familiar about the accessibility and the availability of a particular brand (Aaker, 1991). According

to Keller (1993), brand awareness refers to the likelihood that a particular brand name will

derive to the minds of the consumers easily and suggests that brand awareness consists of

brand recognition and brand recall performance of the customers. Brand awareness is

considered to be the first dimension distinguishing brand knowledge (Keller, 1993, p: 3).

Brand awareness is been considered to play a crucial role in determining the consideration set

i:e; the small set of brands onto which a consumer would give serious attention when making a

purchase decision (Macdonald and Sharp 1996, p:1). It is ascertained through many

researchers, the fact that, when the brand awareness is higher for an organisation, it will enable

the organisation to attract more consumers, as the normal behavior of consumers is that they

react for familiar, more aware and reliable brands rather than testing new brands which is a risk

(Kayaman and Arasli, 2007). Wilson (1981) as cited by Macdonald and Sharp (1996)

ascertained the fact that higher the brand positioning in consumer’s mind which could be

measured by unaided recall, stronger will be the intention to select and purchase a particular

brand over the others.

It is argued that the awareness on a brand has a significant impact on the first purchase of a

product by a customer. The model of Ray et al (1973) suggested that the first purchase of the

product should be followed by trial and evaluation and subsequent purchases will be based on

the result of the trial and error purchase (Smith and Swinyard 1983, as cited by Hoyer ad Brown

1990). Brand awareness will eventually reduce the consideration on the choices available in

consumer’s mind and will encourage the consumer to select the particular brand that he or she

is familiar repeatedly.

Therefore it is ascertained that the Brand Awareness is an important factor in consumer

decision making for three main reasons. Firstly it will make the brand included into the

consideration list in customer’s mind when making a purchase, secondly it will affect the

customer’s purchase decision even if there are no other brand associations with the brand for

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the customer and finally it’ll affect the decision making by influencing the formation and strength

of brand associations in the brand image.

2.4 The relationship between Cause Related Marketing and Brand Awareness

The consumer’s perception on the ethical existence and corporate citizenship on which there

may be an impact created by the “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) activities and strategies

carried out by the business, would in turn create positive brand awareness or brand association

that would lead to brand loyalty and brand satisfaction based on the perceived quality of the

products.

It is still debatable as to how industrial brand equity which comprises of brand loyalty, perceived

quality, brand awareness, brand association and brand satisfaction; could arise or originate.

Numerous studies have been done to ascertain the components of brand equity and aspects

which would lead to the creation of a competitive advantage to the business. It is evident that

there are very few researches done to ascertain the relationship between “Brand Awareness”,

CRM activities and customer perception.

Jones (2005) in his “daisy – wheel” model of brand equities has suggested that brand equity

forms by generating creative interactions between the brand and it’s stake holders. Therefore

social responsibility initiatives originated by companies, forms an important linkage between the

brand awareness and customer expectations. “Cause Related Marketing” (Vardarajan and

Menon, 1988) concept was built on the idea of creating socially responsible attributes infused

into the brand and through that to differentiate the products in order to enhance sales. Brickely

et al. (2002) as cited by Lai et al. (2010), acknowledged that a company’s reputation for socially

responsible behaviour contributes significantly to the improvement of it’s brand capital.

In building the brand awareness of a product via CRM, it is considered to be important that the

promoters correctly matches the brand and cause fit, i:e; a brand to be fixed with a social cause

which would serve a similar consumer base (Nan and Heo, 2007). For example an infant milk

powder producer could organise a free medical clinic for pregnant ladies in particular area.

Higher the brand/cause fit, the success of the CRM campaign will be more which will lead to the

enhancement of brand awareness.

A customer to ignore the physical factors of a product such as the performance and the price

which are prioritised in purchase decision making, than the CRM campaigns, there should be

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strong moral attributes that the customer will pay his attention on (Baron and Spranca 1997;

Tversky et al.1998, cited in Baron et al. 2009), where customers will use all available

information in order to consider switching from a product which is better in performance and/or

price; to a product with positive CRM associations (Keeney and Raifa 1976; Von Neumann and

Morgenstern 1947, cited in Baron et al. 2009). Therefore it is evident that positive CRM

campaigns could effectively enhance the level of brand awareness of a product enabling the

product to overcome even crucial physical attributes such as performance and price, building a

sustainable competitive advantage, ensuring the existence of a business amidst strong

competition.

2.5 Gap Analysis

It is evident that there are very few researches done to ascertain the relationship between brand

awareness, CRM campaigns and the customer perception. Therefore when going through the

definitions and analysis suggested by various scholars and researchers on brand awareness

and the impact created on it by CRM activities, it is evident that many has tried to link the impact

made by CRM activities to the corporate reputation only through which the brand awareness of

the products of a company is been enhanced. While agreeing to this school of thought I would

disagree on the fact that this would be considered as the most effective way of enhancing the

brand awareness of the products. Even though theories such as “Cause Related Marketing”

suggests the differentiation of products by infusing CSR attributes into the brands it is evident

that there have not been a considerable effort taken to examine the process being carried out

other way round i:e; trying to create and enhance brand awareness of the company’s products

or product category via performing related specific CRM activities or campaigns which could

eventually lead to the improvement of the reputation of the corporation, taking the “brand and

cause fit” into consideration, as discussed in the early section.

However there can also be negative effects created on building a brand’s awareness and an

organisation’s reputation due to the fact that the companies trying to initiate CRM campaigns

largely based on the intention of maximising the corporate earnings and share holder wealth

and thus deviate from the core values of the concept of ensuring the ethical existence and

positive contributions towards improving the standards of the existence of a society in which

they operate. Therefore focusing heavily on CRM activities as a means of enhancing corporate

wealth could jeopardize the corporate reputation. However as discussed earlier in the beginning

of the chapter (“What is CRM” section), such problems may appear in visible CRM as part of

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CSR initiatives that are connected to benefit salience (Yoon et al. 2006), in which firms are

believed to use CSR only for their own self - interest (Prout, 2006) as cited by Torres (2012).

“Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”, the company which the researcher has employed

for this research needs to analyse it’s competitors, in practicing this strategy in the Banking and

finance sector in Sri Lanka and has should focus on developing creative and mutually beneficial

CSR projects that go in line with different product lines of the bank. Therefore in identifying the

gap of the need of analysing the impact that could be made by related CRM activities on

building product specific brand awareness, the researcher intends to study the impact to the

bank using data being gathered by sample of customers of the bank.

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3.0 Methodology

3.1 Introduction

This section contains the conceptual framework constructed based on the objectives and

explained according to the findings in the literature review section. The data and variables will

then be explained and their use to achieve the objective of the research will be justified. The

methods used to measure the variables will also be mentioned. Empirical model will be given

followed by a description of the sample used to gather primary and secondary data. The

rationale behind composition of the sample and it’s size and also the area from which the

sample was selected will be described. The data collection methods will then be stated and will

be justified along with the description about the questionnaire in terms of the questions included

and the reasoning behind the composition of the questionnaire will also be elaborated.

3.2 Conceptual Framework

The impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand Awareness” with special reference to “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” Private Limited.

Figure 2, Source: Author developed.

Hypothesis There is a positive relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand

Awareness”.

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Cause Related Marketing

Brand Awareness of “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank”

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

As indicated the conceptual framework provides the logic on how the end goal of the research

will be achieved i:e; to ascertain the impact made by Cause Related Marketing campaigns on

improving the brand awareness which would eventually lead to the improvement of the

company’s performance. The factors affecting the decision of the management of the business

to perform Cause Related Marketing activities, would be the need to improve the brand

awareness and to ensure the sustainable existence of the business through which the customer

perception towards the products and the services offered by a company would improve, which

would create customer loyalty which could also be considered as a sustainable competitive

advantage.

3.3 Data variables

In this research the researcher has taken the independent variable that would affect the need to

perform initiatives by companies as, the Cause Related Marketing strategy which would lead to

the improvement and successful performance of the dependent variable which is the brand

awareness of the “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”. The dependent variable is

measured using secondary data sources such as the company’s publications and also other

related publications.

3.3.1 Operationalisation Table

Variable Variable Type Measurement

Cause Related Marketing Relevance to the operations. Importance to the operations.

IndependentQuestionnaire

(from Q7 to Q12)

(from Q 13 to Q18)

Brand Awareness Relevance to the operations. Importance to the operations.

DependentQuestionnaire

(from Q 19 to Q23)

(from Q 24 to Q29)

Table 1 , Source: Author developed

19

3.4 Identifying the layers of the research - “Research Onion” model

Figure 3, Source: Author developed.

3.4.1 Philosophical stance – Critical Realism

According to the model “Research Onion”, the researcher has undertaken this research based

on the research philosophy “Realism” where both quantitative and qualitative data gathering

techniques are used and argues the point that what is acknowledged through the senses of the

researcher is subsequently processed subjectively by the mind (Critical Realism). In this

research, the researcher tries to acknowledge the fact that there is a relationship between CRM

and Brand Awareness by his senses, the world view and own experience. The researcher

needs to find out what is immediately experienced and the structures and relationships that lie

beneath this (Saunders and Tosey 2012/2013).

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3.4.2 Approach - Deductive

The research is done based on a “Deductive” approach where the past information is gathered

and analysed to identify the gaps that exist. In this researcher the researcher aims to determine

the impact of CRM on the Brand Awareness. Here, both CRM and Brand Awareness are

existing concepts in the subject of marketing and it’s related literature. Therefore the researcher

will be collecting and analysing the data in order to prove the relationship between these

variables. Therefore, the researcher is adopting the deductive strategy for this research.

3.4.3 Research Strategy

The third layer of the research onion is the research strategy. In this stage, the researcher

determines the way in which the he or she will collect the information to satisfy the research

objectives. In this research the research strategy which is the “survey” method where the

researcher collects data through a questionnaire and interview. In the survey the researcher will

distribute the questionnaire to 60 (sixty) customers of the “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial

Bank” and interview 10 (ten) customers in order to gain deeper insights of information about the

customer perception.

3.4.4 Research method – Mixed

The researcher uses “mixed” method as methodical choice, where both a questionnaire and a

set of interviews are conducted in order to gather and anlyse the data. The two main methods of

collecting data for a research are the quantitative method and the qualitative method. The

qualitative method is the way of gathering qualitative data that aids in which the researcher

discusses research questions and gathers the relevant information. However in this study, the

researcher will be using both qualitative and quantitative method which is known as the mixed

method. There are several advantages for a researcher in utilising the mixed method as the

mode of gathering data in his or her study. Firstly, the mixed method enables the researcher to

understand the contradictions and make comparisons between the qualitative findings and

quantitative findings. Secondly, the mixed method would provide more meaning about the

findings to the readers, the researcher will be able to more effectively present the findings as the

data analysis and interpretation is combination of words and numbers,. Furthermore, the mixed

method enables the researcher to collect rich and comprehensive data by integrating both

qualitative and quantitative data (Saunders et al., 2009).

21

3.4.5 Time Horizons – Cross Sectional

The researcher uses “Cross - sectional” time strategy where the research is undertaken to

answer a question or address a problem at a particular time. Time horizon consists of two parts

which are cross sectional and longitudinal. In cross sectional time strategy, the researcher

collects data and analyses in order to fulfill the research objectives and answer the research

questions at one point in time (Burns and Bush, 2014). On the other hand, the longitude method

is where the researcher’s objective is “to repeatedly measure the same sample units of the

populations over time” (Burns and Bush, 2014). In this study, the researcher implements cross

sectional time horizon as this study gathers data for the research on answering the research

questions at only one point in time by collecting data from the selected sample units of the

population.

3.5 Data Collection and analytical techniques

The data collection techniques are categorized into two categories; they are secondary data

sources and primary data sources. Initially, secondary data refers to the data which already

exist. Primary data refers to raw or firsthand data which is directly collected from people

(Saunders et al., 2009). In this research the researcher focuses only on gathering primary data

and both qualitative and quantitative methods are being used to gather data. The primary data

are being gathered using a questionnaire which was designed to gather data from sixty

correspondents and also a through a series of interviews conducted using ten correspondents.

According to Burns and Bush (2014), firstly the researcher should start collecting secondary

data before moving onto primary data as it is cost effective and time effective. Burns and Bush

(2014) further stated that, if the necessary information can be gathered through secondary data

sources, then the need for primary research is irrelevant. Since the core objective of the

researcher in this research is to analyse the impact of “Cause Related Marketing” on the brand

awareness of “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”; in order to analyse this objective, the

researcher will require the responses of the customers of the bank and therefore the secondary

data sources would not be helpful in obtaining the required information. Therefore, the

researcher will be using primary data sources to collect information in order to conduct the

research. The following are the primary data collection techniques used in this study.

22

3.5.1 Questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed as mentioned earlier, to be given to sixty respondents involved

with the bank’s operations. The questionnaire comprised of twenty nine questions and the first

six questions were to gather data on the demographic factors related to the respondent. The

questionnaire was limited to only twenty nine questions in order to get the banking officers,

especially the management level respondents, convinced to respond and fill it with their busy

schedules. The questionnaire is categorised into mainly two parts with each part being designed

to obtain response regarding each variable in the framework.

The first four questions are generic questions which are aimed at obtaining the demographic

details of the respondent such as the name and age group. The next two questions (five and

six) inquired about the number of banks that the correspondent is currently dealing with and

how long have been dealing with a financial institution, in order to ascertain whether he or she is

a seasoned customer in the banking business and to know whether he or she has experienced

different types of service levels from different banks. From question seven onwards the

questions were structured in form of a Likert Scale where the responses were give scores

ranging from one to five with one being the lowest and five being the highest given to the

answer “strongly agree”.

The questionnaire was structured according to the sub categories which were formulated under

the two variables. Under “Cause Related Marketing” The questions from question seven (7) to

question twelve (12) focused on obtaining the respondent’s idea and impression on the

relevance of the concept to the banks operations. The questions from question thirteen (13) to

question eighteen (18) were designed to assess the perceived level of importance of practicing

“Cause Related Marketing” activities by the bank, according to it’s customers.

The next set of questions i:e; from question nineteen to twenty nine (19- 29) were focused on

obtaining and analysing the customer’s knowledge on brand awareness and customer

perception towards the level of improvement required on the corporate reputation and the brand

identity of “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” . The response of the managers and the

officials of the bank would be considered as their perceived level of perception towards the

recognition of their corporate brand and the level of service provided to the customers.

This set of questions were again broken down to two sections as to assess the customer

opinion on the relevance of improving brand awareness to the bank’s business (from question

23

nineteen, 19 to twenty three, 23) and to obtain the opinion on the importance of the

improvement of brand awareness to the business through questions given from twenty four (24)

to twenty nine (29). Please refer appendix 1 for the questionnaire.

3.5.2 Interviews

The researcher has also conducted a series of interviews in order to obtain qualitative data that

will further improve the research findings. The researcher interviewed ten (10) customers who

had already filled the questionnaire. Using the interview, it was the intension of the researcher,

to gain deeper insights and an understanding about the customer perceptions and preferences

which will in turn enhance the accuracy and the reliability of the data as well. Therefore, the

researcher had conducted a structured interview to gather information to carry out this research

(Please refer appendix 2 for the structured interview questions)

3.6 Ethical Issues

The researcher has collected the literature from journals and books published and which are

available to be referred in the world wide web (the internet) and do hereby stipulates the fact

that the researcher has not changed the original meaning of the literature. The literature was

properly acknowledged through citation and referencing. The researcher directly approached

the respondents in order to obtain primary data.

In order to get the participation of the correspondents for the survey and especially the

interviews certified, the researcher provided each participant with a letter of consent (the

interviewees only). In order to satisfy the ethics of researcher, the researcher will provide a

formal letter to the respondents to get their consent to participate in the survey. Further, the

researcher will keep the responses collected from the respondents private and confidential. This

means responses collected from one respondent will not be passed to any other respondent or

to public in large (Refer appendix 3 for the consent letter).

3.7 Chapter Summary

This chapter contains the details of the data gathering sources, the types of data gathered for

the research, methods followed and the tools and techniques employed in collecting and

analysing the data, in order to justify the research objectives and hypothesis constructed in

chapter one and to provide answers to the gap between the existing study and the objectives of

24

the researcher identified in section 2.5 – Gap Analysis, in chapter one: The Literature Review.

Finally, the ethics of research that the research is obliged to satisfy were discussed.

25

4.0 Data collection and field work

4.1 Introduction

The chapter four discusses the basis on which the study was conducted and the technique and

the process used by the researcher to collect the data through the questionnaire and the

interview from the chosen sample size.

4.2 Sample

The sample comprised of total sixty respondents with a composition of five respondents from

the senior and middle management of Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private

Limited, Sri Lanka and another ten respondents who are serving as executives (senior and

middle level) and the rest of the forty five respondents were customers of Cargills Agriculture

and Commercial Bank Private Limited, Sri Lanka.

4.3 Rational

The sample comprises of senior and middle level managers and another senior and middle level

executives of Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private Limited. It should be noted that

the respondents to the questionnaire, from the bank (the officials), were asked to assume

themselves as the customers of the bank when filling the first five questions of the

questionnaire. These questions were aimed at obtaining the respondent’s view on the level of

brand awareness and the importance of implementing marketing strategies such as CRM

campaigns and the officials were asked to assume themselves as customers in order to obtain

their perception on the level brand awareness of the bank and the importance and relevance of

marketing strategies such as CRM to improve the business and operations of the bank. The

insights of the officials for the questions which focused on the importance of both CRM and

Brand Awareness to the bank’s operations provided an idea on the level of support and

commitment that could be obtained from the staff of the bank towards such activities.

The rest of the correspondents who banked with the Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank

Private Limited, were randomly selected and the researcher in order to obtain the brand

recognition and customer perception on the importance and effectiveness of practicing CRM

26

campaigns, selected the respondents who were banking with at least another bank other than

Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private Limited.

4.3 Area / Region – Field work

The middle and the senior management of the bank were selected from the head office of the

bank situated in the Galle Road, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka. The bank still has only two branches,

which are also situated within the city limits of Colombo, as it’s been merely around one year

since the inception of the business. Therefore the staff of the bank could only be chosen from

the head office. The senior and middle level officials were also selected from the head office.

However in order for the bank to get on with the operations in full swing immediately, the staff

that has been recruited comprises of a set of banking professionals who have been carefully

head hunted and who are equipped with extensive experience in banking and finance field.

They were more experienced in servicing a more educated and seasoned clientele who have

demanding requirements. Through these officials, thirty five respondents (customers / account

holders of the bank) were selected from the suburbs as they were more sophisticated and

concerned about the social and ethical conduct of businesses and corporate citizenship. These

respondents therefore were from the suburbs of Colombo, Sri Lanka and were taken again from

the clientele of the head office situated in Colombo 3.

4.4 Piloting the questionnaire

The researcher must test the relevance and the accuracy of the questionnaire before presenting

it to the respondents. The pilot test enabled the researcher to identify several shortcomings and

improvements which were rectified. The purpose of the pilot test was to clarify the following

aspects in the questionnaire.

1) Are the questions applicable to measure the research objectives?

2) Are the questions understandable?

3) Does the number of questions in the questionnaire are appropriate?

4) Does the questionnaire take a long time to be filled?

5) Do the questions support the statistical data analysis which is intended to be done after data

collection?

27

In case of this research, the pilot testing has helped the researcher to ensure the accuracy and

the relevance of the questionnaire by rectifying several errors which were indentified in the

questionnaire before distributing it to the respondents. For the pilot testing, initially the

researcher distributed the questionnaire to five seasoned banking professionals. With their

expertise on the subject, the objective of the researcher was to determine whether there are any

shortcomings in the questionnaire. It was their opinion that two questions could be presented in

a less complicated manner for the consumers to understand as they concentrates more on

theoretical aspects of the subjects discussed in the research. The experts advised the

researcher to express these three questions in a more practical manner so that the consumers

will not have any issues in answering the questions. The respondents were able to correctly

understand the intentions of the questions and responded easily who might have otherwise got

confused without being able to understand the questions. The experts who were consulted

through the pilot test provided advise in order to enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of

the questionnaire.

4.5 The rate of response

It is imperative for the researcher to increase the response rate of the survey in order to obtain

an effective data set. The consumers could become reluctant to fill the questionnaires.

Therefore, the researcher must prepare the questionnaire in a manner which is easy for the

consumer to respond. All of the questions of the questionnaire are close ended and directed in a

five point Likert scale which also provides a range of choice to the respondents. The

respondents were given the chance to be neutral in their opinions as well (Neutral =3). The

questionnaire had close ended questions with the idea that the majority of the respondents

wouldn’t have a positive mentality to answer open ended questions and ultimately the

researcher will get several incomplete questionnaires. The researcher obtained the permission

from the management of Cargills Bank to carry out the survey within the head office premises.

The purpose of the research was clearly communicated to the respondents and the

management before distributing the questionnaire. Due to the interest shown in doing the

research subjected to the bank, the management facilitated the researcher to conduct the

survey and courteously provided their insights for the study as well.

28

4.6 Chapter Summary

Chapter four concentrates on the steps taken prior to conducting the actual survey. The

researcher conducted the study using sixty respondents who were the customers of the bank.

The questionnaire was tested for it’s accuracy and relevance, before distributing it amongst the

respondents, by consulting five experts chosen from related backgrounds in banking.

29

5.0 Data Analysis and interpretation.

5.1 Introduction Chapter five focuses on analysing the data which were collected through the questionnaire and

the structured interview, from the sample set of correspondents. The data analysis is considered

as the most important section of the research as this section will enable the researcher to

analyse and identify the relationship and the level of impact between the dependent and

independent variable and also to ascertain whether the hypothesis that was constructed under

conceptual framework, could be satisfied. Chapter five therefore consists of the descriptive

analysis, quantitative analysis, and qualitative analysis.

5.2 Demographic Analysis.The sample of correspondents that was utilised in order to obtain the data required for the

analysis consisted of a total of sixty correspondents, out of which 29 (twenty nine) respondents

were females while the rest being males, i:e; a number of 31 (thirty one) respondents. The

sample of correspondents which comprised of a set of 45 (forty five) customers of the “Cargills

Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private Limited”, Sri Lanka; and 10 (ten) senior and middle

level executives were randomly selected. The rest of the five respondents who represented the

senior management of the bank were picked from different departments such as Marketing,

Risk Management and Consumer Banking.

52%48%

Gender Distribution - Sample Male Female

Chart 1: Author developed

30

Therefore as given above in the graphical representation of the gender distribution of the

sample, 52% (fifty two) of the correspondents were males whilst 48% (forty eight) of the sample

comprised of female correspondents.

18-24 25-29 30-35 36-40 41-45 46-49 50-54 55 and above

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Gender and Age Analysis

Respondents Male Female

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

Chart 2: Author developed.

According to age and gender analysis done for the sample set of respondents of the research,

the fourteen (14) respondents who were in the age range of 18 to 24 years, included eight (8)

male respondents and six (6) female respondents. Eight (8) respondents were between the age

range of 25 to 29 years, out of which three (3) respondents were males and the rest (5) were

females. Twelve respondents were between 30 to 35 and ten (10) of them were males whilst the

rest of the two (2) were females. Nine respondents were in the age range of 36 to 40 years out

of which five (5) were males and four (4) were females. The age range of 41 to 45 years had

31

eight (8) respondents and the males and females were equal in numbers, and four (4)

respondents were in the age range of 46 to 49 out of which one (1) was a male respondent and

the others were females. 50 to 54 age range had four males and no females in it’s category and

there was only one (1) respondent in the 55 and above category, which was a male.

It is evident from the age analysis that the majority of the customers were within the age range

of eighteen (18) to thirty forty (40). This indicates the fact that the newly established bank has

attracted more young and middle aged customers than the older ones. It could be calculated as

around 72% of the total sample population. This may be due to the fact that the young

customers are more of risk takers and they have kept their trust in a newly established financial

institution which is facing a heavy competition from much larger and established competitors.

The older customers being having a risk averse attitude and having had strong brand loyalty to

other established banks, have not got much attracted to the new “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank”.

The gender distribution can be seen more or less equal from age eighteen (18) to twenty nine

(29) age range and thirty six (36) to forty (40) as well. However there is a significant drop in

female customers from age forty one (41) onwards which, as stated earlier, could be largely

owing to, the risk averse nature and the brand loyalty of the more seasoned customers.

5.3 Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Varianc

e

BA 60 32 54 47.12 4.974 12.368

CRM 60 30 60 50.98 7.382 20.242

Valid N (listwise) 60

Table: 2

The table above indicates how the respondents rated the questions of the questionnaire. The

questionnaire consisted of twenty nine (29) questions out of which twenty two (22) questions

were aimed to gather data on the independent and dependent variables. The respondents had

to rate in a scale of 1 to 5 (1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree) in a Likert scale. The

32

consumers have rated minimum value of 16 for the “Brand Awareness” concentrated questions.

Based on the above table, the mean value of 47 (rounding 47.12). This is out of eleven

questions set to assess the customer perception. Therefore the average score is 4 which states

that majority of the respondents rated the relationship marketing questions as “Agree”. The

maximum rating for CRM questions is given as 60. Whereas the minimum value for brand equity

questions is given as 30 and the mean value of CRM related questions is 50.98 which is divided

by eleven questions given on the topic to reach an average of around 4.6 which could be

ascertained as close to the category of “Strongly Agree” in the questionnaire responses.

5.4 Reliability and Validity test

Variable name Cronbach's Alpha N.O of Items Valid

Cause Related Marketing .741 60

Brand Awareness .775 60

Table: 3

The reliability of data is extremely important in order to ascertain the b trustworthiness of the

research. In the reliability test, the major concern should be made for understanding the

Cronbach’s Alpha in order to measure the internal consistency of the data. According to Walsh

(1995), the Cronbach’s Alpha should be greater than 70 percent. Walsh (1995) argued that if

the Cronbach’s Alpha is greater 70 percent, it explains that the internal consistency of the

variables is reliable. The Cronbach’s Alpha of “Cause Related Marketing” is 0.741 which means

that the internal consistency of the “Cause Related Marketing” variable is 74.1 percent reliable.

According to the table, the dependent variable “Brand Awareness” has a Cronbach’s Alpha

value of 0.775 indicating that the internal consistency of the “Brand Awareness” variable is 77.5

percent reliable. Further, the validity test suggests that the data collected to measure the

variables of “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness” is 100 percent valid.

33

5.5 Correlations

  BA CRM

Brand Awareness Pearson Correlation 1 .509**

Sig. (2-tailed)   .000

N 60 60

Cause Related

Marketing

Pearson Correlation .509** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000  

N 60 60

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table: 4

The Correlations table explains how well the two variables relate to each other and whether the

relationship between the independent and dependent variable is significant. The Pearson

correlation analyses the relationship between Cause Related Marketing and Brand Awareness.

In the above table, the Pearson correlation is indicated as 0.509 which is a positive value. This

means that the Cause Related Marketing and Brand Awareness has a positive relationship.

Additionally, this also states that when the value of Cause Related Marketing increases by 1,

Brand Awareness will be increased by 0.509. The two tailed significance between the variables

should then be analysed. According to the SPSS tutorial, if the significance is less than 0.005,

then it can be stated that the relationship between two variables is significant. Based on the

above table, the significance is calculated as 0.000 which is less than 0.005. Therefore, it is

evident that there is a significant positive relationship between Cause Related Marketing and

Brand Awareness. The positive relationship could also be shown through a scatter diagram,

which is given below. In the scatter diagram, the X axis represents the “Cause Related

Marketing” (independent variable) and the Y axis represents “Brand Awareness” (dependent

variable). Therefore, the scatter diagram shows that when “Cause Related Marketing” of the X

axis increases, it leads to the increase of the “Brand Awareness” which is the Y axis, which

indicates that there is a positive relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand

Awareness”.

34

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 320

5

10

15

20

25

30

BA

Linear (BA)

Cause Related Marketing (CRM)

Bra

nd A

war

enes

s (B

A)

Chart 3: Author developed.

5.6 Linear Regression

Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of

the Estimate

1 .718a .558 .552 .2460917

Table: 5

a. Predictors: (Constant), Cause Related Marketing

b. Dependent Variable : Brand Awareness

The data obtained through the questionnaire were processed to obtain the linear regression and

the outcome is as given above. In this study, since the IBM SPSS statistics (ver. 20) software is

used to analyse the data, the model fit of the study will be analysed by taking the adjusted R-

square value in to account. According to the table, the Adjusted R Square value is 0.558 which

is also expressed as 55.8 percent. Therefore, in the case of this study, the Adjusted R Square

indicates that 55.8 percent of the total variance of “Brand Awareness” is explained by “Cause

35

Related Marketing” activities. This implies that “Cause Related Marketing” has a positive impact

on “Brand Awareness”.

5.7 Coefficients Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardised

Coefficients

Standardised

Coefficients

T Sig.

Confidence

levelB

Std.

Error Beta F

1 (Constant) 14.815 1.945   5.618 .000  

“Cause

Related

Marketing”

.343 .072 .509 8.542 60.628 .000

***

Table: 6

Dependent Variable: Brand Awareness

*** 99 percentage of confidence interval, ** 95 percentage of confidence interval, * 90 percentage of confidence interval.

According to the table the coefficients of the variables are shown. Thus, the above figures are

used to analyse the relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”.

The standard error indicates the percentage of error in the research. Based on the analysis, the

standard error of this study is 7.2 percent which is acceptable. The Beta value shows the impact

of one variable on another. Therefore, it is the same as the Pearson Correlation and as a result

the value of Pearson Correlation and Beta has the same value of 0.509 which indicates that

when “Cause Related Marketing” increases by 1, the “Brand Awareness” will tend to increase by

0.509.

The T value also highlights the relationship strength of the two variables. It is indicated that

when the T value is positive and when it’s higher, it implies that the relationship of the two

variables is positive and the significance of the relationship is higher. Thus, according to the

above table, the T value is 8.5 which indicate that there is a positive relationship between

“Cause Related Marketing and “Brand Awareness”. The F value indicated in the table is 60.628

36

and according to the statisticians, when the F value is positive and higher, it implies that “Cause

Related Marketing has a significant positive impact on “Brand Awareness”.

The most important section in the data analysis is the statistical significance. According to the

SPSS tutorial, in order to state that relationship of two variables is significant, statistical

significance should be less than 0.005 (less than 0.01). Thereby, according to the above table,

the statistical significance is 0.000 which is less than 0.005. Thus, since the significance is

0.000, it implies that the independent variable; “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) provides a

99% significance for the dependent variable “Brand Awareness”. It indicates the fact that CRM

proves to be a significant factor for the improvement of “Brand Awareness” of a business.

5.8 Analysis of the interviews.

In addition to the questionnaire, the researcher was also involved in conducting interviews in

order to gain deeper insights about the customer’s perception on “Cause Related Marketing”

activities and it’s impact to “Brand Awareness”. The objective of the researcher in the interview

was to obtain the customer’s views and opinions on how to improve the brand awareness of the

bank via “Cause Related Marketing” activities. The researcher interviewed ten (10) customer’s

of the bank and analysed their responses with reference to the research objectives. The

interviewer asked only fifteen (15) questions from each interviewee due to time constraints and

the analysis was based on the way the interviewee responds to the questions. The following are

responses given by two interviewees. In order to analyse the difference in perceptions the

responses are of one male and one female respondent, selected on the basis of prudence, the

validity and the relevance of the responses provided.

Male interviewee’s response – (Occupation – A Business Analyst of an IT firm, Age group 25-

29)

“I have learned the basics about what “Cause Related Marketing” is in the basic level of my

degree course. I have been banking with this bank for now about a year now. The reason I

selected this bank was due to attractive savings account product that they are promoting

through advertising. I think for a developing country like Sri Lanka it is imperative that the

corporate follow their strategies in line with ethical conduct best practices and thus I would like

to see more companies engage in initiatives such as “Cause Related Marketing” campaigns.

However the public awareness or the appreciation for these initiatives would depend largely on

their education levels as well in my opinion. Nevertheless I guess it effectively creates some sort

37

of a brand awareness amongst the target clientele and would be good if Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank to focus on in order to build their reputation. I don’t know of any initiatives

taken by the bank on CRM strategy yet and if they haven’t in my opinion they should

immediately think about doing something of that sort as it will be good way to improve their

reputation. They should promote the campaigns well too so that people like us who does not

notice the banks initiatives more often would get to know about them. I would generally have a

better regard for a brand or a corporate which engages in such initiatives and would try to

appreciate their effort by purchasing the product.”

In analysing this response which largely represents the rest of the five (5) responses of the

young male clients within the age group of 18 to 36, it is evident that they have got attracted to

the bank due to it’s competitive product range and through advertising. According to Macdonald

and Sharp (1996), the purchase decision of the consumers is influenced by brand awareness,

despite whether the consumers are the familiar and willing to buy the product. There is a

significant lack of customers who have got attracted by recommendations and any other

marketing or promotional campaign. This may be due to the comparatively small clientele that

the bank is servicing for currently. It was indicated that they had a positive attitude towards the

corporate which practices CRM initiatives and would also tend to go for the products based on

appreciation and gratitude towards the brand. They also mentioned the fact that there could be

an impact made by these type of CRM campaigns on the improvement of the Brand Awareness

of a company. However they also pointed out an important fact that the education or awareness

levels and ability to think and interpret information in the minds of the customers would also

have an impact on the success of the CRM campaigns. They agreed that they could become

loyal to the brand or product o an extent due to these types of initiatives.

Female interviewee’s response – (Occupation – Chartered Architect, Age group 30 - 35)

“I have only been banking with Cargills for like six months now. Overall I cannot complain about

their service. The reason I chose it was their attractive interest rates given for the savings

accounts and it is close to my office as well. I’m currently discussing with them to obtain a loan

for my higher studies as well. I had no idea of what “Cause Related Marketing” is actually until I

was approached by you (the interviewer). According to the definition I think it is a very important

subject and a very mutually beneficial strategy to be practiced by modern day businesses. It is

actually a risk to select a newly established financial institute but I just thought of the stability of

the group in making my move. I guess it would be very beneficial to the bank to practice CRM

38

strategies and they would need to promote them more in order to create awareness. I would

prefer to do business with such a company as well. I do try to purchase products which are

produced in an ethical background and do appreciate the brands which acts in a socially

responsible manner. I became aware of their (bank’s) services by the billboard set up in front of

their head office. I think the bank should really try to implement this kind of campaigns (CRM) to

build their reputation. I would even tend to recommend the bank to others apart from the fact

that they have a better offering of products than others, out of the liking and admiration that

would be developed due to their contribution to the society through initiatives such as CRM.”

Unlike the male correspondents the female correspondents had considered the risk factors that

could be involved with the establishment of the bank but however have got more or less

convinced by the corporate reputation and the stability of it’s parent company the “Cargills

Ceylon PLC”. According to Brickely et al. (2002) as cited by Lai et al. (2010), acknowledged that

a company’s reputation for socially responsible behaviour contributes significantly to the

improvement of it’s brand capital. It is evident from these respondents’ statements that they do

tend to regard the ethical stance and the socially responsible manner in which the companies

act upon. This was specially noted amongst female correspondents who had a sound

educational background. Also they exhibited more of an emotional attachment to certain brands

which were brought up as examples during the discussions such as the “Embark” initiative

carried on by a cloth shop named ODEL in Sri Lanka which sells a range of t – shirts with the

“Embark” brand which contributes to a fund set up for the well being of stray dogs.

Other than the remarks above the opinions and ideas of both the genders were similar to a large

extent. The three interviewees who represented the age categories of 41 to 54 were very much

concerned on the brand loyalty and the reason for them to bank with the new bank purely lied

on the recommendations by their children and close relatives. Therefore it indicates the

imperativeness for the bank to make their full effort in building it’s brand awareness.

5.9 Chapter Summary

In conclusion, the chapter four contains the analysis and interpretation of data obtained in this

research in order to analyse the relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand

Awareness”. The correlation between the two variables indicated that when “Cause Related

Marketing” increases by 1, then “Brand Awareness” increases by 0.509. In addition, the

regression analysis states that the adjusted R square is 55.8 percent which means that the total

39

variance of “Brand Awareness” is explained by 55.8 percent of “Cause Related Marketing”. In

addition, to the quantitative analysis, the qualitative analysis was conducted through interviews

and it was revealed that majority of the customers would recommend the practice of “Cause

Related Marketing” campaigns in order to improve the brand awareness of the bank.

40

6.0 Findings and the discussion

6.1 Chapter Introduction

This chapter discusses about the outcomes of the questionnaire and the interviews and thereby

tests the research hypothesis. The researcher in this research conducted both quantitative and

qualitative research in order to analyse the relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and

“Brand Awareness”.

6.2 Testing the hypothesis

According to Vardarajan and Menon (1988), as cited by van den Brink et al. (2006) a CRM

campaign aims at two objectives i:e; to support a social cause and to improve the marketing

performance. “Cause Related Marketing” concept was built on the idea of creating socially

responsible attributes infused into the brand and through that to differentiate the products in

order to enhance sales. Brickely et al. (2002) as cited by Lai et al. (2010), acknowledged that a

company’s reputation for socially responsible behaviour contributes significantly to the

improvement of it’s brand capital. Jones (2005) in his “daisy – wheel” model of brand equities

has suggested that brand equity forms by generating creative interactions between the brand

and it’s stake holders. Therefore social responsibility initiatives originated by companies, forms

an important linkage between the brand awareness and customer expectations.

Thus going in line with the afore stated schools of thought, the researcher was committed to

determine the nature of the relationship between the two variables of “Cause Related

Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”. Therefore the hypothesis of the research was that “There is

a positive relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness” which was

tested via questionnaire and interviews.

According to the results of the questionnaire, processed using the SPSS analysis, the

Correlation Analysis indicated that when “Cause Related Marketing” increases by 1, the “Brand

Awareness” will increase by 0.509. In addition, the two tailed significance is 0.000 which is less

than 0.005 which indicates that the positive relationship between “Cause Related Marketing”

and “Brand Awareness” is significant at 99 percentage of confidence interval. The adjusted R

Square indicated a value of 55.2 percent which states that total variance of “Brand Awareness”

is explained by 55.2 percent of “Cause Related Marketing”. Therefore based on the quantitative

41

analysis, it can be stated that there is a significant positive relationship between “Cause Related

Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”. The researcher also conducted the interview in order to

support the findings of the quantitative analysis.

The interviews conducted by the researcher indicated that many customers identified “Cause

Related Marketing” as an important and an effective strategy of building corporate reputation.

The respondents also pointed out the fact that the “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”

lacks a proper advertising and a marketing campaign and it is imperative for the bank therefore

to implement an effective strategy to promote it’s policies and values amongst the target

clientele. Majority also mentioned that they will be made to consider purchasing a product or be

loyal to a brand which would carry out a corporate ethical stance in it’s promotions and thus a

strategy such as “Cause Related Marketing” would be ideal for the bank to create “Brand

Awareness” which could eventually be converted into brand loyalty.

Therefore through a qualitative analysis, the researcher was able to determine that that there is

a positive relationship between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”. Therefore,

it is stated that the hypothesis of this researcher has been satisfied through both quantitative

and qualitative analysis.

6.3 Demographic analysis.

In processing the demographic data of the respondents who were involved in the survey the

researcher was able to make certain observations. The first demographic factor which the

researcher analysed was the gender distribution of the respondents. As indicated in the chart 1

in chapter 5, there were almost equal number of respondents participated in this survey from

both genders. However the age analysis indicated the fact that the majority of the customers

belonged to the age groups below 35 as indicated in chart 2 in chapter 5. The responses

gathered from the questionnaire and especially through the interviews indicated the fact that the

young customers are constantly exploring the better options that are on offer by different

financial institutions and that they do not give much consideration about the stability or the

reputation of the particular institution as long as it offers a better deal for them than the rest. The

researcher therefore concluded the fact that the bank has attracted more young customers who

are willing to take a risk and go for a new experience. The older customers would prefer to stick

to their loyal brands which are more stable despite the attractiveness of the product range on

offer.

42

6.4 Chapter conclusion

The chapter five focuses on discussing the findings from the research. Firstly, the researcher

tested the hypothesis which was constructed in this study. Through the quantitative and

qualitative analysis, the researcher ascertained that there is a significantly positive relationship

between “Cause Related Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”. The researcher also found out

that demographically the bank has so far been able to largely attract only the young customers

who are willing to take risks for a higher return.

43

7.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

7.1 Conclusion

In conclusion, the research undertaken proves that there is a significant positive impact created

by “Cause Related Marketing” on “Brand Awareness”. The “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial

Bank” being the new comer into the banking and finance sector in Sri Lanka; which is seen to

be a highly competitive battle ground with a constantly evolving target market, dominated by a

set of long standing, reputed and well established set of financial institutes; needs to carve their

mark by promoting it’s presence aggressively. In order to attract the sophisticated set of

customers and to create awareness on the brand and it’s products, the bank needs to ensure

the ethical existence of the business which would intern create goodwill towards the bank and

it’s operations amongst both the relevant sector authorities and governing bodies and the

amongst the community and public in large.

The study done through an exploratory research, enabled the researcher to conclude the fact

that the bank currently do not have a strong brand awareness created within it’ target market. In

addition, the exploratory research also helped the researcher to determine the fact that “Cause

Related Marketing” strategy could be used as an effective channel in order to create brand

awareness of the bank and it’s products.

7.2 Recommendations

Therefore in analysing the data gathered and processed through the research conducted, the

following recommendations could be made for the Cargills bank in line with their corporate

motto which is “Banking on the Human Spirit” [online] http://www.cargillsbank.com. According to

the bank’s policy of empowering aspiring entrepreneurs and farming community alike, it is

recommended for the bank to implement “Cause Related Marketing” strategies which would

enable to sell it’s products such as the loan schemes to the farmers of the rural areas who have

already established a lasting connection with the Cargills super market chain.

The Cargills super market chain has successfully implemented the firm’s strategy on downward

integration, which has resulted in elimination of intermediaries who are the whole sale dealers,

enabling them to create a mutually beneficial and a strong and long lasting, loyal relationship

with it’s group of suppliers, the farmers and small holder entrepreneurs. The company has been

44

able to get it firmly positioned in the minds of the consumers and thus create an undisputed

goodwill and brand loyalty so far by being able to provide the consumers mainly with essential

day to day basic food items, through adopting a unique strategy of downward vertical

integration. This has produced the company with several benefits which have been then turned

onto become a sustainable competitive advantage.

Also this have been proved to become one of the best implemented Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) strategies, so far in the Sri Lankan corporate arena, which has been

praised and recognised by the local authorities and the consumer community, thus increasing

the sense of belongingness and the goodwill in the society towards the company and it’s

business and has been saluted as one of the most sustainable business models produced in the

world so far (Annual report, Cargills Ceylon Plc, 2009/2010).

Therefore it is recommended for the “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” to design and

implement cause related marketing campaigns, integrating the corporate group policies of

supporting the farmers and vertically integrating the business process and promote it’s products

such as the loan schemes, savings accounts and fixed deposit schemes etc; which would

enable the bank to successfully approach a wider clientele and establish it’s presence strongly

across the country through the super market chain, creating a mutually beneficial and socially

responsible conduct of business which would in turn result in the increase of brand awareness

and eventually brand loyalty as well as the creation of goodwill towards the bank within the

society and governing authorities, that would enhance the stability and the growth of the Cargills

Agriculture and Commercial Bank Private Limited of Sri Lanka.

45

8.0 Future opportunities for research

It is evident that even though there had been many researches done on ascertaining the

relationship between the concepts of “Cause Related Marketing (CRM)” and “Brand

Awareness”, there is still the opportunity to study the level of impact created on the consumer

perception by Cause Related Marketing campaigns and to which extent would it create the

brand awareness for the products making the customer loyal to the product and the brand. With

time constrains that applied to this research, the researcher could not analyse the level of

impact that a cause related marketing campaign would make on improving the brand awareness

which could have been ascertained by calculating the improvement of the market share of

similar brands and products of the competitors subsequent to some cause related marketing

campaigns which are being conducted by them. Also there is the possibility of ascertaining the

impact that a CRM campaign would make on the company’s profitability as well.

It is very relevant and important for a corporate functioning in a developing country such as Sri

Lanka to understand it’s role in nourishing the society that it operates in while promoting it’s

business and operations, creating a mutually beneficial partnership. Activities such as CRM

would provide an ideal platform specially for new businesses to implant goodwill and it’s ethical

conduct and existence, in the minds of the customers.

Therefore the researcher would suggest the academia to explore the possibility of doing further

research on analysing the “level of impact” made by “Cause Related Marketing” campaigns on a

company, in terms of improving it’s brand awareness, market share and profitability.

Also, in processing the demographic data gathered by the survey the researcher was able to

understand that the risk appetite of the target customer groups would change based on age.

Thus it would be beneficial to research on the possibility of impacting the risk averse nature of

customers through a CRM campaign, which would be highly beneficial for a newly established

financial institute in a country such as Sri Lanka.

46

9.0 Individual reflective report

Having missed the initial two lectures on the subject due to work, I had to have a strategic

discussion with the lecturer Dr. Nalin Abeysekara on how to approach the coursework

immediately as by then the rest of my colleagues had already completed their proposals. Initially

I was bombarded with a set of questions by the lecturer in order for him to identify my

background as an employed mature part time student and to enable me to identify and decide

on the subject area on which I would like to pursue my research on. I always had an interest

towards the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and it’s related concepts that could be

used to create a strategy that would both enhance the growth of the business and uplift the

standards of living amongst the communities.

Therefore in identifying my interest in the concept of “Cause Related Marketing” and the

knowledge I had on the particular sector of business (banking and finance) which was focused

on for the research and also the ability for me to obtain information based on my previous work

experience as an Investment Advisor in the Colombo Stock Exchange, attached to a leading

brokerage in another bank, I was able to identify my strengths in this particular subject area and

sources of obtaining information, thus being able to successfully select the topic for the research

and the sector in focus for the research.

My initial weaknesses included the inability to understand and construct the proper conceptual

framework and the difficulties I had in reviewing and critiquing the literature published on the

related subject areas of research. This was a challenging learning experience for me and I got it

reviewed by the lecturer several times in order to make sure I was on the right track and was

doing the task accordingly and appropriately. Also the use of the SPSS system and the

interpretation of data using the particular system were also entirely new, learning experience. I

acquired the knowledge on how to feed the data into the system and process the data and

interpret it sensibly in order to come into conclusions.

Overall it could be concluded that this module provided an entirely new learning experience and

a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the areas of conducting a full scale business research which

I have not obtained so far either from the my past studies done on several professional courses

or through my experience acquired so far in my professional career. Therefore I do hereby state

the fact that I myself as a student am fully satisfied with the standard of this module and it’s

47

content, the course work and more importantly it’s professional relevance for the students who

pursue graduate level studies and for the modern day practical operations of an organistaion.

The knowledge I have gathered in conducting this small scale research will undoubtedly be

immensely useful for me currently as an executive and as a prospective manager in future.

Word count – 13,050 (Thirteen thousand fifty) words.

48

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11.0 Appendix

11.1 Questionnaire

Assessing the impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand Awareness” with special reference to “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” Private Limited.

54

Researcher’s name – CHATHURA DANANJAYA YATAWATTE.

Demographic information

01. Name: ……………………………………………………………….

02. Gender : MALE FEMALE

03. Age category: 18 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 35 36 to 40

41 to 45 46 to 49 50 to 54 55 and above

04. Occupation: ………………………………………………………

05. How many banks do you currently deal with?

ONE TWO THREE or more

06. How long have you being banking for?

One year or less Two to Five years More than Five years

Please tick (Strongly Disagree= 1. Disagree= 2. Neutral= 3. Agree= 4.Strongly Agree= 5)

No Cause Related Marketing 1 2 3 4 507.  You know what “Cause Related Marketing” is.

55

08.     You are aware of any CRM activities

performed by other banks in Sri Lanka.

09. A successful CRM campaign of a company could

have an impact on it’s performance in terms of

improving it’s competitiveness and market share.

10. You recommend “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank” to take a noticeable effort

to practice CRM strategy to improve their

business.

11. There is an impact made by CRM activities to the

wellbeing of the society.

12. It is important for a company to practice strategies

such as CRM.

13. A CRM initiative would make an impact on your

impression about the “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank”.

14. The “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial

Bank” is taking a noticeable effort to practice

corporate ethical conduct.

15. It is effective for a company to practice CRM in it’s

marketing strategy.

16. There’s a high level of impact that a CRM

campaign would make on a company’s

reputation.

Please tick (Strongly Disagree= 1. Disagree= 2. Neutral= 3. Agree= 4.Strongly Agree= 5)

17. You prefer to do business with a company

which would focus on practicing “Cause

Related Marketing” more than the other

56

companies

18 A CRM campaign should be designed to

provide clear mutual benefits for the company

and the society.

No Brand Awareness 1 2 3 4 5

19 It is important for a business to improve the

brand awareness.

20 Brand awareness affects your decision in

selecting a product.

21 You are loyal to the brands that you use.

22 You are willing to pay a premium price for the

preferred brand.

23 Selecting your preferred brand gives you a

mental assurance or satisfaction

24 The CRM activities currently performed by

companies in Sri Lanka are making a

contribution to improve the awareness of the

brands

25 You to select “Cargills Agriculture and

Commercial Bank” due to it’s brand reputation.

26 “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” stands

in par with the rest, in terms of it’s reputation?

27 “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank”

needs to implement marketing campaigns on

improving the brand awareness.

Please tick (Strongly Disagree= 1. Disagree= 2. Neutral= 3. Agree= 4.Strongly Agree= 5)

28 The level of impact made by Brand

Awareness on a company’s performance in

terms of improving it’s competitiveness and

57

market share is high.

29 You think it is important for a company to

engage in performing CRM activities in order

to improve it’s brand awareness and market

share.

11.2 Consent Letter – Interviews

Informed Consent Form for Participation in a Research Study

Assessing the impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand Awareness” with special

reference to “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial Bank” Private Limited.

58

You are invited to take part in a research study conducted by CHATHURA DANANJAYA

YATAWATTE as a part of the dissertation (final year) required for the BSc (Hons) Business

Management (BBS_6_PRO) at London South Bank University, UK. The purpose of this

research project is to assess the impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand

Awareness”. You are invited to participate in this study because you are a customer of “Cargills

Agriculture and Commercial Bank” Private Limited. If you take part in this study, you will be one

of sixty correspondents to do so. This study is conducted under the supervision of the course

instructor, Dr. Nalin Abeysekara. No funding has been received for this study, and neither the

student conducting this research nor Dr. Nalin Abeysekara expect to receive money because of

the results of this study.

If you agree to participate, you will be interviewed about the concepts of “Cause Related

Marketing” and “Brand Awareness”. The interview will last about twenty minutes. To the best of

our knowledge, participation in this study has no more risk of harm to you than what you would

experience in everyday life. It is possible that some of the questions will make you

uncomfortable, but you are free to refuse to answer any question, or to stop at any time. The

study may have risks that are not currently known.

Benefits and costs:

You do not have to pay to participate in this study. You will not receive any direct benefit from

participating in this study, but we hope to gather information that will help us to assess the

impact of “Cause Related Marketing” (CRM) on “Brand Awareness”. You will not be

compensated for participating in this study.

Withdrawal from the study:

Participation in this study is voluntary. You have the right to refuse to take part in this study. If

you choose to participate, you have the right to withdraw at any.

Confidentiality:

Protecting participants’ confidentiality is of the utmost importance throughout this research

study. All information obtained in the interview will remain confidential. Each participant will be

assigned a sequential identification number that will be used on all interview materials. No

names or other identifying information will appear on any of the interview materials. Only the

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student researcher, CHATHURA DANANJAYA YATAWATTE, and the course instructor, DR.

Nalin Abeysekara, will have access to the link between participant name and contact details,

which will be stored separately from the interview materials. At the conclusion of the study all

audiotapes will be transcribed for analysis and then destroyed. The information from the

interviews will be used for research papers only. Participants’ identities will not be revealed in

any papers resulting from this project.

Questions or problems:

You are encouraged to ask questions now, and at anytime during the study. You could be

contacted by Dr. Nalin Abeysekara if he has any questions about your participation in this study.

Declaration:

I have read the Informed Consent Form (or the form has been read to me). I believe I

understand this Consent Form. I believe I understand the purpose of the research study and

what I will be asked to do. I have been given the chance to ask questions and they have been

answered to my I understand that participation in this study is voluntary and I may refuse to

participate or may discontinue participation at any time.

I understand that the researchers will work to keep the information I give them confidential. My

name will not be on the data collected. Instead, a coded number will be used on the interviews,

and a pseudonym will be used if quotations of mine are used in research papers. I have

received a signed copy of this Informed Consent document for my personal reference.

I hereby give my informed and free consent to be a participant in this study.

____________ __________________________________________

Date Consent Signature of Participant

__________________________________________

Name of Participant

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__________________________________________

Participant’s Phone Number

__________________________________________

Name and signature of the person conducting interview

(The researcher)

11.3 Interview Questions

Interview questionnaire for the study on assessing the impact of “Cause Related Marketing”

(CRM) on “Brand Awareness” with special reference to “Cargills Agriculture and Commercial

Bank” Private

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Name of the interviewee: ___________________________

Employment / Designation: __________________________

Sector of employment: _____________________________

Age: …………….

Gender: ………………………….

1. Have you ever heard of the concept “Cause Related Marketing” or do you want me to

enlighten you about it?

2. Could you recall about any of the “Cause Related Marketing” campaigns conducted by

any Sri Lankan companies; especially in the banking and finance sector?

3. Do you think that Cause Related Marketing campaigns would impact on the perception

of the customers towards the brand?

4. Would you be loyal or otherwise give preference to a brand or a product which is being

marketed using Cause Related Marketing campaigns?

5. What made you bank with Cargills Bank and how were you made aware of their

business?

6. Do you think that it will be beneficial for Cargills Bank to conduct Cause Related

Marketing campaigns in order to enhance the awareness of their brand?

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4/16/2015 Turnitin Originality Report

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