Mental accounting and Cause related marketing strategies

The aim of the present study is to verify if people’s perception of causerelated marketing (CRM) strategies is influenced by the mental accounting formatused to present the price of the product and the amount of money donated to thesocial cause. However, such an effect is conditional on the type of product used forthe campaign as the mental accounting is only expected to enhance the consumers’perception of CRM programs supported by hedonic products and not theirperception of programs supported by utilitarian products. In Experiment 1, resultsshow that only for hedonic products an integrated mental accounting induces peopleto perceive the CRM program more positively than a separated one. In Experiment2, the integrated mental accounting reduces people’s guilt about the purchase ofhedonic products, therefore explaining why this manipulation has a different impacton hedonic and utilitarian products.