Veni grant for dr. Leliveld: “Buy this product and support a good cause." How do these marketing campaigns work?

Marijke Leliveld of the Marketing department of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen will receive a Veni grant, as part of the Innovation Program of NWO, KNAW and the universities. This was announced today by NWO. With a personal Veni grant worth (a maximum of) 250,000 euro, talented and new PhD’s get the opportunity to do research of their choice for three years.

This year, 38 million euro in total is granted to 155 young researchers via the Veni grant.

Research: "Buy a product and support a good cause" How do these marketing campaigns work?

Since the crisis, charities increasingly work together with companies: "buy this product, and the company will donate to a charity on your behalf." It may be money, but increasingly companies make material donations, such as for example a tetanus vaccine to UNICEF for each pack of diapers you buy.

Marijke Leliveld will investigate the difference between marketing campaigns that use monetary and non-monetary donations. At the same time, she will investigate possible negative effects of such campaigns. It is known that people balance their moral behaviour: after doing something good, we license ourselves to be immoral and vice versa. The question is whether donating via these campaigns is not a too easy way of doing good. Can they make us less inclined to support other charities or even help other people afterwards?

Note for the press :
For further information: Dr. Marijke Leliveld, tel 050-363 3226, e-mail m.c.leliveld@rug.nl