Brand alliance and event management for social causes: Evidence from New Zealand

• Event management is an engaging and effective public relations function that should be used in health promotion and social marketing campaigns.
• Non-profit organizations promoting social causes have to protect their brand and credibility.
• Commercial sponsors of events that are organized by non-profit organizations to promote social causes should not overshadow the non-profit organization's message.
• Public relations and social marketing need to share knowledge, research, practices, and professional tools.

This paper uses findings from research on the effectiveness of a New Zealand health promotion program to make two arguments. The first is that, in appropriate cases such as this program, event management can play a key role in a social marketing health promotion campaign. In showing how event management added value to achieving that particular program's goals, it argues that event management could often be a valid and effective part of the mix for other campaigns promoting social causes. The second highlights important issues that can arise in relationships between non-profit organizations and the commercial sponsors of their events. It contends that organisers of campaigns for social causes need to be alert to the risks in brand alliances between such organizations and need to consider not only the appropriateness of the fit but also the need for an appropriate balance between the sponsor's commercial interests and the non-profit organization's goal.