Gen Z and cause marketing – A Q-methodology perspective

South African brands use different strategies, such as cause marketing (CM), to establish connections with their stakeholders. In CM, a for-profit organisation supports a non-profit organisation (NPO) through consumers' participation in transactional or non-monetary activities to achieve organisational goals. Q methodology (Q) was used to study how campaign structural elements on Instagram influence Gen Z’s attitudes towards CM in South Africa. A concourse comprising 100 fictitious Instagram posts was developed, drawing inspiration from current global campaigns. The Q-set of 24 (piloted) cards obtained from the concourse were selected using Fisher’s (1960) Balanced Block design. The population sample (P-set) included 12 heterogeneous Gen Z participants and one of the researchers also participated in the study for self-reference purposes. Ken-Q Analysis version (2.0.1) evaluated this study’s findings, and a Q factor analysis was conducted using Centroid extraction accompanied by Varimax rotation, producing three viewpoints. Viewpoint 1: Keep it Practical had six participants who enjoyed trustworthy campaigns that were easy to engage in. Viewpoint 2: Stop Tokenising Causes had three participants who detested brands that inappropriately use charity-linked campaigning to appeal to their consumers for profit-driven reasons. Viewpoint 3: Aesthetics and Accessibility are crucial; four participants focused on CM campaigns' visual appeal