Do you care about why a firm engages in a particularly socially conscious endeavor?Does it matter to you that a firm may choose to sponsor a particular event because it will result in good press? Are you actually more likely to purchase a product or service from a company because it sponsored an event you support? The LaSalle Bank sponsors the Chicago Marathon each year. Might you be more likely to use that bank because it supports the marathon? Though, at first blush, this might seem a question of slight import, the amount of money spent on corporate promotions on an annual basis can be exponential. The economic impact of an event like the Chicago Marathon can mean more than $100 million per event for a city.

If you do not really notice the sponsor or if the sponsorship does not have an impact on your consumer, employment, or investment decisions, then wouldn’t t that be critical information for the bank to know when deciding whether to sponsor the event in the future? Or, on the contrary, do you believe that at least part of the bank’s decision to support the marathon has nothing to do with its ultimate impact on you as a stakeholder but instead with the simple fact that the bank wishes to support the event? If the latter, what justification can you imagine the bank uses when explaining the expenditure to its stockholders?