Social Responsibility Marketing: Brand Builder or Brand Distraction? 2008 Qtr 4
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Social Responsibility Marketing:
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Of course it goes without saying that marketers who attempt to “use a cause” purely for their own purposes are quickly found out (it’s usually much more obvious than they think). But we’re not talking about this small fraction of misdirected marketers.
Instead, let’s focus on companies that are truly committed to a specific cause, and choose to support it with time, effort and money. How much is this goodwill worth to their brands?
It may begin with the answer to a simple question: If no one ever knew about your support of a social cause, would you still support it? If you answer yes, your efforts stand a greater chance of helping you build your brand.
Or to put it another way, think of social responsibility marketing as brand karma. What goes around, comes around. This type of authenticity works because when you’re committed to a cause and invest in it, people can see it and recognize it; those people are employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and others who can profoundly impact your business.
Writer David Sherman summed it up in an article titled The Pitfalls of Marketing Social Responsibility by saying, “Don’t spend money on marketing social responsibility. Spend it on being socially responsible and being humble about how far you need to travel in your quest to lessen your impact on society. This could be translated as, ‘Put your money where your mouth is, marketer.’”
Good advice, we think. Marketers who are more concerned with basking in the glow of their beneficence by letting the world know how wonderful they are, usually aren’t beneficent or wonderful.
Typically, a brand’s products and operations have a direct impact on social issues. Addressing these social issues can be a great way for your brand to create meaningful good while conducting a successful business. Writing for Forbes.com, Betsy Atkins, CEO of Baja Ventures, lists six “do’s and don’ts” of social responsibility:
- Be transparent in your financial reporting.
- Produce a quality product, and don’t misrepresent it.
- If you know something about the product that endangers the consumer, be forthright and let the public know.
- Do NOT use predatory practices in offshore manufacturing, such as child labor.
- Do NOT pollute your environment or other environments, and adhere to laws and regulations.
- Be respectful, fair and open in your employment practices.
Thank you, Ms. Atkins. Most insightful. That means one shouldn’t support Save The Children foundation and then use child labor in offshore sweatshops. It must be that karma thing popping up again.
But there is something that you can leverage about your brand’s social responsibility initiatives: you can have fun making a difference. Pitching in to make a difference generates an incredible amount of positive energy and enthusiasm. Just because it doesn’t show up on a balance sheet, that doesn’t keep your cause from making a huge difference on the balance sheet — and in your brand’s perception and results. Remember, it’s about the karma.
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