Tag Archives: CSR

Social Influence on Business Strategy: Empathy is the Secret Sauce

Posted on May 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment
This post originally appeared on the Business4Better Blog.

Ed note: Today is the second day of Business4Better, a new event produced by PR Newswire’s parent company, UBM plc., designed to foster partnerships between non-profits and corporations. As I was scanning the blog posts recapping the first day, I spotted the post below and decided to share it with you.  It’s an interesting illustration of the degree to which social influences have permeated business decision making and strategy, and the importance of empathy to an organization’s success.  - SSReconciling a balance sheet or analyzing data for the next great product is not the only metric that drives the success of great companies. Rather, the secret sauce has to do with empathy for the world around you.

It is not just business for better, it is better for business, says Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates and author of Wired to Care who opened up the Business4Better show here in Anaheim.

He implored businesses to reconnect with their humanity and gave examples of companies that are doing this today. “When we are fact-based and living our lives with PowerPoint data, we are only bringing in a part of our brains every day to work, says Patnaik. “You have to have that connection and get out beyond your walls and spend the time in the real world.”

Harley Davidson is a company that embraces these ideals. “The minute you walk into Harley Davidson headquarters, the parking lot is overflowing with Harleys, the building smells like leather and the company keeps the connection to the world around them. There is an authenticity. We are them and they are us,” said Patnaik.

Patnaik also compared the culture of Nike and Reebok. Nike is a culture of athletes and Reebok is a culture of MBAs that sell shoes. Great companies have a gut sense to know what is right, the passion to leap on something new and the courage to stick with something shaky; he added.

Some view empathy is a lovey-dovey word but Nike and Harley Davidson are hard charging places, he said. “When you care about people more than yourself, you will innovate and grow. You will have a sense of mission and reason to come into work every day.”

Kelley DamoreAuthor  is Chief Community Officer at UBM Tech. 

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Leveraging cause marketing for authentic communications

Posted on March 28, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Sponsorship is one of the oldest forms of advertising, and the basic principle – associating your brand’s name positively with something your target market enjoys –still holds water today.  However, in today’s changed information marketplace, in which traditional media share the stage with bloggers, brands, experts and individuals,  traditional sponsorships can fall a bit short.  Why?  Because  they give people precious little to talk about.  Enter cause marketing.

Cause marketing – in which a brand aligns itself and devotes resource to addressing a specific problem or supporting a charitable effort – offers brands advantages not found in other types of sponsorship or advertising, and it works particularly well in today’s world of social networks and online tribes.  Here are a few reasons why:

Tribal affinity, otherwise known as market segmentation:   Any marketer will tell you that segmenting your market is a good idea.  Expending the brand’s resources without taking the time to target groups of people likely to have an interest in the message can be an exercise in futility – and it’s wasteful.   However, the brand that aligns itself with a cause that is relevant to its best customers and prospects can create real efficiency when it comes to reaching that constituency.

That said, there are some caveats for brands when it comes to selecting a cause.

“The issues Millennials care about most varies from country to country and its tempting to let that drive what cause you support,” notes Simon Mainwaring, a leading social branding strategist and author of the book We First: How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World in his discussion of how corporate purpose can turn Millennials into brand ambassadors. “But a brand must ensure its own purpose, values and mission dictate what cause it supports to avoid accusations of greenwashing or causewashing. That way, a brand’s cause work drives Millennial engagement and reinforces the authentic for-profit narrative of the brand.”

Storytelling, otherwise known as content generation:  Cause-related marketing creates a lot more traction than a fleeting brand impression, because it presents the opportunity for the brand and its partner to tell stories.  And those stories can be powerful catalysts for conversations in social networks, which in turn delivers real message amplification that is positive — and relevant for the audience.   Programs created in association with your brand’s non-profit partner can be rich sources of the sort of attractive and interesting pictures, videos, charts, data, graphics and stories that people enjoy consuming and feel good about sharing with their friends and followers on social media.  And each piece of content derived from a brand’s cause-marketing program can

Incentive, otherwise known as the whole point of most marketing efforts:  Finally, cause-related marketing provides important extra incentives for buyers to make their selections in your brand’s favor when the simple act of making a purchase in turn helps a cause they care about.  Whether the consumer simply likes the idea of sending an extra dollar your cause’s way, or they’re making a conscious decision to only support brands that have sustainable business practices and give back to the community – the effect in the moment of the purchase decision is the same.  The scales are tipped for your brand.

Quite a lot of thinking in the CSR/sustainable business/cause-marketing community is coalescing around the idea that these practices are no longer optional for brands – they are necessary pieces of the strategy mix.   It’s difficult to disagree, from either the emotional or practical standpoints, for two reasons – people like doing business with organizations they like, and a great way to get people to like your organization is to do some good in the world and tell that story in an interesting way.

b4bA unique opportunity for brands considering cause marketing initiatives is coming this May at the Business4Better Expo in Anaheim CA.   There, representatives from the corporate side will find scores of non-profits that are primed for and seeking corporate partners.

sarah avatarAuthor Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of content marketing, and is the author of the e-book “Unlocking Social Media for PR.”  Follow her on Twitter at @sarahskerik .

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Sustainable Business & CSR: Will Consumers Pony Up?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by | 1 Comment

In her keynote yesterday at the 2012 PRSA International Conference, June Cotte (@jcotte), an associate professor of marketing at the Richard Ivey School of Business in Ontario, discussed responsible consumer buying habits in over three products: coffee, cotton and chocolate.  The big question she posed was this: Will people spend more on “responsible” products?

According to Cotte, over the past 40 years the reasoning in which a consumer would buy one product over another has changed dramatically.  In the past a consumer would try to buy a cleaning detergent without phosphates which have potential health impacts and pollute water supplies.  Today, labor practices, animal abuse, and philanthropic cause have an influence over the decisions people make.  However, she found that there is a gap between attitude and actual behavior.  A person may have an prejudice towards a product but, when no one is looking still buys it for financial reasons.

Whether it is T-shirts or coffee, there is a premium some will pay based on some measure of corporate responsibility, Cotte noted. People were willing to spend more than $3 more for a T-shirt if the garment contained organic cotton.  Oddly, the premium consumers were willing to pay remained consistent if the shirt was made of 25% organic cotton or 75% organic cotton.  It seems as long as there’s an effort being made, the consumer will agree to pay more.  The same principle applies to coffee and chocolate, only different variables are taken into consideration –  such as labor rights and fair trade.

Interestingly enough, a brand always known for responsible behavior can launch new products and reap the benefit of their existing image.  However, companies with bad reputations generate proportionally greater rewards when they start marketing responsible products. I guess consumers like to see companies make decision to change something beside their bottom line and are willing to support that notion.

The hard part for brands, according to Cotte, is informing the public of the cause or environmental initiative they’ve chosen to tackle.  Most of us make buying decisions based on habits or brands we’ve grown to trust over our lifetimes, underscoring the challenge brands face when communicating new initiatives.

Author Michael Seghieri is a divisional vice president with MultiVu, a PR Newswire company.

Does your company emphasize sustainable practices or corporate social responsibility? If so, our free white paper, “How To Benefit From Authentic CSR” can help you communicate your story to your audience, and build the bottom line.

A whole new way of doing business is emerging and now is the time to rethink your corporate social responsibility programs and take action through real community engagement. Introducing Business4Better (B4B)—the event, the community, the movement—that will bring together businesses and nonprofits to accelerate community engagement and create meaningful partnerships that benefit both businesses and communities. It is the platform that enables both businesses and nonprofits to thrive, share, inspire, educate and prove that Business4Better is truly better for us all.

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CSR Blogs: The Business of Doing Good

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, is a somewhat new concept. For years, businesses and corporations were seen as having only one responsibility: profit. And, let’s be honest, that won’t ever go away. After all,  companies need to stay in business.   But things are transitioning. Maybe the environment is changing outlooks. Or maybe, the advent of social media and increased transparency is altering things. Regardless of how this came about,  corporate social responsibility is now part of the conversation. CSR, or “shared values”, is pervading into most corporate cultures. It promotes better communities and happier employees. Plus, it can’t hurt brand perception.  Not surprisingly, there are many great things being written on this subject. So with that in mind, let’s roll up our sleeves, lend a hand to those in need and take a brief tour through some of the best Corporate Social Responsibility blogs I’ve seen.

Realized Worth is a blog written by two CSR consultants. They spend their time, when not blogging, extolling the virtues and value of company-led volunteer work. And when they are blogging, they’re pointing out great examples of companies (and their employees) doing good.  If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories surrounding volunteerism and other examples of businesses empowering their employees as agents of positive change. Check out the full review here.

Sustainability Conversations is written by a PR professional in China. The blog aims to affect social change through communication. It’s a smart tactic. If behaviors are to change, mindsets must first be altered. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories relating to the PR industry’s relationship to corporate social responsibility. These types of stories that originated in Asia might do particularly well. Check out the full review here.

The Green Economy Post is a comprehensive digest of green industry news. If there’s something to do with sustainability, the environment, alternative technology, or some place where they all meet, you can expect to read about it on here. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look  for stories surrounding clean technology and alternative energy. Stories that sit at the intersection of business and the environment might also work. Check out the full review here.

Business Ethics Blog is not the start of a joke about oxymorons. Business and ethics actually can go hand in hand.  And in a lot of ways, they’d be smart to do so. Brand awareness and transparency are at all time highs.  Oh, and the environment could probably benefit, too. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories illustrating examples of businesses doing good work in their communities. Examples of companies empowering their employees might also work. Check out the full review here.

Earth & Industry don’t necessarily sound like two words that go together. However, these forces must work together if either are to survive. This blog outlines examples of sustainable businesses. In many ways, this blog is a look at what the future of business will look like. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories surrounding green technology, the solar industry and the impact business and the environment have on one another. Check out the full review here.

That’s all for now. In the meantime, if there’s a blog I should be reviewing, drop me a line or a note in the comments, and I’ll take a look. Until next time…

Author Tom Hynes is PR Newswire’s manager of blogger relations. And as you may have guessed, he has a twitter account.

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Social Branding & Implications for Communicators

Posted on January 16, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Simon Mainwaring, founder of We First, a social branding consultancy

I’ve been following Simon Mainwaring (@simonmainwaring) on Twitter for several years now, and for almost the same duration have been an admirer of this work and thinking.  So I jumped at the chance to talk to him about corporate social responsibility – and what responsible business practices mean to (and require of) communicators.

But first, some context.  When Mainwaring talks about corporate social responsibility, he goes far beyond the veneer of sponsorship.

“Cause marketing,” he says, “is window dressing. Talking a good game isn’t good enough.  Brands have to walk the talk in terms of products, transparency and authenticity.”

According to Mainwaring, businesses needs to change fundamentally if they hope to operate as the socially responsible entities the marketplace desires. According to the goodpurpose global study conducted by Edleman, 86% of global consumers want businesses to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as they do on those of the business. That means changing business models and redefining profit centers.

“It’s difficult for brands to be socially responsible when their models are based on the past, and include profit centers built around practices focusing on shareholders and profits,” Mainwaring noted. “It’s not a perception problem, it’s a business problem.  They have to revisit profit centers, way they treat employees, etc.”

Obviously, businesses can’t transform overnight.  But as they move along the process, communications plays a vital role, especially given the transparency demanded by today’s connected consumers.   And even if the enterprise isn’t ready for the fundamental changes Mainwaring suggests, there’s no doubt that developing better connections with customers and becoming more transparent actually mitigates risk.  As the Bard said, “The truth will out,” and nowhere is that truism more evident today than on social networks.

Improving transparency

“We have a simple choice,” Mainwaring told me. “We can either demonize all brands and ignore the good they do, or we can celebrate the good they do to create a permission slip to encourage others.”

Creating an environment that enables consumers to support good work that brands are doing is vital. Brands can only continue sustainable business practices if the marketplace rewards it.

And that’s where communicators can play a crucial role.   As an organization adopts more open communications practices or starts to evolve their business, they open themselves up for additional public scrutiny.  Communicators can provide the context that is essential in order for the marketplace to understand the story.

Communicators need to contextualize the brand’s efforts, in terms of what the brand stands for, its core values, how they’re taking it to market and making it real, and what they’re improving. But, Mainwaring cautioned, the message has to be authentic.

Authentic communciations

The greatest challenge brands face in this exercise is with respect to their ability speak authentically.  Mainwaring notes that organizations need to strive to develop an authentic communications culture.  This isn’t simply an exercise in communications strategy.

Examples of what it means to develop an authentic communications culture include:

  • The visionary CEO or board needs to buy off on the vision and take it to market
  • The company needs to fully embrace and communicate the vision
  • Employees need to buy in, and become advocates of the vision.  They are the first line of contact in many cases
  • Relate the vision to the marketplace.

This approach offers organizations one more challenge – developing alignment between leadership, employees and communications.

“Without this you can’t achieve the transparency and authenticity your audience are looking for,” Mainwaring concluded. “The most important thing is the integration of purpose.”

About Simon Mainwaring

Simon Mainwaring  is an award-winning branding consultant, bestselling author, influential blogger and international speaker. The author of We First: How brands and consumers use social media to build a better world (June 2011, Palgrave Macmillan) a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller, Mainwaring is also the the founder of We First, a social branding consultancy committed to helping brands build communities, profit and positive impact. He is a member of the Sustainable Brands Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London. He also contributes to Fast Company, Forbes, Huffington Post, Mashable, and GOOD Magazine.

On February 1 & 2, the We First Social Branding Seminar will convene, focusing on building social branding blueprints for attendees. For more information on this event, please visist http://wefirstseminar.com .

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media, and is the author of the free ebook Unlocking Social Media for PR.

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Green Blogs: For the Benefit of Mother Earth

Posted on November 18, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Working as the blogger relations manager for PR Newswire, I come across my fair share of great blogs that cover a wide variety of subject matters and interests.  And as you might expect, some blogs are better than others. With that in mind and in an effort to highlight the better ones, I do my best to review one of these blogs every day.

This week my focus is on green blogs.  And what I’ve learned is that green blogs really cover the gamut. I think that’s because nearly every facet of our lives, be it our weddings, our household products, our shoes and our clothes all affect our ecosystem’s bottom line. Every decision can impact our world. Just as every choice can be a green one. So with that in mind, let’s fire up some fair-trade coffee, take our leftover food to the compost, and enjoy this brief roundup of some of the best green blogs I’ve seen lately.

If you want to keep your home and family as environmentally sound as possible, then The Greenists is the blog you have to be reading. They review a lot on this blog, and they present their reviews with how they think you’ll like it, and also how it’ll affect the ecosystem. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories about products that promote a green angle. I’d check out their review policy first, too. Check out the full review here.

Ecouterre is a green fashion blog. But bear in mind, the site’s not called ‘hippie couture’ for a reason. There are plenty of  things here that I could see myself  wearing. There are some seriously good looking clothes on this site. It just so happens that buying them won’t totally ruin the environment.  If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories that deal with fair trade fashion, or sustainable clothing lines, or anything that has to do with clothing and green issues. Check out the full review here.

To me, Ecopolitan Bride is the ultimate example of ‘put up or shut up’ with regards to being eco-conscious. Everybody says they want to be green. But are they willing to prove it on their wedding day?! This site proves it can be done. And it can be done well. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories about green weddings, or any other low-impact bridal services.  Check out the full review here.

I guess I should say this up front. There is no nudity on Gardening Nude. Rather you will find countless tips on how to live a simpler, less encumbered life. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for stories that promote gardening, maybe, but more importantly anything that promotes a greener lifestyle. And I would keep it safe for work, if you catch my drift. (It’s not that kind of site!) Check out the full review here.

EcoStreet is a blog dedicated to helping their readers live a more green life. But make no mistake, this blog is by no means a preachy one. They’re not going to tell you to live in compounds and bike to work every day. (Though, more people should bike to work.) It’s not about sacrifice. It’s about sustainability. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for any stories that could help people live more environmentally friendly lives. Check out the full review here.

That’s all for now. In the meantime, if there’s a blog I should be reviewing, drop me a line or a note in the comments, and I’ll take a look. Until next time… Oh, and please consider the environment before printing out this blog post.

Author Tom Hynes is PR Newswire’s manager of blogger relations. And as you may have guessed, he has a twitter account.

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