brands doing good | patrick collings 2009
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation that I gave recently on a brands' perspective towards funding environment or other social causes. Two key arguments of the presentation are a) these days brands tend to put their money into causes aligned with the overall strategy of the brand and b) that there is a lot of competition for that funding. Like most of my presentations, this one needs a talking head to explain the individual slides. I have tried to reduce this need slightly by putting a commentary sentence at the bottom of several of the slides.TRANSCRIPT
Brands and doing goodPatrick Collings
Sagacite Brand Agency
February 2009
photo by Kevin Dooley
from the perspective of the brand
because it is the right thing to do
commentary: would be ideal, but often brands felt obliged or pressured into funding causes
d o i n g g o o d t o l o o k g o o d 1960s | 1970s | 1980s
commentary: funding in a shotgun approach often not even related to the brand’s business
2reasons
change
commentary: two developments changed how brands funded social causes
commentary: the first development was when exxon needed environmental allies to help with the exxon valdez spill. the organization found their social giving had not nurtured environmental groups
commentary: the second development concerned public outcry and boycott of goods as experienced by shell with plans to sink the brent spar oil rig and nike with child labour (next slide)
commentary: no logo was a rallying cry against the perceived bad that organizations did
d o i n g w e l l a n d d o i n g g o o d 1990s | 2000s | onwards
commentary: funding was more aligned with the business and strategy of the brand
the corporate is not distinct to the offering
awareness
understanding
opinion
resonance
commentary: use the cbbe pyramid to demonstrate the importance of opinion towards a brand
40% said they responded negatively about companies perceived as not socially responsible
90% want companies to focus on more than profitability
60% said they form an impression of a company based on perceptions of social responsibility
17% said they avoided the products of a company perceived as not being socially responsible
consumers are increasingly caring about societal issues
and they want to associate with brands that care
also
commentary: doing good is important for inside the company
help attract and retain staff
decrease operating costs
appeals to investors and analysts
brands that do good in the eyes of their market are being
rewarded for their efforts
and those that don’t are being punished, even being neutral can
put a brand at a disadvantage
commentary: video that talks about large scale greenwashing by brands
how to get into the
of the brand
photo by Mark Dodds
does this fit with our business strategy and focus?
is the issue being tackled of importance to our stakeholders?
is the organization approaching us credible?
isn’t government handling this?
are our competitors already in this space and do they own it?
what are the risks of becoming involved in this?
how will this give visibility and credibility to us?
how will we communicate this to our stakeholders and market?
not only about giving but also about doing
commentary: brands are not just been asked to give money to organizations but also to take active steps to improve how they operate
Global Carbon Exchange
commentary: slide dealt with the number of organizations that were considered / approached / by one brand on on environmental and society issues
awareness
understanding
opinion
resonance
the same applies
“For many years, community development goals were philanthropic activities that were
seen as separate from business objectives, not fundamental to them; doing well and doing good were seen as separate pursuits. But I
think that is changing. What many of the organizations that are represented here today
are learning is that cutting-edge innovation and competitive advantage can result from weaving
social and environmental considerations into business strategy from the beginning.”
Carly FiorinaNovember 2003
the book corporate social responsibility by philip kotler and nancy lee was used as a reference for several of the slides
presentation bypatrick collings