Brands are constantly unlearning and relearning ways to connect, engage and influence their now more en- lightened consumers. Marketing concepts have evolved and are becoming customer centric.
This has significantly changed the dynamics of brand – consumer interaction.
Selling has now become secondary.The primary aim is to care for things their customers care for most. From conventional product marketing, we are entering the age of connecting with the audience through the “Corporate Social Responsibility”.
According to 2015 IEG Sponsorship Forecast, corporate cause sponsorship spend was up by 3.9% to $1.85 billion. In another study by Cone and Duke University, 79% of polled consumers said they would switch to another brand of similar price and quality, if it was associated with a cause they cared about.
Businesses are beginning to understand tangible and intangible benefits of CSR marketing and the Market is responding favorably. The ice bucket challenge which sought to create awareness on ALS took social media by storm. A fun twist given to a serious cause went viral. Lee’s National Denim Day to promote breast cancer awareness was also hugely applauded.
A traditionally male brand, Lee, reached out to women by driving charity contributions by employees towards breast cancer research and advocacy. Once viewed as corporate philanthropy, CSR expenditure is now seen as investments meant to achieve specific objectives viz. brand building, goodwill among regulators and the public, and talent attraction and retention.
Companies are now expected to issue corporate accountability reports to detail their progress and impact on society. A basic tenet of this approach is that companies can “do well by doing good.”
India, in particular, has much to offer in this space. The National Geographic Globescan Greendex Survey (measuring environmen- tal sustainability of consumption across 17 countries) high- lighted that Indian consumers obtained the highest Greendex score.
45% of consumers felt guilty about the impact they caused the environment. This was much higher than the global average of about 28%. Many other surveys have unveiled a deep sense of responsibility Indian consumers feel towards their ecosystem. Here are five ways brands can build meaningful corporate social responsibility programs:
Market the cause more than the brand
Top companies have identified social purpose and sustainability as an integral part of marketing strategy. These activities are pursued as a full-fledged projects, in many case “pet projects”, with dedicated teams and resources. In many instances, these activities reflect the personal interests of individual senior executives. While marketing these activities, care needs to be taken to focus on the real value and contribution to society.
In some cases, marketing hype is best avoided to retain the focus on the initiative and its beneficiaries. Proctor & Gamble collaborated with CRY in 2009 for an educational programme named “Shiksha”. It involved shelling out a part of the sale proceeds of P&Gs detergent and personal care products to children’s education. P&G steered clear from an over- dose of branding and focussed more on the programme, which made it success- ful and ultimately enhanced brand credibility.
Champion a cause closer to you
To get the best out of CSR efforts, it is recommended to identify an opportunity closest to the areas that the Business interacts with. Besides having a greater impact, it ensures a deeper understanding of issues and possible solutions. HCL’s youth education and skill development initiatives focus primarily on digital literacy for the lesser privileged.
Britannia provides biscuits as a part of the mid-day meals scheme in several schools. Max Bupa holds its ‘Walk for Health’, one of the few initiatives in the typically low interest, low involvement insurance domain. The campaign aims at driving general aware- ness about the innumerable Health benefits of walking.
Max Bupa is trying to drive positive connect with consumers and make a meaningful difference to their health and wellbeing rather than the usual marketing route, evoking fear of ill-health.
The annual event, together with a focused digital media and partnership strategy, has helped garner tremendous support from current as well as potential customers and more importantly brought alive our purpose.
Make sure there are tangible benefits
Often, CSR is confused with charity; a one-off donation rather than a long term in- vestment.
A PR whitewash given to such efforts yields no substantial benefit to so- ciety. It is prudent to clearly identify a cause that the business will stand committed to, along with coherent deliverables. Bharti group, before 2000, had a charity for those with limited means to education. Later, Bharti Foundation was established for concerted and focussed efforts that can bring impactful change, launching pri- mary, secondary and senior secondary schools across India.
Get partners on board
Corporates often wish to build these projects without external support. However, they require different level of expertise. Since many companies may be working for the same cause, there is no differentiating factor. A partnership, can not only maximise the real benefits and reach maximum people, it offers much needed expertise. Several corporates work with NGOs and fund projects, especially related to natural disasters.
Inspire your tribe
According to the Millennial Survey 2015 conducted by Deloitte, 6 out of 10 Millennils said a sense of purpose is part of the reason they chose to work for their current employer. A company actively contributing to society’s welfare, is often perceived as a trustworthy and caring. Since attracting and retaining talent will be a growing challenge, activities that build on core values and inspire employees are key. Infosys has been actively engaged in community development.
Education and research department at Infosys works actively with several employee volunteers on such projects. Social Media is increasingly adding momentum to CSR efforts, giving it better reach, more impact and maximising the audience base. Since there is no gate-keeping, people can communicate the brand experience, as it happens, giving brands instant attention. Consequently, transparency and honesty are imperative.
The short attention span that social media offers, is all that brands have to connect. Such initiatives have flourished on complete transparency and continuous engagement. Successful CSR initiatives cre- ate a strong emotional relevance and connect between brand, beneficiaries and consumers.
The relationship gets strengthened at several levels, bringing in a host of benefits. Corporates are realising both tangible and intangible value that CSR initiatives contribute. Apart from brand building and goodwill, it positively affects the bottom line as well.
In the larger run, even if it costs something from the business profits, it opens doors to never-imagined opportunities. But more importantly, it underlines the fact that businesses can be successful only when the society around them succeeds!
This article was taken from here.