Excerpts from “Advertising Age,” August 11, 2008 Edition
So, where in the game rules does it say that companies have to be “responsible” for anything other than profits? Research consistently shows that people are more attracted to companies involved with positive social and environmental change.
What got me thinking about this topic is a potential co-branding opportunity for a non-profit startup with whom I am leading a turn-around project. This non-profit (who shall remain nameless for the time being) has a similar brand identity to a company I just discovered, Yield Clothing. Both organizations focus on improving the lives of children and have youthful and happy messaging, and with a tagline “Purchase With a Purpose,” what’s not to love?
Research shows that people are more attracted to companies involved with positive social and environmental change. In fact, 77% of Americans consider companies’ commitments to social issues when deciding where to work, and the same percentage would refuse to work at a company with negative corporate-responsibility practices. This fact is even more evident than ever with millennials, Gen Y, the most socially conscious generation since World War II.
Consumers around the world are interconnected. As a result, true Corporate Responsibility (CR) is much more than a marketing facade. Consumers, who are readily adding terms such as “food miles,” “product life cycle” and “greenwashing” to the vocabularies, will quickly decry such hypocrisy. On the flip side, we know that consumers prefer the products of a company with good CR practices. So, it’s better business, greater good. As an example, remember Nike in the late 1990s? Sales tanked amid sweatshop allegations, but its responsibility practices, and sales, have since rebounded to new heights.
Smart companies realize that CR drives innovation and competitive differentiation. Tangible business results include mitigating risk, attracting and retaining talent, saving money through operational efficiencies– minimized packaging, transportation, and resource use, and turning an increased profit. People do want the truth, and so transparency is the foundation for corporate responsibility.
About Wendi McGowan