ARF Salon Series: Why Corporate Social Responsibility is good for brands success.
March 7th at 5pm. New York
As a graduate student wanting to be part of the corporate social responsibility movement, I had set my eyes on this session for weeks in advance. The conference session was part of the Advertising Research Foundation Salon Series. This particular session focused on “Corporate Social Responsibility - What’s it Worth?’ - taking place on March 7th of 2019 at 5 pm in New York City. The session included a small group of attendees and guest speakers from Unilever, Bank of America, and McPherson Strategies. ARF”s own CEO, Scott McDonald, moderated the panel and helped drive an insightful discussion in brands responsibility of improving society. He stated that brands should practice having an active “...dialogue with society.”
Unilever’s Head of Sustainability, Viviana Alvarez, had many many takeaways that are sure to inspire brands and position them as advocating and communicating purpose-driven goals. Furthermore, positioning them as being a positive role model for other brands.
A unique positioning discussed by Viviana Alvarez, was of adopting a mentality of ‘Individual Social Responsibility’ - referring to each person in the company who has a responsibility for the improvement of society despite being part of a global brand--believing that this is key in amplifying its purpose. She insists that “...everyone in the business needs to resonate with this message.” and that “...people love working for companies like this.”
She states that each company should ask themselves “Does the company have a purpose that will have a positive impact?--Got purpose!?” The answer to this question becomes the foundation for laying the sustainable business model for all brands. As a global brand, Unilever has incorporated Corporate Social Responsibility into its Global business model. Their global vision reads: “To grow our business, whilst decoupling our environmental footprint from our growth and increasing our positive social impact.”
Through this vision they aim to:
- Enhance Livelihood
- Improve Health and Well-Being
- Reduce Environmental Impact
The question we ask: How can Sustainability drive business success? By incorporating sustainability as part of their business model, they have seen:
- 46% more growth of the brands they represent for selling with purpose
- 56% less risk through agriculturally raw materials that were sourced sustainably for the brands they represent,
- Much lower costs as a result of the reduction of energy usage in the producing and manufacturing of their products
- More trust from company employees as a result of graduating from their own choice degrees. This encourages employee retention and a more sustainable work culture.
To sustain this business model, they abide by the following [4] pillars with ‘Brands and People with Purpose’ as the core of these four pillars.
- Trust and Transparency
- Health and Wellbeing
- Reduction of Plastics and Waste: This is crucial to their business model as being a company that produces a lot of plastic and waste, they have to take responsibility in being part of the solution to reduce the negative impact of their products on the planet. (The United States alone produces 60% with 8 to 10 babies being born with microplastics in their system. Horrible!)
- Inclusive, Access and Equality.
Now, What is the ROLE of Marketing?
Viviana states marketing is the “Enabler that helps amplify what the company is really doing.”, and make sure to communicate what the brand stands for, what it is doing, and what goals are they are trying to achieve in the long run.
Viviana states marketing is the “Enabler that helps amplify what the company is really doing.”, and make sure to communicate what the brand stands for, what it is doing, and what goals are they are trying to achieve in the long run.
Why does this matter?
When people are aware that brands and the brands they love are having a positive impact on society, they become loyal to the brand and feel good about their purchases and future purchases. They create a chain reaction by recommending the products to others and also pressuring other brands to adopt a similar business model.
People who want to do good no longer have to be part or work for a non-profit sector. Corporations, today, are making activism part of their business model and seeing a lot of growth and success because of it. In addition, consumers are becoming better consumers because of the brands they interact for having a CSR-based business model.
