Spreading the Good Word About Your Company’s
Charitable Efforts
What shall we talk about?
Common Communication Challenges in Community Relations
Trends in Community Relations
Best Practices
Case Studies
Action Plans
Common Challenges in CR Comms
Why is it so hard to talk about our good work?
▪ Lack of interest internally (from colleagues/organization) – it’s a “nice to do”
▪ Silo-ed departments – not a priority for marketing/comm
▪ Lack of executive sponsorship
▪ Fear of appearing “too self-congratulatory”
▪ Under-resourced department/lack of staff/lack of funds to publicize
▪ Worry a contribution might not seem significant enough
▪ Contributions are not newsworthy
▪ Difficulty articulating impact
▪ Prioritization of Foundation activities
Trends in Community Relations
Social Goodness is Mainstream Marketing
“ Embedded Generosity” was identified as one of the top ten crucial consumer marketing trends for 2014
“Show Them You Care” was identified as one of the top ten marketing trends for 2013
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list has become regarded as the third most influential corporate ranking list, behind Fortune magazine’s ‘Most Admired Companies’, and ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’.
Source: http://trendwatching.com/briefing/#business 1 w.trendsinbranding.com/trends.php#12PRWeek CEO Survey, 20133
Cause Associations Help with Business Challenges
Brand awareness & PR
Credibility & thought leadership
Competitive differentiation
Loyalty
Additional consumer engagement
Support for increased sales
What Consumers Think…
91% of consumers believe companies should support community relations efforts
Only 58% of consumers believe that companies are providing enough details about their community relations efforts
88% of consumers are eager for companies to share more about their cause efforts
71% think brands and companies spend too much on advertising and marketing and should put more into good causes
U.S. consumers were 2x as likely to find it "very appropriate" for a brand to use its marketing dollars to fund social causes (35%) vs. entertaining campaigns (16%) or brand sponsorships (15%).
91% of consumers want to see more products, services and retailers support a cause
63% of consumers are looking toward brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference
Source: 2013 PR Week/Barkley PR Cause Survey1 2013 Cone Cause Evolution Study2 Edelman 2013 goodpurpose Study3Edelman 2013 goodpurpose Study4
What Consumers Do…
Consumers report 2x+ brand recall after seeing a brand in the media or on-shelf with a social purpose, and spend an average of 1.8 times longer examining an ad with a social message.
84% of American consumers would recommend a brand that supports a good cause – up 16 points
from 2011
59% would help a brand promote its products if there was a good cause behind it – up from 53% last
year
51% of consumers use social media to engage with
79% of consumers would be likely to switch from one brand to another of about the same price and quality if the other were associated with a good cause.
84% of global consumers would tell friends and family about a company’s CSR efforts
83% of consumers are more likely to trust a company partnering with an NGO to solve problems/tackle social issues
61% have purchased a brand that supports a good cause during the current recession, even if it wasn’t the cheapest brand.
Source: Edelman 2012 Trust Barometer1 2013 Cone Social Impact Study2Edelman 2009 goodpurpose Study3
What Employees Think…
78% of employees wish their employer was doing more to support good causes, and would consider charitable practices in a job search – up 42% from 2008
89% of employees familiar with employer cause efforts report a strong sense of loyalty
53% of workers and 72% of students say a job where they can make an impact is very important or essential to their happiness, with the students ranking it third in overall
importance and only 1% behind marriage.
Increasing the engagement level in a 10,000-person organization by 5% can boost profits by an estimated $40+ million.
Source: 2013 Cone Cause Evolution study12014 Net Impact/Rutgers University: What Workers Want; Taleo Research; Edelman 2013 goodpurpose Study3
What Business Partners Think…
57% globally say a company has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes and is a trusted neighbor
85% of companies consider community relations efforts in reviewing vendor contracts
Source: PRWeek Brand Study 2012, Edelman 2013 goodpurpose Study1
Solving our challenges
Best Practice:
Creating a Strategy Aligned with Core Business Goals
• PR
• Brand Loyalty
• Improved distributor & account relations
• Employee engagement
• Increase sales
Best Practice:
Creating a Strategy Aligned with Core Business Goals
STEP 1 STEP 2
Establish leadership committee (from all relevant departments)
Audit values, culture & mission
Audit business priorities (for each department)
Audit resources available to achieve those goals (current structure of departments, current/upcoming plans, budgets)
Full competitive landscape analysis – what competitors are doing,
and what other brands succeeding with cause do well
Develop roadmap: priorities matched to possibilities
▪ Issue & Impact – Do Good. – what’s the fit(s) for the brand business objectives?
▪ Audience
▪ Core messages
▪ Impact ability
▪ Competitor landscape
▪ Activation – Make Money. – how can we bring to life (PR, conferences, employees, packaging, social media?)
▪ Whatever the business goal, be sure this roadmap focuses there to achieve – how will this get us out to large audiences of government decision-makers?
Or gamers (whatever the audience)?
Review & audit of current partnerships
External alternatives – audit & recommendations
Department presentations & surveys
▪ Let team leaders take to their divisions for feedback
Constituent & community surveys
Present findings to leadership team
Initiate test case with employees, vendors, suppliers, ambassadors
B-to-C/B-to-B campaign planning
Design long-term cause strategy based on test case results and feedback.
Define Community Relations partnership criteria from ability to help meet the social and business objectives achieved with the test case.
Forge long-term partnerships with organizations that meet
your criteria.
Communicate an ownable, achieveable goal.
Document the story of your impact.
Develop thought leadership strategy.
Develop strategic partnerships.
Best Practice:
Create a communications friendly philanthropic strategy
Appealing photos and imagery
Videos
Unification of color throughout campaign
Unique, ownable issue – related to core business of resource protection
Real challenge company-funded solution
Best Practice:
Engage cross-departmental leadership
• Sales
• Retail
• PR
• Brand Marketing
• HR
• CEO
Best Practice:
Prioritize participatory investments
(let your audience get involved in the decision)
Brand Challenge: Engage hotel guests in community relations, built affinity for brand, create PR and goodwill in local communities
Cause Solution: Check Out For Children asks guests if they wish to add $1 to hotel bill to help education (formerly immunize) children via UNICEF. Tent cards and brochures in room. Video on in-room video.
Brand ROI:
Donated enough to immunize over 1 million children & now provide education support (over
$25M raised)
Highly awarded and publicized program
Brand Challenge: Build employee engagement and affinity to Yahoo!.
Cause Solution: Gift certificates sent by 20 different Department Heads to their specific teams, thanking them for their hard work and innovation, and inviting them to pass along the gratitude to school classroom projects supporting technology projects.
Brand ROI:
Redemption rate across departments was 35-40%.
65% employees engaged with the cause, making an additional donation in the same year to Donors Choose.
Brand Challenge: Engage employees to give directly to charitable initiative, while improving corporate image.
Cause Solution: Gift certificate program with Donors Choose, where different departments were pitted against each other in a healthy competition, to see who could raise the most money. The program was set up as a 1 to 1.5 match, where for every $1 a C-S employee donated, C-S would match and raise it, with a $1.50 gift. They built a great website showing the moment-to-moment activity, and Donors
Choose supported the partnership by getting Steven Colbert to send out a rousing, humorous video to C- S employees about the initiative. Their goal was to help 90,000 students.
Brand ROI:
C-S employees were able to help 268,000+ students over this short 3-week giving drive
The campaign raised over $1.5M
4,336 C-S employees participated (48%)
Best Practice:
Awards, rewards & recognition
Brand Challenge: Enhance brand reputation and engagement with retail customers
Cause Solution: Annual HEB Cares event, bringing together all retail vendors, suppliers and associated agencies for a day of volunteering, followed by an awards banquet. Vendors sponsor annual event, with proceeds going to area children’s charities. Highest number of participants and dollars contributed get exclusive access to company CEO and executive leadership for event.
Brand ROI:
In 2012, more than 150 sponsors – up 30 from 2011
More than $61M raised – all funded by sponsors and credited to HEB
Have refurbished more than 20 schools, built 32 playgrounds, and donated more than 20,000 volunteer hours
Best Practice:
Get your employees engaged with office visual clues
Best Practice:
Let Partners Do the Talking
Lay out your goals.
Ask all partners to lay out their vision of success.
Assign a “mediator” for the relationship.
Create a written agreement.
Review results and feedback regularly, comparing against original goals.
Best Practice:
Fund Education
Best Practice:
Leverage Products, Services & Talent
Best Practice:
Join Collaborative Campaigns
Case Studies
Brand Challenge: Cultivate, recruit and retain top talent
Cause Solution:
Housing for Everyone
Revisiting our challenges
▪ Lack of interest internally (from colleagues/organization) – it’s a “nice to do”
▪ Silo-ed departments – not a priority for marketing/comm
▪ Lack of executive sponsorship
▪ Fear of appearing “too self-congratulatory”
▪ Under-resourced department/lack of staff/lack of funds to publicize
▪ Worry a contribution might not seem significant enough
▪ Contributions are not newsworthy
▪ Difficulty articulating impact
▪ Prioritization of Foundation activities
Your Action Plan
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