Polishing the Brand via Corporate Citizenship

Being a good corporate citizen is a good way to polish any brand or company name. So many stakeholders pay attention when companies pursue social responsibility agendas.

For example, Time Warner Cable and Samsung are sponsors of the Space Shuttle Pavilion at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. Thousands of visitors see those logos and names as they enter the pavilion, adding to the goodwill of these well-known firms.

In the past, some argued against this kind of expenditure, saying that the point of corporations is to be profitable. Today, many recognize that good corporate citizenship is quite compatible with profitability goals. Remember, corporations and brands serve multiple stakeholders, not just investors.

In fact, one survey in Canada showed that people actually want corporate management to take the lead in socially-responsible actions. So when a company or brand is publicly honored for good citizenship, local residents and customers alike can feel proud of their association with it.

Marketing Insects as Food?

Here's an interesting marketing trend in the world of food: Eat bugs.

In Canada, Loblaw's is marketing Cricket Powder, made from ground-up crickets. It's not just full of protein, it's an environmentally-friendly approach to eating. "By making products like Cricket Powder widely available in our grocery stores, we are giving Canadians the option to not only try something new, but to also make a conscious decision on what they eat and how it impacts the environment," says a Loblaw vice-president.

In fact, cricket flour is being incorporated into a range of products. Chapul specializes in cricket-protein chocolate bars, among other edibles. Cowboy Cricket Farms produces 20 million crickets yearly and makes cookies from cricket flour. Chirps chips are made from, yes, cricket flour.

Today, insect-based protein foods are niche products. Do they have the potential to become mainstream products in the not-so-distant future?

Pennies for Social Responsibility

Do pennies count?

Marketers sometimes ask customers to "round up" or donate a few pennies each time they make a purchase, and the proceeds benefit a worthy cause.

Such microdonations tap into an aspect of consumer behavior where each consumer, giving a little, can feel good about doing his or her part in what becomes a significant donation.

Here are a few examples of making pennies count for social responsibility:

• JC Penney's "Pennies from Heaven" - Shoppers round up and donate the extra pennies to the retailer's backpack purchase program. This is only one of the JCP Cares community programs.
• Coinstar asks consumers to donate some of the change they count to designated charities. Different Coinstar units send the money to different charities (World Wildlife Fund, Unicef, etc).
• Pennies is a UK charity that supports dozens of charities with pennies rounded up from purchases at Domino's, Cellar & Kitchen stores, and other participating marketers.
• Penny Harvest is a NY charitable program that supports local causes with pennies collected and donated by students.

Does Reputation Count?

GREENWASHING

The Reputation Institute's 2015 study of global corporate reputations has been released. The top 10 corporations worldwide (determined on the basis of innovation, governance, citizenship, and other criteria) are:

1. BMW
2. Google
3. Daimler
4. Rolex
5. LEGO
6. Disney
7. Canon
8. Apple
9. Sony
10. Intel

The U.S. list has three familiar brands on top: Amazon, Kellogg's, and LEGO. Those are followed by Fruit of the Loom, Campbell Soup, Levi Strauss & Co., Snap-on, Hershey, Panera Bread, and Briggs & Stratton.

A Cone Communications/Ebiquity study of consumer attitudes toward corporate social responsibility indicates that 90% would change brands to support a worthy cause. Moreover, 80% would be willing to purchase an unknown brand associated with a strong social responsibility commitment.

Consumers are increasingly wary of greenwashing and willing to change behavior when they believe a company or brand isn't living up to its statements or commitments.

So does reputation count? Clearly, building and maintaining a reputation for authentic social responsibility can pay back in financial terms, not just goodwill.

Marketing to Girls and About Girls: Always

Procter & Gamble's Always brand of feminine hygiene products has been running an ongoing girl empowerment campaign in broadcast and digital media.

The campaign includes such hashtags as #LikeAGirl and #BanBossy, among others, to echo the main messages of boosting girls' confidence.

Some of the messages refute the idea that doing things "like a girl" (throwing a baseball, running) is an insult. Others encourage girls to stand up and be leaders, changing the perception of girls as "bossy"when they take the lead.

The brand's Super Bowl #LikeAGirl ad received many positive comments and the campaign has won a number of awards. With partners like the Girl Scouts of America and AARP, among many others, Always is showing its social responsibility strength and building its brand in a meaningful way.

Happy 44th Earth Day!

April 22 is Earth Day, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging social media interaction with an #actonclimate hashtag to identify what people are doing to address sustainability.

Google has a series of animated Doodles for Earth Day, showing a hummingbird and two flowers (or other animals). It's also promoting the hashtag #MyBeautifulEarth for sharing photos of our planet.

National Geographic recounts the history of Earth Day here, noting that an estimated one billion people worldwide will mark the day today. In 1970, Earth Day began as a "teach in" protest, and by the end of that year, the EPA had been established to work toward environmental protection.

Today's school children have grown up with the idea of social responsibility through environmental protection. Let's think green every day, not just on April 22.

Pricing the Kind Bar

Today's New York Times has an excellent article about pricing, "Doing the Math on a Snack." It's all about how different retailers price the Kind bar, produced by Kind Healthy Snacks and marketed with a brand image of quality, healthiness, and social responsibility.

Kind relies on a multichannel distribution strategy, selling online (direct to consumer and through online merchants) and in different types of retail outlets, including natural foods grocery chains (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's), drug chains (Duane Reade), mass merchants (Walmart and Target), and newsstands/stores at transportation hubs (subway entrances, airport kiosks).

When the New York Times comparison-priced Kind, it found a range of retail prices from a low of $1 per bar (at a Whole Foods store) to a high of $3.50 per bar (at a newsstand at Kennedy Airport).

Why such variation in pricing for the same product? The retailers didn't explain, but the director of Columbia University's Center for Pricing & Revenue Management told the newspaper that stores are probably setting a price they know they can get consumers to pay, especially if the consumer's options are limited (such as being at the airport).

Try this pricing comparison yourself. I found, today, 12 Kind cranberry-almond bars selling on Walmart's web site for $14.44 (note the unusual price point, a signature of Walmart). The same 12 bars were selling via Amazon from Kind itself for $13.72. What prices can you find?

Oh, and of course Kind is social media savvy: Look for the brand on Facebook (136,000 likes) and Twitter (18,000 followers).

Not Your Dad's Dole

Ever heard of red or baby bananas? Well, Dole--which markets all kinds of fruits and veggies from pineapples to packaged salads--is putting them in grocery stores for you to taste and enjoy.

This isn't the Dole of yesteryear...it's the 21st century, and fresh is trendy. Dole is looking at niche markets these days, not just mainstream produce in bulk.

Social responsibility is definitely on Dole's menu, with initiatives ranging from water and soil conservation to community involvement programs around the world.

The Dole brand has also gone social. It's got its own Facebook page, with more than half a million "likes." It tweets (@DoleNutrition). And of course it has a YouTube channel.

Just Means . . . Where Good Work Lives

Today's visit to a local Best Buy store, where I noticed a battery recycling center, prompted me to visit its web site. That's where I learned that Best Buy is a founding member of JustMeans.com, which has as its vision "a world where companies integrate social and environmental initiatives into their core business strategies."

The JustMeans site facilitates social networking to foster communication between consumers and corporations about the issues. And I'm delighted to note the involvement of the Pearson Foundation, which is connected to my US and UK publishers.

clipped from www.justmeans.com justmeans, where you can talk to companies about their social & environmental impact. clipped from www.justmeans.com

Flip Gives Nonprofits Reason to Smile

Digital Technologies is donating 1 million of its Flip camcorders in a buy one, get one promotion for nonprofit groups. What a great way to show its social responsibility while showcasing its brand. Videos taken with the donated Flips are posted on this YouTube page. The program has gone viral--who knows how quickly the Flips will be snapped up?

PS: I heard about this from my sis, who follows YPulse, a site that covers marketing to youth and teens. Worth a look!

clipped from www.youtube.com Non-profit organizations throughout the world are discovering the power of video to advance their programming, and the Flip Video Spotlight Program is committed to supporting them in that mission. We have pledged $75 million in matching dollars to get one million of these camcorders in the hands of non-profit changemakers. For each unit your non-profit organization buys, our organization will buy one for you. Apply now at www.flipvideospotlight.com