Corporate Citizenship
and Your Brand
Beyond your company’s core mission is another aspect of corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility that I call “Organizational Connections”. Simply put, an Organizational Connection, or OC, is when a for-profit entity becomes associated with a cause or premise. An OC is a symbiotic relationship—a win-win for both organizations.
According to a national opinion survey conducted by GolinHarris, “Forty percent of respondents to the survey of 3,500 Americans say that good corporate citizenship makes them more willing to do business with a company.” The survey found that corporate citizenship can influence consumer opinion and behavior, and essentially turn consumers into brand champions. Respondents indicated that good corporate citizenship by a company or brand would inspire them to (in rank order):1. Be willing to try the company’s products for the first time
2. Welcome the company into my community
3. Recommend the company’s products and services to friends and family
4. Improve overall trust for the company, its people and products
5. Improve overall opinion of the company’s reputation
In addition…
* OCs can strengthen your brand promise if the connection is aligned with your mission and vision
* OCs can push your message into new, untapped markets
* OCs can contribute to your value proposition
* OCs can help build relationships (emotional ties) with your supporters and prospects
* OCs provide credibility—usually for both entities
In just a short time of being on the lookout for examples of OCs, I found dozens and present some of them here. Let these inspire you and help you think out of the box about how your business can connect with a larger slice of the marketplace through a synergistic OC—and become a better corporate citizen as a result. Starbucks and (RED) recently debuted the (STARBUCKS)RED Card. Every time a customer uses the (STARBUCKS)RED Card to make a purchase at Starbucks, five cents will go directly to the Global Fund to help save lives in Africa by supporting HIV and AIDS programs. Lifetime Television has joined forces with The Body Shop, The Wireless Foundation, and Amnesty International to raise money by collecting old or unwanted cell phones to support the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Prior to last year’s Super Bowl, Miller Lite auctioned off a game-day visit by running back pro football Hall-of-Famer Eric Dickerson. The money raised goes to Dickerson’s favorite charity, the Casa Colina Rehabilitation Foundation. Zazzle, the creativity marketplace, recently announced ZazzleStamps—valid U.S. postage stamps customized with a “kiss” imprint to benefit the Humane Society of the United States. The famous lip-prints come from a number of celebrities.
Edy’s Ice Cream has combined their dairy treat with another well-loved sweet: Girl Scout Cookies, creating Edy’s Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream. Spalding put its Never Flat basketball to the test recently when students from Duke and North Carolina tried to set a Guinness World Record with a 58-hour-long continuous basketball game. The event raised funds for Hoop Dreams Basketball Academy, a nonprofit that helps children with life threatening illnesses. The Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) recently encouraged all Americans to celebrate National Handwriting Day. The event, held in conjunction with the birthday of John Hancock, is “to alert the public to the importance of handwriting, stress the benefits of handwritten communication, promote good penmanship and encourage legible handwriting.” National Handwriting Day was founded in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association, a national trade association supporting the $4.8 billion industry of pen, pencil and marker manufacturers. In a program called Collective Good, Staples, the office supply superstore, has partnered with the Sierra Club to collect old cell phones and save them from the landfill. More Benefits of Doing Good
According to GolinHarris President and CEO Fred Cook, consumers believe companies are making improvements when it comes to corporate citizenship and that translates to an effect on the bottom line. The fact that corporate citizenship is a powerful influencer of consumer behavior is good news for American companies. Less encouraging is survey respondents’ perception of the performance of American business in corporate citizenship. Only 25 percent believe Corporate America is doing an “excellent” or “good” job in its commitment to corporate citizenship. But there is a glimmer of positive news: the number of people in the survey who responded that business is moving in the right direction in corporate citizenship showed a slight improvement—an increase to 28 percent from 24 percent last year. “Our research shows that investing in corporate citizenship is a positive brand-building strategy,” says Cook, “not merely a defensive brand-protection strategy. Progressive brands realize that corporate citizenship is more than a ‘nice to have’—it’s a ‘must have’ activity for their success.”
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