By Larry Koffler
When 86% of consumers globally believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on business’ interests, it is clear that “purpose” has graduated. It’s now a central part of the marketing mix. The results of the Edelman goodpurpose® Study 2010 reinforced for me the “why,” and provided some insight into the “how” brands navigate social purpose in light of the fundamental resetting of consumer behavior post-recession.
We are living in an environment where consumers expect more – of brands and themselves. Consumers are increasingly empowered to take actions that positively impact their surroundings. In the US, we saw an 8% jump in consumers who responded that they should be “doing the most” to support good causes (as opposed to government or corporations.)
Fueling the current reset: not only the meteoric rise in social media, but our resurging sense and need for control post-recession – when the imprint of feeling “out of control” about everything from our jobs to our homes is still fresh. Consumers are redefining what constitutes value, reevaluating what’s important and looking to friends, families, media and brands for guidance and partnership:
• Pepsi (disclosure: Edelman client) has empowered people with innovative ideas to move the world forward via grants; more than half a million votes have been cast at Pepsi’s Refresh Everything website.
• CNN provides us with an opportunity to be part of the solution with “Impact Your World.”
• Companies like Imathlete and crowdrise are making fund raising more efficient than ever. At this past weekend’s ING NY Marathon, New York Road Runners (disclosure: Edelman client) estimated that $26.2 million would be raised for charity – $2 million more than last year and $15 million more than in ’06.
• Companies are increasingly empowering each other. Earlier this year, Nike announced a web based marketplace, Green Xchange, where it released 400 patents that involve environmentally friendly materials. It allows for others to improve on the innovations (which Nike can benefit from) but may help other industries or unrelated markets.
More work needs to be done to develop the right formula; we need to go beyond “meeting expectations” and get to driving incremental sales. The goodpurpose Study did show that when choosing between two brands of equal quality and price, social purpose ranks as the leading deciding factor for global consumers – ahead of design, innovation and brand loyalty. This seems to apply to retailers as well. Macy’s recently promoted the success of its fifth annual “Shop for a Cause” which raised more than $4 million for national and local charities across the country on October 16, 2010.
The question is no longer why. It’s how. How do we develop programs in this new era of public engagement that go beyond expectations that share control and empower stakeholders in a way that is authentic, ownable, drives sales and makes a slice of our world better.