Communicating Good Deeds: Social Responsibility Goes Digital By Julie Capron, Associate, Marketing Strategy & Analysis, and Rachel Zinser, Associate, Marketing Strategy & Analysis Being a responsible corporation is no longer just a nicety. public is attuned more than ever to social and environmental issues and in turn they are looking to companies to have a heightened awareness and more involvement. With this shift, social responsibility an obligation of an organization or individual to act in ways that will benefit the society in which they live is more top of mind, and communicating good deeds has become paramount for companies. However, do-good marketing campaigns don t cut it anymore. In this digital era of transparency, consumers expect authenticity and quickly see through social responsibility marketing that lacks merit. When companies are transparent and connect with consumers around Social Good in an authentic way, a more engaged, loyal customer follows and digital is taking the lead in making social responsibility more visible than ever. To put it another way, thanks to a social media culture, companies today are seen through the critical lens of the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. Emergence of Social Good A Venn diagram offers a clear illustration of how Social Good has emerged (See Figure 1). On one side, we see the rise of the socially-aware consumer, who is sensitive to global issues. On the other, we see the digital consumer who has truly integrated digital platforms into daily life. Where these two merge we find Social Good, the social responsibility campaigns and messages that spread across the digital landscape.
FIGURE 1: Social Good Emerges Socially aware consumers Amidst growing public awareness of social and environmental issues, consumers in turn expect companies to be socially responsible. Social Good digital consumer Social responsibility campaigns driven through With the spread of technology, consumers are living in a digital world and expect companies to have a digital and social presence purpose of this white paper is to explore driving trends behind the emergence of Social Good, and outline why it is important for companies to take note. In the following pages, we ll identify many of those trends, explain why they are relevant to every organization, and relay how a handful of companies are participating in and marketing Social Good initiatives. To start, let s take a look at the key trends driving this surge in Social Good and social responsibility campaigns across the digital space. Socially Aware Consumer Socially aware consumers Social Good digital consumer Consumers have become more socially aware; a few drivers of this increased awareness are as follows. 1. Post-recession consumers have shifted from mindless to mindful consumption recession has affected consumers in a big way. Challenging times see people craving care, empathy, sympathy, and generosity and in turn, consumers expect that same treatment from organizations. Post-recession consumers are moving from mindless consumption to mindful consumption, increasingly taking care to purchase goods and services from sellers that meet their standards and reflect their values. This trend was coined the Spend Shift movement (See Figure 2). FIGURE 2: Spend Shift : Consumer led movement to promote values through the power of consuption. Spend Shifter : Post-recession shopper who s more price concious and selective about purchases
Spend Shifters make a point to buy brands from companies whose values are similar to their own and believe they can change behaviors by supporting brands that do the right thing. In fact, 75% make a point to buy brands from companies whose values are similar to theirs and 69% believe that they can change behavior by supporting companies that do the right thing. Spend Shift movement is not limited to the U.S. It has had a significant global reach. This about this: 55% of U.S. consumers are Spend Shifters 53% of French consumers are Spend Shifters 48% of Greek consumers, another hard-hit economy, are Spend Shifters 45% of German and Italian consumers are Spend Shifters 44% of British consumers are Spend Shifters 2. Eco-conscious consumerism is on the rise As people have become more mindful in their consumption, they have begun to pay more attention to brands that align themselves with the issues consumers care about. In fact, 25% of U.S. consumers have bought or avoided a product based on a social issue, and more than 15% have traveled out of their way for a product based on a social issue. values that resonate most with consumers are largely those revolving around Green initiatives. More specifically, natural resources, bio fuels, energy, climate change, and solar are top of mind for consumers. 3. Millennial consumers are becoming the rebels with a cause Millennials are change-oriented and naturally feel the need to attach themselves to causes they are passionate about. Unlike the protests and rebellions launched by past generations, millennials have an inert desire to rally around causes and work toward realistic change. Millennials tend to see the brands they buy as an extension of themselves. One millennial put it: Do something good to help us and our world. Be a badge that truly represents us, one that we re willing to stand behind and share with our friends. Millennials are an outspoken and growing generation and their cause-oriented nature provides a platform for companies to engage them on a meaningful level. When companies stand behind initiatives that millennials care about, they may find they have a valuable spokesperson. Digital Consumer Socially aware consumers Social Good digital consumer Consumers were quick to embrace the social, digital world and now we re seeing companies catch up. Consumers are truly living in a digital world (See Figure 3). Today, the online numbers are staggering: re are 500 million Facebook users, 145 million active Twitter users, and more than 2 billion views on YouTube daily.
FIGURE 3: Consumers are living in a digital world: 500 Million Facebook users across the globe 150 Million global users connect with Facebook via their mobile phone 145 Million active Twitter users 40% of all tweets come from mobile devices. YouTube exceeds 2 Billion views per day YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine globally. 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media. Ninety-three percent of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media. And though it is a little belated, companies are now investing in this landscape. In 2010, 73% of U.S. companies with 100+ employees used social media for marketing, a figure that is expected to jump to 88% by 2012. Additionally, in 2010, 57% of companies surveyed worldwide planned to increase spending on social media marketing in 2011. Mobile is also playing a significant role in Social Good : 1. Mobile is empowering consumers to be socially responsible anytime, anywhere For example, consumers armed with the GoodGuide app can get a glimpse into a product s level of social responsibility before dropping it into the cart. app allows consumers to scan the barcode of a product while shopping and immediately receive ratings regarding health, environment, and social responsibility. Those without a smartphone aren t left out; mobile users can send a text with product information to access ratings for more than 70,000 companies and products. Extroardinaries is another example. In essence, it is an app that enables micro-volunteering. A crowdsourced approach to volunteering, the app breaks large scale efforts down into micro-tasks that consumers can complete directly from a mobile device. Consumers can complete missions in their spare time like tagging photos for the Brooklyn Museum or mapping trails in California for Sierra Club. 2. Mobile is quickly becoming a preferred channel for charitable donations Text 2 Give really took off as part of the global relief efforts centered on the Haiti earthquake. In fact, $30 million was donated via text message in the first 10 days following the quake, which equated to 14% of all efforts. channel is continuing to gain traction and is now the second most common way that U.S. mobile users donate to charity. mgive is one of the organizations behind these campaigns. company works with more than 200 nonprofit clients, including the Red Cross, and is responsible for raising more than 85% of all funds raised to date through the mobile giving channel. mobile channel isn t limited to apps and smartphone users; mgive puts the power to donate in the hands of anyone with an SMS plan. And when you consider that over 80% of U.S. adults own a mobile phone and over 70% of cell phone owners text, it s clear that mobile will continue to influence social responsibility in the years to come.
Why do companies need to pay attention? digital conversation is happening with or without companies. If companies aren t present in the digital space, it becomes a missed opportunity to participate and engage in an open dialogue that can drive the conversation in a positive direction. Even in times of crisis for a company, consumers are responsive to a transparent dialogue. And at the end of the day, consumers do care about companies social behavior. Consumers are paying attention to companies responsibility efforts. Consumers want companies to support causes. In fact, 83% of Americans wish more of the products, services, and retailers they use would support causes. And if a company is doing good work, they should talk about it; 90% of consumers want companies to tell them the ways they are supporting causes. Putting authentic Social Good at the core of the brand can even sway new customers and boost profits. Almost half of consumers will seek out similar products from a different brand if they hearthat a company s corporate behavior is especially bad, giving responsible brands an opportunity to pick up new fans. Additionally, 70% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for products from socially responsible companies (See Figure 4). FIGURE 4: thinking broadly,how much more would you be willing to spend on a $100 product if you could purchase a version from a socially responsible company? 30% $0 20% $1 - $5 22% $6 - $10 4% $11 - $15 70% are willing to pay a premium for products from socially responsible companies 9% $16 - $25 5% $26- $50 2% $51 - $75 1% $76 - $99 7% $100 10% 0% 20% 30% 40% US Internet users, February 2010 Companies Social Good Initiatives Let s take a look at some examples of companies that have launched Social Good initiatives in the digital space and what s worked well in their efforts: Patagonia Patagonia s Footprint Chronicles allows the consumer to track the environmental and social impact of various Patagonia products. Consumers can select an item and follow it on its entire path of production, with information and images available for each step of the journey. Patagonia concludes the chronicle by summarizing Good, Bad, and What We Think for the specific item (See Figure 5).
This full disclosure is a transparent approach to Patagonia s overall social and environmental impact. In addition to pointing out the good in their operations, they go a step further to provide what is bad about their process and what they are doing to change. company also invites interested consumers to dig deeper into the brand s sustainability initiatives and to provide feedback. Patagonia encourages consumers to discuss, praise, and voice any concerns they have around Patagonia s sustainability efforts. FIGURE 5: Toyota invites the public to submit Ideas for Good Toyota crowdsourced ideas on how to reuse Toyota technology to benefit society, in a non-automotive capacity. Consumers submitted ideas online, and then the public was invited to vote on the top 25 ideas. Ideas for Good campaign was a way for Toyota to engage consumers, bring the focus back to the positives around the brand, and ultimately leverage Toyota technology for world good that goes beyond its automotive core. Toyota has had its fare share of problems; its brand has almost been synonymous with the word recall of late. But Toyota isn t hiding behind the problems. It is out in the open, engaging in the conversation. A quote from Toyota s VP for marketing sums it up well: Our focus is on continuing to build Toyota brand opinion after all the negative publicity we ve had this year. Adding that goal of the campaign is showing how we can improve the quality of life of consumers beyond what its products contribute. Additionally, Ideas for Good is a multi-channel marketing campaign, including several TV spots encouraging the public to get online and share their ideas. Incorporating crowdsourcing also effectively engages consumers throughout the campaign.
BP s struggling efforts to rebuild its brand reveal the importance of transparency and authenticity BP launched its Beyond Petroleum CSR campaign in 2000, working to position itself as a celebrator of alternative energy. But after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill the biggest in a line of spills and CSR setbacks BP quickly went from Beyond Petroleum to Big Polluter. In the wake of this event, BP has been making slow strides to rebuild its brand reputation, but has had several missteps along the way. BP faced a media landscape that disseminates information and images in a matter of seconds for the whole world to see, but they failed to take action quickly. BP didn t start its social media campaigns in earnest until nearly a month after news of the spill broke, giving consumers the opportunity to point fingers. BP invested over $93 million in advertising between April and June of 2010 with an emphasis on traditional media, including search marketing that many viewed as deceptive. And while they eventually plugged into basic social tools, they still took hits. On Facebook, BP was called out for posting heavilyedited photos, and on Twitter, BP initially went on the defensive rather than opening dialogue. When BP launched its multichannel Make It Right campaign, they started off on the wrong foot with media spots of its CEO apologizing. BP soon shifted its messaging to focus on its commitment to clean up, a step in the right direction. Overall, BP needs to move away from the standard corporate response and toward authentic engagement that harnesses social media to humanize the brand and add transparency to its responsibility efforts. What goes around comes around. Today more than ever we are seeing a growing trend in society where people are starting to give more than they receive. People are now more aware of environmental and societal issues and are pouring more effort to the causes that support them. As society adjusts their values, companies must follow suit or they may fall behind. For companies, the main idea here could be as simple as the old saying what goes around comes around. Companies who are earnest in their motivations and efforts will attract committed consumers. Consumers who are pleased with these efforts will share them with their networks. And, at the middle of it all, Social Good will continue to be a central theme and driver of change. Julie Capron and Rachel Zinser are members of SapientNitro s Research and Insights practice. team is dedicated to monitoring trends and developments in the digital space with areas of expertise in consumer analysis and interactive strategy. Julie and Rachel are part of the Chicago-based research team, but support all Sapient offices globally. Julie Capron Rachel Zinser