Corporate Citizenship In a Time of Occupy Wall Street

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship released its annual CSR Index the other day even as Occupy Wall Street and its satellite efforts continue their protests that are, in part, anti-corporate.

The top 10 were:

Publix Super Markets
Google
UPS
Kellogg’s
Amazon.com
Berkshire Hathaway
FedEx
Campbell Soup
Baxter International
3M

By my count I’ve seen cause marketing from six of the top 10 and 33 of the full list of 50 companies.

According to the BCCCC the index is based on a survey of “how the public perceives a company in three dimensions:”

"Citizenship: Does the company contribute positively to its surrounding community in a socially and environmentally responsible fashion?

"Governance: Is the company business run in a fair and transparent fashion? Do stakeholders associate the company with high ethical business standards?

"Workplace: Are employees treated fairly and paid a decent wage? Does the company invest in developing employee skill sets and career opportunities?"

Notably, in the wake of Occupy All Street, there’s only two banks on the list, neither of which are Wall Street heavyweights.

In this list, it’s good to face the consumer to some degree. I count only seven that don’t sell directly to consumers. Oracle, for instance, and Caterpillar.

Conspicuous by their absence are brands like Ben & Jerry’s… itself active in Occupy Wall Street… and progressive companies like Stonyfield Farms and Tom’s of Maine.

Given the context, what lessons can you take from the BCCCC list?

I think there's one lesson for sure. Americans want corporations who are better actors. Good cause marketing can be a signal that companies are good corporate citizens.

Comments

Jessica Marlo said…

By my count I’ve seen cause marketing from six of the top 10 and 33 of the full list of 50 companies.

It really bothers me that you can't share this information with the rest of us! What companies make up the the "six" of the top ten and "33" of the 50? Sheesh!

10/22/2011 6:04 AM

Paul Jones said…

Hi Jessica:

I omitted mainly for the sake of brevity. I generally avoid publishing lists on the blog.

But because you requested it I'll include it in a future post.

Thanks for your comments/feedback!

Warm regards,
Paul

10/23/2011 9:31 PM

Batting Your Eyelashes at Prescription Drug Cause Marketing

I’m a little chary about making sweeping pronouncements, but I believe I've just seen the first cause marketing promotion in the U.S. involving a prescription drug. The drug is from Allergan and it’s called Latisse , “the first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough eyelashes.” The medical name for this condition is hypotrichosis. Latisse is lifestyle drug the way Viagra or Propecia are. That is, no one’s going to die (except, perhaps, of embarrassment) if their erectile dysfunction or male pattern baldness or thin eyelashes go untreated. Which means the positioning for a product like Latisse is a little tricky. Allergan could have gone with the sexy route as with Viagra or Cialis and showed lovely women batting their new longer, thicker, darker eyelashes. But I’ll bet that approach didn’t test well with women. (I’m reminded of a joke about the Cialis ads from a comedian whose name I can’t recall. He said, “Hey if my erection lasts longer than ...

Cause Marketing: The All Packaging Edition

One way to activate a cause marketing campaign when the sponsor sells a physical product is on the packaging. I started my career in cause marketing on the charity side and I can tell you that back in the day we were thrilled to get a logo on pack of a consumer packaged good (CPG) or even just a mention. Since then, there’s been a welcome evolution of what sponsors are willing and able to do with their packaging in order to activate their cause sponsorships. That said, even today some sponsors don’t seem to have gotten the memo that when it comes to explaining your cause campaign, more really is more, even on something as small as a can or bottle. The savviest sponsors realize that their only guaranteed means of reaching actual customers with a cause marketing message is by putting it on packaging. And the reach and frequency of the media on packaging for certain high-volume CPG items is almost certainly greater than radio, print or outdoor advertising, and, in many cases, TV. More to ...

Chili’s and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

I was in Chili’s today and I ordered their “Triple-Dipper,” a three appetizer combo. While I waited for the food, I noticed another kind of combo. Chili’s is doing a full-featured cause-related marketing campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There was a four-sided laminated table tent outlining the campaign on the table. When the waitress brought the drinks she slapped down Chili’s trademark square paper beverage coasters and on them was a call to action for an element of the campaign called ‘Create-A-Pepper,’ a kind of paper icon campaign. The wait staff was all attired in black shirts co-branded with Chili’s and St. Jude. The Create-A-Pepper paper icon could be found in a stack behind the hostess area. The Peppers are outlines of Chili’s iconic logo meant to be colored. I paid $1 for mine, but they would have taken $5, $10, or more. The crayons, too, were co-branded with the ‘Create-A-Pepper’ and St. Jude’s logos. There’s also creatapepper.com, a microsite, but again wi...

Cause Marketing

Search This Blog