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Instead of just selling us more useless things, these advertisers and marketers are helping to package and make popular the idea of doing good and responsible business.
This past fall, a group of marketers, led by the 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation, created the first annual day of giving: Giving Tuesday.
No single person owned the day and more than 2,500 corporations,
non-profits, small businesses and consultancies participated to
celebrate helping others. What launched as a small grassroots effort
soon took on a life of its own and is now poised to grow far beyond U.S.
borders.
Every day, we are seeing more and more innovative organizations and
companies forming to help give back and marketers are using their skills
to drive social change, change behaviors and raise awareness.
Enlightened companies are no longer reticent to frame their corporate
responsibility as part of their core mission, delivered to customers via
products and marketing channels. Additionally, they are not shy to say
it is beneficial for their business. A recent study by the Marketing
Science Institute revealed that investing in socially responsible causes
not only creates goodwill towards a company but also bolsters consumer perceptions of the performance of company products. In other words, doing good can actually translate into doing well.
It’s easy for me to say that giving and social good have gone mainstream. In my life, it has. I work at Fenton,
a communications agency that has been dedicated to social good since
its inception in 1982. Outside of work, I sit on several nonprofit
boards and advise multiple others. My romantic partner Fabien, the first
grandson of Jacques Cousteau,has dedicated his life to educating others about the importance of our water world and environment.
Both my parents were stewards of good, as my father was a professor for
more than 35 years and my mother toiled for public television.
But it’s not just me. Giving is truly becoming the new “getting.” At what other time have we seen the New York Times Magazine dedicate six pages to a professor who prides himself on sharing his time to help others?
The trend includes both global names such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nike
and Toyota as well as smaller, cutting-edge stalwarts like Warby Parker,
Panera Bread and Runa Tea. Panera Bread, for example, recently opened
several Panera Cares Cafes at which customers pay according to their
financial means. Profits from the ventures will be used to fund
job-training programs to help elevate the disadvantaged in the area.
These companies are finding new and innovative ways to connect with
their core customers and prospects—and using social good as the means of
connection. In an era when listening and interacting trumps old school
broadcast messaging, social tools allow companies to be authentic and
transparent, and to form a 360-degree relationship with their customers.
Further, businesses are committing to longer social good programs. Given
the need to partner with customers for success, a longer trajectory
gives a campaign or program more time to grow and prosper. Since 2006,
Bono and Bobby Shriver have been engaging private sector companies to
create a licensed product with the (RED) Product logo with the purpose
of raising awareness and funds to fight AIDS in Africa. More recently,
when Warner Bros. wanted to fund famine victims in the Horn of Africa,
its “We Can Be Heroes” program was launched as a two-year project rather than a limited one-off promotion.
One thing is clear: the social good and marketing worlds are
intersecting in a powerful way. Brands, nonprofits, and social
businesses have an incredible opportunity to tap into the public’s
increasingly visible affinity for social good and transparency. In the
pages that follow, you’ll meet some of the spectacular marketers and
communicators who are doing just that.
Every Monday and Wednesday over the next five weeks, read about a new
honoree who is using his or her creative smarts to effect positive
change. We’ve gathered in-depth profiles that get to the heart of who
these visionaries are and how they are using their time and talents for
good.
STEPHEN FRIEDMAN
President of MTV
As the president of MTV, Stephen Friedman is the barometer of what’s hip
with the young demographic. He transformed the network into the
cultural home of the Millennials with over 100 million Facebook fans and
9 million Twitter followers. As founder of MTV’s first pro social
department, Friedman remains committed to merging business and social
responsibility, a passion he shares with his audience.
ALEX BOGUSKY
Former head of Crispin Porter + Bogusky
After being crowned the “Creative Director of the Decade” by Adweek in
2010, Alex Bogusky surprised the advertising industry by leaving Crispin
Porter + Bogusky, the agency he joined in 1989 and helped grow to more
than 1,000 employees around the world. Always drawn to a cause, he has since turned his attention towards the social good sectorthrough
The FearLess Revolution (a nonprofit consultancy), COMMON (a
collaborative network for accelerating social ventures) and MadeMovement
(a new agency dedicated to the resurgence in American manufacturing).
DAVID DROGA
Founder and creative chairman, Droga5
David Droga, founder and creative chairman of Droga5, has proven
repeatedly that the power of imagination is the ultimate power. After
earning his stripes at top advertising agencies around the globe, Droga
ventured out on his own with Droga5. Since opening in New York in 2005,
this independent agency has topped just about every creative awards
list. When Droga5 focused on solving social issues for organizations
like UNICEF and the New York City Department of Education, the impact
was worthy of a Titanium Award at Cannes.
CATHY RIGG MONETTI
Founder and partner of Riggs Partners
Even with a successful 30-year career as a writer, creative director and brand strategist, Cathy Rigg Monetti considers herself a work in progress. At 26, she started her own agency and at 36 cofounded a network that has donated over $15 million in marketing and creative services to nonprofits. She’s a voracious student of all things next and since 2009 has focused her efforts on socially conscious companies and nonprofit organizations.
Even with a successful 30-year career as a writer, creative director and brand strategist, Cathy Rigg Monetti considers herself a work in progress. At 26, she started her own agency and at 36 cofounded a network that has donated over $15 million in marketing and creative services to nonprofits. She’s a voracious student of all things next and since 2009 has focused her efforts on socially conscious companies and nonprofit organizations.
LANE WOOD
Founder of Woodwork
After schlepping Apple computers, becoming an ordained minister, and
pinning microphones on celebrities, Lane Wood finally found his true
calling. From establishing charity: water (an NGO fighting to end the
global water crisis) to overseeing social innovation at Warby Parker
(the successful buy-a-pair, give-a-pair enterprise), Wood works with
people who want to change the world. A pioneer in societal innovation,
Wood recently started Woodwork, a "legacy lab" which helps build epic
brands through meaningful and impactful stories.
DAVID JONES
Honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, David Jones excels at using creativity to change people’s behavior and address some of the bigger issues facing the world.
The youngest global CEO in the history of advertising, Jones was the
driving force behind Kofi Annan’s TckTckTck Campaign for Climate
Justice. Ever the industry visionary, Jones is giving voice to the next
generation through One Young World, a nonprofit he co-founded to provide
young people with a global platform through which to effect positive
change.
DAN WIEDEN
Co-founder and chairman ofWieden+Kennedy
Dan Wieden doesn’t just think about helping others, he just does it. As
co-founder and chairman of Wieden+Kennedy, an independent agency that
started with Nike, $500, and a lot of determination, Wieden grew the
organization from 5 to nearly 1,200 employees by putting work and the
best idea first. Wieden’s greatest talent may be empowering his fellow
dreamers to find their voice, allowing employees and clients alike to
flourish and create campaigns with global impact.
DAVID SABLE
Global CEO of Y&R
“Do it big, or stay in bed,” believes David Sable, Global CEO of Y&R
since February 2011 after 35 years in the advertising business. Sable
strikes a balance between creativity and innovation, advancing clients’
stories through the right channels to create new consumer experiences
and have greater impact. He also serves on numerous educational and
other charitable boards and committees including UNICEF’s New York Board
and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
JENIFER WILLIG
Co-founder Motive and Whole World Water
Raising over $185 million and attracting a social following of over 2.5
million advocates for (RED), the organization founded by Bono and Bobby
Shriver to fight AIDS in Africa, just wasn’t enough for Jenifer Willig,
who started her career in advertising. She has since co-founded Motive, a
social innovation consultancy driving social and economic progress,
and Whole World Water, a social enterprise that united the hospitality and tourism industries to raise money for clean and safe water initiatives.
SUSAN SMITH ELLIS
Former CEO of Product (RED)
Susan Smith Ellis is the former CEO of Product (RED), a global marketing
company founded by Bono whose partnerships help combat the AIDS
pandemic in Africa. Known as a risk-taker, brand strategist and builder
of strategic partnerships, she left a top position at Omnicom to scale
up the startup (RED) from $18 to $180 million. She continues to put her
exceptional talents to work for various projects and organizations as a
consultant and board member.
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