Corporate Societal Marketing: A Promising Form of Corporate Social Responsibility

Paul N. BloomKenan-Flagler Business SchoolUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Basic Argument

Among the many social responsibility initiatives a company can pursue, corporate societal marketing programs deserve close attention, as they can differentiate your brand in the eyes of (skeptical) consumers and enhance your bottom line, while also improving social welfare.

Agenda

Review trends in “corporate societal marketing”

Discuss why it can work Cover the implications for marketers Highlight the biggest implementation

challenges

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental

(green) programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Statement of Ethics

Corporate Societal Marketing Marketing initiatives that seek to differentiate a

brand/company through social involvement Cause-related marketing Corporate social marketing Strategic philanthropy and sponsorship Community relations projects Sustainable development and environmental (green)

programs Economic development programs Quality/safety improvement programs Self-regulation initiatives (e.g., ethics codes) Consciousness raising

Outlook for CSM

Promises to become more prevalentHard to differentiate brands through better

product features, better service, cleanliness, or more clever and visible advertising.

Therefore need to turn to: price (i.e., Wal-Mart) or pulling on heart strings to create affinity and limit

skepticism CSM may do this better than CRM (and loyalty

programs) or sports sponsorships Examples: Newman’s Own, Whole Foods,

Starbuck’s

What CSM Can Do

Can improve social welfareThrough the program itselfThrough helping nonprofits be more effective

Can improve corporate social reputation Can improve brand image and equity Can improve employee loyalty and service Can improve brand sales and profits

Corporate

Social

Initiatives

Societal

Welfare

Corporate

Marketing

Initiatives

Nonprofit.

Social

Initiatives

Corporate

Social

Reputation

Brand

Image and

Equity

Brand

Sales

Employee

Loyalty and

Service

Corporate

Profits

How CSM Does What It Does

All marketing initiatives are designed to create more favorable beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors toward brands

Compared to other actions, adding social content to an initiative may create stronger changes in beliefs, etc. by getting consumers to weight “style of marketing” more positively and strongly in evaluating a brand than other functional and image attributes

It may do this whether the cause-brand fit is strong or weak

Exposure to Marketing Initiative

Judgments/Feelings: Beliefs/Weights Given to Initiative & Other Attributes

Brand Attitude

Brand Purchase Intention

Brand Purchase Behavior

Degree of Fit of Initiative with Brand

Amount of Social Content of Initiative

More Specifically… Consumers have “persuasion knowledge”

They are always trying to figure out what marketers are up to

High levels of skepticism Reward what they like (Attitude toward Ad a strong predictor

of Attitude toward the Brand)

Hence, “style of marketing” becomes an important attribute in evaluating a brand

When it’s social it may get weighted more heavily and positively than when it’s more conventional.

Also, halo effects on other functional and image attributes When it’s a good fit, it may be better or worse, depending on

consumer feelings about sincerity

Pilot Study Demonstrating Effect

Asked consumers to rank eight different “profiles” of a beer brand, where they were varied systematically based on container type, price, calories, protein, and type of sponsorship (2 levels of each).

Can infer how much they weight these attributes based on the rankings

Some of the participants ranked a brand that had a social sponsorship as an option and others had a sports sponsorship as an option

12 ounce Bottle $5 per 6 pack

150 calories per servingFortified with 1.5 grams of Protein per serving

Sponsor of the Budweiser Designated Driver ProgramRANK IS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (no ties

please)

Conjoint ResultsBudweiser part-worths

-0.15

-0.1

-0.05

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

HF-S LF-S HF-C LF-C

Type of Sponsorship

Mea

n

“Designated Driver” and “Help Kids Read” > NASCAR and ABC Family Movie

A high fit social cause will lift the ranking of a profileequivalently to a 50 cent price cut per 6 pack.

Implications for Managers

Look for social causes as a way to differentiate yourself

Avoid really low fit social causes, but lower fit may work better if it is distinctive and credible

In addition to differentiability, pay attention to how substantial the market is that cares about the cause May require a more subtle approach if not substantial Examples in the Green Marketing context

Green Marketing Strategy Matrix

Low Differentiability on Greenness

High Differentiability on Greenness

Low Substantiality of Green Market Segments

LEAN GREEN SHADED GREEN

High Substantiality of Green Market Segments

DEFENSIVE GREEN

EXTREME GREEN

Implementation Challenges

Making your efforts be perceived as credible and distinctive Avoid being seen as a “tool” of associations and big companies

(although working with their social programs is fine) Strike out on your own with alliances with community groups

Need a portfolio of causes Since some causes may be risky (e.g., responsible drinking,

tobacco control), look for less risky other causes (e.g., education, the elderly, auto safety)

Sustaining the effort and continuing to inform consumers about what you are doing Needs attention similar to what is given to all aspects of

Integrated Marketing Communications Need internal marketing to get all employees cooperating