If a tree falls down in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a noise?
To those of us passionate about greening our world and providing for a sustainable earth, disheartening “natural” events tend to “hit home” even harder, letting us wonder how long will it take before people will realize that these are not just coincidences.
Take, for instance, the affects of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar where heavy rains continued to fall early this week, slowing the transportation of necessary items.
Not too far away, China is hit with a 7.9 magnitude earthquake!
As these countries seek to sort through this mess, aid generously given by corporations with socially responsible outlooks has been increasingly helpful.
The Gates Foundation donated $1 million to relief efforts and UPS foundation pledged $200,000 for the Chinese cause.
Corporations with socially responsible attitudes really can bring change to faltering conditions but we wonder if these attempts to shed light on dispair really, truly enhance a corporate brand image, or are merely donations of goodwill.
Too often CSR efforts remain in companies’ CSR reports without ever reaching the final consumers. If people (and companies) talked more about responsibility people will learn and act.
Marketing here can play a key role to help spread the “good” word using inspirational strategies that tap into fundamental human values. And when creative marketing marries innovation than we have amazing results like in the case of $100 million raised by corporations in Europe and Asia via SMS for the Tsunami relief.
Doing “good” is contagious, and consumers are hungry for companies that will allow them to take action and make the world a better place.
So what are we waiting for?
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Branding, Cause Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.