2. The best and the brightest seven thought leaders
in the world of corporate social responsibility were
asked a simple question:
“If you had the chance to impart one lesson, and one
lesson only, to a company interested in improving
their efforts and reputation for CSR, what would
that one lesson be?”
Here’s what they had to say....
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 2
3. Lesson: Create Shared Value Through Storytelling
Under the old, industrial model of capitalism companies didn’t pay too much attention
to their social reputation. Employees and consumers could tell themselves any stories
they wanted while corporations went about extracting labor and natural resources from
disenfranchised communities. That’s as far as the story went.
Today, communities in which corporations operate have become a whole lot louder.
Through labor movements, collectivizing, and more recently through social media,
stakeholders have let corporations hear loud and clear that if they want dedicated
employees, loyal customers, and willing investors, they need to build them by creating
a sense of shared values.
Creating shared value isn’t just a strategy, but a necessity for any business looking to
thrive in a market driven by new media. Companies create shared value by giving back
to the communities in which they operate and by showing, on a personal level, how they
JESSE MAYHEW add a sense of meaning to people’s lives.
So how does a company establish a sense of shared value in their community of
Principal and Co-Founder of Brave One stakeholders? It takes more than even the most data-driven, highly researched,
Agency, Jesse has helped everyone beautifully illustrated report can offer. What it takes is telling an emotionally engaging
from Fortune 500 Companies to story. A narrative will always trump mere facts, figures, third party certifications and
multinational non-profits promote their awards, regardless of their quantity or how praiseworthy they may be. It is an established
social and environmental initiatives to fact that a story creates greater, more lasting affinity and comprehension in the human
mind than statistics alone.
the world. He is co-author of Corporate
Storytelling and Your CSR Strategy, a As a reaction to the growing demand for sound CSR policies from stakeholders, at
report advising organizations on best present the basic tenants of advertising and marketing are undergoing a serious
practices for disseminating their CSR reimagining and reformation. Image and lifestyle-based advertising is making way for
initiatives. He blogs regularly on issues a new generation of communication techniques that connect to people on a more
related to cause marketing and CSR on profound, deeper, moral level. As conveying shared values becomes a necessity for
Barker, the Brave One blog. communications professionals, storytelling will prove to be the most reliable method of
delivery.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 3
4. Lesson: Stop Doing Things That Don’t Work
Cause Marketing has become big business. Social Entrepreneurship is a major buzz word
right now. But as the industry of doing good has grown, our ability to solve some of our
society’s most complex problems has declined. Lost in the sea of pink ribbons and the crush
of buy-one-save-everything campaigns is the intelligence and discipline needed to find real
solutions. The real solution is simple: Stop doing things that don’t work.
For brands, that means no more opportunity-driven sponsorships or promotional-only
campaigns. For non-profits and charities, that means no more do-nothing partnerships and
transaction-only requests of your supporters. For individuals, looking to take action or invest
in something innovative, that means setting ambitious goals for changing the world - and
holding yourself, and everyone accountable, until that goal is achieved.
Today, we live in a globalized, smaller, more tightly connected and more deeply intertwined
world than ever before. Each one of us has the ability to transform the way the world thinks
BRIAN REICH about critically important issues. Each of us brings a different set of insights, experiences,
and perspectives that challenge the established structures and call into question the
agreed-upon protocols for how work gets done. The reason big issues aren’t being properly
addressed is because our attention has been unnecessarily divided. There are too many
Author. Sports fan. Media junkie. SVP choices for how to apply our expertise, commit our resources, direct our energy.
and Global Editor at Edelman Digital.
Brian spends most of his time thinking We are in a situation where we can force ourselves to change, be innovative, and experiment
about the impact technology is having with different ways of addressing serious issues. But it takes real choices and sacrifice.
on our society. 2011 saw the publication For every exciting new start-up that gets funded there are dozens of under-performing
of Brian’s book Shift and Reset: organizations that should be incentivized to close their doors — the investment in moving the
Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues intelligence and experience that exists within those groups somewhere else would deliver
in a Connected Society. a significant return. Instead of introducing new products and services, organizations can
redouble their focus on improving their existing offerings to help deepen their commitment
to the audience they already have. These areas of focus aren’t as sexy as a new brand or
flashy marketing effort, but they help to establish a solid foundation for long-term success
and take full advantage of the tools available today and the economic situation we currently
face.
If we truly want to solve the problems that exist in our society we need a whole new approach,
a dramatically different structure for all the social, economic, political, organizational,
communications, and personal efforts we undertake. We need to shift our thinking, reset
our operations, and establish a way of addressing serious issues that is designed for the
current realities, not for the past. That starts with stopping what isn’t working.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 4
5. Lesson: Don’t Go It Alone: Leverage the Power of Partnerships
Partnerships—mutually beneficial relationships focused on joint value creation—can
be a powerful tool to build corporate reputation. They’re something on which many
companies don’t focus nearly enough effort.
Companies are moving beyond making basic, operational CSR interventions (e.g.
energy efficiency, waste management), to pursue deeper, more impactful commitments.
Yet, even the most sophisticated companies are not equipped to tackle pressing social
and environmental issues, like homelessness or climate change, on their own.
This is where partnerships become critically important. Non-profits bring to the issue
expertise, and they can help companies put their resources to work for the issue in
the most efficient and impactful way. Corporations also benefit from the positive brand
halo of being attached to non-profits with high brand trust and a proven track record.
Finally, non-profits often have passionate supporters that they can mobilize to bolster
CRAIG BIDA corporate efforts.
Consumers increasingly expect—and reward—this type of corporate/non-profit
collaboration. According to research by Cone Communications, almost 60% of
Craig Bida brings more than 20 years consumers are likely to buy products associated with a partnership. At the same
of experience spanning the private, time, more than half of consumers feel better about a non-profit that is aligned with a
public and non-profit sectors – company.
successfully partnering with companies,
government agencies and non- So what should companies do? Leverage the fundamentals of successful partnership
profits to drive business growth, while development:
addressing pressing societal needs.
He currently serves as Executive Vice 1. Awareness: Understand your potential partner’s mission and focus
President of the Cause Branding and 2. Proactivity: Anticipate how each partner can solve the other party’s needs and
Non-profit Marketing practices at Cone objectives
3. Alignment: Invest time agreeing on outcomes, and approach the relationship with
Communications.
a mindset of mutual benefit
4. Negotiation: Partners should negotiate up-front based on the current (and future)
value they bring—and reassess later to ensure that value created is being fairly
shared
5. Persistence: Sometimes, even the best relationships come to an end, but many
partners give up too fast; anticipate and prepare for inevitable bumps in the road
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 5
6. Lesson: Cliches Can’t Save the World
I have a recurring fear. It is of a group of well-meaning environmentalists sitting around
watching the news as climate change spins out of control, and congratulating themselves
because they were not responsible for the destruction. It’s not enough to be on the right
side of history. We have to win too. Unfortunately too many environmentalists - and that
includes activists, conservationists and green business people - are content to preach
to the converted. Walk the halls of any “green” tradeshow or consumer event - or open
up the pages of an environmental magazine - and you’ll see people communicating to
blend in, not stand out.
Good-for-the-world businesses need to express sustainability as the vibrant, exciting,
game-changing proposition it is if we are going to engage a critical mass of people
and take sustainability firmly into the mainstream. We should put our heart and souls
into what we do. And that means we need to differentiate ourselves. And you can’t do
that by using the same typeface as everyone else. (Papyrus is only a good font choice if
SAMI GROVER you want to look like every other massage therapist, conservation non-profit, or crystal
healer in the country!) You can’t do it by basing your logo on a leaf or by putting a hand
cupping a seedling on the cover of your annual report. And you can’t do it by using
a tagline that says “Saving the Earth, one _____ at a time.” We have to step up our
Sami Grover is an environmental activist communications, or we have to admit defeat and sit back and watch the world crumble.
and co-creative director at The Change
Creation, a creative team offering brand Luckily better communication is not rocket science. And it’s fun too. It means finding
strategy and design for good-for-the- what makes you different. It means standing out from the crowd. And it means using
world businesses and non-profits. He is sustainability as a lever, not a pedestal. In a world where citizens are inundated with
also a regular contributor to TreeHugger shallow, vacuous messaging and a pressure to buy more and more stuff, it can be hard
and TLC’s Parentables. He once vowed to compete by simply selling virtue or the good that you do. Conversely, however, if
never to fly again, then he fell in love you can sell your brand as offering a better consumer experience, and real benefits to
with someone on the other side of the your core audience, then showing that you believe in more than just money can be a
Atlantic. He believes that adaptability is powerful way to build trust and deepen engagement. If we are going to win we must
learn to make our case relevant to a mainstream audience. We must step up our own
a prerequisite for sustainability.
game. Niche marketing is fine if you are selling a niche product. But sustainability must
reach everyone if it will ever be sustainable.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 6
7. Lesson: Tell the Truth
People who think they’re perfect aggravate me. Even Jesus gave them a piece of His
mind. He said “why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in
your own?” The truth is vanity is annoying and we all know it. Yet, when it comes to
marketing, vanity is the status quo. Or should I say – was the status quo.
Consumers today are smarter than ever before, but with Google’s “brain” just a click,
a tap, or a barcode scan away, consumers are empowered by a virtual electronic lie
detector that can dig much deeper than what an ad says or packaging displays. Google’s
new book “Zero Moment of Truth” states that 84% of consumers now check out a
product’s back-story and reviews when making a purchasing decision. Consumers are
empowered and much more prone to see through unsubstantiated claims than ever
before. This is as true in product claims as it is in sustainability.
Still, many companies are applying traditional vanity claims to sustainability instead of
DERRICK MAINS doing what we all like and respect - telling the truth. The truth stands out from a sea
of marketing gibberish better than a “green claim”. The truth is that every product we
create has a negative impact on the planet, regardless of what the marketing pitch tells
us. Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than other
A 2010 Green Pioneer award winner and cars. That’s the truth. Pretty much everything we do as consumers and businesses has a
expert on corporate sustainability and negative effect on someone or something. So, how in the world can you tell a fool-proof
entrepreneurship. Derrick’s background story in the age of the Internet and increased scrutiny?
includes executive roles with Earth911,
Amber Alert, Buildproof, GreenNurture Some companies are doing it by embracing the truth and using it as a competitive
and current as EVP of youchange advantage. Patagonia for instance has gone as far as creating a section of their site (The
an electronic waste collection and Footprint Chronicles) to talk about all the things they are doing wrong. That’s right; they
recycling company. Derrick has worked clearly explain all the problems with their business and products! At first glance you
on sustainability and recycling initiatives might think they’re crazy for sharing this information but people are flocking to their
with some of the largest brands in the products (and other brands using similar strategies) not because of all the things they
are doing well; but because they have clearly identified all the things they aren’t. So,
worlds including Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil
when contemplating talking about your sustainability story, telling the truth (the good,
and Valvoline. He also serves on the the bad, and the ugly) can be refreshing, different and bold. A welcome by-product may
board of The Green Chamber, B100% even be that it marginalizes your competition’s efforts as vain . . . and everyone hates
and is an Entrepreneur in Residence for vanity.
Arizona State University.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 7
8. Lesson: Communication is Key
On a global scale, the formats from which people receive their news, information, and
opinions are changing. While traditional media still looms large in its reach (21% of the
world gets their news from these sources), social media, the web, and mobile are within
grasp of that communications crown (combining to form 20%). And with little doubt,
over the next few years social media will become the dominant form of how people get
their news, entertainment, and opinions. Recent studies have found that close to 95% of
Americans aged 42 and under, close to 2/3 of the worlds population, are using at least
1 platform of social media, and those numbers are only projected to go up.
It’s not that social media is beating out traditional media, but instead, it is absorbing
it. Just as we saw the transformation of newspapers from print into digital formats,
radio losing ground to online systems, so too is television undergoing absorption into
a digital and social evolution. Therefore, as companies begin, continue, or evolve their
respective CSR or sustainability initiatives, the embracing of cutting edge social media
HENRY FRECHETTE formats will impact the reach of internal and external communications.
The impact of this communication cannot be underestimated. The growing demographic
of the conscientious consumer will support or even advocate for a company insofar
Henry Frechette is 3BL Media’s as they feel they are informed of what that company is doing. This is not to say that
Community Architect and directs the companies should go green just to make money, but this is to say that when presented
company’s social communications with two identical products or services, and the consumer knows that one harms the
strategies. Before joining 3BL Media, environment and one doesn’t, he or she is increasingly supporting the producers of the
Henry received his MA in the Humanities latter. In other words, while it would be great for companies to do good just to do good,
from the University of Chicago and consumer behavior historically hasn’t rewarded altruism. But it is beginning to reward
worked for several large non-profits those companies that are doing the walking and the talking, thus allowing for the truly
and as well as a sustainability consulting sustainable organizations to survive.
company. He is a firm believer that the
Internet can be a powerful tool for good
as well as a complete waste of time. He
has dedicated his career to helping
anyone that will listen to understand the
difference.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 8
9. Lesson: Leverage the Holy Trinity of Corporate Communications
The last few years have seen the simultaneous coming of age of 3 separate trends. 2011
finally saw them coming into alignment. These three trends are 1.) Corporate Social
Responsibility’s rise as a full-fledged marketing trend. 2.) Social media’s rise as a delivery
platform for corporate communications. 3.) Online video as the premiere medium for
corporate communications. The result: the most significant opportunity in corporate
communications to happen in decades.
It’s really only been in the past few years that technology has made watching a video
online popular and enjoyable. Evidence shows that video posts are three times more
likely to be viewed than mere text. As the saying goes, if content is king, then video is
the king of content.
Despite the combined power of online video distributed and promoted via social
media, companies can’t simply throw anything at their followers. Regular, commercial
GARY BREECE advertising never seems to fit in an online world – particularly if it is being promoted via
social media. Online promotional videos need to come off as less jarring, less sales-y
and more subtle if they are going to be tolerated. What fits that bill perfectly is CSR
communications.
Gary Breece is an Executive Producer
at Public Address System, a multimedia The reason why CSR communications succeed online more than regular commercials
production company specializing in is simply a matter of tone. They feel less like pop-up advertisements, and more like
CSR, cause marketing and public affairs public service messages. They are not only more tolerated by viewers, but are ‘liked’ on
communications. Through executing Facebook, tweeted, dugg, enjoyed, promoted, and passed along through various social
hundreds of TV, social media and web- media channels.
based projects for Fortune 500 Clients
such as McDonald’s, Energizer, and With video as the communications tool, social media as the communications platform,
Dow, Gary has developed an expertise and CSR as the content, corporations finally have at their disposal an unprecedented,
in translating values and social concerns unbeatable triple combination with which to convey their CSR efforts. At long last
companies can reach out directly to stakeholders with impactful, easily shareable stories
into inventive content that entertains
of the good they are doing.
and informs.
These three major trends have at long last come of age. The ability to communicate
your message directly to people online via video is what marketing professionals have
been anticipating for ten years. It’s happening right now. It’s time to get on board.
Odds are that your competitors already have.
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 9
10. Bonus Lesson: Make Your Whole Team The Green Team
If you fail to engage employees at all levels within your organization on matters of
sustainability and corporate social responsibility, then you aren’t yet taking your corporate
citizenship seriously. To have a truly vibrant, healthy, and lasting CSR culture requires the
empowerment and dedication of everyone within your company. Relying on a niche
“green team” to somehow reform the entire culture and habits of an organization is
energy misspent. If everyone in the corporate culture isn’t participating in your social
and environmental policies, then quite simply it isn’t your corporate culture.
Unilever recently announced a laudable (and hopefully soon-copied) policy in which
every last employee was named “head of sustainability.” It is this willingness to be bold
that results in true, company-wide change. Today nobody at Unilever is “off the hook”
in terms of CSR, and no employee is leaving their CSR efforts to the “sustainability
specialists.”
LUKAS SNELLING It’s only after the entirety of an organization has been engaged, made aware, and made
responsible that obstacles to a socially and environmentally responsible corporate
culture can be met and overcome.
Our eighth and final bonus lesson comes
Engaging the entire corporate culture grants more results than just waste reduction or
from Lukas Snelling, Co-Founder and
an increased rate of volunteerism. A recent study showed that 85% of employees are
Principal at Brave One Agency. Lukas has more likely to initiate spontaneous word-of-mouth promotion when they are involved
overseen national media campaigns for with the CSR initiatives of their company, and 65% of them are more likely to do so
Fortune 500 Companies, non-profits, as when they are informed about such corporate initiatives1. This means that engaging the
well as advised corporate executives on entirety of your employee base doesn’t just benefit your internal, corporate culture -- it
their PR and communications strategies, benefits your global reputation.
particularly those related to sustainable
and environmental initiatives. While
serving as Director of Digital Media at CBS,
Lukas founded the Green Radio Initiative,
a program that creates actionable
messages for audiences to embrace more
sustainable lifestyles across the full CBS
Portfolio of assets.
1. Dawkins, J. & Lewis, S. 2003. “Corporate Responsibility:
The communication challenge.” Journal of Communication Management, 9 (2): 108-119 BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 10
11. CONSULTING
Once we examine the current CSR efforts of our clients, we advise on new sustainability strategies,
create policies to further improve corporate citizenship, and deploy new communications
methods that help to share your values with an audience of consumers, employees, and investors.
MARKETING
Whether designing a campaign for a profit or non-profit organization, we oversee the entirety of
our custom, multi-channel campaigns from kickoff to completion. Our marketing campaigns put
a premium on publishing valuable content and inbound strategies to establish your organization
as a CSR frontrunner in your industry.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
At Brave One we have the experience and expertise necessary to oversee all of your PR efforts in
BRAVE ONE AGENCY sustainability. We specialize in translating your complex CSR policies and initiatives into simple,
effective messaging tailored to your audience. We understand that however conscientious your
target consumer may be, they don’t understand ‘CSR’ – they have their eye out for ‘green’ and
Brave One is a communications agency other watchwords we help you to find.
helping companies face new global realities
by embracing new, emerging media
strategies to achieve their business goals. Content and Design Strategy Brand Strategy
We have the resources of a web studio, the Copywriting Brand Development
insight of a consultancy, and the boldness Graphic Design Brand Positioning/Gap Analysis
of a veteran PR firm. Our clients are those Inbound Marketing Brand Books and Style Guides
organizations that have bravely stepped up Email Marketing Brand Activation/Launch Campaigns
to the challenge of today’s most pressing Content Creation Corporate Identity
social and environmental issues. Print Advertising Demographic Research
Online Advertising Brand Story and Messaging
Digital Strategy Impact Strategy
Website Development CSR/Cause Marketing Campaigns
Mobile Development Partnership Planning
Search Engine Optimization Thought Leadership
E-Commerce Solutions Media Training
BE BRAVE. BE MORE. Search Engine Marketing
Social Media Strategy
Tracking & Analytics
Fundraising
Stakeholder Engagement
Social and Environmental Reporting
www.braveoneagency.com
info@braveoneagency.com
413-650-2770
BRAVE ONE / CSR SEVEN 11
