Do you
remember when you were a kid there was always one kid, who was a spiteful git and
by his very nature greedy, always took and gave nothing back. Their response if
someone pulled them up, with vented spleen they would reply; ‘I don’t care. We all disliked those kids
and over time they would lose friends, and they became the outcasts in the
playground.
These kids
never had any empathy towards others. As human beings we warm to people who
show empathy and these principles are the same for all brands, more so now were
a brands actions are for all to see via online. So why do so many brands totally ignore this human trait?
But they’re
companies that genuinely do care beyond selling products take the company Seeds
Of Change: http://www.seedsofchange.com here’s a company that 3:1% of net
sales go towards promoting the use of sustainable agricultural practices. In
2010 the company used this to support three apprentices for a UK charity; Garden
Organic.
They also
set up a school programs around ‘Sowing millions, growing millions’ where they
helped teach children where food comes from, the best foods to eat, they also
went one step further by helping kids to sow and grow organic school gardens.
Many of these gardens are in urban areas which have a very poor social
demographic, where most kids would be lucky to get one meal a day. Now there’s
a company that stands for something, they want to help others.
According to
research from Havas Media, which tapped into 14 countries and looked into 300
brands, from a sample of 50,000 people, improving people’s collective wellbeing
is imperative for brands. From the research 57% feel that they can make a
company behave more responsibly, they feel as a collective they have a say on how
a company should conduct itself.
And there’s
a connection with the growth of so many social conscious organisations sites like
Brand Karma and Kiva.
Brand Karma
is giving the power to the people, they now have a collective voice on how
companies should act and if they don’t act in a responsible manner they tell
others and they all then boycott the brand.
The site http://brandkarma.com/ looks at brands in how good their
products, are, how well they treat people and how well they look after the
planet, good or bad it’s all there for people to see. There’s no hiding place.
Kiva http://www.kiva.org/ is another organisation that
has grown out of caring, but takes a slightly different approach,
quite simply they leverage the web and worldwide network of microfinance
institutions to help other small businesses, especially women. Since Kiva was founded in
2005, they have 771,590 Kiva lenders with a
staggering $317 million in loans given out with an equally impressive 98.94%
repayment rate. Dermalogica the
skin care brand in the US is heavily active in Kiva http://www.dermalogica.com/au/fite/index.html
and all new employees become part of the Kiva program. Question why wasn’t this
started by a bank?
Interesting
and much more worrying for many brands is the view that 70% of people surveyed would
not care two hoots if brands disappeared completely, according to
Havas Media
brands are becoming increasingly irrelevant to people; ‘We
need a new way to measure and build brand value’
So what can
brands do? Quite simply, brands who haven’t in place a ‘caring policy’ should
get one and get one quickly, believe in something, something that is genuinely
going to help people, this needs planning and put into action from key staff. This
has to come from the top down where everyone in the company believes and knows
that the company they work for is doing something for the better.
This
doesn’t mean getting people to ‘like’ your brand or a cheap giveaway, this has
to be something much more tangible and it needs to be an ongoing outlook it
goes beyond marketing, it’s about a belief. It’s about a shared value, for instance take
Pedigree Dog Food's shared value in the belief that every dog deserves a loving
home, they don’t just flog dog food, yes that’s the long term goal by
association but they know to get people to respond in a positive manner towards
them first a brand needs to clearly communicate a brands philosophy or higher
purpose.
Shared
values are the new currency and brands with a social conscious are the ones
that will be of value to people’s lives, the others will slowly disappear from
people’s life’s as people couldn’t care less what they have to offer or
eventually have to say.
You can
follow me @kevinferry
