Corporate Social Initiatives

Srirang Jha
Apeejay School of Management
 Corporate Social Initiatives
• Major activities undertaken by a corporation
to support social causes and to fulfil
commitments to corporate social
responsibility
 Types of Corporate Social Initiatives

• Cause Promotion
• Cause-related marketing
• Corporate social marketing
• Corporate philanthropy
• Community volunteering
• Socially responsible business practices
 Corporate Support to CSR
• Cash contributions
• Grants
• Paid advertising
• Publicity
• Promotional sponsorship
• Technical expertise
• In-kind contributions
• Employee volunteers
• Access to distribution channels
 Cause Promotion
• Fund, in-kind contributions or other corporate
resources to increase awareness and concern
about a social cause
 Keep America Beautiful (2003) –Lysol, PepsiCo,
Firestone Tyre & Service Centres
• Support fund-raising, participation, volunteer
recruitment for a cause
 Aleve sponsoring Arthritis Foundation’s
fundraising walk
 Cause Promotion
• Company-driven campaigns
 Body Shop –ban on animals to test cosmetics
Cause Promotion
 Cause-related marketing

• Making a contribution donating a percentage

of revenues to a specific cause based on
product sales
 Comcast donates $4.95 of installation fee for
its high speed internet service to Ronald
McDonald House Charities
Cause-related marketing
 Corporate social marketing

• Support development/behaviour change

campaigns
 Water conservation tips by Home Depot
 Encouraging caretakers to put infants on their
back to sleep by Pampers
 Corporate Philanthropy
• Direct contribution to a charity or cause –cash
grants, donations, in-kind services
 Community Volunteering
• Support and encourage employees, retail
partners, franchisees to volunteer their time
to contribute towards issues relevant for local
communities in terms of paid-time-off
 Shell employees working with Ocean
Conservancy on beach clean-up
 Socially Responsible Business Practices
• Adopt and conduct discretionary business
practices and investment that supports social
causes to improve community well-being and
protect the environment
 Kraft deciding to eliminate all in-school
marketing
 Starbucks working with Conservation
International to support farmers to minimize
impact on local environments
 Socially Responsible Business Practices

 Washington Mutual promotes cause of education

in all its marketing campaigns/ product launches
 Focus on teacher recruitment bring top talent in
the classroom
o Townhall meeting –community discussion on
teacher recruitment, induction, retention
o WaMoola for Schools –$1 to schools for every
check card purchase
 Socially Responsible Business Practices

o Schools saving program –hands on lessons on

handling money responsibly
o Teacher Scholarship Fund--Cash grants for
schools for professional development of
teachers
o Employee volunteering –helping teachers in
classrooms (4 hours per month)
o High School Intern Program
 How to choose a social issue?
• How does this social issue support our
business goals?
• How big is this social issue?
• Isn’t the government or someone else
handling this?
• What will our stakeholders think of our
involvement in this issue?
 How to choose a social issue?
• Is this something our employees can get
excited about?
• Won’t this encourage others involved in this
cause to approach us for funds?
• Will this cause backfire on us and create a
scandal?
• Is this something our competitors are involved
in and own already?
Selecting an Initiative to Address the Issue

• How can we do this without distracting us

from our core business?
• How will this initiative give visibility to the
company?
• Do these promotions really work?
• Who pays attention to such promotions?
• What if we tie our funding commitment sales?
How will that look?
Selecting an Initiative to Address the Issue

• What if consumers find out that the amount

of sale that actually goes to the cause is very
small?
• Have we calculated the productivity cost for
giving our employees time off for
volunteering?
• Should we do it alone or with an NGO partner
Selecting an Initiative to Address the Issue

• Will having partners bog down the decision-

making process and therefore take more of our
time?
• How can we do this when money is needed
increased performance?
• What do we say to stakeholders who see this as
money that belongs to them?
• Why is our department being asked to fund this?
Selecting an Initiative to Address the Issue

• Will we be doing enough good for the cause to

justify the expenses?
• Isn’t this just brand advertising in disguise?
• What is our exit strategy?
• How do we keep from looking hypocritical?
 Phillip Morris launching a campaign ‘Talk to
your kids about not smoking’ (1999)
Best Practices