Day: February 28, 2023

Over the past decade, corporate social responsibility has been a larger focus for companies across many industries. We recognize its importance, and thus Vox Media partnered with Nielsen to understand some of the finer points around the following: How does CSR contribute to consumer expectations around brand building? How do marketers decide what social issues to support?  What are examples from publishers who specialize in creating platforms that focus on consumer equity and programming with purpose? Does CSR ultimately drive purchase? Our research presents a compelling argument for CSR in the current environment for the following reasons: Creates salience for your brand in saturated categories, especially in partnership with publishers and content marketing Purpose marketing can galvanize organic brand support and overall stronger word of mouth It appeals to next-gen customers, specifically Gen-Z Purpose will become more of a factor and as important as features and benefits marketing “BUILD” YOUR BRAND EQUITY WITH CSR A question that is often asked: Which CSR issue is the least polarizing to my audience?   When summarized into 4 areas, companies can try to build… … a more sustainable planet … a great company and culture for their own workers … a  more equitable society through access and representation … a place for inclusion through centering individual rights and shared purpose in the collective We asked consumers to tell us what issues were personally important. If that issue was important, we followed with whether it impacts the brands they choose to purchase. The two buckets that matter most for consumers are building a better planet and a company that respects workers. Two things a company controls. Given how high the numbers are in the red bars above, consumers likely use their brand choice to activate their own set of personal values in real-world issues. GETTING DOWN TO SPECIFICS BY ISSUES When focusing on more specific issues, what consumers ultimately ask for is for brands to think about things that protect them or the people they care about. More than 2 in 3 consumers consider issues like access to affordable health care, recycling/repurposing/thrifting, and racial equity when making a purchase. The plot represents the issues most important to consumers by how much they impact brand choices. We sectioned it off as “high focus” (see statements with a * mark) and “opportunity” areas to show which items had the greatest scale (number of people) and resonance for a brand (would impact my purchases). It’s clear that we should focus on opportunities around inclusion, building a sustainable planet, and being a fair/equitable employer area. PLEASE FOLLOW THROUGH… USUALLY, IT TAKES ACTUAL INVESTMENT FROM A COMPANY There’s a famous saying that “if you love what I love, it also means you love me by way of the transitive property.”  That is also a recurring truth when it comes to the societal issues that are most important to consumers. The watch out to CSR is that consumers expect brands to prove it in very tactical ways, and those tactics usually involve investment and taking a stand. Consumers want brands to sponsor/donate, create events and even change business practices.  They want brands to use their privileged positions to talk about social issues, and on occasion join competitors around causes.  At the day’s end, what consumers ultimately care about is bigger than one brand. Only when we see action does it change our perception of a brand. This usually comes by way of partnership with authoritative voices in the space like publishers who create and care about this content as part of their organic platforms. Q. Think about an issue/cause that is important to you. How does your opinion of a brand/company change when it takes these actions in support of the issue/cause? Over 3 in 5 consumers (63%) agree that brands/companies should take action in support of issues or causes, with women more likely than men to agree with this statement (64% vs. 60% for men).   Taking action is twice as important than not stating their positions on social causes and consumers don’t need issues to be related to their industries or products A NATURAL CATALYST – ADVERTISING & CONTENT Marketing and promoting your CSR is important because only ~10% are actually doing the work in “researching” a company’s views on a social issue. In many respects, no one will know about what a company cares about unless you actively talk about it as a part of your strategy. CSR takes media tactics and strategies that far outweigh your owned channel or that of a typical WOM. In fact, consumers tell just that. Q:  How do you typically learn or hear about a brand’s/company’s business practices, employee policies, and views on social issues/causes? One tactical way to plan is with authoritative publishing companies that have edit, advertising, and content solutions that ultimately drive the flywheel back to your owned and operated company site or social media page. At Vox Media, we are creating content that allows for natural alignment for brands.  Some examples include: Going beyond traditional calendar month moments and celebrating the immigration legacy and immense contributions of various peoples shaping the history of our nation with NOWTHIS: Honoring the heroic contributions and importance of the LGBTQIA+ community in sports with SB Nation’s inaugural list of the top 100 power players leading the way to more visibility and representation for the LGBTQAI+ community: Vox’s drought and water special helps to illustrate the profound, historic, and irreversible impact of the drought across the US. And, POPSUGAR’s dedicated vertical, In Our Own Right celebrates and centers Black women in the conversation as it relates to politics, wellness, entertainment and entrepreneurship. Best of all centering Black joy as an intentional act of resistance. When consumers ultimately learn about a company’s position around issues they care about, the majority (62% of them) end up taking some form of action – with, 47% saying they purchase from the company and 41% would tell other people. HOW CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY ORGANICALLY SUPER CHARGES WORD OF MOUTH When talking to