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Increasingly,

companies are

putting a publicface on their

corporate social

responsibility

(CSR) activity,

but is it driving

customer trial,

purchase and

loyalty and

ultimately brandequity? Too

frequently these

activities are

unconnected or,

worst of all, go in

opposite directions,

which for certain

types of companies

become

catastrophes. The

authors describe

three different

approaches for

incorporating their

CSR activities with

their marketing

activities

T

HE CURRENT CSR debate is clearevidence of missed opportunities toleverage CSR in brand-building activi-

ties. More money than ever is being investedin CSR and companies are making wide-reaching organisational changes to supportit. Most now have CSR departments report-ing to the chief executive, publishing CSRreports and developing CSR strategies andplans. However, despite this intense invest-ment activity, results are few and farbetween.

Instead of bolstering the brand and bot-tom line, CSR efforts have come under fire

both from investors, who cry misuse of shareholders’ money, and from consumersand interest groups who criticise companiesfor promising more than they deliver. Shell,the Coca-Cola Company, and British

 American Tobacco are just some of the latestorganisations to have experienced backlashfor their CSR efforts.

Companies are losing out because thereis often little or no integration betweenCSR and marketing departments and their

respective strategies. This misses brand-building opportunities and may also confuseas well as disenfranchise company stake-holders.

Unless CSR becomes central to the mar-keting director’s agenda, it will not have thedesired effect and can potentially create abacklash.

Problems at Shell

Shell’s recent crisis over its oil reserves is

not the company’s only problem. It has alsoreceived a lot of criticism for failing to live

up to its overall corporate brand promise inother ways. The Shell brand is built aroundthe notions of openness and accountability;in its advertising campaign, the company highlights its position that ‘Only by behav-ing responsibly can any company hope tooperate profitably.’

Hence the embarrassment, chagrin, andnegative response as the company is forcedto apologise for the improper behaviour of some of its senior executives. In the report‘Behind the Mask’ published by Christian

 Aid, the company was singled out for mere-ly paying lip-service to CSR. In the report,

  which coincided with this year’s WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Shell wasaccused of falsely claiming to be a ‘good’neighbour while leaving oil spills uncared forand having largely ineffective community development programmes. The press hassubsequently taken Shell to task and thecompany has had to explain itself to share-holders, customers and other constituents.Had Shell been focused on deeds rather than

  words, possibly the verdict would not have

been so harsh.Shell’s story is not unique. In our experi-ence, companies’ failure to integrate theirbrand and CSR strategies is often the reason

 why CSR initiatives are not as well receivedor effective as intended.

  To overcome this, marketers and theirCSR counterparts need to follow a few key principles that will enhance their success as

 well as that of the organisation as a whole.

■ The business strategy must be the founda-

tion upon which both the CSR and brandstrategy is built. Furthermore, any promisemade must be supported by business proof points. And finally, the alignment with thebrand should drive those CSR elements that

Three strategies for integratingCSR with brand marketingBy KRISTIANE HANSTED BLOMQVIST AND STEVEN POSNER

  Kristiane Hansted Blomqvist is a Senior Associate and Steven Posner an Associate Partner in the London office of Prophet, amanagement consultancy.

Reproduced with permission from Market Leader, the strategic marketing magazine for business leaders.For information about Market Leader go to www.warc.com/MarketLeader © World Advertising Research Center

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34 Market Leader Summer 2004

panies to grasp. Achieving alignment

requires companies to bring their CSR andmarketing departments together to define anapproach. This approach can range fromfully integrated to invisibly linked andshould be determined based on an assess-ment of purchase drivers and the businessstrategy.

The integrated approach

In this approach, the brand and CSR operatein synchrony. This is appropriate when mar-ket research shows responsible businesspractices to be a key driver of brand prefer-ence. A core strength of this approach is thatcompanies with the right business model cantell a single compelling story across alltouchpoints. It works best for those compa-nies in which responsibility is (already) acore company value and informs all aspectsof the business. According to our definitionof CSR (see box) this would mean a consis-tent performance across environmental,community, employee welfare, financial per-

formance and corporate governance com-mitments.

 This is the premise behind the pioneering  American natural food retailer, WholeFoods, which recently acquired the UK’sFresh & Wild. Whole Foods’ brand promiseis all about sustainability, as evidenced in itsslogan ‘Whole foods. Whole people. Wholeplanet.’ Business, brand and CSR strategy are directly and visibly linked. Whole Foods’CSR strategy sets the standards for the prod-

ucts it carries, the way they are sold, and the way it treats its employees. Thus the retailer gets its fish from sustain-

are to be communicated to key stakeholders– internal and external.

■ Thus, the first critical step in developing anintegrated and effective CSR strategy is toassess how CSR investments support busi-ness objectives and practices.

■ This should be followed by identification of 

the subset of business objectives that bothCSR and brand are best suited to support.

■ The strategic alignment of CSR and brandshould be supported by an implementationplan containing key initiatives, core messagesand supporting business proof points.

Three approaches to integratingCSR with marketing

 While the assessment of CSR’s relationship

 with the business strategy is generally under-stood, the alignment of brand and CSRstrategies tends to be more difficult for com-

Figure 1: the threeapproaches toaligning brandand CSR

What does CSR really mean?

Complicating the issue is growing confusion over the definition

of CSR. CSR has been described as charitable giving, strategic

philanthropy, community involvement, or cause-related

marketing. However, none of these descriptions really does

the concept justice. At Prophet, a management consultancy

specialising in brand and business strategy, we define CSR as

follows: CSR involves doing business in a responsible fashion

that delivers value not only to the organisation, but also to its

stakeholders and the community within which it operates. CSR

covers five main areas: environment, community, employee

welfare, financial performance and corporate governance.

Business

CSR

Brand

The Integrated Approach The Selective Approach The Invisible Approach

Brand Brand

CSRCSR

Business Business

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BLOMQVIST & POSNERS O C I A L I S S U E S

able sources, its meat and vegetables areorganic, and it bans from its shelves artificialproducts with too many e-numbers.

 Moreover, Whole Foods’ employees, known

as ‘team members’, are encouraged to partic-ipate in charitable activities in company time. It also prides itself on constantly set-ting new standards for using alternativeenergy to power its stores. The results of thisintegrated strategy are evident in WholeFoods’ success, with double-digit growthrates over the past couple of years.

The selective approach

In the selective approach, CSR manifests

itself in very specific, targeted ways. Thiscan, for example, take the form of sub-brands or strategic partnerships. The selec-tive approach is effective either when marketresearch shows responsible business prac-tices drive preference, but the company doesnot have the proof points across all five CSRcomponents to support a fully integratedapproach, or when only a specific identifi-able sub-segment of the target market placessignificant value on responsible businesspractices.

 A core advantage of the selective approachis that it can provide an effective means of differentiation in a crowded market whileshielding the parent brand from any cus-tomer/stakeholder backlash, as CSR efforts

are linked more closely to the sub-brand orpartnership than the company as a whole.

Sainsbury, for example, has created a part-nership to use the Fair Trade brand as a

branded differentiator to draw customersinto its stores and trumpets the fact that it

 was the first supermarket in the UK to carry this brand. Although Sainsbury is very com-mitted to CSR, its sourcing and supplierstrategies have been criticised for not beingfar-reaching enough.

  The Fair Trade partnership therefore works well for Sainsbury as it illustrates thecompany’s responsible business attitude

 without putting its reputation on the line. As

a result, the Fair Trade business is enjoyinghealthy growth levels and has become a key part of rebuilding Sainsbury’s image as thesupermarket serving the middle-classes withunique, high-quality products.

Examples of theSainsbury’s Fair Traderange – part of thesupermarket giant’sselective approach tointegrating CSR.

A core advantage of the selective

approach is that it can provide an

effective means of differentiation in

a crowded market, while shielding the

parent brand from any customer/

stakeholder backlash

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36 Market Leader Summer 2004

cessful connection between CSR and brand-building activities. The nature of the busi-ness – category, customers, competitors –should dictate how much, and in which ways,a company should promote its CSR-relatedactivities.

Equally, any company undertaking andpromoting CSR initiatives needs to be aware

of the risks and benefits that accompany such efforts. This requires that CSR andmarketing cooperate to develop a sustainableeffort that brings competitive advantage.Simply talking about CSR is not enough; itneeds to be supported by actual businesspractices, consistent communications, andexperienced by customers in very tangible

 ways.If companies adopt this integrated

approach and put CSR on the marketingdirector’s agenda, stakeholder expectations

  will be met and CSR activities will helpachieve their desired result, namely to buildsuccessful brands and businesses. Withoutthis commitment, CSR is destined to be

 viewed as yet another buzzword. ❦

The invisible approach

In the invisible approach, CSR may play animportant strategic or philosophical role inguiding the company, but plays a very under-stated role in external communications andinitiatives. This allows companies to useCSR as an asset to bolster trust in theirbrand and company. This option differsfrom the others in that messages regardingcorporate responsibility initiatives neverreally become part of the company’s main-stream communications.

Fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M)is an example of a company which, thoughdeeply serious about CSR in all aspects, doesnot flaunt it in communications. This isdespite the fact that H&M is critically dependent on maintaining customers’ trustamidst the rumours of child labour, unethi-cal labour standards and the use of danger-ous materials that are haunting the fashionindustry.

H&M’s decision to keep CSR messagesout of its marketing communications is

clearly strategic. The reason is that theirCSR efforts do not constitute a point of dif-ferentiation that makes shoppers chooseH&M over other brands. Shoppers chooseH&M because the company offers fashionand quality at a reasonable price. Thus asprice is a key part of its value proposition,H&M does not want to be seen as an exces-sive philanthropist with profits to share forcharities and not for consumers.

 To the extent that CSR is present in mar-

keting activities, the focus is on the needs of the target group. H&M takes great care inselecting healthy (role) models for its signa-ture minimalist advertisements and allowsindividual retail outlets significant autono-my to include cause-related marketing ini-tiatives as part of their marketing mix.

 While these initiatives clearly contribute tobuilding H&M’s image as a responsible,caring business, these are largely seen asshort-term promotions – and drivers of sales.

Horses for courses

  As the preceding examples demonstrate,there is more than one way to create a suc-

The flagship H&Mstore in Brussels. H&Mis a brand that has animpeccable CSRrecord, but keeps itsCSR activities behindclosed doors.