Branding and Social Responsibility

A while back, I read this interesting article in The Huffington Post, by Matt Browne. Titled, “Pro-Logo: Can Global Brands Become a Force for Good?” it suggests that global brands are more accountable now than they once were, and possess the potential to change the world for the better.

Social responsibility is largely misunderstood and therefore typically mismanaged by brand marketers.

Beyond the transaction/marketing driven model of brand building, enlightened brand owners are building the value of their brands around aligning social good with business good. These organizations realize the foundation of their competitive advantage will be based on a higher purpose — social good.

In 2000 in the Mediterranean Turkish city of Antalya, a luxury resort was being built. It so happened that the biggest economic crisis in Turkish history struck, making it difficult for such an enterprise to kick off.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were long-time friends and hippies when they established Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. True to the hippie-dom of which they were a part back in 1978, their brand continues to be driven by a well-informed social and ecological conscience.