Corporate Social Responsibility

Controversies around GMO labeling and discrimination scandals have prompted a general need to know what happens behind the curtain of every process, from production to consumption. The overwhelming bridge between this booming demand for social responsibility and the PR pros who called to build it can only be connected by transparency and campaigns that truly stand out. 

Corporate social responsibility is a win-win program for your brand. Not only will your company be improving your stakeholders’ community, but your CSR programs can also enhance team-building efforts.

Today’s Global Climate Strike includes the involvement of more than 7,000 brands, finding a kindred social responsibility with the upcoming generation. The event reveals a possible escalation within corporations to become more involved in promoting social good, and that’s getting noticed. We look at how brands are participating in the Global Climate Strike.

The PRSA chair argues that the Business Roundtable’s new definition of a corporation is well suited to what communicators already do each day. They build and protect the brand, forging alliances with stakeholders. For this effort to work, though, CEOs must have full confidence in communicators and in the importance of communication.

Two more brands stepped into the gun control debate. Walmart, which sells arms, said it would halt sales of handguns, though it will continue offering hunting rifles and ammunition. Grocery chain Kroger, which, as far as we know, doesn’t sell guns, joined Walmart in asking customers not to carry arms in its stores. Did these brands make the right call?

PR pros can learn much from the messaging of businesses, organizations and government agencies during hurricane season, from communicating in a calm, measured tone to what language should be avoided. While some may lose reception in the thick of a storm, a sound social strategy during prep and recovery can help many withstand, and, if necessary, rebuild.

It can be difficult for brands, large and small, to ensure their CSR efforts truly make a difference. For brands on a budget, it’s even more difficult to gain a foothold in philanthropy. FleishmanHillard’s Judith Rowland proposes several ways brands with modest CSR funds can make an impact. For example, she urges them to look to fill unmet needs. And there are plenty of them, she argues.

Every day, it seems that someone is reiterating the same point: the world is more divided than ever before. This constant talk of division also brings up the idea that there is a need to take sides, and many brands are doing just that. Taking a firm stance on one side of a political issue and disavowing the other has become a popular marketing tool recently, but is it the right move for your brand?

Corporate commitments to the big picture confer a halo that transcends commerce. So how do you get that halo? One of the most common—and effective—ways is via a CSR campaign. Here are some tips that can help you use these to connect with your audience and not just inspire loyalty, but inspire change.

Digital platforms are constantly rolling out new products and services to improve the user experience, but seldom do those new features consider the user’s experience off the platform. That’s where Pinterest, a social platform that organizes images on a digital corkboard, has broken new ground. Yesterday, its product team announced “an entirely new experience centered around emotional wellbeing,” reports Wired. “When you type in an anxiety-related query—something like ‘work anxiety,’ or ‘dealing with stress’—Pinterest will now display a box above the stream of pins.”