Hitting the Right Note: Best Practices for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Marketing

To align itself with the concerns of its customers, the business world is going green and pink. Green stands for environmental concerns, pink for breast cancer awareness...beyond that, a rainbow of colors signify a plethora of causes. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs that gain customer loyalty and enhance brand value have become all the rage, and for good reason.

Companies lent dollars to causes for years in return for a mention of their company name. Today, however, corporate citizenship demands a more strategic marketing approach.

No longer is CSR solely about enhancing your company's reputation and brand image. Although community involvement often means increased media attention, there are other benefits to marketing CSR programs.

Adopting a CSR strategy allows for social innovation and the opportunity to link branding with consumer values. Of the 600 consumers polled in the global survey "New Wave of Advocacy," 45% of participants labeled themselves as advocates who "take action to support or detract from issues, causes, companies and products..." (PR News 5.21.07). Marketing initiatives allied with consumer values increase trust — strengthening both customer loyalty and potential client relations.

More investors are turning towards companies that tackle environmental and social issues. According to a Social Investment Forum report on socially responsible investment trends, "Total socially responsible investment assets rose more than 258 percent from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.29 trillion in 2005, while the broader universe of assets under professional management increased less than 249 percent from $7 trillion to $24.4 trillion over the same period." The bottom line: companies ranking high for sustainability have more to offer investors who look to feel good about the companies with whom they invest.

Some other benefits include attraction and retention of employees, as studies have tied successful CSR programs with reduced absenteeism and employee turnover. Company sustainability and responsibility initiatives may also reduce the costs of raw materials.

Toyota understands its niche as the leading provider of fuel-efficient vehicles. They are also aware of the ever-increasing demand for environmentally sound cars. It is only natural for them to create one of the most reliable and consumer friendly hybrids to date.

"The Prius has become, in a sense, the four-wheel equivalent of those popular rubber 'issue bracelets' in yellow and other colors — it shows the world that its owner cares" (Micheline Maynard, The New York Times 7.4.07). In this instance, it would seem the car virtually sold itself — or at least that is what some would have you believe.

Toyota started promoting the new Prius nearly two years before its initial release in the U.S. to customers who already showed interest in purchasing a cleaner, more efficient vehicle. The web-based campaign gave customers the opportunity to view and purchase the hybrid ahead of the general public. The result: roughly 1,800 cars sold prior to release.

Toyota chose the right path in 2001 when it teamed up with the Sierra Club — lending them several of the hybrids for promotional road trips. These trips not only increased the exposure of the Prius, but also provided additional opportunities for consumers to test-drive the car (BusinessWeek 3.5.07). The Prius gained even more exposure when Mike Sullivan, owner of Toyota of Hollywood, arrived at the 2003 Oscars with 26 of the cars. Soon environmentally savvy superstars were jumping on the green and trendy bandwagon.

That same year, Toyota also launched a $50 million advertising campaign to market the Prius to mainstream audiences. Advertisements featured the Prius zipping through major cities while everything else remained frozen in time. Others highlighted the expansiveness of the Prius' interior by having it converge with the night sky. The idea behind the campaign was that consumers did not have to sacrifice speed and comfort for environmental friendliness.

With over 400,000 sold in the U.S. alone, the success of Toyota's Prius marketing strategy has executives and consumers grinning alike.

Monitor and measure the effectiveness of your CSR marketing program using BurrellesLuce. We monitor over 50 million blogs and more than 50,000 web forums and online media, in addition to all of the traditional media. Media monitoring is where BurrellesLuce started, but today it is just one of the ways that we help you maximize the value of your work.

• First, target your messages to those most likely to write about your CSR efforts using the industry's most comprehensive online media directory. Take advantage of free, unlimited e-mail distribution of all your news releases.


• Next, monitor your coverage from every form of media. We deliver exactly the news you want to see, complete with all photos and graphics.


• Then, gain insight through our automated and customized media measurement services.