Edelman

Welcome to the second wave of goodpurpose™, Edelman’s brand of social purpose marketing. We are dedicated to helping brands develop and activate campaigns that trigger  “mutual social responsibility”—brands and consumers working together to effect positive social change, and “Return on Involvement”—a new metric that looks at participation and involvement as true brand loyalty builders.  Examples (Edelman and non-Edelman) run the gamut from Brita’s ‘Filter for Good’ campaign and the Dove Self Esteem Fund to Pedigree’s Dog Adoption Drive and Avonmore Milk’s Big Picnic for Barretstown in Ireland.

In harsh economic times, our study shows that social purpose is still of deep interest to the public and expectations of company and brand involvement remains unwavering. In fact, seven in 10 consumers around the world say that during a recession they would remain loyal to a brand if it supports a good cause.  Key findings from the study include:

• Three-quarters (76%) say they like to buy brands that make a donation to worthy causes.
• Nearly seven in 10 (68%) consumers around the world say that during a recession they would remain loyal to a brand if it supports a good cause.
• Environment remains the No.1 social cause consumers care about, followed closely by health, poverty and education.
• Consumers say that if two products are of the same quality and price, commitment to a social purpose (42%) trumps factors like design/innovation (30%) and brand loyalty (27%) when choosing one brand over the other.

At a time when consumer citizens are demanding more action and citizen brands are recognizing their larger role in society at large, the meaning of marketing raises some compelling questions and the search for some creative solutions. Making the connection between trust, social purpose, profit and public engagement is one of many starting points.

Read more about goodpurpose below.