Think See Do Differently

2012 Planning Priorities for Cause Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:41:00 +0000

2012 has gotten off with a bang! I've been quite busy with my clients pitching and developing no less than two branded documentary projects for important health-related causes. I also spent the first few weeks leading several "Path to Advocacy" workshops for clients who needed to develop impactful strategies fast. These are half-day or day-long strategic planning workshops that leave you with a strategy for every stage of a campaign from awareness to action to advocacy, with objectives, insight, strategy and metrics. I'm developing a post on my proprietary Path to Advocacy process and will share it with you soon. Meanwhile, I'm feeling confident that my choice to provide shared value strategy to brands and companies was the right one.

Right now, most PR agencies are in the midst of 2012 planning--figuring out what campaigns they will run for their clients through-out the year and I've had quite a few interesting conversations about the demands their own clients are placing on them. I thought I would share with you a couple of those demands and tips to meet them.

CLIENT: "Be more engaging, I want my community to be active."

AGENCY: "We need to provide clients with engaged stakeholders, not just impressions."

One of my clients suggested that their 2012 plans really needed to be different from previous years. Right now its a very competitive climate, more and more PR and Ad agencies are taking on work in the cause space. Therefore, the usual plans had to satisfy the usual needs for great awareness and visibility, but also had to drive and SUSTAIN engagement, not just one-time giving. Re-upping a plan meant sustaining a community with stuff to do. Thus, the excuse of low budgets isn't gonna cut it anymore--not with the efficiencies to be gained from social media.

My advice--think about the end goal for your client AND your agency and push your agency to pitch campaigns that build communities that win and sustain more advocates. This means you need to up the strategy ante with campaigns that are results-driven and focused on engagement, not just impressions. You'll need to think about how to get all the stakeholders to actually "do stuff" not just hear the message. If you start with a solid strategy, one that takes you from awareness all the way to advocacy, you'll be more successful. If you leave it as an afterthought, you're campaign will have a big bang up front and deliver impressions, but be weak on sustained engagement as budget dries up. You need to plan accordingly, for the long-haul, and present multi-year plans that expressly say what your goals are for the community of fans you capture and how you're going to activate them again and again and again on behalf of the brand.

I like where this new campaign from P&G's Children's Safe Drinking Water program is going with their purpose-driven brand "Pur." In this Facebook campaign, one "Like" equals one day of clean water provided (actually a monetary donation by P&G). The community is quickly growing. Note the video which helps spread the message virally. This program is part of a commitment "to save one life every hour by 2020," according to P&G CEO Bob McDonald. Now that's a multi-year commitment!

CLIENT: "Bring us award-winning ideas! We want to celebrate our work too."

AGENCY: "Our clients are looking to us to take it to the next level creatively."

Another client of mine suggested the quality of their campaigns were just "OK", they weren't creative enough, they certainly weren't going to win any awards. Right now, there are only a handful of shops winning the top awards for cause marketing. Maybe its because they invested in their digital and production capabilities, maybe its because they have the right partners, or maybe its because the client has high expectations creatively. Either way, as social media becomes a capability of EVERY agency, agencies are being pressed to go further.

My advice--think outside the box and consider bringing in a creative director from a design or advertising background--if you're a typical agency--go the opposite route and partner your creative team with a PR professional. The point here is to mix-it-up. I'm actually helping bring filmmakers together with PR agencies to make branded documentaries, for example. That's taking it to the next level.

Here's a tip. Take a look at the top winning cause campaigns of 2011 and ask yourself--can I get there with the talent I have now? Do I need to a) acquire talent, b) partner and borrow talent, c) hire talent, or d) train up my talent?

2011 PR News CSR Awards Finalists
You can download the ENTIRE PR News 2010 CSR Awards issue here.

2011 Cause Marketing Forums Awards
You can view all of the Halo award winners in every category here.

If you're part of a network like Havas, Omnicom or Publicis, now's the time to make friends and reach-out to your sister agencies in digital, direct and even media buying and planning, what else could you do if you partnered together? My strong recommendation is that you avoid the commerical agency however, as you already know where their bread is buttered...on expensive TV and print campaigns. Ask them to be creative and they'll come back with :30s.

Social Business Infographic

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:04:00 +0000

The folks over at London-based Global Dawn are crowdsourcing an infographic on the history of social business. There are some obvious entries and omissions, but they want your help in filling in the major milestones from the 80's forward along three streams, technology, marketing and social. Take a look--what would you add? Let them know, follow and suggest @globaldawnlive.

"Good" Business Booklist Reveals Network in Transition

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:41:00 +0000

In the process of developing the syllabus for a course at NYU I'm teaching on Social Media and Cause Marketing, I've come across several new business strategy books on the topic of integrating social responsibility into everyday business and marketing practice. There are so many in fact, I'm beginning to believe that the movement to make "Good" business is experiencing a groundswell. Here are a list of just a few that stand out:

We First by Simon Mainwaring
Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus
Who Cares Wins by David Jones
Good For Business by Andrew Bennett, Cavas Gobhai, Ann O'Reilly, Greg Welch
The Responsibility Revolution by Jefferey Hollender
The Power of Unreasonable People by John Elkington, Pamela Hartigan

I'm particularly intrigued by Who Cares Wins and Good For Business. Both are by executives from the marketing communications network, Havas. I only just recently wrote about another Havas Network employee, Umair Haque, the director of the Havas Media Lab. Seems like Havas is truly positioning the network around this capitalism reform movement. In fact, Bennett and O'Reilly, two of the authors of Good For Business are also the authors of Consumed, Rethinking Business in the Era of Mindful Spending, a product of the EuroRSCG Knowledge Exchange Network. The Knowledge Exchange is an agency think-tank that produces high-level business strategy content that is spot-on with trends and global shifts in consumer behavior. Check them out to take advantage of years worth of thinking and research on consumer trends.

Here is a short presentation on the material behind Good For Business.

The Four Cornerstones of the Conscious Corporation

Havas CEO, David Jones's new book, Who Cares Wins, the Rise of the Caring Corporation, dives deep into the "Good" business trend, making use of new consumer research from Yougovstone (a market research firm specializing in influentials) and agencies from the Havas network to position the network as a leader in this space. You can read the summary of the book and find the supporting research here. In addition to being the CEO of Havas, Jones is a co-founder of One Young World, a non-profit organization that brings young people together and provides leadership training. One Young World "ambassadors" develop projects in global health, leadership, business, media and other areas.

I'm certain my students will find great value in this material, but I'm still very surprised its coming from an agency network! So often networks like WPP, Omnicom, etc. tend to be voiceless corporate entities. Because most are "public" they rarely express their mission beyond their stated goal of profits, and tend to hold few public opinions to avoid conflict with shareholders and clients. Frankly, the CEOs of most agency networks are accountants not visionaries. Yet, the French network, Havas seems to be taking a different, more courageous approach. Like the corporations who have recently integrated "shared value" into their mission, value chains and marketing, Nestle, General Mills and HP for example, Havas appears to be crafting themselves as a leader of this inevitable swing in the business landscape, brilliant!

Find below a presentation by David Jones at the self-titled Who Cares Wins Conference in 2010.

Expect a Return for Telling Your CSV Story

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:13:00 +0000

OK, by now you think I'm a bit of a shill for the work of FSG (Michale Porter and Mark Kramer's social impact consultancy), but no, I'm quite the independent. What I admire about FSG is that they TELL THE STORY. They are superb marketers and they are willing to share their clients stories in order to reposition the social impact space to the "shared value" space.

I'm a big believer in storytelling marketing--but when you look at the Cause space, you see many poorly told stories. In the traditional model of Cause Marketing, a campaign is typically one built on sponsorship of a partnership with a foundation. Typically this is a strategic media buy or donation-based partnership driven by PR or CSR. This can be seen as a workplace benefit, or bringing the corporate values to life. The investment is a tiny percent of their annual investment in marketing, certainly it will be a fraction of their supply chain, because often its viewed as a necessary cost of doing business, but not one that creates profit. The prevailing attitude is--give just enough to be seen as a supporter, but don't expect a return. Increasingly, sustainability and "corporate citizenship" will be the primary investment--and that could effect the supply chain, operations, even what vendors, or suppliers a company works with, in that case, a return is expected and necessary, but then, it's not seen as important enough to be promoted externally. The though here (and it is a misconception) is that consumers only care about the product story (benefits).

"Good" deeds are buried in annual reports, CSR whitepapers or press releases. The marketing budget is sacrosanct and shall not be used for anything but product marketing. This is because marketing budgets are often very large investments back in to the business--they have to work very hard and produce a ROI. Otherwise, its money poorly spent. This is a wise approach to making the most out of marketing dollars, but companies already engaged in CSV miss the opportunity to turn their marketing into another tool for creating shared value.

It is entirely possible to tell the story of your "good" work and creating a return by making your campaign create action and participation in your customers and employees. Thus, the end goal of your CSV program should be to win on three fronts--the business, society and the with the consumer. To achieve that, companies need to start turning to the marketing agencies, strategists and consultants who live and breathe shared value everyday.

Umair Haque - The Pirate Inside Havas

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:03:00 +0000

First, let me say, I've never met Umair Haque, and I've only just learned about his role leading the Havas Media Lab, but man I like where this guy is coming from! Haque is a self-styled blogger, author and "reformer," and author of Betterness: Economics for Humans and The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business. The Harvard Business Review blogger's writing has been excerpted in the new Fast Company Co.Exist online magazine and its part of the meme that business can be a force for good, and not just profit. I like to imagine his grand plan is to help capitalism reform itself altogether, but his day job is to help brands see the light at one of the world's best agency networks. Simply, he wants to show that brands must redesign themselves to meet the promise of making a difference, rather than simply differentiating themselves from other brands.

I wonder if Haque's mission to reform business is even possible from the inside of an agency? Almost every major agency network has a "media lab", but most are focused on gleaning the latest technologies for their client's marketing efforts. They tend to get the "first-look" at what Google, Apple and Facebook are doing...and then they go about translating the tech for global accounts, educating the creative staff, and generally looking for a way to profit by selling more campaigns in the new media. Sounds cool, but no small task to say the least. And these media labs have their fairshare of problems--though they should be mini-think-tanks, they must be profitable eventually and so there is an over-focus on selling new media rather than truly innovating marketing practice. High-minded planners and technologists abound there, but they don't often mesh with the "get 'er done" account culture, and high-profile flame-outs happen all the time. So here comes Haque, and low and behold, he's not talking about how make the new Facebook Timeline integrate across the global "whatever" business, he's talking about "betterness?" What' gives?

Adam Morgan, author of the highly influential marketing book, The Pirate Inside, gave away the secrets of how to create a challenger brand. It seems, Haque, has become a devoted disciple. He's focused on challenging the core of marketing and branding itself at Havas as part of his larger mission to reform capitalism. Where's the hyperbole about Klout and Augmented Reality? Blessedly, absent it appears, instead, Haque is preaching a new gospel.

Now, to be clear, Haque's not reinventing anything, he's just a brilliantly astute man of his times. We all live in a hyper-connected world now, but he's arguing for an acceptance of that reality from companies and brands. He knows consumers have long since moved on from the industrial marketing habits we purveyed just a few short years ago--pushing TV commercials at Superbowl...though you'd be surprised how many 3 and 4-letter'ed agencies still feel TV is relevant. It certainly pays the bills. But OK, that's the cynic in me. The fact is, the research the Havas Media Lab is doing is actually showing that there is a real shift in consumer demand, from what Haque calls, egocentric demand to "allocentric" demand, that is, from branding that fed consumer ego (aspirations) to branding that feeds consumer desire for meaning and significance.

This isn't necessarily a new view. Similar to the CSV model or shared value model proposed by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, Haque is proposing an application of a broader social mission to the mission of making a profit (every brand's core mission). He wants us to add "function" to the marketing so that that it doesn't just "show" but "does."

In my opinion, from a semiotic point of view, this is not "langue," its "parole." Where brands were once a language of very valuable signs that the consumer invested in to show that they were doing well, living the American Dream, buying the better product, now the future of brand marketing is actually a "speech act"--something that is simultaneously a message and an action. In this model, the brand is a DOER, helping people to achieve a more meaningful life. This could be making life better, fairer, easier, more significant, more meaningful, as Haque says, "to help people live lives that matter."

An example Haque turns to often is Nike+ where the new promise of Nike is to help make you a better runner, instead of promising that buying the shoes will make you cooler in some way. I like to think that there are MANY brands out there with the potential to become more profitable by being more meaningful, but they must embrace ways to make their consumers lives more meaningful, not just their aspirations. This can happen during the product design phase, but ALSO needs to happen in the strategic planning phase--where marketers plan on how to market their product. The campaign to position the brand or product can ACTUALLY be functional, not just showing the value of the brand, but helping consumers to LIVE more meaningful lives. Consider Pepsi Refresh, Tom's Shoes or even the Tide Loads of Hope campaign. The consumption of these products, soda, shoes and laundry detergent and participation with the marketing campaign leads to a positive outcome not just for the consumer, but society at-large. There is a kind of profit for the company, consumer and society as a result of the engaging the marketing.

So the question for me remains, are agencies today capable of shifting from the old model of strategic planning where they sought an insight based on consumer desire, needs and wants to match a benefit to meet the consumer's ego OR to a NEW kind of planning where they seek the mutual benefits to consumer, brand, and society and design an allocentric campaign? I've got to know some in the last six months, there are no less than two dozen new shops across the US and Europe with this kind of model and I will be writing about them more soon. For now, imagine the kind of insights and the planning system you would need to generate a successful campaign rooted in the notion of ACTION, PARTICIPATION and MEANING instead of just TELLING. This is precisely the kind of planning I know do for my clients at Shared Value Strategy. If you're interested in learning more, do drop a line. Meanwhile, I recommend you follow Haque's on Twitter--he's up to some radical thinking, and I suspect we'll see Havas agencies begin to adopt his thinking and execute some pretty meaningful consumer campaigns quite soon.

#ZeusJones Proves Free Tastes Good

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:59:00 +0000

This holiday season, branding and strategy firm Zeus Jones has a little gift for you. Proof is a free i-Pad app that allows friends and colleagues to sniff-out who's got the best palette when it comes to single-malt scotch. PROOF enables you to play and taste various single-malts (you provide the whisky of course) in a board-game like setting. In no time, you'll be using your finger to dial-up the flavors from each scotch you try. From smoky to winey from fruity to smooth, this social game will have connoisseurs and newbies alike getting tipsy while increasing their education about scotch. Here's how it works, you download the app, print out a player mat, open the app and start testing your knowledge in the company of friends.

The app was an idea brought in by a prospective employee--who was quickly hired. I wonder if he brought in a couple of bottles of speyside just to prove a point. This offering from Zeus Jones serves a couple of purposes of course--they get to demonstrate their branding chops, tell a good story for marketing which enhances their overall equity and cool factor. They easily signal the kind of client they are looking for--fun, sophisticated, digital and dialed-in. And consumers get a useful and fun tool to make their holidays just a big more social. Its a "win-win" strategy all around.

As near perfect an idea already--it would be even better if they had perhaps given users the chance to donate to a cause for a download, to round out a holiday giving strategy--but then, these guys have already donated their time in making PROOF a reality. Make it for free and give it away for free (in exchange for awareness) qualifies as a killer shared value strategy your firm should be considering copying. Go to proofwhisky.com to learn more. I'll be raising a glass to Zeus Jones over the holidays. Slainte!

Are You Global?

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:18:00 +0000

Here's a picture from my "tweetmap" which shows where my twitter followers are around the globe. It's an intriguing little picture, the majority of my followers are from the US, with a good chunk from New York City (the HQ of Twitter, the center of American marketing/advertising and where I live). It is interesting to see that I have followers in Japan, but I'm not big there. What this does demonstrate is just how global our social media is now--that indeed, a marketing message, an throw-away tweet about my breakfast or blatant consumer complaint, can really reach. To me, this demonstrates that whether you like it or not, your brand is inherently global when you start engaging on a global platform. You may not sell in Chad, but someone there gives a hoot.

My Source for 2012 Trends

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:19:00 +0000

I've got an ace up my sleeve for 2012--I've scored a copy of The Big little Book of Nexts: trenspotting for 2012 by EuroRSCG PR. But I'm not stingy, you can view the whole thing below:

THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF NEXTS: Trendspotting for 2012

View more documents from Doudoux Freelance

I should mention that if you're a planner or strategist, you'll want to know Marian Salzman and her team at EuroRSCG PR, the folks behind #wycleffforpresident, Warriors in Pink, "theywinyoulose, are behind this influential cheat-sheet. That's bonafied. Salzman is a legend in the biz, a former planner and now chair of Havas network's leading PR agency. My favorite trend for 2012: MAKE DOING GOOD SEXY. I couldn't agree more, that's why I work with companies like Flow Nonfiction to create beautiful, touching, engaging branded documentaries.

Fly Fishing Branded Doc Does Good

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

I've probably written about my little obsession with fly fishing before on this blog, but probably not from a marketing perspective. Lately, I've noticed a rising trend in the use of branded docs, brand-supportive films and featurettes from major fly fishing brands. You won't know them, but they are the biggest names in that busienss, SIMMS, Orvis, Redington. The goal is simple, to let the stunning visual experience and mystique of uncharted waters draw you into the brand.

As more and more fly fishing brands get involved in conservation, they are turning to telling their own stories of how these brands make a difference, through their involvement in environmental conservation, even in "green job" creation, as in the latest from SAGE, Rio, Patagonia and Costa, "ITU'S BONES." This featurette/trailer tells the story of a fisherman in remote Aitutaki in the blue lagoons of the Cook Islands named Itu, and his transformation into a fly fishing guide, sponsored by the brands.

"FFF Master Casting Instructor Carl McNeil and his filmmaker wife Jeannie Ackerly visited Aitutaki 6 years ago and were struck by the region’s beauty and people...a later visit to the atoll by another fishing buddy Bob Wyatt and his discussions with one local fisherman Itu Davies gave birth to the project -- to follow the conversion of an Aitutaki netter to bonefish fly guide," according to Ozark Fly Fishing Journal.

Its a marvelous film by On The Fly Productions, and leaves an impression. Obviously, the goal here is to show how commercial fishing can be replaced with a more sustainable business. This story has been told before in the Bahamas and other Caribbean Islands, but rarely filmed. The challenge now is to get distribution for the film beyond the fly fishing market, which are admittedly, already great supporters of conservation. Here's where brands like Patagonia come in. Patagonia can more readily make the jump across sporting verticals and into the mainstream. With their very vocal brand of conservation, loyal followers in a variety of sports and even casualwear fashion, if Patagonia chooses to put the word out about the film, it'll get seen, and shared. OTF's decision to put the trailer on Vimeo and YouTube for free also helps to make it easily distributable. Even if OTF makes a full-length film for eventual purchase, the featurette/trailer tells the message completely.

Flow NonFiction Launches Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:20:00 +0000

A very interesting video launches a new blog by Flow Nonfiction (client). Its not everyday you get a look at how a score comes together for a film, much less one as important as ESPWA, a branded documentary about the Tide Loads of Hope program in earthquake-devastated Haiti.

This Flow Nonfiction Select looks at the role of music in documentary filmmaking, and features Stephen Barber, Tosca Strings, David Boyle, and some members of the Flow team. To learn more about Tide Loads of Hope, visit them on Facebook.

Stumptown Branded Doc

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:33:00 +0000

I'm intrigued by this series of short films by the coffee brand, Stumptown. In one film, they travel to Kenya to shadow their green coffee buying team, and in another, they take a trip to Columbia to document how they source their products. If you're not familiar with Stumptown, the Portland-based coffee company is well-known in the US among aficionados. What's interesting is that rarely do we get a behind-the-scenes look at how a company procures their products. Many brands and companies are secretive, but Stumptown shows that they have developed real working relationships with the growers and communities they procure from. While highly-involved, experiential brands today are turning to tome-like sustainability reports, often, they forget that visualizing the supply chain for their consumer can help to tell the story of the brand. It shines a light on the local communities (which brings attention to that culture and its needs) and conditions, and demonstrates the ethics and values of the brand.
Thanks to CoolHunting for bringing attention to this series.

Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:54:00 +0000

As we head into the holidays, I just want to pause and say THANK YOU to all my readers. I started Think See Do Differently over 5 years ago now and its come along way. I've thousands of readers who appreciate the odd story I share about marketing. Recently, I've become focused on how to make social good marketing beneficial to brands and society alike. I'm meeting amazing social entrepreneurs and have become reinvigorated by the power of storytelling to affect positive change. I hope that as you celebrate a happy, fun, and safe holiday season, that you are able to reflect on the GOOD you provide people everyday, and that you can share the message of creating shared value with your colleagues.

Now, for something completely different! Turducken!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

COMMON Creates Umbrella Brand for Social Change

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:07:00 +0000

Two brilliant social good creatives recently spoke at the PSFK Conference about my favorite topic, creating shared value. I highly recommend you take a look at COMMON if you want to work with an existing creative community and umbrella brand to make social change a part of your organization. You can quickly add a social program to your organization, however you're providing value to the COMMON brand and not exclusively to your own, but then, that's the point of sharing value.

COMMON: The New Industrialists

PRWeek Next Panel Reveals Shared Values Brand Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:46:00 +0000

I attended an informative panel yesterday on trends in cause marketing at the PRWeek Next Conference. "Why Doing Good Is Good For Business" featured Susan Arnot Heaney, Global Director of Corporate Responsibility at Avon, Linn Parrish, VP PR and Cause Marketing at Panera Bread, and Scott Beaudoin, SVP NA Director of CSR Marketing at MSLGroup.

Heaney lead off with an in-depth description of the history of Avon's work in the space, beginning with their commitment to stopping Breast Cancer. Recently, Avon has taken up the cause of ending domestic violence, and this move she noted was predicated by a desire to get into a less-crowded space, but one that was appropriate to the brand and Avon Foundation for Women. To Avon's salesforce of women, this issue mattered deeply. She suggested that some of the salesforce on calls had witnessed or sensed something amiss in the home--but couldn't say anything (for safety reasons).

Heaney talked about the need to continually make the argument for CSR even within a committed organization and that there was work to be done to convince Wall Street of the business case for strategic philanthrophy. "Institutional investors aren't valuaing this, and we have to start talking their language."

When asked about the "results" of Avon's cause marketing, Heaney made a point to refer to metrics and ROI as particularly persuasive tool to gaining corporate support. "Without ROI, we would still be doing it (cause marketing), but there are efficiencies and cost-savings that can't be ignored."

Linn Parish added that Panera Bread saw results too from their programs to stop hunger, not just among the needy, but among their own employees. "Its a virtuous circle, if we do good, people will do good by us...and we've had employees say they feel better about being at Panera because of it."

Panera's "Pay-What-You-Can" campaign was highlighted as an example of the CEO's mission to go beyond "writing a check" to doing something that made use of Panera's unique set of skills. 60% of customers are donating the suggested price at cafes that operate a pay as you wish approach, 20% are paying more, and 20% are paying less.

Scott Beaudoin, of MSL Group, deftly noted that his agency's survey revealed that even if consumers weren't particularly interested in a brand's cause, that if the cause made sense to the brand and to the business, they are more likely to do business with them. "The cause, has to be authentic to the brand."

MSLGroup in fact has named given their CSR practice the task of "going beyond purpose" to work with their clients to match the business strategy and cause strategy together. Beaudoin is a big proponent of "creating shared value" and noted that while some companies were still determining their purpose (why they exist), at this point, purpose-driven brands should be heavily into digital. "If you don't have a digital/social strategy in cause, you're losing a lot of points...it should be about increasing engagement now."

It appeared that Heaney didn't have time enough to impart her wisdom from implementing cause within organizations, but she had one clear lesson for the audience of PR executives, "Do not stop and start.. .you need to spend as much time as it takes...a one-off (campaign) does not make for authenticity...everyone wants to feel they touched another life, not another concept."

Magic's Message

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:12:00 +0000

Twenty years to the week. That's how long its been since Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, changing the face of the epidemic, changing the face of basketball. HIV became "real" for many blacks that day, myself included. Johnson's brave decision, in the midst of so many other shortcomings at the time, changed his destiny as a leader. But it was in Johnson's next act, that I draw real inspiration. After becoming a business leader, educator, creating an aids research foundation, Johnson tirelessly sets an example that businesses, brands and people can learn from today.

I was privileged to get the opportunity to work with Magic in 2007 to develop a campaign with Abbott and the Magic Johnson Foundation to bring awareness of HIV/Aids issues to black America. We supported with Abbott, and Fleishman-Hillard, the award-winning "I Stand With Magic" campaign with spots, shot by Spike Lee (I was running Spike's ad agency at the time).

Let me tell you about Magic. The man looms large. His presence onset at the Beverly Hilton hotel, and that of his wife, Cookie, brought a sense of gravitas and mission to the few television spots we had to film. Spike shot with little fanfare, no gratuitous moments. This work--had the potential to save lives--and it demanded focus.

Sure, there was always a time for fun when I worked with Spike--we made riotously-fun, entertaining commercials for Topps, MLB, New Era and TNT together...a sportslover's dream. -But for every brand, and every marketer, there comes a time when certain messages are so important, it feels like you're on a mission. When Magic came onset, that's how it felt, like he was a man on a mission.

There we were and there were no gimmicks, no Spike trademark shot of an actor floating on a dolly--just Magic and Cookie in a chair with a tough-to-swallow message. About half of all new cases of HIV were among African Americans. That shocking statistic was meant to invoke surprise and disrupt the usual thinking--a reminder that we are disproportionately affected, and to act to get more information.

After more than a dozen years on Madison Avenue, I've acquired the skills to make brands famous, to get the "cool kids" buzzing, to send videos into the viral stratosphere, but what good are those skills if they don't make the world a better place? Its incredible to see how Magic's work today unites business and society for a common benefit. The Magic "brand" can easily be said to create "shared value". Magic Johnson is worth $700 million and Magic Johnson Enterprises mission combines economic and community empowerment with real business results. MJ Enterprises specifically works to create opportunity in urban areas through the Magic brand and partnerships.

My hope in choosing to work with brands and companies that are purpose-driven, and in starting my own consultancy, Shared Value Strategy, is to re-apply my brand-building skills toward real positive change--one that benefits brands, consumers and society. I take inspiration from Magic's recent statements about his original announcement, "I've always been a leader, and this is how God said you're going to lead today, and I didn't look back."

Inspiration of the Day: RSA Animate

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Watch this. You'll tend to agree with Dan Pink, author of Drive, people are better motivated by Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

Science shows we care about mastery, want to be self-directed and are better motivated when we have purpose instead of carrots and sticks.

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress for over 250 years.

To learn more about the RSA, visit: http://www.thersa.org/
Check out the entire RSA Animate series for more.

Joel's Shared Value Picks for PRWeek Next Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:39:00 +0000

I'm impressed with the title of the 2011 PRWeek Next Conference--"The Mission is the Message: Authentic. Strategic. Transparent. Now that's bold for a PR conference. Seriously though, this is exactly where clients are heading and what they're looking for from their agencies. Never has there been a higher outcry from consumers and businesses for this type of messaging. Fortunately, many companies are well on their way--refining their core propositions to include Purpose and shared value--where the mission really is the message and the benefits are in profits for the brand, great products and service for consumers, and positive societal impact. The conference is Nov, 8 and 9 in NY.

I recommend:

DAY ONE

3.40pm - Panel: The Shifting Media Landscape and Modern Content GenerationSponsored by Porter NovelliThis session will provide exclusive insights into the world of content creation and influence, prompted by PRWeek and Porter Novelli's groundbreaking 2011 Media Content Survey. Leading journalists and content creators will debate the trends in modern media that are fundamentally changing the way brands and corporations communicate with their audiences and stakeholders.

Speakers
Janet Rollé, CMO, CNN
Terence Samuel, deputy political editor, The Washington PostMichael Calderone, senior media reporter, Huffington Post
ModeratorNick Charles, EVP, global content, Porter Novelli

DAY TWO

11.35am - Panel: Why Doing Good Is Good For BusinessSponsored by MSLGROUPAs transparency, responsibility and the authenticity of a company's mission take on greater importance, communicators and marketers need to get out of the selling business and into the business of helping others. Tomorrow is about purpose-led marketing where there is no longer "them", only "us." Having a purpose was once considered nice, but now it is crucial to winning in business.

Speaker
Scott Beaudoin, director of cause marketing and CSR, MSLGROUP North America
Susan Arnot Heaney, global director of corporate responsibility, Avon
Linn Parrish, VP of public relations and cause marketing, Panera Bread

Moderator
Rose Gordon, senior editor, special projects, PRWeek

What's Possible on Facebook these Days?

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:35:00 +0000

Found this very interesting graphic from SocialMediaOnlineClasses.com via HelpsGood Digital. Not bad, quite thorough and plenty simple. I like that SMOC wants to simplify social media for businesses...its really needed. I myself went through two years of frustrating growing pains. I often heard "we can't do that yet" by vendors and "that'll be online soon." Fortunately, I take an attitude of keep going until someone says stop. If you are a DIYer, small biz, or non-profit and can't afford a cadre of social media strategists, I'd take this chart and start plotting, because many of these tools and techniques used smartly, can deliver a great Facebook campaign without much fuss. Yes you still need "tech" to help out and you may still need an agency, but you won't be shooting in the dark.

50/50 Project Makes Famine Aid Creative

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:54:00 +0000

As I'm writing this, the Pivot Conference is happening in NY. Hundreds of social media marketers are busy talking about the "social consumer." Interesting topic of course, and the big star is digital influence. Not to discount their talks--its important--but I'm increasingly interested in how digital influence translates to "action," especially where it makes a difference in someone's life. As you know, I'm a proponent of Shared Value Strategy, that is communications that benefit a brand, consumer and society on the whole, and translating "intent" into "action" is the real challenge of this model. It'll be tough to get agencies to think this way--but they have a headstart when they participate in campaigns like the 50/50 project. For example, right now, there is an interesting campaign underway developed by social innovation lab Good for Nothing (part of the Pipeline Project--a purpose-driven innovation firm) in collaboration with Made by Many, two London-based agencies, to bring awareness to the famine in East Africa.

For the first time since the 1980s, the UN has declared a famine in Africa as the result of severe drought affecting more than 10m people with the epicentre in Somalia and Ethiopia. The 50/50 project is now an international initiative with 43+ projects across 8 different countries doing collaborative fundraising through digital projects from all over the world. UNICEF is the aid partner of 50/50 recieves 100% of donations from 50/50 projects.

via the Economist

Made by Many built a platform and several agencies hear the call to produce/make projects that would drive donations, including Fallon, JWT, BBH, Victor & Spoils, and my old shop Sapient Nitro. I'm a fan of several of the projects. Here's my favorite by The Social Practice and Kaldor, its called The 6 Minutes Project. The proposal is simple: "Donate just 6 minutes of your time to make a real difference. Use our simple calculator to figure out what 6 minutes of your time is worth, then choose how many days to donate for." What I love about this one--is that its so self-referential. Ad guys are highly-paid, and scrutinize salary to no-end in contract negotiations. The campaign smartly asks consumers to consider their salary in a shorter unit, that of minutes, in order to make the donation relevant to your inner Scrooge. It also "lives" on Facebook, a brilliant choice making the donation visible and shareable.

Another interesting, even fun, project is the Swear Jar by Made by Many and Albion. Its simple, you swear on Twitter with the hashtag #fuckfamine and an app tracks your swearing, and tweets you a weekly bill. Pay the bill and its donated to Unicef. Its "a dashboard to gamify profanity, encouraging people to swear for Africa."

Of course, the question could be asked, why would any agency want to participate in the 50/50 project in the first place? It goes without saying that many shops are exploring "making" instead of "saying" these days, with apps and digital tools that drive engagement and participation. It also doesn't hurt to lend a "good" shine to the agency image--but being less skeptical than that, I think it lives up to a transitional moment the marketing communications industry is facing. If the future of brands is "doing good" which I would translate into providing "shared value," then the creatives and planners behind 50/50 are doing just that, but gaining valuable training for the marketing of the future.

Incidentally, I'm keeping a running tally of these social agencies...definitely going to do a post about them soon. If you're part of one--email me and lets chat, I'd love to learn more. Perhaps we can do some good together.

Follow Your Heart: Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:55:00 +0000

As you know by now, Steve Jobs has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 56. It kind of hits you in the gut. In 1993 I bought a Apple MacBook. I have had an Apple device in my life for the past twenty years--and an up and down relationship with the brand. Today, I realize, the ups and downs were due to the fact that the brand's real heartbeat was going through his own ups and downs, and thus, so went the brand.

One cannot deny Steve Job's passion has lit a generation of designers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, engineers, computer scientists, nerds, visionaries and other creative souls. He was an inspiration to mine and I wish him godspeed. His biggest lesson to so many of us--follow your heart. Take the road less-traveled. Trust the diversions will meet-up in the end.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect the dots looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, life, destiny, karma, whatever, because believing that the dots will connect down the road to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."

Joel Johnson's "Shared Value'" Picks for Advertising Week 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:20:00 +0000

This year's Advertising Week is underway here in NYC. If you're attending, you'll enjoy the parties, celebs and big-names, but don't forget, we're in the midst of a recession, unemployment is high, the climate is still screwed, and the global economy seems to making us poorer! Now is the time to seek out those panels and speakers who are talking about how marketing can actually BENEFIT society through shared value strategies. Here are my picks for your week:

MONDAY
Trust, Community, and America's Search for Real World Solutions
Today’s most urgent crises – unemployment, foreclosures, a struggling middle class, a crumbling infrastructure – require us to move beyond the tired framing in which all issues are boiled down to simply “left vs. right." Arianna Huffington moderates a discussion about the need to jettison obsolete and distorting labels and focus on finding real-world solutions.

Featuring:

Arianna Huffington
Joe Scarborough, TV Personality
Mika Brzezinski, TV Personality
Howard Fineman, Political Editor, Huffington Post
Conor White-Sullivan, CEO/Founder, Localocracy
Lisa Belkin, Senior Columnist HuffPost
David Frum, Columnist & Contributor, CNN

Presented by AOL
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
Times Center Theater
242 West 41st Street

TUESDAY
Where Are All the Black People? (a unique job fair)
"Where Are All the Black People?" is a follow up to a successful panel held during the 2011 Creative Week in New York and moderated by Jeff Goodby and Jimmy Smith. Our aim is to provide concrete, real world solutions to the lack of diversity in advertising creative departments.

Featuring:

Rick Boyko, Director, VCU Brandcenter
Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman and Creative Director, GS&P
Jimmy Smith, Group Creative Director, TBWA/CHIAT/DAY
Jim Riswold, Instructor, W+K 12

Presented by The One Club
8am - 7pm
New World Stages
340 W. 50th Street

*NOTE! This one is special--you don't have to be Black to appreciate & participate in what VCU and W+K are doing here...stop by to see Shared Value in action.

WEDNESDAY
Making Things vs. Saying Things
A lively discussion about production, earning attention and the meritocracy of modern marketing

The audience now controls a significant portion of the media in a way they haven't before. For marketers seeking to use these ever-proliferating social channels, it becomes necessary to both understand their unique sensibilities and be able to build something new to make an impression.

Old style marketing was tag lines, positioning and and a bit of hyperbole. An interesting group of thinkers and makers will discuss the changing nature of marketing and why being able to turn creativity into something tangible and create from scratch is a new imperative.

Presented by Barbarian Group
1pm - 1:45pm

B.B. King Blues Club
237 West 42nd Street

THURSDAY an absolute MUST!
Using Social Innovation to Create Social Change
How social media has become a driving force in creating and sustaining movements. Different ways consumers are using social media tools to increase the reach of their messages to spur social change.

Jeremy Heimans, co-founder and CEO, Purpose
Robert Wolfe, co-founder, Crowdrise
Adam Connor, Associate for Privacy and Global Public Policy, Facebook
Ben Rattray, Founder, Change.org

1pm-1:45pm
PricewaterhouseCoopers Auditorium
300 Madison Avenue

FRIDAY
SES Latino Conference
In the past decade, the U.S. Latino population grew by 43%, surpassing 50 million and accounting for about one out of six Americans. What's more, there has been an increase in Latino media spend of 8.4% to a whopping $6.8 billion in the year 2010. (Compared to a 6.5% increase for all U.S. Media, according to Kantar Media.)
9am-4pm

Icon Campaigns and Shared Value

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of what I call "icons" advertising. In this form of branded content, short docstyle biopics, interviews and articles feature iconic or emerging personalities that carry the desired brand attributes and equities that represent a particular product. The origins of this advertising form dates back to 2005 when Grey Goose Entertainment and Conde Nast Media got together with the Sundance Channel to lauch Iconoclasts. The hit show paired one icon with another in an interview format. Directed by documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger and produced by agency Radical Media, the format blazed new ground for Branded Entertainment. What I and many others appreciated about the advertainment, was that it was subtly branded, well-produced, fun and informative. Frankly, it was a nice value exchange. Though I can't say I've bought Grey Goose Vodka, I'm a brown lika' fan myself, the brand has a much higher value than say Smirnoffs, in my mind.

Today, in much shorter length, and perhaps with less "concept" than Iconoclasts, other brands are borrowing the equity of iconic tastemakers to represent a brand's intangibles. Some are successful, others are not. For example, in the new campaign BMW presents Six on 6, various tastemakers describe six qualities that help them to continue to pioneer their respective craft. In one "6 on 6", artist Lupe Fiasco provides a glimpse into his exploratory spirit as an artist and pop-culture critic. For fans of this erudite back-pack rapper, I think the short interview works--as an artist, Lupe is concerned with inspiration and I think a fan would appreciate his insight.

On the other hand, the Tonight We Tanqueray campaign by ad agency Mother, which featured actors like Idris Elba and Michael Pitt, the series is far lighter in tone and content. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the campaign is quite artificial--putting a Tanqueray cocktail in the hands of each icon doesn't help.

As viewers we don't "get much" from the video, which seems like an afterthought on the way to a solid print campaign. Certainly, a well-done interview in a music magazine would provide more insight into Elba and his craft. This is a rather poor value exchange, one where we feel like we wasted our time. That said, this recent campaign is far and away much better than the racist, obnoxious Tony Sinclair Tanqueray campaign a few short years ago, and Elba does make a suit, I mean cocktail, look good.

In a depature from film, the recent Audi Icons campaign in collaboration with Cool Hunting (the trend hunting blog) is quite successful. Going far deeper than other icon campaigns, Cool Hunting brings us several well-written, in-depth articles about more than a dozen up-and-coming architects, designer, and artisans--each carefully chosen to reflect the emerging design principles of the 2011 Audi 7.

Sponsored content is not the same as journalism however, so don't expect a "critique" of the chosen icons, but you will learn something interesting if you're a design maven. As a bonus, the archive of articles will live on in the Cool Hunting site while film campaigns last only as long as the media-buy. Here, the value exchange is very high. I found myself reading several of the articles, and not all at once--but because the campaign was a series, I looked forward to reading them over time. I even participated in the promotional contest to name my favorite icon for inclusion in the next campaign--something I rarely do, being in the industry.

Martin Baas "Smoke" table via Cool Hunting, Audi Icons

How can icon campaigns be applied to a Shared Value Strategy (SVS)? And should they? Its quite often that strategists are presented with campaign ideas and concepts and told to retrofit them to a strategy. Because media companies and publishers often pitch icon campaigns, and the buy may have already been made, the challenge for the strategist is to make the most of it--starting with asking, "what's in it for the consumer?" But a SVS strategy has to go further, it has to also make sure the brand gains value, and society benefits overall.

Here is an excellent icon campaign that in fact, uses only one well-known icon, and the rest are amateurs. American Idol contestant, Casey Abrams has IBD (inflammatory bowel disease--either Chronn's disease or ulcerative colitis). Drugmaker Janssen worked with Casey and the Chron's & Colitis Foundation of America to create a unique awareness campaign called IBD Icons. The campaign invites IBD sufferers to nominate themselves and their fans to "vote" for them to be named an IBD Icon based on their story and personal message to other IBD sufferers.

The "fan club" works with Casey to promote IBD awareness. Now, in this campaign, we don't learn much about Casey, but we do hear directly from consumer/icons who have a unique opportunity to be heard. That's a great value exchange, and a strategy that produces value for Janssen, the CCFA, Casey's personal brand, and the audience (who are likely to be users of Janssen's IBD drugs). This campaign really demonstrates that a SVS can work within the branded entertainment and content medium, and in fact, if pushed further, can create an opportunity for even direct engagement with users. I would have voted for Casey on idol by the way if I wasn't forbidden to by my wife, apparently I'm "too old for that."

Want to create an Icon-style campaign but with real shared value for your brand that will benefit society too? Give me a call or email me, and let's chat. I can provide many other examples and I'm happy to send you links so you can ponder if this approach might be useful to you.

P&G's Man of the House Featured My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:54:00 +0000

My other blog, deadbait, was featured by Man of the House recently. What a nice surprise! MOH is a fantastic mens blog and online magazine written by fathers, writers and men who really care about the image of men, both as consumers and people. Across eight different verticals, the blog's purpose is to help Dad's succeed in every aspect of their lives. My blog was featured in the "Feeling Good" section under "Stress Relief", but there are sections for "Family & Parenting" too.

I've heard the founders speak on more than one occasion, Craig Heimbuch and Jason Avant--I believe that last time was at SXSW, where they gave a killer talk called "Are We Not Me? Reaching the New American Dad. Craig and Jason are both fathers and that figures predominantly in their editorial approach. Man of the House is jointly owned by P&G and Barefoot Proximity, a digital agency with much of P&G's business. P&G is no stranger to entertainment, having pioneered the soap opera, but gone are the days of selling shampoo during breaks. Today MOH is really a very successful example of Shared Value at work, a new concept of capitalism recently developed by Harvard professor Michael Porter and Mark R. Kramer.

“A business needs a successful community, not only to create demand for its products but also to provide critical public assets and a supportive environment. A community needs successful businesses to provide jobs and wealth creation opportunities for its citizens.” - Michael Porter, Mark R. Kramer.

While MOH is a community of fathers not farmers per se, as you may know, P&G is a fully purpose-driven company, and every brand has a unique purpose and goal to serve the customer. That's right, to SERVE--in a way that is higher than product benefit, a purpose that ultimately will help the consumer give it meaning in their lives. It's a win-win for consumer and brand. MOH is a category-wide purpose-driven branding play, the category being "Dads." And its not the first time P&G has created info-tainment sites aimed at consumers, BeingGirl, targeted to young women, broke the mold back in 2000 when it gave advice on things like menstruation and provided samples of tampons.

P&G has many products aimed at men, who are also fathers, so this branded content play makes a great deal of sense. I believe a Shared Value Strategy starts with a simple premise, what's good for all, is good for the brand. In this case, what's good for father's, is good for P&G. Rather than sell product outright through obnoxious digital advertising, this blog provides Dads with a higher service, advice, stories, tips and distractions. MOH is on a mission, to fill a much-needed purpose, providing advice to fathers, a community of men in need, and in turn, P&G can position their products and even have a deeper discussion about their benefit in content that is smartly-written, informative, fun and useful. It ranges from videos to articles, even polls and research that reveal interesting things about men--to men, and the marketer, of course. One interesting fact is that a MOH survey revealed that "80% of Dads think Mother's Day gets more attention than Father's Day." Hey Mom, where's the love?

If your company would like to pursue a Shared Value Strategy, and you're not sure where to start--give me a call or send me an email, I have over a dozen years of experience developing marketing strategy in digital, word-of-mouth and traditional advertising.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Man of the House and P&G Entertainment, nor was I asked to write or endorse them. I was not informed that my blog, deadbait, would be featured in Man of the House.

Shared Value Strategy At Work in Apparel Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:43:00 +0000

The selvedge denim industry makes premium jeans--they're pricey at $200+ a pop. But the heritage, handmade and sustainablity in the product manufacturing sells. On my personal blog, deadbait, I feature a number of denim brands that have made short films (in lieu of big marketing) that tell their story. A stand out is the 15 min short for Imogene + Willie.

I noticed that other apparel brands have jumped on this trend over the last few years, many, American "heritage" brands, like Filson, Carhartt, Danner. The Danner film series "Go The Distance" features their own customers telling stories about their Danner boots, and the demands their jobs put on their Danner boots. These branded documentaries are entertaining slices of Americana.

There seems to be a strong desire to capture the back-story of the American handmade movement. Levi's has certainly capitalized on this trend (see link). Their new "waterless" jean marketing has an excellent short film too that features the Director of Brand Concepts, Carl Chiara. The film neatly tells the motivation behind the jean while highlighting a sustainability story that's quite interesting too.

This is an excellent example of a new strategic approach to marketing that I call "Shared Value Strategy." Shared Value Strategy is simple--what's good for all, is good for the brand. With that notion, your marketing should benefit society and your company under a double-bottomline approach to branding, product design and advertising. For Levi's Water, the Shared Value Strategy behind this marketing is to tap into the societal need to reaffirm certain values have not been lost in the era of big manufacturing, that indeed, American values of hard work, originality, authenticity, and endurance are alive and well in American handmade products. Consumers get a high-design and sustainable product, with the emotional comfort of helping to keep the craft industry in America alive. The financial benefit to brands of course, is that a premium price is justifiable because the company is obviously choosing a less economical production method. There are added benefits to Levi's too--the handmade halo which increases competitiveness in a tight market (cotton has doubled in price in the last couple of years), branding with which to attract a serious denim afficionado, and environmentally-conscious shopper.

If you're interested in exploring a Shared Value Strategy for your brand or marketing, give me a call or send me an email. I have over a dozen years of experience in advertising as a strategic planner. I've worked with great brands including Gillette, Pepsi, and HP to create award-winning campaigns that are driven by powerful insights and killer creative. Whether your brand is large or "smallbatch", a Shared Value Strategy will ensure your marketing is good for society and your brand.

Introducing Shared Value Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Joel Johnson) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:33:00 +0000

After a dozen years in the business at top ad agencies working in digital, social and PR as a Planner, I've seen some pretty amazing developments--the explosion of multicultural marketing, the social media revolution, and the rise of "purpose-driven" marketing. I'm excited to now offer a unique form of strategic planning to brands and agencies that takes full advantage of the new technologies, insight-driven planning and the call for more socially impactful marketing. I call my new enterprise, Shared Value Strategy ( or SVS).

My planning approach develops "shared value" between society and brands where both benefit. The social media revolution and resulting scrutiny of a company's ethics, values and practices has proven that brands can no longer pander in their marketing, brands must market their benefit to society AND the consumer while making a profit. This approach results in a double-bottomline, the first being profits, the second being societal reputation and impact. The traditional method is to only serve profit--and thus account planning never took into account the impact of the marketing activities on society, just the consumer. It created GREAT ads, but EFFECTIVE marketing today creates shared value. I believe adding a double-bottomline end goal to account planning can make your branding and advertising truly excel.

Planning must make its end-goal, effective marketing toward a double bottomline--one for profit, the other for societal impact.

This thinking is rooted in the work of Michael Porter and Muhammad Yunus, two economists who have literally changed the fortunes of millions of people around the world with their innovative business thinking. Both recognized that business can make profit by helping improve society. Put simply, SVS states, what's good for all, will be good for the brand. Numerous examples demonstrate that by developing marketing that provides a service to people, meeting an unmet need in a sustainable way, can grow profit. The bigger result is a benefit to companies and society. Incredibly successful companies like P&G, Nestle, Pepsico, AT&T and Samsung have staked their very future on this, and I believe smart brands today will do the same. They will determine their brand's "purpose", align it with an unmet societal need, and make great advertising, products and services that will grow profits. Note--this isn't corporate social responsibility, this is about building sustainable and profitable businesses.

Here's an example: Nestle has for two years now run a Creating Shared Value Prize awarded to "an individual, non-government organisation, or small enterprise working in the field of nutrition, water, or rural development." Its a long-term financially supported award that "goes beyond Nestlé’s own efforts to create value for its shareholders and for the communities where it operates, by encouraging and rewarding the most innovative examples of Creating Shared Value in action." Its also the future of marketing.

Aligning a brands "purpose" with its product benefits and societal impact is the new job of planning.

Until now, traditional advertising account planning developed strategy from insights that helped match product benefits to unmet needs, but they were emotional or functional, they weren't "purpose-driven" and that's the difference. By uncovering the "shared values" of the consumer and brand, they will create "shared value" between them. This new objective makes engagement and results, a foregone conclusion.

With this double-bottomline strategic approach, companies can not only improve their profits, but they can improve their reputations--and my experience in PR has informed my belief that your brand's reputation can be even more valuable in the long-term. When economies lag and recession looms, reputation is everything. When its built on "shared values" and not price, consumers will reward brands with continued loyalty and engagement.

People recommend brands that add value to their lives and society, marketing needs to expand to include demonstrations of "shared value."

Today, no greater marketing tool exists than word-of-mouth. By developing strategies that are based on "shared value", consumers not only get useful brands in their lives, they get useful services that fulfill their needs. Its those services that drive talkability, that get shared and passed-on, and brand recommendation is the beneficiary. Creatives and planners have always known a great ad tells a great story that garners attention and that works...for a while. However, recommendation remains the #1 reason people try and buy new products and services. People don't recommend ads, they recommend the things that helped them achieve their own goals. As a planner, I now believe we must search for insights that drive the unmet needs of individual AND societal goals, because consumers are less likely to discern between the two as the behavior of companies and brands are so easily viewed through social media and a 24-hour news cycle. When anyone can be a pundit, the need to develop a community of enthusiastic and loyal users has become top priority. But you can't develop that community without serving that communities needs. Its simply not enough to be "liked," a shared value strategy should create ACTION.

Here's an example:
The Levi's campaign "Go Forth" by Wieden & Kennedy has tapped into the insight that the next generation doesn't want to be a passive consumer, but an active "pioneer." While the campaign features epic storytelling through broadcast, it also includes a social marketing element that invites fans to make positive change by supporting fellow "pioneers" achieve their social mission. In a lightly-branded call-for-action, Angela Larken shows us Thanda After School program in South Africa and a call for support via Twitter within the Go Forth campaign. Here Levi's demonstrates the values with real action, but requiring it from partnership with their fans in order to better society.

Shared Value Strategy can enable brands to go deeper and tell more meaningful stories.

Not all shared value strategies rely on a social cause, brands can create impactful campaigns that emphasize the values behind their companies, their employees, even the consumers who inspire them! "Branded documentaries" provide very "shareable" content that enable a brand to go far beyond the 30 sec. television spot.

Here's an example: To launch BMW's first electric vehicle, the company created a documentary series, Activate The Future, which asked innovators in transportation, urban planning and mobility to take out their crystal balls and talk about the future of driving. The branded films don't hard-sell the BMW ActivE. Instead, the films highlight important issues that speak to the values that motivated BMW to get into the electric vehicle game.

Lastly, if you think a shared value strategy will suck the fun out of your advertising, guess again! At my last agency, we created an incredibly powerful campaign to market HP's latest line of printers by first uncovering an shared value insight. We learned people didn't care about printing (very low involvement and seemingly irrelevant), but they were willing to take the new printer for a virtual test-drive if, in exchange, they could have a little fun. We created HP ePrint Live! Youtube's first-ever streaming comedy show featuring comedian Rob Riggle and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Viewers could tune in on their mobile, at work or at home on their computer, and submit "live" improv suggestions through Facebook, Twitter and email. The result, "an original way for customers to engage with ePrint," according to Tariq Hassan, VP Worldwide Marketing at HP. We had 3x normal engagement with average viewership at about 20 min! That's better than most broadcast television shows. Did we change the world, no, but a shared value strategy can be quite broad. We did change 20 min. of someone's life, we made ePrint into a useful, fun service!

Through my consulting on your planning, I will help you uncover your brand's purpose, identify the communities your brand can serve and the common shared values between them. I will help you develop the insights that will align and ally people to your brand based on those values. Through a unique creative briefing process, diagnostics, research, strategic development, and ideation, I will work with you to develop a shared value strategy that will impact both bottomlines. Your brand or campaign will receive:

Shared Values Diagnostic (research with brand and consumers)
Purpose-Driven Statement Workshop
Shared Value Marketing Plan (including strategy)
Shared Value Creative Briefing
Purpose-Driven Metrics Plan

In addition, SVS can work with your CSR, PR or ad agency to co-develop your Shared Value Strategy. I will also help you develop a SVS-informed marketing plan which a heavy emphasis on social media and branded content development, including innovative ways to tell your shared value story. Even more importantly, I can help you MAKE THE CASE for expanding your campaigns and branding to include shared value strategy with cases studies, in presentations, or in person as need be. Again, this isn't strictly CSR, this is marketing, product design, and branding. The goal is not to "offset" bad deeds with good and call it a strategy. SVS is a planning method that can actually turn your marketing into a valuable service that creates shared value for your company, brand and consumers, increasing the overall effectiveness of your efforts and leaving society better for it.

For a conversation about Shared Value Strategy and how your marketing can impact the bottomline and society, give me a call at 646-573-6410 or send me an email: joelrjohnson@gmail.com

I also recommend the following reading to get started:

We First: How Brands & Consumers uses Social Media to Build a Better World by Simon Mainwaring
Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus
Creating Shared Value by Michael Porter
First Make Money, Then Do Good by Steve Lohr