We know branding matters. Companies, non-profits, social enterprises, and all kinds of organizations spend time, resources, and energy building and maintaining a brand. In these days leading to Super Bowl 2013, professional sports teams are a ripe example of importance of creating team, loyalty, and a brand to believe in.
Reading: “Brand Citizenship Rules” by Allison McGuire
But, as Allison McGuire (of Network for Good) unpacks in her informative post, there is an emerging focus on building a greater mission into the backbone of a brand. In a world of smartphones, tablets, and instant access to information—informed consumerism isn’t something you have to do before or after your shop, but something you do while you are deciding on products and services to add to your shopping cart.
Enter brand citizenship. It is the broader concept of connecting core values into all layers of an organization’s operations. Associating a brand with an experience or aspirational cause that is greater than the sum of what the organization is selling—is what consumers increasingly seek. People want to support the good guys not just with their social media ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ but with their hard-earned dollars.
“So, how can you plug in your audience to your CSR portfolio and brand identity? Start with cause,” suggests Allison, “Your audience feels good about giving to a cause they care about and your brand citizenship gets a lift. Win-win.”
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| credit: Armchair Advocates |
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