Eric Block On Responsible Branding

Congratulations to the wise mind of Joe Franses of Coca-Cola Enterprises who calls on markets to harness the power of brands to engage consumers in the sustainable brands movement.

We’ve long called on a new take for CSR – corporate social responsibility.  The problem with CSR as it is currently defined and often practiced is that it lives at the “corporate” level.  The issue with this approach is that most consumers don’t want to have relationships with corporations.  What they do have is relationships with BRANDS.  Activating social responsibility at the brand level is key to get consumers to take notice of efforts and get engaged in the movement.  By selecting socially responsible efforts that are authentic to a brand’s values, consumers are much more likely to get engaged.

Note this report from Sustainable Life Media:

While speaking at the conference, Mr. Franses also stressed that innovation will be a major driver of business sustainability moving forward – and success will depend on how well brands can engage consumers in the process. The first step in this process, he said, will be for companies like Nestle, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Unilever to work at aligning their top-down management initiatives with brand agendas around sustainability more effectively.