Case Study #39: Building Brands Through Social Impact

Two years ago, I published a case study about TOMS Shoes. Since September 2010, TOMS has surpassed its social committment -"With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One" - by giving over one million pairs of new shoes to children all over the world. Keep up the great work, Blake Mycoskie!

Brand building based on points of product, service and channel differentiation is rather antiquated. Stakeholders care about brand impacts peripheral to the income statement. TOMS provides compelling product descriptions to secure sales. However, TOMS mostly discusses health risks of moving around barefoot, explains progress with global shoe giving and provides transparency into the organization's stakeholders. TOMS is not only socially responsible and accountable; TOMS is a great brand.

What if a Chief Marketing Officer walked into his Chief Operating Officer's office and recommended: "We should re-position our brand based on a national or global cause." Let's assume the CMO and COO work in the food quickservice (QSR) industry. National or global causes can be: feeding hunger, obesity levels in young adults and increased risk of diabetes. Operational plans can be designed from the agreed upon causes.

The pervasiveness of bullying in American schools saddens me. A lot of this harrassment is done online. In response to the White House Conference for Bullying Prevention, Facebook created a suite of tools to protect users from bullying. Facebook can certainly use the functional enhancement to better demostrate an overall committment to responsible online communication.

Cause-based brand strategies may be challenging to implement in established companies. When dollars drive decisions, a "one for one" strategy may be a tough sell. Even if a company cannot build a cause-based brand, it should invest more in helping the world be a better place.