Great BrandsNever have to Give Back

Chapter 7

The framework helps companies design and

develop their businesses so that socially responsible

practices are embedded into the core of the business

Here’s an overview of the Level 5 Relevance framework:• Level 1: At the most basic level, companies should support the issues and platforms of

their industries.

• Level 2: The second level is also pretty obvious – companies need to support their local communities.

• Level 3: The next level of relevance is target, meaning social efforts should resonate with the company’s target audience. By supporting the things your target customers care about, you gain their attention, respect, and trust. So you want to be involved in the organizations that your target is involved with, be at events that trigger your targets’ charitable donations, and tap into the appeals that motivate their social consciousness.

• Level 4: Aligning your social efforts with your brand identity and competitive positioning is Level 4 in the framework. The objective here is to reinforce your brand message and increase your differentiation all the while advancing your social relevance.

• Level 5: The last level of the Level 5 Relevance framework is values relevance. This is about aligning and integrating your business with social values.

Level 5 Relevance Examples

• Industry Relevance—industry association campaign: Your company should get involved with causes that align with your industry; for restaurants, fighting childhood obesity through the National Restaurant Association’s Kids Live Well campaign is a natural fit.

Level 5 Relevance Examples

• Community Relevance—disaster relief efforts: Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen’s Mobile Kitchen rolled into Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after a hurricane hit the area in 2011, and by feeding relief workers and residents, it served a critical role in meeting the needs of its local community.

Level 5 Relevance Examples

• Target Relevance—the Ronald McDonald House Charities: Through this long-standing effort, McDonald’s shares its commitment to improving the health and well-being of children with its primary customer target segment, families.

Level 5 Relevance Examples

• Brand Positioning Relevance—Chipotle’s Veggie U pro- gram: Chipotle Mexican Grill advances its “Food with Integrity” brand platform by helping nonprofits like Veggie U, which gives students the opportunity to experience the process of planting, growing, and harvesting fresh produce.

Level 5 Relevance Examples

• Values Relevance—Shake Shack’s Stand for Something Good initiatives: Hospitality is one defining value of Shake Shack. So the company has teamed up with the Hearing Access Program to install audio induction loops in its locations to ensure that its bustling restaurants are welcoming to customers who are hard of hearing.

An new era where corporate reputation and brand management are the same

• The four components are de ned this way:

◆  Success: Innovative, associated with quality products, and financially strong.

◆  Fairness: Well priced, offering good value for money, honest and decent in relationships with customers, suppliers, and other companies.

◆  Responsibility: Respectful of employees, scrupulous about supply chain practices, and protective of the environment.

◆  Trust: Consistently delivers on promises about products and services.

CSR to CSV

Some Tips• Pursue a combination of efforts. A single program is not likely to achieve all ve

levels, so it’s best to develop a portfolio of related activities and initiatives that together fulfill your objectives.

• Don’t spread your efforts too thin. As with all aspects of brand- building, it’s better to do a few things well than a lot of things halfway. Focus your efforts and make sure you allocate the resources they need to succeed.

• Make the long-term commitment. Level 5 Relevance can’t be rushed. You need time to adapt your systems, not to mention your thinking. And it will take customers awhile before they notice your efforts. Then they’ll wait to see whether or not you’re really committed before they support you.

• Don’t go it alone. Many of the most successful efforts rely on strong partnerships with like-minded organizations. Even consider partnering with others in your category. Unlike market share, social efforts aren’t a zero sum game.

That’s It!