CSR and ESG matter—but only when they matter to your audiences
CSR and ESG matter—but only when they matter to your audiences

By on in Strategy

CSR and ESG matter—but only when they matter to your audiences

More than a decade ago, I had the pleasure of working with IEG, a client whose sole purpose was to help companies figure out the best sponsorship opportunities for their brands. IEG has been around for 40 years, so it makes me chuckle that the idea of “materiality” or “relevance” in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and now environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs is considered a breakthrough idea.


Before you choose a cause or promote a giant step forward, make sure you really mean it—and that it’s meaningful to your audiences. Insincerity will cost you.

IEG’s central point is that sponsorship doesn’t offer value unless whatever is being sponsored is important to a brand’s audience. Seems clear as day. What’s more, they’ve spent decades demonstrating that if you choose a cause for the right reasons, you can actually quantify the returns. That same thinking goes beyond sponsorship and translates readily to net zero, diversity, transparency and other corporate initiatives.

What I learned from the team at IEG (and by attending their amazingly inspiring annual conference) has always stuck with me. It’s also made me a little frustrated when I’ve been asked to promote a NASCAR or NBA sponsorship because the head of a female-skewing brand wanted free tickets.

How does all this fit into your marketing? Before you choose a cause or promote a giant step forward, make sure you really mean it—and that it’s meaningful to your audiences. Insincerity will cost you, as Pepsi’s attempt to (profit from? solve? stick its uninformed nose into?) mounting racial tensions demonstrated in its epic disaster starring Kendall Jenner.

 

If your audience is female, skip the pink ribbon and take a look at your compensation and leave policies. If you want to be part of a movement, bring the movement on board. If you want to sponsor an NBA team, start a business that caters to basketball fans.

Don’t start by looking for something to promote. Not everything needs to be promoted. Sometimes you just need to do the right thing. Chances are, though, if it’s the right thing for your employees, customers and the rest of the planet, it’ll be worth promoting, too.