Essentials for Marketers

And Marketing
Communications
(7BSP1014)

Blended Learning Task 4

CSR Dimensions And

Marketing Response

Muhammad Usman
Student # : 10247698

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Corporate Social Responsibility:

Corporate Social Responsibility is the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable

economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and
society at large to improve their quality of life (World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, 2004).

Specifically, CSR is a voluntary actions that business can take, over and above compliance
with minimum legal requirements, to address both its own competitive interests and the
interests of wider society. There are some core dimensions in which the business units are
focused under CSR issues.

Physical Environment:

CSR-Physical environment is more closely connected with the consumer needs and
demand for more ethical and environmentally friendly products. According to the Patrick
Cescau, CEO of Unilever “Concerns about social and environmental issues provide
opportunities for brands to connect with their consumers at a deeper level and, in doing so,
gain competitive and sales advantage”

Sustainable Marketing:

P&G’s new Ariel “Cool Clean” technology is symbol of sustainable innovation, creating
significant environmental progress. It allows washing at low temperature, whilst achieving
the same great wash results. The lower energy bills appeal to consumers, but P&G also
partners with the Energy Savings Trust, Ademe, Consodurable, Enel and many others to get
the energy-saving message out.

The 2008 Sony BRAVIA LCD TV range includes various measures to reduce the
environmental impact of the products. Some models have a power consumption of just
0.19W in stand-by mode, around 97% less than 10 years ago. A brightness sensor in most
models also automatically adjusts the brightness of the picture in accordance with its
surrounding, meaning that energy consumption is reduced when being watched in a darker,
evening setting. As “eco friendly” slowly becomes a more important influence on the
purchasing decision as well.

SONY Play station has partnered with Pli Design, a company that specializes in
manufacturing eco-friendly furniture; to give old Play station 2 consoles a second life as
chairs. The ribs of the REEE chairs are made from around 8.5 recycled PS2s. In 2008, the
company plans to recycle around 7.2 tons of plastic to create 3,000 chairs

Social / Consumer Environment:

In CSR-Social environment the customers expected the business units to act a corporate
citizen and to work toward the benefits of society in various forms ranging from charity to
jobs creation to social activities for the benefit of the community as a whole.

Societal marketing/ course-related marketing:

Sony’s vision for the CSR is “Undertaking activities in fields where Sony is best able to
do so, to help address the needs of communities”. They formulated their all the Social

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 CSR under the tag of “For the Next Generation.” They are directly using their Technology,
Employees, & Partnerships for the education of Science, Music, Films, & Photography.

Liquor industry is not yet mandatory for putting a word of caution on the bottles, but still
some brands are doing it, in the best interest of the customer. Kahlua brand, Mexican
coffee liqueur came up with a slogan, enjoy your exotic moment responsibly.

Supply Chain Environment:

With the rising trend of raw material supply and production taken place in the
underdeveloped countries, there are so many hazards attached to it which include low
wages, human rights, poverty, and exploitations. It not only covers the human aspect but
also cater birds, animals, and sea lives.

Fair Trade
Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is planning to invest some £40m over the next three years in
farming in a bid to boost its rural supply chain, it has been reported.
The group will pump the cash into its farming "development groups", which it set up four
years ago to work with farmers covering different product areas such as beef, lamb, milk
and grain. The funding will be used to improve infrastructure and efficiency at the farms, for
benefits such as covering vets' bills and training, and for developing IT resources for the
farmers.
Cargill has committed itself to developing "responsible" supply chains. The company's
putting efforts in food safety, responsible supply chains, environmental innovation, rural
development, workplace safety and community engagement. The company's supply chain
programs including the co-founding in west Africa of the UTZ Certified cocoa scheme to help
produce cocoa more effectively and responsibly, and improve the incomes of the
farmers who grow it.
Currently the major focus of fair trade is in the agriculture sector and people are also getting
more and more conservative in this aspect. The consumers are more comfortable in buying
the fair trade products of this nature which can be shown with the following chart.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Coffee 13.7 15.0 15.5 18.6 23.1 34.3 49.3 65.8 93.0 117.0 137.3 157.0

Tea 2.0 4.5 5.1 5.9 7.2 9.5 12.9 16.6 25.1 30.0 64.8 68.1

Cocoa products* 1.0 2.3 3.6 6.0 7.0 10.9 16.5 21.9 29.7 25.5 26.8 44.2

Honey products* n/a n/a 0.9 3.2 4.9 6.1 3.4 3.5 3.4 2.7 5.2 4.6

Bananas n/a n/a 7.8 14.6 17.3 24.3 30.6 47.7 65.6 150.0 184.6 209.2

TOTAL 16.7 21.8 32.9 48.3 59.5 85.1 112.7 155.5 216.8 325.2 418.7 483.1

Sales of Fair-trade certified products in the UK- Estimated UK retail sales by value 1998-2009 (£
million)

Employees Relations:

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This aspect is more related to the employee management communication, equal
opportunity, and personal development of employees. As all the above points have a direct
relation the efficiency of the work force. Companies succeed in manage their employees
best by viewing them as internal customers, fulfilling their needs, through a compelling menu
of “job-products.” The features of such job-products include salary, health benefits
packages, and job responsibilities and when designed properly, can contribute to job
satisfaction, employee retention, and productivity.

Internal Marketing:

Since 2006, Volvic has worked in partnership with UNICEF on a program to improve access
to safe drinking water in developing countries. From its beginnings in Niger, the “Drink 1,
Give 10” campaign has helped dig and maintain wells that give local populations reliable
access to 40 litres of safe drinking water per person per day. The programme has rallied
support from employees. In France more than 300 employees took part in events organised
in stores with UNICEF volunteers to promote the program and the brand.

Sony places a high priority on communication between management and individual

employees. Since fiscal year 2005, Sony's CEO, Howard Stringer, has made a point of
visiting Sony sites around the world to communicate directly with employees by holding town
hall meetings and creating other opportunities for dialogue. A considerable number of
employees enter the annual human rights slogan competition, which is held to raise
awareness of human rights issues among individual employees.

Sony Corporation has also introduced the Counselling Service, which provides support to
employees while ensuring a high level of privacy and a swift response.

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Conclusion:

The above discussion was all about what the business units are doing to ensure their compatibility
with the changing trends and social awareness. Here are some keys facts which show the
customer’s responsiveness towards all these efforts.

17% increase in 2007 of ethical food and drinks in the UK, up from £4.1 b to £4.8 b.
(GMI Consumer Polls, 2007)

43% of consumers consider product information on packaging important when judging brands.
(Accountability, "What assures consumers?", 2006)

20% growth in clothing boycotts in 2007 to reach £338million.

(Addressing Consumer Concern About Climate Change, The McKingsley Quarterly (March 2008)

81% increase in UK household spending in line with ethical values from 2002-2007.
(Ethical Consumerism Report 2007, The Co-Operative Bank)

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References:

Pomering, Dolnicary, (2007), Consumer response to corporate social responsibility initiatives: An

investigation of two necessary awareness states, University of Wollongong

Steve Millard,(2010) Why-Labels-on-Alcohol-Products-Could-Soon-Change, ezinearticles.com

Bhattacharya, Sankar, Korschun,(2007), CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS AN

INTERNAL MARKETING STRATEGY, Sloan Management Review, Fall 2007

http://www.crm2day.com/employee_relationship_management

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

http://www.berr.gov.uk

http://ro.uow.edu.au

http://www.textart.ru/advertising/slogans/beverage/liqueur-slogans.html

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

http://www.icap.org/table/HealthWarningLabels

www.fairtrade.org.uk

http://www.procurementleaders.com

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