As a blogger, I am a newbie, but not to Molson. I have been employed by Molson for over 10 years and I must say, the current Responsible Drinking program they’ve rolled out is the best I’ve ever seen.
Who benefits more from a well thought out, well-executed (much hyped?) community investment program? The company, charities/different organizations or the employees from which the investment originates?
The 2004 Cone Corporate Citizenship Report discusses how some companies have recognized the positive impact of supporting social issues and the additional benefits of aggressively communicating these efforts to as many people as possible. The report describes how more and more folks south of the border want businesses to discuss what they do in the community, however few actually do it (well) for fear of being seen as too self-congratulatory.
Boastful or not, “an overwhelming majority of Americans (86%) want companies to talk about their efforts, yet only 4 in 10 are actually doing it well.” Some of those companies are engaged in voodoo marketing efforts, an opinion expressed in yesterday’s NYTimes by Ron Jarvis, Home Depot senior vice-president.
Despite their desire to know, employees of a particular business stand to benefit just as much (maybe more) than consumers from a well-publicized community investment campaign. The difference between posting something internally and boasting about community investment in a public space is tremendous – primarily because it demonstrates that a company stands behind a particular (employee driven) initiative and that they’re willing to stand up and shout about it.
Some may ask, “how do we know that our corporate contribution is making a difference in the lives of people?” My response – perhaps it’s just a case of asking all those involved.
This question comes up all the time – how do you apply traditional marketing metrics to community investment? How can you actually measure the impact of time spent volunteering or the impact of a one-time donation to fight AIDS or a clean water drinking initiative in Africa?
Well, skeptics, there is hope. Aside from measures like employee satisfaction, positive press, and all the stuff one normally looks at (all valuable information), sites are offering cause-specific calculators that give you more drilled-down, and some might argue, more socially impactful information.
Take, for example, the Calvert Foundation. They have a “calculate your impact” tag at the top of their website, different from the much hyped Zero Footprint calculator. This one attempts to calculate the actual social return on your investment. For example, when I punch in a $5,000 donation, one-time, to a micro-lending organization in the domestic U.S., my social return on investment would finance 15.6 micro-enterprises and create 31.13 jobs – a calculation everyone understands.
A growing body of evidence suggests that a company’s role in its community can be a factor in increasing profitability, strengthening company brand and reputation, elevating employee morale and customer loyalty, increasing market knowledge, attracting and retaining employees, and encouraging product innovation, among others. These factors are already measured by a series of stringent factors, like actual amount donated per employee, amount of volunteer hours, and end results.
But as the advent of these online calculators continues to pop-up, the calculations and metrics that are applied to these initiatives will surely increase. And accordingly, so will everyone’s ability to measure their impact.
In case you missed the Financial Post on June 15th, there was a full-page article on FP3 entitled “Doing the Right Thing” that talked about Molson’s community investment strategy. In it, our strategy, and the process it took to develop it, is discussed at length.
“Traditionally, you have someone in charge of philanthropy and they make decisions about donating money,” explained Scott Ewart, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer, Molson Canada. “We wanted our customers and employees to feel that we were doing the right thing and surprisingly, the results that came back were uniquely aligned.”
Other companies mentioned in the article include Sears Canada, Becel (Ride for Heart Campaign) and Canadian Tire – all companies that have realized the branding power gained by engaging in meaningful CSR or charitable giving programs.
Molson’s is particularly robust, as stated in the article, because it has added an in-house volunteer program and a targeted donation strategy – aspects that make the program more three-dimensional (and in our minds, more engaging and effective).
“You can’t link sales and profit to this activity,” explains Ewart. However, increasingly, market regulators and shareholders expect this kind of activity.
The results of our particular shift continue to unfold – yet so far, polling from 2006 revealed that 78 per cent of Molson employees said they were “extremely satisfied” with Molson as a place of work versus 62 per cent from the year before. This change, and whether or not it is attributable to our new investment strategy, remains to be seen. That there is a significant correlation, however, is more than likely.
Molson announces donation in hopes of motivating corporate support.
(Brantford, ON) – This year’s inaugural Help–A-Child-Smile cancer jubilee got a boost last weekend after Molson Canada announced a $2,000 donation in support of the event. Jubilee organizers are hopeful that the donation – 10 per cent of this year’s fundraising goal – will encourage other area businesses to get involved.
“This organization gives families who are dealing with cancer an opportunity to smile,” explained Ted Lavell, Brantford area resident and event organizer. “We’re hoping this donation from Molson motivates other local businesses to support members of the community suffering from cancer.”
The June 30th jubilee, hosted at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 90, will feature door prizes, a silent auction, bands and non-stop live music from noon to midnight. All proceeds donated to the event will go directly towards providing families with opportunities to laugh and have fun through the Help-A-Child-Smile organization.
“However large or small the donation, we’re hoping this announcement serves as an informal challenge to other area businesses,” explained Matt Grahlman, area sales representative, Molson Canada. “We’re happy to be able to contribute and hope others follow suite however they can.”
The cancellation of another local area cancer fundraiser has prompted many in the community, including Canadian Legion members, organizers and volunteers to get behind the organizing efforts.
This year’s event is in honour of Bradley Campbell, who before succumbing to a hard fought battle with Cancer in December 2006, regularly visited Hamilton General Hospital in costume on Halloween to give candy to sick kids and flowers to their mothers. The event is also in honour of another area resident taken by cancer, Jan Stevens.
