Overcoming skepticism

This post reflects on readings for week 7.

The Australian public, and perhaps the wider world, tends to view corporate sponsorship and purported acts of corporate social responsibility skeptically. Corporations are in the business of making cash -- lots of it. Why should they spend on anything that doesn't contribute to the bottomline?

These negative perceptions must be managed when planning for any corporate involvement in social and community work, regardless of how altruistic the intent. If the public wouldn't get close to what the organization is doing with a ten-foot pole, then nothing will get accomplished, or at least not efficiently.

In Vodaphone's case, an ingenious idea to give the Australia public a sense of ownership in the World of Difference Program was used. Instead of dumping a lump of hard cash to a random charity, WOD instead gave four Australians the chance to work for their favourite charity for a year, with their salaries and expenses to be fully paid for.

On top of an already innovative idea, WOD got the endorsement of Australian Women's Netball Team captain Liz Ellis, as well as the winners of previous years' WOD to give media interviews. By placing a public figure -- the choice of a sports celebrity over an entertainment celebrity was a good one -- and "everyday" people as the face of the WOD campaign, the publicity campaign was humanized and came across as being more grassroots oriented, rather than being pushed by an aloof, faceless corporation.

WOD was able to use previous winners to push a human-interest angle that otherwise would not have been present. These case studies of individuals working for charity for a year must have had generate huge media and public interest and no doubt helped to garner more publicity and support for WOD.

Often, challenges faced by PR campaigns do not come from competing businesses, events or products, but rather from inertia and perceptions already innate in the public. By tailoring campaigns to overcome this, CSR and philanthrophy objectives are easier to achieve.