We First Social Branding Blueprint

Brand Community

MODULE 5 Questions:

I) Partnership:

“The solution lies in the principle of shared value, which

involves creating economic value in a way that also creates
value for society by addressing its needs and challenges.
Businesses must reconnect company success with social
progress. Shared value is not social responsibility,
Key thought: philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to
Brands must be the achieve economic success.”
chief celebrant, not Michael Porter & Mark R. Kramer, “The Big Idea: Creating
celebrity, of their Shared Value,” Harvard Business Review, 2011
communities.
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“We are very committed to transparency and authenticity

of brand voice – the employee is the voice of Best Buy. We
are passionate about that.”
Gina Debogovich, Senior Manager, Communities, Best Buy

1. Which phrase best describes your company’s current relationship with its customer community?

Transactional (purely services/goods to be sold)

Broadcast (brand talks about itself positioned as the destination)

Controlling (brand dialogues with customers while retaining upper hand)

Partnership (an equal and fluid weighting of importance)

Defensive (brand protecting itself against technology and customer challenges)

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2. Name 3 strategies for how your brand can better celebrate its community (for example, support
a cause of shared concern, celebrate success stories within the community, invite customer co-
creation of products/services).

3. Select 3 community-building strategies on which you would like to focus.

Draft a social contract with your customers

Crowdsource a new brand service, product or extension

Co-create a marketing campaign through user generated content

Incentivize your customers to promote your brand through rewards

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Enlist the support of your customer community to support a cause

Create a system of social currency (eg. badges) that rewards participation

Cross-pollinate your communities across social media channels

Collaborate with a for/non-profit partner to build each other’s communities

Demonstrate greater authenticity, transparency and accountability through engagement

4. In order to practice the partnership communication dynamic, answer the following.

a. Stories: Identify one story about your brand that communicates its purpose, values and
vision that would inspire customer engagement

b. Formats: Select three formats through which to tell this story (for example, blog, video,
podcast, webinar, photos)

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c. Vehicles: Select three content vehicles appropriate to this story and its formats (for example,
Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Email).

d. Destinations: Name three destinations for these vehicles to find the desired audience (for
example, websites, blogs, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Slideshare, Pinterest).

e. Conversations: Name three strategies to maintain engagement with your customers at these
destinations (share more stories, crowdsource similar customer stories, respond to customer
feedback).
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II) Contribution:
Key thought:
Life’s necessities
must generate the
necessities of life.
1. Identify a cause/s that is in alignment with your brand’s core values (for example, the environment,
education, disease, child mortality, women’s rights, cancer, sustainability.)
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“Business has always had a contract with society –
expectations from a variety of stakeholders that a
company must fulfill in order to earn its freedom to operate
and achieve success. Today, companies are facing tectonic
shifts in social expectations. Customers have more ability
to put pressure on companies to meet their expectations for
contributions to the public good. Shareholders are exerting
pressure to increase companies’ social presence; and
increasing attention is being paid to indirect stakeholders,
such as lawmakers, regulatory agencies, the news media,
community activists, and nonprofit organizations. All of
these groups can influence, and may even redefine, the
social contract and what it means to a company to fulfill or
exceed it.”
CECP, “Business’s Social Contract: Capturing the Corporate
Philanthropy Opportunity” (100 CEO’s)
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“The whole corporate social responsibility idea is trying to
graft something on to the old profit maximization model.
What we need is transformation [in] the way we think
about business, what it’s based on. People want businesses
to do good in the world. It’s that simple…We need a deeper,
fundamental reform in the essence of business.”
John Mackey, CEO Whole Foods
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2. Identify a cause that is in alignment with your brand’s purpose and the values you share with your
customer community.

3. Based on your brand’s core values and purpose, identify one association or coalition of brands that
you can join to help scale your positive social impact (for example, B Corporations, sustainability
groups, cause coalitions).

4. Select 3 strategies to support a cause that is in alignment with your brand’s core values.

Money Donations (Financial gifts)

Offer Deal (Donate deals/discounts)

Give Gifts (Donate in-kind gifts)

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Offer Talent (Employees give expertise)

Volunteer Time (Employees donate time)

Go Shopping (Contributions through purchases)

Virtual Goods (Contributions through social gaming)

Search (Contributions triggered through Search)

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5. Select 3 giving platforms or tools that make it easy for your brand to contribute in alignment with its
core values.

Buying Clubs (Groupon, Living Social, Facebook Deals)

Causecast (employee cause engagement)

CarrotMob (group spending in return for social responsibility)

Common Kindness (save money on purchases to give to causes)

Crowdrise (online/personal fundraising platform)

DonorsChoose (online charities for education/students)

Double Impact (sustainability game play triggers donations to charities)

Facebook Causes (‘Like’ Cash Donations, ‘Like’ Kind Donations, Credit Donations)

Free Rice (game play triggers donations to WFP)

FirstGiving (non-profit fundraising platform)

Games for Change (gaming for social good)

Give Gifts (buy gifts for charities)

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Good Search (online search triggers gifts to charities)

Jumo (social network connecting individuals/time/resources changing the world)

JustGive (online charitable giving)

Infinite Family (mentor a teen online)

Kiva (loans to entrepreneurs in developing world)

Network For Good (easy online giving platform)

Plan USA (buy gifts for communities)

Razoo (online fundraising platform)

SocialVibe (engagement ads triggering donations)

SocialVest (customers buy from brands to earn dollars for causes)

Sparked (online micro-volunteering)

The Mutual (perks from brands for supporting the environment)

Virtual Goods (proceeds go to emergency relief/causes)

Volunteer Match (local volunteering opportunities)

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6. Select one way your brand can crowdfund social good in alignment with its core values.

Fundraising for Causes (Crowdrise)

Fundraising for Projects (Kickstarter)

Ideation (OpenIDEO)

Investing in Social Enterprises (33Needs)

Connecting Financial/Intellectual Capital (StartSomeGood)

7. Select one way your brand can contribute through Facebook in alignment with its core values.

‘Like’ for Donation (Fan page ‘Likes’ trigger donations)

Action for Donation (Post a comment, pic or video to trigger donation)

Interactive Act for Donation (Timberland’s ‘Plant a Tree’, Aflac’s ‘Friend of a Feather’ app, Diet
Coke’s ‘Capture the Flag’)

Voting Campaign (Pepsi Refresh, Target Bullseye Gives)

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8. Based one the following examples, suggest one idea for a mobile app that would allow your brand
and customers to contribute to a cause in alignment with its core values.

Ed Rover (shop to trigger donations to local education)

GoodGuide (mindful shopping)

Remas (immigrants sending finances home)

MoneySaver (manage Individual Development Account)

TalkChalk (safe communication between teachers/students over FB/Email/SMS)

Nutrition Mission (gamifies healthier food choices)

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9. Based on the following examples, suggest one idea for how your brand can leverage pop culture to
drive awareness, support or funding for a cause in alignment with its core values.

American Red Cross and #tigerblood hashtag donation drive (massive media exposure)

Harry Potter Alliance gets Muggles to give back (distributed 80,000 books)

American Cancer Society and YouTube birthday video with Justin Bieber (1.8 million views)

10. Using this social contract as a template, articulate the mutual responsibilities of your brand and
its customers (being sure to consider your brand’s Intention, Mission, Promise, Ethics, Consumer
Expectations, Societal Benefits, Consumer Rewards, and Desired Outcomes).

a. We believe companies have a right to innovation, entrepreneurship and profit making while
consumers have a right to a healthy society and planet to live on.

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b. We recognize an interdependent, global community requires an expanded definition of self-
interest that acknowledges the needs of all inhabitants of the planet.

c. We define success through prosperity; that means the well-being of many, not the wealth of
a few.

d. We believe that future of profit is purpose.

e. We believe that the interests of companies and consumers are best served through a
sustainable practice of capitalism — economically, morally, ethically, environmentally, and
socially.

f. We believe that corporations and consumers owe each other an equal duty to operate with
transparency, authenticity and accountability.

g. We believe that social technology, business and shopping have the potential to change our
world through new modes of engagement, collaboration, and contribution.

h. We believe the values that inform our daily practice of capitalism include: sustainability,
fairness of rewards, fiscal responsibility, accountability, purposefulness, engagement, and
global citizenship.

i. We believe that corporations and consumers are duty-bound to serve as custodians of

global well being for this and future generations.

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j. We believe that the private sector must cooperate, collaborate and coordinate with
governments and NGOs to create a unified force for social good.
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Additional Notes:

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