How Marketers Can Drive Social Change and Profits

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Myriam Sidibe, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, says that brands are uniquely positioned to encourage shifts in consumer behavior that benefit individuals, communities, and the environment. A public health expert, she has studied these types of mission-led marketing campaigns and helped Unilever design one for Lifebuoy soap that not only promoted hand-washing in the developing world but also boosted the business's bottom line. She explains how companies of any size can find the right causes, craft authentic messages, and measure the return on their investments, adding that the current pandemic and economic crisis have made this work even more important. Sidibe is the author of the HBR article "Marketing Meets Mission."

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone it's Kurt we need your help with our annual survey this is your last chance to help us get to know you so we can make idea cast even better for you
0:09.8	it's easy just go to HBR.org
0:13.0	podcast survey.
0:15.0	Again, that's HBR.org slash podcast survey.
0:19.0	And, thanks for listening. Welcome to the HBO Ideacast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Allison Beard. For a long time, governments and nonprofits have taken the lead in trying to change people's behavior in ways that
0:54.1	improve our environment, communities, and lives, whether it's getting us to quit smoking,
0:58.8	or recycle, save energy, or avoid drugs. But our guest today says that companies can run these
1:04.8	types of campaigns too and that it's not only good for society but also their
1:09.1	bottom lines. Here's the start of one that aired in Kenya. What you're about to see is not an advertisement.
1:15.0	This is a life-saving message that every Kenya needs to see,
1:19.0	which could save the lives of millions of children.
1:22.0	It goes on to show how hand washing saves children's
1:25.0	lives and it was paid for by Unilever's Life Boy soap brand. Our guest is going to
1:30.1	explain why more of the private sector should consider mission-led marketing like this,
1:34.4	especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people are looking to businesses for leadership
1:39.8	and relief, response and recovery efforts.
1:42.9	Miriam Civide is a public health expert,
1:45.1	a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School,
1:47.3	and Unilever's first social mission manager.
1:50.0	She's the author of the HBO Article
1:51.6	Marketing Meets Mission,
1:53.1	as well as the book Brands on a Mission,
	...

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