Insights

2011 Cone Cause and CR Trends

The economy may still be sluggish, but from tackling the difficult issue of bullying to overhauling their packaging, there was no shortage of bold moves by brands to take on key social and environmental issues this year.

How Much Is Enough? 10 Factors that Influence Your Investment in a Cause

$10,000, $100,000 or $1 million? There is no magic number companies should commit to cause marketing efforts. A combination of data and intuition determines this figure, but these 10 factors will help you assess what is right for your effort.

New Media is Revolutionizing Cause: Are You Ready?

Forget the future, new media is changing the way we do cause marketing today. Organizations are successfully using new technologies to promote their products and services, but the opportunity is equally as ripe to market your cause.

Out with Transparency: In with Transparent Brands

Transparent brands embrace transparency not as a buzzword, but as an ethos. Learn the 10 essentials for transparent brands.

Cause Trend: Can Voting Campaigns Win?

Voting campaigns, in which companies let consumers choose how they will invest their philanthropic dollars, have fast become one of the most popular techniques for consumer engagement in the cause space. But are they sustainable?

Global Fund Under Fire - Will (PRODUCT) RED Brands Get Burned?

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Africa is under fire after revealing “grave misuse of funds” in four countries where it operates. What does this mean for the iconic (PRODUCT)^RED cause brand that supports it?

Mike Lawrence Discusses Crisis Management in BCCCC Webinar

Mike Lawrence, executive vice president and chief reputation officer at Cone, recently discussed his take on crisis management and preparedness as part of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC) webinar series.

Why Corporate Responsibility Lives (Despite The WSJ Trying To Kill It)

The Wall Street Journal prominently featured an opinion piece this week challenging Corporate Social Responsibility. We are writing to offer a point-of-view with the hope it may be useful in your business conversations and decisions.

Click here for the full response.

Sustainable New Media

Out with the old, in with the new…media, that is. So it goes for corporate responsibility (CR) communications today as companies abandon one-way channels and strive to reach connected consumers in the dynamic world of microblogging and viral video.

Who's Responsible?

Companies are changing the way they approach burgeoning social and environmental challenges because today, it’s difficult to assert where a company’s responsibility begins, where it ends and who is ultimately accountable for solving the issues we collectively face.

Fast Company's 30-Second MBA with Jens Bang

When does a meeting need to be face to face? Cone CEO Jens Bang weighs in for Fast Company.

Corporate Philanthropy: Are Your Employees Working Hard Enough?

Ever stop to assess the breadth of charitable organizations your employees support? Research from The Consulting Network found nearly 40 percent of companies with a matching gifts program match employee donations to all 501(c)(3) organizations. For the record, that’s 1.5 million nonprofits! If your employee giving pool is beginning to sound more like an IRS record than a strategic list, it may be time to provide some focus.

Cash-Register Cause: Cause Promotions at Retail

Cone Vice President Marc Berliner discusses 10 best practices for activating cause promotions at retail.

The Marketing Pulse: 5 Trends We're Seeing Everywhere

It’s a sign of the times that three of the mareketing trends we've identified leverage new media vehicles – a new media presence is fast becoming standard operating procedure for any brand looking to stay competitive and relevant. The other two trends are also about staying relevant, whether in the face of competitors or among new audiences.

The Marketing Pulse: Cause Trends - Spring/Summer 2009

Even amid a global recession, the marketplace is replete with organizations showcasing their cause-related commitments. We've identified 10 trends happening right now.

Proof Points: Cause and CR Weather the Recession

Evidence abounds that Cause Branding and Corporate Responsibility are weathering the recession due to the commitment of companies and the unwavering expectations of key stakeholders. Here we've compiled an array of proof points, including quotes from business leaders, relevant stats on consumer and executive expectations and examples of companies that are staying the course during tough times.

Fundraising Remedies for the New Economy

All nonprofits are feeling a pinch these days, but it is the small, local or regional charities dependent on large annual gifts that are really experiencing the pain. Organizations today have the opportunity to learn from the past to determine which strategies are recession-resilient and which less stable options may be adjusted for better results.

Top 10 Tips for Cause Branding

A strategic Cause Branding program can help an organization enhance its brand equity, increase relevancy to key stakeholders and develop a sustainable competitive advantage. The following are tips for developing authentic and substantive programs:

How To Tap Cause Advocates To Boost Earnings

A brief look at a growing segment of the population demanding greater social and environmental accountability from businesses.

An Interview with Cone CEO Jens Bang

The Cone CEO and president talks with PRWeek about the evolution of cause marketing over the past 10 years.

Fame Game

Tapping celebrities to promote your cause can reap great rewards, but it also comes with its share of risks. Highlighting celebrity partnerships that have achieved both acclaim and disdain, Carol Cone and Anne Erhard discuss the role of engaging star power in cause-related campaigns.

Paper, Plastic or Toxic: Navigating the Challenging World of Environmental Marketing

The rush to “green” is officially on with companies in every sector touting the environmental attributes of their organizations and products. Too often, though, these messages are vague or misleading. In this brochure, Cone discusses ineffective environmental marketing, dissects a sample ad and shares best practices for credible environmental communications.

Finding Balance: Emerging Business and Social Responsibility Trends in China

After her trip to China, former Cone VP Kristian Darigan discusses the significant shift in the balance of world markets and its effect on the Eastern powerhouse.

Cause Branding and the New Economy: What Does Today's Crisis Mean for Tomorrow's Commitments?

In light of the current economic turmoil facing business and society today, Cone has evaluated the implications the crisis may have on the field of Cause Branding and corporate citizenship. Here we share our perspective, along with some strategic considerations as companies evaluate how to maintain and strengthen their initiatives during times like these.

Seven Ways to Step Up: PR Firms Should Lead Social Media Strategy—Here's How

In a POV for The Council of Public Relations Firms publication, The Firm Voice, Cone's Director of New Media Mike Hollywood explains why it is the PR firm, because of its communication channel agnosticism, that is best equipped to lead a company's social media strategy.

Yes, Companies are Responsible for Charity

In a counterpoint op-ed for the CMO Strategy column in Ad Age, Cone's EVP of Corporate Responsibility, Mike Lawrence, argues that corporate responsibility addresses the demands of a variety of stakeholders and that a company's obligation to responsibility goes far beyond transparency.

It's Not as Easy as Being "Green"

In the first time in a decade, the Federal Trade Commission is revising its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (the "Green Guides"). In the June issue of CRO magazine, Mike Lawrence and Liz Gorman share their perspective on how the FTC can update the Green Guides.