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The Mission is Greater than the Business: How to Tap the Power of the Gort Cloud–with Richard Seireeni

If your company doesn’t have the money (or inclination) for traditional marketing you can join the ranks of companies like Seventh Generation, Tesla Motors and Stonyfield Farm in the Gort Cloud. ‘The Gort Cloud’ is Richard Seireeni’s term for the invisible force powering today’s most visible green brands, as well as the title of his book, […]

How Trust Can Boost Profits, Particularly For Social Enterprises

We know that transparency is a strong indicator of a company’s social mission. Turns out, it’s also good for business. Recently, transparency has been shown to be a significant driver of ultimate financial performance. The thread between transparency and profit is trust. By opening up internal operations, successes and failures to the public and to employees, we demonstrate transparency […]

You’re Shopping Anyway–How to Make Your Purchase Count 3 Times

What a difference 10% makes when it’s extracted from $460 billion.  The latter figure is what Americans spent on holiday shopping last year despite a rapidly eroding economy and forewarned doldrums ahead.  It’s been said before, but it’s worth another step to the soapbox:  What if we choose to buy only merchandise that has a social […]

How a Social Mission Helps Your Company (Part 1): Creating a Brand that Consumers Take Personally

This is part of an ongoing series dissecting the benefits of adopting a social mission in business and highlighting companies who are doing it well. One of the immediate benefits of leading a company with a strong social mission is that if you can communicate your product message clearly, your customers will become evangelists for […]

Can AT&T Count Its TOMS Shoes Commercial as CSR?

AT&T’s commercial featuring TOMS Shoes was so publicly enjoyed that AT&T introduced a 60-second version of its 30-second spot. The commercial profiles TOMS Shoes–a for-profit company that donates one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased–and founder Blake Mycoskie who uses his AT&T Blackberry to conduct business from around the […]

10 Take-aways from Sustainable Brands

Working with the concept of large-scale applicability, here are the top 10 things I learned at the Sustainable Brands conference earlier this month in Monterey: 1. Consumers trust brands more than they trust the government. (Annie Longsworth, Managing Director, Cohn & Wolfe) Republicans and Democrats meet at the checkout. Brands have a colossal toolkit to […]

From Fast-food to Finance, Cause Marketing is a Still Growing Trend

Get the Google Audio Widget widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) Does it seem counter-intuitive that cause marketing programs are continuing to prosper in a pinched  economy? I talked with David Hessekiel, president and founder of Cause Marketing Forum, about why  cause-related marketing campaigns have a […]

Carrot vs. Stick

Teddy Roosevelt advised talking softly and carrying a big stick. Carrotmob believes there are enough sticks, and urges individuals to pick up carrots–from responsible purveyors. Carrotmob is still crystallizing, but here’s the premise: Improve the world by helping businesses make environmentally conscious choices through a system of rewards. Too frequently companies earn profit my making […]

Interview with One World Cafe Visionary

I spoke with Denise Cerreta, founder of One World Everybody Eats,to find out how she developed her model for a community kitchen, how she plans to scale it internationally and what other businesses can do create a company that gives back. What are One World Everybody Eats’ primary objectives? Eliminate world hunger. Feed and include […]

World of Good & eBay

Eighty-nine percent (89%) of the coveted chunk of American consumers ages 13-25 would switch from one brand to another connected to a ‘good cause’ if the products and prices were comparable (Cone Inc.). From the coffee counter to the clothing store, increasingly, product choices are being made with social responsibility in mind. E-commerce sites were […]