This Day (Lagos)
23 October 2008
To the observant, it is very clear that the tobacco industries operating in Nigeria are using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a platform to worm their way into the public's consciousness as do-gooders. CSR is a veritable channel through which to plough back socio-economic value into host communities. It has proved to be a very successful way of using social investment as a route to ...
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CSR seems like the wrong term to use here. I think of CSR as something that is more integrated with a business policy (although not necessarily beneficial to the company's profit margin..
Dr. Tantillo ('the marketing doctor') just did a post on his blog ( http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv ) about how we're likely to see a decline in CSR as businesses are having to trim the fat--He argues that where CSR is not a 'core brand feature,' it is a drag on the company: "In other words, if your brand is CSR, then by all means build your marketing around that; but never impose CSR on a brand and forget your brand’s core business (i.e., why customers and cash actually come in the door). That’s a fatal mistake."
Full post: http://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/10/19/brand-winners-and-losers-google-a nd-corporate-social-responsibility.aspx
A 'charity arm' of a company, though, is something else all together, and in this case, seems to be more along the lines of bribery. The fact that CSR/charity is Not an integral part of this company's brand and yet still does Drastically benefit their bottom line, albeit indirectly, further suggests that this in no way can be construed as corporate social responsibility.
CSR seems like the wrong term to use here. I think of CSR as something that is more integrated with a business policy (although not necessarily beneficial to the company's profit margin..
Dr. Tantillo ('the marketing doctor') just did a post on his blog about how we're likely to see a decline in CSR as businesses are having to trim the fat--He argues that where CSR is not a 'core brand feature,' it is a drag on the company: "In other words, if your brand is CSR, then by all means build your marketing around that; but never impose CSR on a brand and forget your brand’s core business (i.e., why customers and cash actually come in the door). That’s a fatal mistake."
Full post
A 'charity arm' of a company, though, is something else all together, and in this case, seems to be more along the lines of bribery. The fact that CSR/charity is Not an integral part of this company's brand and yet still does Drastically benefit their bottom line, albeit indirectly, further suggests that this in no way can be construed as corporate social responsibility.