Brand assets and touch points are like words in a sentence. By themselves they might have their own independent meaning, but when combined they add up to convey a larger meaning and message or voice. Everything a brand says or does has an impact on a brand’s voice.

Historically brands and the business they represent were viewed by the general public simply as a business, with basic economic and strategic issues to deal with. However, right now we are witnessing a shift in the way consumers think about brands. Consumers are now seeing brands more as living, breathing entities with personalities and voices all their own. As a result, brands are being asked to act more like good citizens and have an overall net positive impact on the world or at the very least to limit their negative impact.

It wasn’t that long ago that the majority of consumers had no clue about a product’s life cycle. They didn’t know or care where their food came from. They had no idea what a brand’s policy on energy was of if it recycled. Consumers didn’t think about human rights issues in the factories of the developing world.

Fast forward a decade or two. Thanks to the Internet and its 24/7 fact-sharing availability, consumers are much more informed about all facets of the way brands do business—and they have learned to care.  As for brands, it’s not just about earning a merit badge and sleeping well at night. Being responsible and working in a sustainable manner is seen as an aid to business growth and attracting top talent.

Managed brand assets such as ads, packaging, websites, etc. communicate your message to the consumer. As such, they need to help reinforce a brand’s citizenship initiatives. When the consumer knows more about the good work your brand is doing in the world, brands improve the chance that consumers will select your brand over a competitor. But they need to hear it in your voice.

There’s little doubt about it, Corporate Citizenship has become a force within many brands and organizations. Some of these efforts are very large in scale and highly publicized (think Pepsi Refresh project). Others are as simple and small scale as creating an office recycling program. Either way, it seems as if people within organizations of all sizes and types are actively seeking out opportunities to be better corporate citizens. The momentum behind the movement seems so great that it almost seems assumed that something must be done by each and every brand and organization.

One question must be asked, though, when considering whether or not your brand should engage in an activity;  what is my motivation for doing this? That’s right, I said it. As much as it pains me to say, your brand better have very specific reasons for being a better corporate citizen, or you may be doing more harm than good.

I’ll spare you the lecture that economist Milton Friedman would give on this topic. I’ll just say that anything that takes a brand’s eye off of the singular focus it was created to achieve makes the brand a little less competitive in its market and a little less viable as an ongoing concern. In an ever more competitive world, it doesn’t take much of a slip to lose your competitive edge and set you back. So, if you’re considering doing something in the Corporate Citizenship realm, you need to ask yourself a very important question. “What is my brand getting in return for this effort?”

The problem I see with the body of knowledge on the topic is that nobody really knows how much these efforts drive purchase. Aside from some very specific situations, there is simply nothing but anecdotal evidence suggesting that engaging in these activities will actually drive people to purchase your brand more than a competitor. There have certainly been research efforts suggesting that X% of people believe it is important and that people are willing to pay $X more for a product, but this research is riddled with overstatement and social bias. Nobody wants to say that it’s not important to them. Is it actually enough to overcome the objections they already had that were keeping them from buying you in the first place, though?

The best advice we can give at this point is to evaluate these efforts as you would any other opportunities your brand has. A holistic business case should be built before you go green or start to give a portion of your revenue to a certain charity. Keep in mind, this case does not need to be built strictly on an expected increase in purchase behavior by your customers. Keeping employees or other stakeholders engaged and happy can be every bit as valuable as increases in sales. There could also be other financial benefits such as tax incentives or savings on fuel expenditures. 

The bottom line is this; don’t do it just because you see everyone else doing it. Make sure that a thorough investigation has been conducted and that there is a clear benefit to your brand. Otherwise, you might be wasting valuable resources and energy.