Viper Marketing

Corporate Social Responsibility Strikes… whenever

Author: Neil Wilkins

Neil learnt his marketing with the likes of Orange, NatWest, BP Castrol and Ordnance Survey and now helps individuals and businesses to communicate more effectively. He trains and mentors marketers on professional Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications through to post-graduate level.

BP have responded quickly to another North American oil spillage with statements from senior management about commitment to resources. They have engaged the collective might of their global resources in a coordinated effort to minimise the impact of what is likely to evolve into a major environmental disaster affecting animals, birds, ecosystems and the livelihoods of those working in the contaminated areas.

The Joint Information Centre is the tip of the CSR iceberg for this incident, signposting to video content and social media to bring the full extent of the incident and responses to interested parties. Gone are the days of CSR being a hectic press office, reacting frantically to a deluge of media and public enquiries. Today it's all about pre-planning and multi media communication to enlighten and educate. CSR has come of age.

It cannot be achieved in isolation though. CSR is about creating a long term and sustainable strategic position for an organisation as part of its wider and over arching corporate mission. It is about forewarning and forearming the organisation and managing risk. It is about contingency plans that show evidence of good corporate diligence. But more importantly it's about share price and company value. Without a swift and appropriate response, the importance of which is evidenced in the engagement of the US President in this particular instance, a company can see its value quickly eroded as confidence in it dissolves before the stock markets' eyes.

So if we are being cynical it is in the spin, it is in the PR, it is in the words that the CEO tells the world. But in reality and most importantly it's in the damage limitation to what might be fragile and sensitive environments and afterall, we all share a responsibility for that.

Read more about other examples of Corporate Social Responsibility

- Posted on Monday 03 May 2010 at 12:52 by Neil Wilkins

Tags: csr (1), planning (31), strategy (27)