Corporate Community Investment - 11 Tips To Make It Work Effectively

In the second in our series of top tips for the sponsorship industry, the Sponsorship Newsletter’s Andy Fry tackles the increasingly important corporate community investment sector to mark the rebranding of our Charity & Community Engagement Category for the 2015 UK Sponsorship Awards.

Corporate Community Investment (CCI), also sometimes referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is a term used to describe the business community’s attempts to work for the greater good of society. Cadbury Trebor Bassett, one of the UK’s top investors in CCI defines it like this: “CCI involves business organisations recognising that they have a responsibility both to their local areas and society in general. For a company, being socially responsible means using its resources and its influence to shape the lives of fellow citizens for the better.”

From a moral point of view, most companies acknowledge that CCI ought to be part of their thinking (because companies are, for the most part, made up of individuals with a conscience). But from a commercial point of view, CCI can be hard to get right. Often, it runs into problems if it is not seen as beneficial to the business or doesn’t manage to get enough stakeholders engaged. So here we provide 11 tips to maximise the impact of CCI investment.

Link CCI To Business Objectives

Businesses are obliged to deliver the best possible performance to shareholders. So CCI tends to run into problems when expenditure becomes disconnected from business goals. While making a donation to a charity or community scheme may feel like the right thing to do, it will only win broad-based support among decision-makers within the business if there is some kind of link to corporate or brand objectives. Similarly, CCI investments that don’t have a clear connection with business goals will not be viewed kindly by investors, which could have an impact on company share price. This may seem like a cynical assessment of the way business works, but the reality for any stock market-listed company is that CCI needs to be as accountable as any other line of activity.

Ensure CCI Proposals Are Relevant And Deliverable…

Companies usually choose CCI programmes that are based around local communities where they are based. This makes sense because it means employees feel engaged in the process and resources are at hand to support the programme (vehicles, venues, stock, etc). The main exception to this is when a company is seeking to build a presence in a new market, in which case it may want to use CCI as a way to introduce itself. The fundamental point is it must be relevant and deliverable.

Ensure CCI Message is Embraced Internally

Senior executives need to buy into the CCI programme and be champions if it is going to be perceived as authentic. They need to be able to defend and articulate the principle when talking to stakeholders (investors, the media, partners, employees). Cadbury Trebor Bassett describes how its “middle and senior managers have joined the management committees of local grassroots organisations such as People United Against Crime where their involvement makes a real impact”. Similarly, employees need to care. If employees are willing to get involved in CCI activities there’s a staff morale benefit that comes in addition to the impact of the programme. A good CCI programme can, for example, encourage loyalty. It can also help employees develop new skillsets that can then be applied back into the business. Referring back to our first point, successful employee engagement can be seen as a business rationale for supporting a charity.

Try To Leverage CCI Against Third Party Investment

If you can link your CCI investment to other forms of investment it can work harder and lead to a higher profile. Match funding with government or schemes that stimulate consumer involvement are examples. In the latter case, you don’t have to ask people for money. You could put up cash and then get people to provide skills, resources and time. Campaigns to tidy playgrounds or repaint community halls are examples where people might happily muck in and feel a closer affinity to your brand as a result. It’s also worth exploring whether there are pre-existing schemes that your company can latch on it. If a charity already organises a fun run or coffee morning then it might make sense to back that rather than start a new one.

Use CCI Findings To Inform Strategic Planning

CCI is an opportunity for companies to find out if they are truly in touch with their communities. It is a way of generating feedback about disadvantaged members of the community that might inform issues like pricing, product range, store access or new market opportunities.

Use CCI to Counter Negative Impressions…

CCI can be a great way of neutralising negativity about your brand. Coca-Cola is very shrewd in this respect. For example, it addresses concerns about recycling with a very effective clean up strategy after major events. And it tackles concerns about expansion into emerging markets with programmes like RAIN, a scheme that will improve access to clean water for 2 million Africans by 2015. The point is that CCI can be used a practical response to lobby groups that raise concerns about corporate activity.

…But Don’t Make Absurd Claims

Having said this, CCI will invariably go wrong if it is deemed as inappropriate or runs counter to the company’s core behaviour. The speed of social media “word of mouth” is such that any bogus claims travel quickly and inevitably make it into the media. Chocolate and fast food firms active in sport, energy firms promoting their environmental credentials and financial services firms making claims about community commitment are all legitimate forms of activity but must be handled with care.

Make Sure Stakeholders Know About Your CCI

We’ve already talked about the importance of getting employees onside, and it goes without saying that the media need to be kept informed if you are to maximise the impact of CCI. But there are other dimensions to this point. For example, it makes sense to ensure political gatekeepers are aware of your activities, because it could play positively into securing new contracts. By the same token, they might be able to advise on what areas are regarded by government as priorities (important if trying to secure match funding for programmes). And it’s also the kind of activity that could attract young talent trying to decide where to ply their trade. For small to medium sized service providers, a commitment to CCI could also prove attractive to bigger firms that are trying to make sure their ethics are in order. It’s often the case that big firms tend to run into problems with the media because of activities undertaken by suppliers, so it’s one less thing for them to worry about if this point has been effectively addressed.

Take Care With CCI Connected to Sponsorship

Companies will often be expected to agree to a CCI commitment when securing the rights to a top sponsorship property (grass roots, children, etc). If this is the case, make sure the programme isn’t entirely geared to meet the CCI agenda of the rights holder. Try and negotiate so that it doesn’t end up as a lead weight for your business.

Be Careful About Cutting CCI Programmes

Recent research suggests that city investors monitor CCI investment as a way of checking the health of a company. The basic rule is: if a company cuts CCI it means bad results or on the way. But if it increases CCI then good results are due. So it’s worth asking if a £1m cut in community investment is really worth it or if it is likely to lead to nervousness in the markets. If cutting CCI is a necessity then plan your PR spin well in advance.

Be Creative, Be Brave

CCI is no different to any other aspect of your business. For it to have real impact it needs to be creatively executed. Be bold and imaginative in the choice of your programme and use sponsorship and marketing experts to make it stand out. The more creative you can be the more like it is to be a win-win for the company and the causes that you’ve decided to be associated with. By the same token, try and give your CCI activity a clear brand image, so it is easy for people to understand and articulate. Don’t interpret the above pointers as being an argument in favour of risk-averse CCI. Sometimes brave CCI decisions gain the most recognition while doing the most good.

Every year, the UK Sponsorship Awards celebrates some of the best examples of CCI in action in its Charity and Community Engagement Sponsorship category. Last year, for example, we had a strong shortlist that included programmes from Allianz, Aviva, Foresters, Kellogg’s, RBS and eventual winner Halifax (with The Big Lunch). Why not enter your own CCI campaign in 2015?