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Is CSR (Corporate social responsibility) an acceptable marketing tool? According to a Lowe Lintas Survey, recognizing the importance of CSR is important not only for social development but it is also an effective communication tool to strengthen the perception of brands. The survey, which is the first on consumer attitudes towards CSR in India, was conducted on MSN India (www.msnindia.com) and research agency Cross-Tab Pvt. Ltd.
Why CSR?
The Indian consumer has no illusions – CSR is about reputation-building. When asked why corporates take up CSR, 65 per cent of the respondents felt that the main motivation was to build their reputation. 22 per cent stated that CSR was undertaken to help corporates market their products better, while only 25 per cent believed that CSR was done because corporates believe in the cause .
According to the survey 93 per cent of the respondents believe corporates in India should be socially responsible while 57 per cent trust corporates that do CSR more than those that do not. Besides, 58 per cent of respondents acknowledge that CSR is an acceptable marketing tool.
The survey, which had over 2,000 respondents primarily from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, is the first step towards understanding that a CSR initiative can benefit both society and the company.
CSR for marketing
Mr.Sabyasachi Mishra, Chief Growth Officer, Lowe Lintas India, said, “CSR can be a real force as a strategic and competitive branding tool among consumers – and it offers great leverage in building authentic communication platforms for brands. As an agency we have explored this opportunity for some of our clients and we continue to improve our domain understanding and know-how in order to advise clients better.”
Added Mr. Kartikeya Kompella, Vice President, Lowe Lintas India, “The survey shows that many consumers want a change in the way people in society behave. Hence, they see a huge role for CSR that works towards changing attitudes / behaviour. This points a clear direction for marketers to focus their CSR efforts. The finding that consumers consider it acceptable for brands to use social initiatives for marketing gives marketers the license to do CSR to promote their brands, thereby making it a win-win for business and society.”
Brands and companies that received high recall for CSR activities were Wipro's Azim Premji Foundation, Infosys, Tata Tea – Jaago Re, Tata Steel and Times of India for the Teach India initiative.
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