'Tis the Season

 By Carolyn Mayo, Executive Vice President, General Manager

Buy gifts: Check. Decorate house: Check. Cook: Check. Eat cookies: Check (Unfortunately) Party: Check. Check. Check. Go online and make donations: Check.

Wait – what was that? Yes, while we may outwardly and loudly support a variety of not-for-profit organizations all year long, it often comes down to the last few days of the year. According to a survey from Charity Navigator on year-end giving trends, charities receive 41% of their annual donations during the holidays and the online giving site, Network for Good, reports that 10% of donations actually happen in the last two days of the year! While there are lots of motivating factors for end-of-year donations – tax benefits being the most obvious – it is the time of year that we seem to step back, take stock and put our money where it means the most to us. Giving back is culturally ingrained in us, whether it comes from a religious, moral or societal standpoint.

While making choices to give back – time, talent or cash – are very personal decisions for each of us, it’s a bit more complicated for businesses. The 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer results show clearly shows that there is an expectation for businesses to invest in society, even if it risks shareholder value. Today, business must align profit and purpose for social benefit. And maybe most importantly, that “give back” must resonate with all of the organization’s stakeholders. That’s where a strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative comes in. At its best, they are programs that align with corporate values and culture, from the CEO down to the rank and file. It’s respected by peers and shareholders alike. And it’s an authentic and ownable reflection of an organization’s personality.

Still not sure that it’s all that important? Think again. Last year’s goodpurpose study pointed to a new dynamic in marketing and the emergence of the fifth “P” of marketing” where the age-old marketing mix of Product, Price, Place and Promotion have now been joined by a fifth “P”. . . Purpose. It’s no longer a “nice to do”; it is a “need to do”. The goodpurpose study shows that, after quality and price, the key purchase trigger is social purpose – outranking design, innovation and brand loyalty. Today’s consumers are not only demanding that companies show a commitment to good causes, they are willing to punish those that don’t.

This holiday season, there are a ton of examples of cause marketing and corporate social responsibility campaigns. One of best is eBay’s Give-a-Toy Store with Toys for Tots. Check it out here.

If you want to learn more about how your company should evaluate or create a strategic CSR program in the coming year? Give us a shout and we’ll bring some of the brightest and best thinkers to the table. In the meantime, go to the following for more information.

Edelman's 2011 Trust Barometer®, the firm’s 11th annual survey, gauges attitudes about the state of trust in business, government, NGOs and media across 23 countries.

The goodpurpose study is Edelman’s annual global research that explores consumer attitudes around social purpose, including their commitment to specific social issues and their expectations of brands and corporations. The survey was conducted in 13 countries among more than 7,000 adults. It is the only global study of its kind.

at Edelman, we don’t just talk about giving back and CSR, we walk the walk. Our commitment to global citizenship resulted in a total of $5.1 million in volunteerism and cash contributions in our 2011 fiscal year (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011).

Charity Navigator is America’s largest and most influential charity rater and works to guide intelligent giving. It serves more than 3.3 million unique visitors and impact approximately $10 billion of charitable donations each year. This makes Charity Navigator far and away the largest and most utilized charity rating service that exists anywhere.

What I Want for Christmas Now...

 By Helen Vollmer, President

I can’t count how many times I’ve already been asked this year by friends and family, “And what do you want for Christmas?” The answer always is the same: “I can’t really think of anything. I have everything that I want.” Which, of course, makes me truly blessed and for which I am incredibly thankful.
 
And yet . . . the question begs an answer on perhaps a bit larger scale. Amidst the frantic shopping, decorating and eating frenzy in which we find ourselves currently, this is a great time to reflect on what we really want and need in our lives.

My moment for this came yesterday as I watched my husband and daughter string holiday lights on a hurricane- weathered tree in our front yard. A sense of calm and “all is right with the world” washed over me. And I realized that it is often the small moments in our lives that perhaps are the most meaningful. And because they are so fleeting, are underappreciated.

I and my family live life on a fairly large scale. We all like being busy, working and playing hard and making sure the world doesn’t pass us by. We tend to “think big picture,” understanding (as all those who have ever worked alongside me have heard) that every action has a consequence, every word has a meaning. We are planners, and plot out our days collectively by what needs to get accomplished next. From what I see around me, we are not alone in this approach to living life fully and to the extent our resources allow.

And yet . . . when pressed, what I want for the holidays and beyond is to savor the small things that make my life full, including:

• Clinking glasses raised in toast with friends
• Holding hands in the darkened movie theater with my husband
• The flit of a cardinal passing in front of me
• A tight hug in hello or goodbye from our too grown-up daughters
• A young staffer racing in with a big win for a client
• Sunday mornings with coffee and newspapers in hand
• Wearing the right clothes for security checks at airports
• One more day of good health.

Living large while appreciating individual moments is not a mutually exclusive arrangement. But it does take a bit of effort to make great memories—and then periodically remembering to breathe them in and hold them close to us. Doing this is not only a gift to ourselves but a legacy for all of those around us.

What do you want this holiday season? It may just be a trick question that can ring in the true meaning of the season.

A Season for Giving

 By Rupa Patel, Senior Account Executive

The holidays mean different things to different people. While the season’s religious ties aren’t something everyone can relate to, there are other overarching sentiments that strike a chord within us all, regardless of religion, ethnicity or background.

My family, for example, doesn’t celebrate the “traditional” Christmas that many others do, but we still use the time to gather and spend time with one another. So, for some the holidays represent a time to be with loved ones. For others, the holidays are a time to celebrate and share wishes for a happy and healthy year ahead. Then there are those who see this as a time to reflect and make it a season of giving.

It’s that last sentiment in particular that makes this holiday season a special one for the team members in Edelman’s Dallas office. Earlier this year, Edelman introduced a program allowing each local office to support a charity or cause of its choice. Jumping on the opportunity, Dallas began working with an organization called Family Gateway and this December we will put the finishing touches on our project with the group.

Across the country, families from different socio-economic groups are living with friends and relatives, in their cars or on the street as a result of a lost job, an unexpected illness or injury, a family tragedy or some other circumstances. Family Gateway provides families such as these with services designed to restore dignity and stability, including employment and financial training classes, tutoring services for children, and even temporary housing. In short, Family Gateway creates the type of self-sufficiency and confidence that can break the cycle of generational homelessness.

For our part, Edelman Dallas “adopted” a Family Gateway apartment in need of renovation. The families who move into these apartments often come in with nothing more than a small grocery bag of personal items or an extra change of clothes, so we wanted to make sure our contribution was more than a few coats of paint.

While navigating through travel schedules, client meetings and other responsibilities was no easy task, our office banded together to begin revitalizing the apartment bit by bit. With task force teams assigned to each room of the apartment, we started planning what needed to be purchased, what needed to be repaired, what pieces of furniture and decorations we already had available and who had enough hand-eye coordination to stand on a ladder and paint without falling or dripping paint over everyone underneath them (which turned out to be no one). We’re in the home stretch now, coordinating one last deep cleaning for the apartment and closing with a furnishing frenzy.

While confidence in our home improvement skills has been shaken to some degree (you’d be surprised at how easy it is to get paint in your hair and how difficult it is to get it out), the confidence we have in our ability to complete a task like this is stronger than ever. Knowing that our small contribution to the wonderful work Family Gateway does could get a local family a new home by Christmas is a surreal thought, but we are determined to do everything in our power to make it happen.

This experience has reminded us that giving back isn’t something that can only happen around the holidays. If we all put in just a little bit of time throughout the year, imagine the changes we can create and the good we can do. Whether alone or with friends, co-workers or family members, get involved and find a cause that speaks to you. There are thousands of organizations out there that would be grateful for even an hour of your time. Our office is ready to spread the goodwill in 2012 – what about you?

2012 Resolutions: Make Your “Declaration of Interdependence”

  By Baley Phelps, Account Executive and Jay Andrew, Vice President

Now that (most) of our Thanksgiving leftovers have been cleared from the fridge (turkey pot pie, anyone?) and temperatures have finally dipped below 70 degrees in Houston, there is no denying it. The holidays are here—officially. For many, the holiday season brings with it a time of reflection. This year in particular, with economic hardships and suffering at the opening of nightly newscasts, it is even more apparent that people in our community need our help. As we begin to think about our resolutions for 2012, it will be important to consider others as much as we do ourselves.

At Edelman we call it “interdependence.” It’s the idea that we are all connected and that everything we do has an impact. Those of us who are able, have the unique opportunity to make a difference in the coming year, and we should make a commitment to do the most we can on both a global and local level. In today’s inter-connected, always-on culture, we are no longer just citizens of our city, state and country. We are citizens of the world.

For 2012, Edelman’s global citizenship initiative is hunger and poverty. To scale this down to the local level, each office identifies a “partner” organization in need of volunteers, donations or PR counsel/support. Here in Houston, we are currently in the selection process—giving employees the opportunity to nominate and ultimately select an organization that speaks to personal experiences and interests. The ultimate goal is to use our talents to better our community.

In 2010, Edelman employees gave more than 29,000 hours of volunteer time, equating to almost $4 million in donations. Causes included hunger and homelessness in Portland, a women’s mentoring program in Hong Kong and education initiatives in Milan. Employees were also encouraged to submit grant requests for organizations with which they donate time and money. Approximately $150,000 was awarded through these grants in categories such as animal welfare, community development, education and the environment.

This is really just the beginning. As you start to consider your resolutions for 2012, think about putting others first. Make your own declaration of interdependence and see the positive impact you can bring to your local community. We all want to change the world—LET’S GET STARTED!

The Radically Engaged Business: Creating a Culture Energized through Purpose and Citizenship

  By Carol Cone, Managing Director, Executive Vice President

What happens when an employee discovers a shared “destiny” with the organization he or she works for? A tremendous amount, according to business leaders who participated in this year’s Edelman Change Summit, “The Radically Engaged Business: Creating a Culture Energized through Citizenship.” The Summit, hosted by Edelman in partnership with CECP, addressed the critical need for strategic employee engagement for organizational health and success.


Executives from fourteen leading organizations joined us for the full-day Summit, ranging from keynote speaker, Doug Conant, the recently retired CEO of Campbell Soup Company, to leading executives from Avon, Starbucks, Vale, Western Union, IBM, Toyota, Time Warner Cable, Macy’s, Deloitte, UNICEF, American Express, PepsiCo and PwC. These companies demonstrate exceptional leadership in employee engagement and represent a variety of industries and approaches: B2B, B2C, professional services and an NGO, with employee headcounts from 7,000 to over 400,000.

For over 30 years I’ve witnessed the power of purpose and citizenship to galvanize and ignite employees’ commitment to their companies. When employees discover the connection between what they do and what a company stands for, “magic” happens; they become more thoroughly engaged, motivated, productive, innovative, loyal and committed.

And the payoffs aren’t just soft. According to Gallup, engaged organizations have a 3.9x higher earnings per share growth than organizations with lower engagement scores in the same industry. Employees who are most committed to their organization put in 57% more effort and 87% are less likely to leave than employees who felt disengaged, according to a 2010 study by BusinessWeek’s Corporate Executive Board.

Employees are powerful engines of organizational success; engaging with them is absolutely critical in our hyper competitive, 24/7, globalized economy. The most committed employees share a destiny with their employers, and the most successful organizations today execute against a higher “Purpose” than just making money:

• IBM believes in creating a Smarter Planet, not just systems, solutions and software.

• Avon crusades for solutions to Breast Cancer and the prevention of domestic violence, in addition to empowering women around the globe.

• Western Union fosters global economic development for the unbanked, beyond just transferring money around the globe to almost every country.

• Vale, Forbes’ 4th fastest growing Fortune 500, transforms mineral resources into prosperity and sustainable development through a deep understanding of the critical relationships necessary to succeed in local communities.

• UNICEF believes in Zero, helping to lower the preventable daily deaths of 21,000 children and doing whatever it takes to save the life of a child, instead of just asking for a donation.

And these are just a few examples of the organizations that leading the way in engaging their workforce through Purpose. Employee commitment runs deep at those companies that stand for something beyond just making a profit.

A few key elements to keep front of mind when building or enhancing your own initiative:

• Lead: The most powerful programs are “leader-led”, as said by Doug Conant. “You have to show up, walk the talk and get engaged first, before you can ask your employees to commit,” said the former CEO of Campbell’s.

• Construct: Start with program depth, not scale.

• Customize: Great initiatives must be customized for local execution.

• Collaborate: Sophisticated companies are learning from continual sharing, not only internally, but also with competitors, recognizing that each organization’s program is uniquely constructed and executed and may offer valuable lessons for others.

• Measure: That which gets measured gets done. Build campaign participation into performance reviews.

• Narrate: Storytelling is key to build emotion and engagement. Our presenters agreed that in order to have a program truly breakthrough, you must “dial up the stories.” “They do this by creating local market content, including blogs, videos and a robust social media presence, as well as arming their employee base with the knowledge and key messages to consistently share the story of the organization’s Purpose.

• Evolve: Constantly evolve program elements to stay relevant. Avon added domestic violence as a core global issue alongside their comprehensive Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, each in over 50 countries.

Purpose is no longer a nice-to-do. It is a must–do in creating and retaining an energized workforce and culture that will truly stand the test of time.


Disclaimer: Vale and Western Union are Edelman clients.