Interbrand IQ: The Corporate Citizenship Issue

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THE CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP ISSUE

IS CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP FAILING?

IS CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP SUCCEEDING?

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THE CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP ISSUE

LEADING CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP 04

OPENING UP PIVOTAL

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PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS 13

GOOD TO BE GOOD

THE TOWN OF TOMORROW 18

PAYING IT FORWARD

THE DOUBLE X-FACTOR 24

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SOURCE OF HOPE THE CULTURE CURE 27

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THE WORLD IS WATCHING

A MESSAGE TO THE MADNESS: A DAY WITH OCCUPY WALL STREET 36

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BRANDSPOTTING

WHO’S ASKING

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LEADING CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

A LETTER FROM JEZ FRAMPTON

At Interbrand we believe brands have the power to change the world.

It is an awesome responsibility and one we enthusiastically work with our clients to deliver every day.

Good citizenship is becoming increasingly important as a driver of choice and demand. In other words, a significant part of what makes brands valuable.

The world is changing at an incredible pace: the Arab spring, social networks, countries approaching financial default, the rise of the BRICs, the ever widening gap between those who have and those who have not, the spectre of over-population, food shortages, climate change.

These are the real responsibilities, not just of politicians and global bodies like the U.N., but of each and every one of us, and each and every business.

While we are eager to share our point of view on corporate citizenship, we realize that the greatest opportunity lies in looking outside of ourselves. We need to listen and to learn from practitioners and experts both inside and outside of our organization. In this issue we present our conversations with experts from a wide range of disciplines. So wide, in fact, that we could not fit it all in these pages. I encourage you to visit us online at InterbrandIQ.com for expanded coverage, including videos of our conversations with world changing brands and individuals.

It is our view that brands should do good in the world by doing what they do best. Gone are the days when a well-placed donation constituted corporate citizenship. Being a good citizen is a complex and vital part of corporate strategy, and it starts with core operations. If you are a car company, that means the cars; a food company, the food; a technology company, the technology. It is only by applying their particular expertise to the world’s problems that brands can hope to effect real change. It also transforms corporate citizenship from “nice-to-have” philanthropy to a “must-have” business asset.

I hope you enjoy being part of the conversation and that it inspires you to participate in the ever-evolving effort to leave this planet a better place for those who follow us.

Jez Frampton Global CEO Interbrand

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FROM THE EDITORS

UP

OPENING

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WHAT MIGHT CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE UNABASHEDLY STRATEGIC IN OUR THINKING AND UNAFRAID TO LISTEN, WEIGH THE EVIDENCE, AND ACT WITH THE FULL POWER OF OUR RESOURCES? WHAT COULD WE ACCOMPLISH FOR OUR ORGANIZATIONS AND FOR THE WORLD? THIS ISSUE OF IQ OFFERS PERSPECTIVES FROM ENGAGED SCHOLARS, BUSINESS LEADERS, AND ENTREPRENEURS SEEKING TO HARMONIZE THE INTERESTS OF CORPORATIONS WITH THE NEEDS OF THE WIDER WORLD. THEIR UNIQUE PERCH OFFERS VALUABLE INSIGHTS FOR ALL OF US READY TO EVOLVE OUR APPROACHES TO CITIZENSHIP. WELCOME TO THE CONVERSATION.

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Daniel Diez: This issue of IQ asks the question, is corporate citizenship failing or succeeding?

What is your view?

Tom Zara: The answer is both. On the one hand it is succeeding because it is becoming part of the CEO vernacular. It is becoming part of the responsibilities of organizations, and in some cases it has been for centuries. It is failing, on the other hand, because it hasn’t found its way into the strategic orientation of most organizations. It is not infused in the culture or infused in the products or the behavior and values of organizations.

DD: What needs to happen for businesses to see that their business strategy and their corporate citizenship strategy are really one in the same?

TZ: I think it’s the old adage: If you can’t measure it, don’t do it. And so if you have no empirical evidence to suggest that you are driving business performance, your overtures for embracing corporate citizenship will fall on deaf ears. The CFO will ignore you, the CMO will ignore you, and the CEO, who is responsible to the shareholders, will say, “Look, if it isn’t going to drive the business, why should I invest in it?” One of the things that Interbrand has done is answer the question, “Does anybody give a damn?” We actually measure the impact of corporate citizenship on the most important factor in business, the propensity of someone to buy your product over another. The evidence is clear that it does in fact impact someone’s choice and, therefore, it makes a small but growing contribution to the strategy and performance of the business.

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DD: We spoke with Andrew Hoffman, a professor from the University of Michigan, for this issue of IQ. He frames environmentalism and social change as a culture war mired in ideology. Are we seeing a similar culture war inside corporations right now?

TZ: Absolutely, we are. You have two communities within large organizations creating the tension. One being the leadership, which is of the baby boomer generation who had great promise of making the world a better place, and in retrospect, that generation has failed. So it’s become a question of legacy: “What do I leave? Is it just a more prosperous shareholder? Is it just revenue and employment?” Then, at the other end of the tension is the millennials coming into the workforce. These are two different but related groups, who see purpose and who see morality in business from a different light, and that is flaming a culture clash within organizations: What are our values? How should we measure our contribution to our employees? To our community? To our partners? And that dialogue is increasing visibility around the commitment to corporate citizenship and sustainability within organizations.

DD: We were recently down in Zuccotti Park here in New York City interviewing some of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, who also range from millennials to baby boomers, but they’re working for change from outside the corporate structure. Do you think this movement suggests that the inside-out framework is falling short when it comes to corporate citizenship?

TZ: The demonstrations that are happening in cities all across the world are challenging the moral fiber of corporations. The voices of Occupy Wall Street that we documented are interesting because they are players outside the establishment who have accessed the media and the collective will as a way to voice a deep-rooted sentiment of distrust and disappointment with the way corporations are contributing to society. It is a very healthy barometer of things to come. The sentiments being expressed about the role of corporations in politics and about the role of corporations in the community will be internalized as lenses through which organizations examine their commitment to these key constituents, and we expect to see changes as a result of that.

DD: Last year at our corporate citizenship conference, you interviewed companies like Google and IBM who expressed a fear of being too public about their citizenship efforts. How do we change that culture so they feel it’s their duty and responsibility to talk about the work that they’re doing?

TZ: When we asked, “Why have you kept these stories to yourself? Why is this part of your lore hidden in a closet?” their answer was that they are very humble, they don’t want to go out and brag about what they’ve done.

The other one was, “There are things that we should do better and there is the possibility that we can be discovered for some program in our organization that isn’t perfect in its execution.” Our position at Interbrand has always been that doing nothing is much, much worse than doing something and knowing that you are imperfect. I think that in this world of transparency, these great stories of altruism, of community commitment, of employee engagement, of product innovation, are opportunities for organizations to build popular momentum behind corporate citizenship as a driver of business performance.

DD: It would appear that transparency is their best defense against any attack.

TZ: And if you embrace it and you allow the warts to be seen whenever they rise to the surface, it says that you are an organization that has good intent, you are an organization that manages its imperfections, and you are an organization that understands that at the end of the day doing good is far more admirable than avoiding bad.

Daniel Diez is Director, Strategic Marketing, Interbrand North America Tom Zara is Global Practice Leader, Corporate Citizenship, Interbrand

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PIVOTAL

MAYBE IT HAPPENS ONCE IN A GENERATION, MAYBE MORE OFTEN, BUT WE USUALLY KNOW IT WHEN WE SEE IT: SOMETHING TAKES THE WORLD AS IT WAS AND SENDS IT SPINNING IN A NEW DIRECTION. WE ASKED AN ASSORTMENT OF INTERBRANDERS TO IDENTIFY JUST SUCH A PIVOTAL MOMENT, INVENTION, OR IDEA.

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PICK UP

DELIVERY

CITY

CITY

HUB

CONTACT LENSES

FEDERAL EXPRESS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AK-47

SATYAGRAHA

When a specialist confirmed that I had to wear glasses from the age of 13 on, I was devastated. That was long before glasses became a fashionable accessory, when they were just an ugly necessity. I spent my teenage years putting my glasses on in the cinema after the film started and stumbling halfblind through school. Then, at the end of the 1970s, came the lenses, and I bought a pair with my hard-earned money. I could forget about my handicap, and practice kissing! Contact lenses freed countless people like me from the limitations (and embarrassments) of bad eyesight, and empowered us to contribute our best to the world.

This is a rendering of a sketch

by FedEx founder, Fred Smith.

It’s the simple yet radical plan he began formulating as a Yale student in the 1960s for delivering packages overnight by integrating ground and air service under one carrier and routing everything through a central hub. While those who should have been his fiercest competitors held firm to the prevailing industry wisdom that overnight service was not economically viable, Smith went about building a billion-dollar business that revolutionized international delivery. His little scribble created a new category, changed the world of transportation, and serves as a reminder that business convention isn’t immutable.

It is simply amazing to consider that humans can build highly complex computers that can listen to, interpret, and then respond to verbal dialogue—and with lightning speed. It is hard to believe that these computers, built by humans, can process information faster and far more effectively than a human. Consider Siri, the iPhone personal assistant app that understands spoken instructions and knows which other apps to use to get those things done. It’s taken the term “user-friendly” to a new level. And yet, this is simply a function of human intelligence. Where will product and technology innovation take us next?

One thing is certain: it will continue to be world changing.

The AK-47 is acknowledged as a masterpiece of simple design, and since its introduction in 1949, it has helped shape the economic and the political environments in emerging markets around the world, from Russia to China to the Congo to Venezuela.

Thanks to its ease of use, reliability, and widespread availability, the AK-47 has long been the assault rifle of choice for militaries, terrorist groups, and insurgents alike. In Africa and other parts of the developing world, it’s a celebrated symbol of revolution, and for much of the developed Western world, it’s an object of fear.

Anywhere you go, it has a reputation that precedes it.

Satyagraha is the practice of nonviolent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi that eventually led to the liberation of India from British colonial rule.

Translated literally, satyagraha means holding firmly to the truth. Gandhi believed that truth could not be communicated by violence in any form, so he instructed his adherents to endure the suffering inflicted on them by their oppressors with patience and compassion. If they held firm, the truth would win out. Both Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. took up the principles of satyagraha in their own struggles, and the legacy is still alive today from Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park.

Nicola Stanisch, Strategy Advisor, Interbrand Moscow

Damian Borchok, CEO, Interbrand Australia and New Zealand

Kelly Gall, Global COO/CFO, Interbrand

Douglass de Villiers, CEO, Interbrand South Africa

Viren Razdan, Managing Director, Interbrand Mumbai

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALAN LUM

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PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

BY TOM ZARA

JUST HOW LITTLE CAN $5.2 BILLION IN CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL CHARITABLE GIVING BUY? AND HOW CAN WE DO BETTER?

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ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS CLUGSTON

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In January 2010 an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude rocked Haiti, leaving 650,000 Haitians homeless and destitute. Already one of the poorest countries on earth, with a crushing mixture of exposure to natural disasters, poor infrastructure, rampant malnutrition, and low educational attainment, Haiti on the eve of the quake had already spent decades near the bottom of every global index.

The Haitian people, as a result, had become forgotten and ignored by much of the global community, consigned to the “basket case” category by the cynical and the well meaning alike.

After the quake, something remarkable happened. Money, relief, and volunteers began pouring in to the country, much of it through corporate giving and corporate matches— eventually totaling over $5.2 billion. Largesse this robust carried the potential not only to help Haiti recover from the earthquake, but also to “build back better” so many of the social institutions and infrastructure Haiti had long lacked. Yet today more than 600,000 Haitians still call displacement camps home, generally under squalid conditions and with uncertain hopes for the future. More than mere metaphor, this episode speaks to the failure of good intentions. While this chapter of human suffering remains unfinished, and the resolve to bring some semblance of normality to all Haitians continues to motivate millions of generous intentions, the question remains glaring: Why hasn’t citizenship, and corporate citizenship in particular, been more effective?

then we need look no further than our own tendency to think of corporate citizenship as an addendum to our business (at best) or a necessary medicine we take because we’re told it’s good for us. It’s past time to align strategy and social conscience.

We’ve split off our best thinking from our best intentions. Focus is the key to reuniting them. We need to remember there are two pieces; “citizenship” is only half of it. We like to say yes to the ever-widening requests for help. We want to try to be good citizens, but in doing so we are, ironically, neglecting the “corporate” piece—which is where the focus and effectiveness reside. If our efforts are failing to register a meaningful change—if all that money is adding up to mere hand wringing, as the Haitian case suggests—

We must operate companies in the hard light of economic uncertainty and face the cold facts that more are in need and there are fewer funds to support these needs.

Corporations have fallen into the trap of diluting their commitments as a compromise to “feed the mouths” of more obligations.

This well-intentioned thinking is taking us down the wrong road.

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One would think that marshalling energy and desire into a concerted and focused corporate citizenship strategy would be a logical and presumed competency of any well-managed organization. Evidence would suggest otherwise. Having canvassed CSR executives, heads of corporate foundations, CMOs and CEOs on the efficacy of their corporate citizenship, the frequent lament was the same: The tendency to steadfastly perpetuate grandfathered charitable efforts, coupled with the seemingly inexhaustible number of requests for help, contributes to an overwhelming set of choices and decisions.

Corporate citizenship has six constituents that define the horizon of any strategic approach of “doing good.” They are: the corporation’s employees; its customers; its suppliers; the communities in which it operates and plays; the governments with jurisdiction over the corporation’s affairs; and the planet we all rely on.

A 2009 Interbrand global study on corporate citizenship concludes, among other things, that any aspect of corporate citizenship directly correlates to all other aspects of the definition.

In other words, if you are known to excel at programs that relate to the community, you get credit for all five other dimensions of citizenship. One has both the opportunity and permission to focus, and the reputation of the company is neither diluted nor compromised by embracing the strategy of single-mindedness.

responsibility to the environment? We also know that in this world of transparency there is a tremendous amount of data available. Today we can actually examine the processes and the performance of these organizations. It’s the marriage of these two metrics, performance and perception, that gives us a truer reflection of how well these organizations are doing. And each must be managed carefully, as scoring too highly on either measure can be dangerous. If public perception outpaces your performance you could be called out for greenwashing. If your performance far outweighs perception you are leaving a considerable amount of value on the table.

How an organization chooses where to focus and communicate that focus is the key—the place where the rhetoric gives way to reality.

And that is precisely the place where this issue of IQ picks up the trail.

That focus will enable you to manage the gap that exists between your corporate citizenship performance and public perception. It was this gap that shaped Interbrand’s latest corporate citizenship research, our Best Global Green Brands study. We knew that if we were going to create a better measurement of a brand’s participation in sustainability (and there are already over 100 in existence), we needed to consider two dimensions. The first was public perception. What does the customer actually think about these brands relative to their

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BEN GOLDHIRSH BELIEVES THAT LIVING A PROSPEROUS LIFE MEANS MORE THAN JUST MAKING A LITTLE MONEY. IN 2006, AT THE AGE OF 26, HE FOUNDED GOOD, A MAGAZINE AND MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA COMPANY WITH A MISSION TO ENGAGE PEOPLE, BUSINESSES, AND ORGANIZATIONS “WHO GIVE A DAMN.” HE TALKED TO OUR GUEST EDITOR, TOM ZARA, ABOUT THE VALUE OF DOING BUSINESS SO IT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.

Tom Zara: What got you started down this path of promoting business as a force for good?

Ben Goldhirsh: It goes back to my earliest memories.

My father published Inc. magazine, and I was born the same year it launched, so I grew up with the business of that magazine. Every night our conversations were about this entrepreneur or that entrepreneur, and the value of what entrepreneurs were doing. When my father sold the business, he gave a significant portion of it to the employees. My dad made me listen to voicemails from his employees thanking him for allowing them to pay for their children’s college educations.

At that point I was already 19 years old, but my whole life was about respecting the value that business brings to the world and the value of the people that participate in the business. For me, it was always that business is inherently good. If you’re

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selling something it means you’re providing value, and in doing it you’re providing value for all of the constituents—not just the consumer, but your employees as well. It’s about the salaries that are generated and the opportunity for people to really provide their passion.

That was my starting point.

TZ: And how did GOOD come about?

BG: When I graduated from school, my friends and I thought that there was this opportunity to do well and do good—you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other—and we wanted to build a platform to support this emerging sensibility for people who are trying to live a valuable and engaged life.

We also wanted to celebrate those businesses that didn’t see a conflict between making money and doing good. I had a really interesting conversation with Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield Farm, when we first started. I was expecting him to just be super-supportive of the mission and he wasn’t.

ISSUE 02: CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

He asked how we were going to drive revenue. So that was another clear imprint for me in terms of understanding that corporate citizenship is not a tack-on or a cost, but it needs to be a valuable component that supports your business.

TZ: Who in the marketplace is doing that really well right now?

BG: We can look at different industries and different scales, but looking at my peer group, GOOD launched the same year as Toms. I think Toms is going to be the Nike for our generation in terms of spanning a variety of different categories and building a really significant business.

There are people who are born with a mission perspective and use that mission perspective to build their business, to build brand affinity, and they never sacrifice the quality of their product. Success comes from never thinking you get a concession on price or quality because of your

social impact. You get the competitive advantage when you can play even or better on all fronts. The exciting thing right now is you’re seeing a lot of companies that understand this and are embedding their citizenship proposition into their value proposition, and the returns speak for themselves.

TZ: How do you actually measure that return, both in the impact you have and how it affects the bottom line?

BG: We look at it from GOOD’s perspective and also from GOOD/CORPS, which is our arm that helps businesses with their corporate citizenship efforts. Measuring social return on investment is complex, and there are a lot of variables to take into account. Ideally, if your product has attributes that are positive, you can align the bottom line with the impact.

GOOD’s fundamental product is our editorial product, and our belief is that by providing inspiring information we are providing positive impact. We know that we provided that information by page views, and the page views are the critical driver for our revenue.

It’s the same one-to-one as Toms. Their social impact is measured by how many shoes they give away, which is directly tied to how many

they are selling. Now take a company like GE: The overall growth of products within the eco-space speaks to the leadership role they play in making a more efficient planet. Or IBM can say the services they provide are creating a smarter planet.

So it is nice when you have a product that actually yields a benefit when consumed. If corporate citizenship isn’t tied to a product itself, then it has to be tied to the authentic root of the business.

that some people haven’t figured it out yet or have been flippant or casual, that doesn’t bother me at all. We’re going through a fascinating market time right now. This is a time for innovation. Maybe things will be steady at some point, but rapid experimentation is extremely fun and smart.

TZ: We still see most companies taking a very scattershot approach and not understanding how to tie their citizenship strategy to their business.

BG: I can’t pinpoint one thing.

There are definitely things we cover that I think are important and that other people aren’t covering, or aren’t covering in a way that generates engagement.

The thing that makes me most excited—and by no means do we deserve the credit for this—is the rapid expansion of cultural energy around the question that we’ve always been about: How do you productively engage with the world? In the five years since we started, we’ve seen more and more big businesses and startups entering this space with really valuable solutions.

It’s why we do what we do, and at one point we will do something that makes it all worth it for me.

BG: Yes, it can get pretty scattershot. Some are hitting it dead on, seeing immediate returns, and doubling down on their investment. Some are trying things out and retracting or adjusting. I think the exciting thing is that people are engaging and learning. I also think it’s nice to see that the consumer base has been supportive of people entering the space.

There is a certain awareness that we’re all a part of the same ecosystem—individuals, organizations, businesses— and an excitement about all of the elements trying to work together to figure out ways to respond to needs. The fact

INTERBRAND IQ

TZ: Is there one story that you are most proud about covering in GOOD? Can you pinpoint one thing that made it worthwhile to you?

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THE TOWN OF TOMORROW

Dominik Prinz: Why create an initiative like T-City? Did you feel that doing this was Deutsche Telekom’s responsibility?

Stephan Althoff: Deutsche Telekom wants to show the potential of networked information and communication technologies for improving the quality of urban life and the quality of location for businesses. As a market leader in Germany, it was part of our corporate responsibility to research the impact of our leading-edge technologies on the lives of our customers.

DP: There were 52 applicants for the T-City project. What qualities were you looking for when you chose Friedrichshafen?

The only good technology is technology you can use. For every iPad revolution there is a Segway flameout, and Deutsche Telekom, the largest telecommunications company in Europe, is working hard to stay on the right side of that line. In 2006 they chose Friedrichshafen, Germany to become their inaugural T-City, a fully connected, fully supported testing ground for tomorrow’s communication and information technologies. Interbrand’s Dominik Prinz spoke with Deutsche Telekom’s Head of Corporate Sponsoring and Events, Stephan Althoff, about this unique partnership.

SA: It was important to us to find a city that did not simply represent the municipal administration and their investment needs, but formulated project ideas together with local industry, citizens, societies, organizations, and clinics. We have been careful to make sure that projects were suggested that generally do not have an off-the-shelf solution yet.

DP: You hope to model future infrastructure improvements on this city. How sustainable is this format of coming in and revolutionizing a complete city like Friedrichshafen?

SA: Friedrichshafen is a real, established city, not a green-field site, so developments take place within the context and limitations of what already exists. It is different in Asia, where entirely networked cities—so-called ubiquitous cities—are built from the ground up. What we’re doing reflects the situation in Europe.

It’s something of a soft revolution, but very sustainable. A project like T-City brings together lots of actors in a city who would otherwise never have spoken to each other, and topics are addressed that otherwise would not have been aired. This type of cooperation must be rediscovered in other cities. The theoretical silos between individual professions must be broken up so that new advantages can be created for a location.

DP: How does T-City fit with the overall corporate citizenship strategy of Deutsche Telekom?

SA: For us, T-City is a unique beacon project with special importance. There are no comparable public-private partnerships anywhere else in the world. This was the case at the start of the project in 2006 and still applies today. Back then, we were pioneers, and we have certainly set important trends in corporate citizenship with our focus on innovation and co-creation.

DP: Do you think that there must be financial incentives for corporate citizenship initiatives like this to work?

SA: The project never had the aim of generating large profits in Friedrichshafen, because that would be counter-productive to the climate of innovation. T-City is our workshop of the future, from which products and solutions emerge, so we see T-City as an investment in Deutsche Telekom’s future viability.

DP: Deutsche Telekom operates in various countries. Have you ever thought about bringing this initiative to other markets, as well?

SA: We believe that we laid an important foundation in 2006 when we developed the idea of T-City, and so many people are benefiting from that idea today. And yes, we started another T-City initiative in Szolnok, Hungary in 2009.

DP: Do you see the role of corporate citizenship growing in the world?

SA: Early in my career, corporate citizenship didn’t play a very big role in Germany. The country enjoyed an economic balance—cities, states, and municipal governments had robust incomes and clearly defined responsibilities, while corporations played their own role.

Twenty-five years later everything’s changed— the federal states are broke, and many municipalities rely on emergency budgets.

Without private, entrepreneurial efforts, Germany’s social system would collapse.

Hopefully the dire conditions will create a new foundation that can help us master the challenges of the 21st century.

Dominik Prinz is Senior Consultant, Strategy, Interbrand New York

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ILLUSTRATION BY ALAN LUM

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PAYING IT

FORWARD WESTERN UNION PUTS ITS MOUTH WHERE ITS MONEY IS

LUELLA CHAVEZ D’ANGELO, WESTERN UNION’S SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR GLOBAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE WESTERN UNION FOUNDATION, TALKS WITH INTERBRAND’S JONATHAN REDMAN ABOUT WESTERN UNION’S AMBITIOUS “OUR WORLD OUR FAMILY” PROGRAM FOR HELPING IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AROUND THE WORLD.

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ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS CLUGSTON

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Jonathan Redman: Tell us about your dual role as the Senior Vice President for Global Corporate Responsibility and President of the Western Union Foundation.

Luella D’Angelo: As president of a corporate foundation my role is to ensure that the Foundation’s goals and objectives are aligned with our corporate values; while as the company’s leader of corporate social responsibility my role is to promote the CSR goals of the business apart from the Foundation. They’re two separate programs that complement each other because they share the goal of helping our employees and the communities where they work. I think the dual role requires a knack for a bit of education, an understanding of the possibilities for a private foundation, some understanding of marketing, and in our case, because we are in 200 countries and territories, an understanding of working with various cultures.

JR: You’ve gone from more traditional forms of widespread giving and grants to initiatives that are more specifically aligned around helping immigrants. Tell us how this integrates with the Western Union business and your brand strategy.

LD: Well, you know, Western Union, both through our money transfer service and through the Western Union Foundation, helps millions of people every day at the bottom end of the pyramid. We take this audience and consumer base very seriously.

We know we have a responsibility not only to watch after their cash as a leader in global payment services, but we’re not moving that money just for small reasons. We’re moving that money for very important, impactful reasons: to get food on the table, to buy those school supplies, to pay the bill that maybe is much harder for them than for you and I to pay. So that money has to be there, quickly and reliably and competitively priced, especially in the market we’re talking about. We really look at our business, but then we mirror our philanthropic strategy towards the business.

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JR: And that also allows for your business to be a support to the philanthropy and initiatives, which creates tremendous alignment between your business and brand and the contribution you are making.

LD: Absolutely. You can look at it through the lens of how the industry has changed. Ten years ago, we were doing philanthropy. We started off not even really implementing strategic philanthropy, and then we got much more aligned to the business and said, “We’ll do philanthropy, but let’s focus in on those causes that really support our business.” But then we took it even further as the industry has moved, and we’ve said, “Let’s really blow this out. Let’s look at corporate citizenship.

How do we use not only the financial means we have, but how do we use our marketing voice to better communicate our foundation goals?” From there, we moved into corporate responsibility, took a wider lens, not just looking at philanthropy but looking at how responsible we are with our finances, how responsible we are with our hiring practices, our pricing practices. And now we’re talking about even evolving further and thinking about what is our shared value to society, because ultimately, we believe our success as a company depends on the well-being of our consumers and our employees and their communities.

JR: So it’s deeply rooted. A lot of organizations are quite humble with how they position those beliefs and somewhat reluctant to be overt in their messaging. The work that you’re doing within the immigration community is something that you’re very proud of and speak prominently around. Tell us about how that serves the business as well as the purpose.

LD: First, I think it’s important to note that it wasn’t automatic and it wasn’t easy. There were no other corporations that were really speaking on behalf of migrants, because the topic of immigration can be a bit of a lightning rod. It can be controversial politically. I think in the beginning, to be honest, we were wondering if we as a company could be bold enough to actually take it on. What would happen to the

stock price? Would we lose shareholders? Would the media take this as a positive or would the media use this against us? There was a lot of risk. It’s easy for me to be talking to you now about it, some five years later, but we had to go through these very strategic conversations and have an internal dialogue about what we were willing to risk and what we really thought the right thing to do was for an ultimate return on investment to society and the business.

JR: In a world that is, sadly, somewhat hostile towards immigration, how do you teach communities about the benefits of accepting migrants and how do you deal with the critics?

LD: First we made sure that we were communicating with our own employees about our position, because if our own employees don’t feel it and breathe it and say it, it’s not authentic. We decided to mount a campaign of education, reminding people that probably you or I are sitting here because our great-grandfather’s great-grandfather migrated from one country to another. Then we started talking about what migrants actually do for economies, what they do for small communities, medium communities, and large communities. What would happen if migrants don’t take some of the jobs that some of us in this country don’t usually want to take? And what do they bring in terms of all the richness in tradition, culture, religion, and food? The sharing of these backgrounds just makes the community stronger. The way we started the conversation was to start reminding people of this.

and the diaspora, and are we so committed to them that we would actually speak on their behalf? Would we possibly send our CEO to speak on behalf of migrants at the United Nations General Assembly? And by the way, we did do that. But getting there was not easy because we knew that if we were going to go big and we were going to go external and we were going to be truly authentic and stick with that, we would have some naysayers. We would have some naysayers even within our employee base, but most certainly with some of our shareholders. And so what risk would we take? When we were going through this process, as hard as it was, there’s not a magic wand. You don’t really know what you’re going to lose. You don’t know what you’re going to gain going into it, but you roll the dice, and luckily we had a CEO who said, “Let’s try it. Let’s go for it.” And I remember as soon as we went public, we got several letters from some of our shareholders saying, “I don’t like this position.

I’m not going to continue buying your shares unless you retract from this position.” Then the question becomes, how deeply did you really put that stake in the ground? Luckily, we had a leadership that said, “No, this is the right thing to do. And if we lose some shareholders over it, it’s okay. It’s okay because we believe what we are going to get back in helping the people that help Western Union every day is going to outweigh what we lose, even with shareholders.” So that was a really interesting experience to go through.

Jonathan Redman is Senior Director, Client Services, Interbrand New York

JR: How did you overcome the initial skepticism or resistance amongst your stakeholders, especially shareholders, to remain committed?

LD: As a company, we had to be stern and deliberate. Once we decided that this was the stand we were taking and this was our responsibility as a company, we did not waver.

Within Western Union, even within the C-suite, we needed to make a decision. Are we proud to speak on behalf of the migrant populations

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THE DOUBLE-

X FACTOR

A complex network of economic activity is linking women around the world in unexpected and powerful ways. Oxford professor Linda Scott discusses how this phenomenon, which she calls the “Double-X Economy,” has elevated the lives of women and girls in developing countries—and why her research is influencing big business to get involved.

Andrea Sullivan: What is the Double-X Economy?

Linda Scott: It’s the idea that the women’s economy is an interconnected economy that’s developed in a coherent pattern around the world. Females have suffered from a surprisingly consistent set of rules that keep them both poor and powerless. In addition to educational or job restrictions, females are typically not allowed to own land, inherit property, borrow money, or enter into a contract. Their mobility is constrained and their communications channels policed.

So an economy born of exclusion emerges among women, but it’s kind of a shadow economy because it’s not monetized, or it’s informal, like a babysitter getting paid in cash. Now that shadow, thanks to things like improved communication and women’s gains in economic access, is becoming visible as an elaborately interlinked, living system with its own ethic. The women’s economy, for instance, is more clearly marked with a concern for human capital, so getting women more power and money has a positive ripple effect into a community’s future.

AS: And things are changing quickly as more and more women around the world are participating in the mainstream economy.

LS: It’s changing very rapidly at a historical magnitude. Women now control more than half of the wealth in the United States, and that same fact will occur in Britain in the next few years. We really have a situation where they’re having an impact on investment strategies, having an impact on charitable contributions. Remember, too, that women

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control most purchasing decisions. In the West most garments are purchased by women, regardless of who wears them. That gives them the power as consumers to vote with their wallets when they find out about sweatshop conditions for the workers making those garments on the other side of the world. Those workers are almost 100 percent female. On the other hand, there are women’s programs run by companies like GAP or Timberland that sponsor literacy training or baby care, and they do this because they know it matters to their consumers. You get these connections between women over and over, between wealth on one side and poverty on another, and what I’m trying to do is to map this economic net around the world.

AS: You just completed a three-year study on Avon in South Africa. How did that come about?

LS: While I was working on the research for my [2005] book, Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism, I came across a number of companies that started these rural distribution systems in America in the late 19th century.

Like Avon, they offered women the chance to sell goods from home, giving them a way to earn money, but also a feeling of being in a group beyond their own, often isolated, location. I wanted to see if there was the same effect happening in the developing world today.

In a total act of hubris, I contacted Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon, and said, “I want to go study your operation in Africa.” And she said yes! We ended up in South Africa, and the research shows that it’s a really powerful thing.

These women, many with limited literacy, are able to, on average, support a household

of four. We see important increases in their earning ability, but also improved self-worth.

They can win trips and go to conventions and all that stuff. It’s a culture where there aren’t very many opportunities for women to get recognition of any kind, and this recognition is like pouring water on a flower. They just bloom.

AS: You also just published the results of your research into a wonderful partnership between UNICEF and Pampers that’s providing maternal and neonatal tetanus vaccinations to women in need. Tell us about that.

LS: Yes, it’s hugely powerful. These guys are set to eliminate this disease from the earth in about three years. It’s normal tetanus that is contracted in childbirth because of unclean birthing conditions—usually in remote rural areas. Few die in childbirth in the rich nations anymore, but elsewhere this disease kills a mother or her baby every nine minutes.

UNICEF delivers the vaccines that Pampers donates through a campaign directed at moms around the world.

AS: Can you explain how the campaign actually works?

LS: It’s very simple actually. Pampers donates one vaccine for each pack that is bought.

One pack equals one vaccine, so it’s very straightforward from a consumer perspective, and because it’s so well aligned with the Pampers social values—mothers caring for babies—there’s a measurable brand benefit as well.

ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS CLUGSTON

AS: So you essentially are looking at the potential successes and failures of the campaign and the outcomes in terms of the way it impacted the lives of these mothers and babies?

LS: Yes, I try to focus on projects I think offer models for the future. But there is one project I’m hoping to start soon which won’t have a happy ending. I’ve been introduced to two small microfinance groups in Uganda. These ladies have been saving and loaning money to each other, and I suspect some NGO came in and taught them how to do this, but they’re just playing a shell game with their money and they don’t realize they would do better to put it in a mattress. To start a business in a desperate economy, you need to be able to introduce a new skill, a new product, a new service, like in the Avon situation. I think people have been expecting microfinance to work like a seed put in poor soil, but you need other nutrients as well, like new ideas and access to communication.

AS: We’re doing some interesting work with Women’s World Banking, a nonprofit microfinance organization, and as they go into these emerging markets, they find that beyond introducing new credit products, the training and nurturing is crucial.

LS: It’s absolutely true. The lack of even the most basic checkbook skills is a problem.

People seldom appreciate how difficult it is for women in some of these communities to even get a bank account because it may be so far to a bank that they can’t get there. That’s one of the reasons why mobile phone banking has become so important. It allows them mobility and also privacy, because if

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SOURCE OF HOPE For David Barber, co-owner of the farm-to-table Blue Hill restaurants, sustainability starts with the food we eat.

their husband or father knows they have their own money, they’ll take it away from them.

If they have this mobile phone, they can go off in a closet somewhere and do their banking.

That’s one of the reasons we like this Avon idea. With Avon, it’s all in lipstick, and the men don’t want anything to do with that.

AS: What advice would you give to companies who want to make an investment in women’s initiatives?

LS: It would be different in each industry.

It matters if you’re in banking or if you’re in diapers, but there’s quite a bit of documentation at this point to say that this is a strategy that has enormous leverage. I would also say that whether you’re choosing to invest in women or just planning in global management, you need to step back at each project and say, “Where are the women in this?

Are they consumers or workers or investors?”

You have to think about where the potential connections are among the different segments.

Most managers are only used to thinking of women as consumers, and it creates a blind spot for them.

AS: Is there a particular moment that stands out for you where you felt you were really making a difference with your work?

LS: One day I was doing a focus group with Avon ladies from the black township of Soweto.

An older woman told us about a young recruit who was being beaten by her husband. She told the young woman, “Come sell Avon and you can earn enough money to leave him.” The young woman started earning money—and the husband stopped beating her. In the moment, I was unsure how to feel about that, because she shouldn’t have to buy her own safety, but it pressed me to the point of tears to realize how powerful a little hope can be.

At the end of that meeting, the ladies around the table thanked me for listening to them, saying that the world doesn’t often pay them attention. I will never, never forget that focus group.

Andrea Sullivan is Executive Director, Client Services, Interbrand New York

“ FOOD

IS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR

that people are engaged in whether they like it or not, and unlike some of the other trends associated with sustainability, food is flexible. You can do it for lunch and not do it for dinner—it’s not quite the same commitment as buying an electric car or converting your house to solar energy. I think all of those things have contributed to a fortunate spotlight and a sense of people willing to try. Food is the brightest hope for defining how we exist sustainably and responsibly as a human race, and if we can’t get food right, or at least partially right, then the rest of it is really a long shot.”

GO TO INTERBRANDIQ.COM TO SEE A VIDEO OF OUR FULL INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BARBER.

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THE CULTURE

CURE HOW DO WE MAKE PROGRESS IN A WORLD POLARIZED BETWEEN LEFT AND RIGHT? ANDREW HOFFMAN, A PROFESSOR OF SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN’S ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ARGUES THAT WHETHER YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING OR CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, THE CONVERSATION NEEDS TO START WITH THE CULTURAL ISSUES AT THE CORE. 28

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ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS CLUGSTON

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Daniel Diez: What made you want to explore the role of culture and ideology in environmental and social issues?

Andrew Hoffman: I believe very strongly that environmental and social problems are, at their root, cultural issues—that technology may be the proximate source of environmental pollution, but it’s our culture that tells us what kind of technology to make and how to use it. When we want to change the way we live around environmental and social issues, we really have to change our values and beliefs.

DD: What role does ideology play in the climate change debate?

AH: The climate change debate is not about climate change anymore. It’s about ideology.

It’s been immersed in the culture wars along the same lines as abortion and gun control and the whole suite of issues that divide the left and right. The people are not debating carbon dioxide molecules and climate models—the science is much too complicated for the average American to study. They look around for cues for how to take a position from spokesmen and pundits, and then they analyze it through their own ideological lenses. The issue boils down to a question of trust in the scientific process, the role of government, faith in the market—even people’s belief in God or a just world becomes challenged by these doomsday predictions. The question then becomes, how can we communicate what is a scientific consensus? Many people

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like to believe there’s not, but there is a scientific consensus. How do we create a social consensus? That gets down to communication and engaging people where they are versus where they’re not.

DD: At Interbrand our hypothesis is that corporate citizenship is failing because most companies are not implementing and communicating programs in a way that makes them integral to the business. What do you think companies can do to make corporate citizenship a real business asset?

AH: For a company to address issues of environmental protection or social equity, they need to be able to frame it in the language of the business. To get it to stick and go to the core of the company, it has to be about increased consumer demand, improved operational efficiency, lower cost of capital.

If it’s merely an add-on for some kind of philanthropic reason, when the market gets tight, that program will be gone. But if it’s central to the core strategy, you put your best and brightest on it and you will stick with it through thick and thin. You look at Toyota’s Prius. Is that corporate citizenship? Absolutely not. That’s corporate strategy, and that’s when it sticks. It does require a creative manager inside the company to frame it in a way that engages the creative power of the organization.

Some market signals are very quantifiable.

The price of energy is going up: Let’s conserve energy. Consumers are shifting toward buying more hybrids: Let’s get into the hybrid market.

Some are less quantifiable and require more vision and leadership. Your employees may feel more committed to your company or more engaged in the workplace if they identify with the value statement that your company is putting forward on environmental and social issues. It’s very hard to quantify, but it’s very real and so it takes a clever leader to see these other kinds of signals and capitalize on them.

DD: Are you saying that it’s a lack of the proper type of leadership? Is that why companies just aren’t able to get it together and get it done?

AH: Well, we’re right back to the idea that these are cultural issues. Framing becomes incredibly important. You can come in and say this is the right thing to do, and I’m going to say, “Why?” You could have a CEO of a company go to all of his or her division managers and say, “We’re going to start to reduce carbon emissions because it’s the right thing to do.” And one of the division managers may come back and say, “No way, that’s going to ruin my year-end bonus and I don’t share the same values here. Show me why this makes us a successful company.”

And that’s where it has to go. When the What Would Jesus Drive campaign got going, they actually got an audience with top executives from the Big Three, and I’m quite sure they were not re-examining their relationship with Christ in those meetings. They were looking at it as a business issue. Whenever I get companies saying, “We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” I roll my eyes and say, “Okay, now give me the real reason.”

DD: So I guess we haven’t yet made the business case for corporate citizenship.

AH: But it’s different in every company. Inside a company, culture is everything, and every issue is translated differently into the culture of that particular company. If you go into Procter & Gamble, they are driven by consumers and consumer demand. If you go into Intel, they’re all about operational efficiency. The culture you create determines the success you have, and when you try to integrate new or emergent issues like corporate citizenship or sustainability, it has to fit the culture. It has to work internally, and that affects who they engage and how they engage. Why did BP take its position on climate change? Why did Exxon Mobil take its position on climate change? It’s been interesting to watch how the positions of those two companies have flopped when their CEOs shifted. There are people at Exxon Mobil who describe life before and after Lee Raymond—before you couldn’t say the words “climate change” and now you can. At BP, when it was under John Browne, sustainability was everything, and now it’s completely unfamiliar, so culture is everything.

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DD: Let’s talk a little bit about the media and the role it plays here. Do you think the media is helping or hurting this cause of promoting corporate citizenship?

AH: The media sources become ever more critical in today’s age, and people are looking to the sources they go to for some kind of signal on where should they stand. The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is very influential in the ways that many in the corporate sector think about these kinds of issues, and let’s face it, they haven’t been too friendly toward the idea of sustainability. Now with electronic media, this starts to get really dicey. We have so many potential sources of information that I can go to the web and pretty much find confirmation for any kind of position I want to hold. There’s a new book that just came out called The Filter Bubble that looks at all these algorithms that are being developed now to understand our viewing preferences. They have a valuable purpose: steering us toward more choices that match our interests to save me time. But those algorithms are also affecting our access to information, and so if I go onto the web and repeatedly click on links that say “climate change is a hoax,” and my girlfriend goes to links that continuously say “climate change is a great calamity,” these algorithms will start to

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understand our search preferences, and when we each type in climate change, we’re going to get two different sets of information.

DD: This really plays into questions about young people, especially millennials, and what shapes their views on corporate citizenship and social change.

AH: The young people coming into the workforce are driven by a desire to have a career that makes a difference, to self-actualize through their career. I think that’s more difficult when the economy becomes tight, but I think it’s a very strong driver in today’s generation, and there are corporations that recognize this. Jeffrey Immelt at GE says that their ecomagination campaign has done amazing things for their recruiting efforts. When BP first announced that climate change was real in 1997, one of the internal drivers of that was recognizing that they were having a tough time recruiting the best and brightest because no one wanted to work in the oil industry at that time. So the generational shift is important here.

DD: Is there a company you can point to whose culture you think really inspires innovation in the corporate citizenship space? One that you think really is doing something far above and beyond what their competitors are doing?

AH: Let me preface this by saying that any kind of answer to this question is fraught with peril. Take a major oil company—they have 180,000 people, all over the world. They have so many different activities going on that you can say, “Look at BP. They were so great on sustainability.” And someone comes back and says, “Well wait, they were lobbying to drill in ANWR.” These organizations are very complex, and to paint one with one single broad brush is really tricky. That said, I do find it fascinating when companies integrate these kinds of issues into the operations, into the strategy of the company. And so DuPont is looking at climate change and saying, “Oh boy, we’ve seen this before. Ozone depletion killed our market for CFCs, this one can kill our market for organic chemicals.” So they’re saying, “Let’s see if we can get a little more control over the price of our feedstock and energy prices.” They’re really trying to get into developing biopolymers and biofuels to save themselves from the dangers of being totally reliant on oil. I’ve seen the

inside culture at DuPont and I find it very agile and versatile if you look at who they’ve been over the centuries—from gunpowder to dyes to organic chemicals. There are big companies doing interesting things, but they’re part of a complicated mix. I also find the whole domain of hybrid organizations fascinating. They’re really challenging the shortsighted mantra that the sole purpose of corporations is to make money for their shareholders. There are a lot of other constituents that fit into that equation: your employees, your customers, and others.

There are certain institutionalized myths we have in business that really are mindless, and to think outside the box is really exciting.

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THE WORLD

IS WATCHING BRAZIL

CHINA

JAPAN

KOREA

LONDON

With the rapid emergence in the last decade of Brazil as a world economic power, it seems fitting that the country will host not one but two upcoming global sports events: the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Major construction works are behind schedule, though, and the government’s attempt to speed things up by relaxing regulations has received heavy criticism in the press.

Then in October the Minister of Sports, who had been in charge of preparations, resigned amidst an unfolding kickbacks scandal. With proper planning corporate citizenship might have been a top priority, but in the chaotic scramble to get the minimum required infrastructure and facilities in place, most non-essential considerations have been neglected. Brands involved with the events as sponsors and partners seem to be taking the same lastminute approach. There’s not much being done in terms of building a long-term legacy, and instead the focus appears to be limited to promotions and fun.

For China, the 2008 Summer Olympics was not only a unique platform to showcase its development but a catalyst for corporate citizenship. The three themes of the games established in the original bid, “Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, People’s Olympics,” gave shape to citizenship efforts, pushing Chinese companies to take more responsibility for sustainable development, environmental protection, technological progress, and public welfare activities. Lenovo, the Chinese PC maker, answered the call by developing innovative computer products and information technology services to meet the specific needs of China’s underserved rural communities. More than three years after the closing ceremonies, Lenovo’s steady expansion into rural markets continues to promote development in local economies, while also spurring the company’s strong business growth.

Many aspects of corporate citizenship have long been second nature to businesses in Japan, with companies traditionally taking a holistic view of their role in society.

Tokyo’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, while unsuccessful, offers good insights into the state of corporate citizenship in Japan today. The bid focused on sustainability, with proposals for a “compact” city, renovation and reuse of the 1964 Olympic buildings, and an emphasis on renewable solar power and rainwater usage. The bid also highlighted unity, echoing the achievements of another recent sporting event, the 2002 World Cup co-hosted with Korea. It was a landmark event, pushing Japan toward greater regional cooperation and helping address historic differences while increasing selfconfidence among Japanese.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics and 2002 World Cup hold a special place in the hearts of Koreans. The 1988 Olympics proved to the world that Korea was ready for the global stage and set the stage for the international expansion of several Korean conglomerates. In 2002, Korea surprised the world by reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, reminding the Korean people that when we work together, nothing is impossible. These two mega events served as a signal for social change: The Korean people and corporations were now ready to reach out to people in need. The annual donations collected by the Community Chest of Korea (Korea’s largest charity group) increased from $60 million in 2001 to $340 million in 2010.

The Hyundai brand, a World Cup sponsor, has also built a strong record for corporate citizenship. Their “Moving the World Together” campaign addresses a wide range of social issues, such as traffic safety, access to education, cancer, and poverty.

London 2012 Olympic organizers put corporate citizenship on the agenda long before any journalist, environmental group, or blogger. Sustainability has been a watchword from day one, both for its potential to satisfy the rising demands of a global constituency and to provide the opportunity for brands to express themselves more holistically. While many sponsors have yet to take advantage, Coca-Cola has responded with an ambitious sustainability agenda. The company is minimizing waste in its products and maximizing recycling to help organizers achieve their goal of a zerowaste games. Coke has also pledged to be carbon neutral in its Olympic activities and to actively promote health and wellness throughout.

They’re doing something right—while some sponsors have so far struggled to make inroads into public consciousness, Coca-Cola is the most recognized Olympic sponsor according to a recent Marketing Week survey.

Ilana Herzberg, Strategy Consultant, Interbrand São Paulo

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Nothing creates a spotlight like an international sporting event.

And it’s not just athletes that get caught in the glare but the hosts and sponsors too. For global companies, an event like the World Cup or the Olympics is a unique opportunity to show the world that they are also good global citizens. To get some perspective on this challenge, we asked Interbranders in five cities that will be hosting or have recently hosted one of these events to tell us about some of the successes and failures they’ve seen along the way.

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Simon Meng, Consultant, Interbrand Beijing

Alex Murray, Senior Consultant, Interbrand Tokyo

Michael Kim, Consultant, Interbrand Seoul

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Max Guttfield, Analyst, Interbrand London

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A MESSAGE TO THE MADNESS:

A DAY WITH OCCUPY WALL STREET

BY IAN COLLINS & PETER CENEDELLA

It’s not exactly news that a percentage of what gets said, chanted, or written down during protest movements is bound to be convoluted or poorly expressed. Add the 24-hour 21st-century media to the American Revolution and the historical record would likely be littered with inanity and empty slogans. What is news, though, is the outpouring of a broad cross section of individuals worldwide—be it the Tea Party last year, the wave of uprisings known as the Arab Spring, or Occupy Wall Street and its many offshoots today—all raising their voices to try to reach political and business leaders. As the U.S. veers into what promises to be a particularly charged presidential campaign year—with major consequences for business—it is well worth trying to discern what’s driving protesters to single out banks and big business for criticism. So we headed down to Zuccotti Park in New York City to listen for the messages at the heart of the shouting. Our question was simple: Suppose you could sit down and talk, calmly, and humanly, with top executives from some of the world’s leading brands: What would you say? Here’s some of what we heard.

GABRIELLE RADEKA

ZACH CHENEY

JAQUEL WARD

ASHLEY CASALE

RON BOWTELLE

40, Ann Arbor, MI; teacher and social worker

24, New Orleans, LA; “voluntourism” entrepreneur

28, Brooklyn, NY

Poughkeepsie, NY; political organizer and mother

69, Ashland, OR; smallbusiness owner

I wish I could take you in my classroom, I wish you could meet my clients. I wish you could actually see the lives of people who are really struggling, who have been disadvantaged by the system, by things that are structurally in place that are racist and sexist and anti-immigrant.

And I would hope that you would be inspired to use the considerable power you have to make the obstacles the children in my class face less harmful, less immovable. I’m here for all of the kids who come through my classroom and all of my clients. I think that you can be part of the solution with us and I’m excited that you really want to listen. So go out there and do good work and join us.

As for solutions, the most important thing I would like to see is campaign finance reform, getting your corporations’ influence out of our voice and our electoral system. Now, I don’t have a problem with the idea of corporations. I know that they have done a lot of good, in technology, in innovations in our country, and in research.

There are a lot of beneficial things that are the product of all you create. But that’s not enough. What I say to people who come out and ask me is “Cap the campaigns so we can get our voice back.” You can be represented individually just as much as everybody else out there. I’m seeking to even the balance of influence with all of the American people. So what I would like to see is closing the loopholes like Super PACs and other entities used by corporations to fund candidates with unlimited amounts of money anonymously. I would also like to see a cap on all campaign donations at $1,000.

Corporations could promote environmental sustainability in their practice, they could commit to donating some of their profits to good causes and humanitarian organizations. It seems that corporations own this country and are not always particularly ethical. As a Mom with a baby of 18 weeks old, we came to say I want money for his future, money for education, for health care. These are my priorities. I want him to know he can grow up in a world better than I grew up in, but it looks like that is not the direction things are going.

Remember your Mom and Dad taught you to share?

Well you need to share a little more. You’ve got a big image problem, and the longer it goes on, the more suffering will occur and the less profits you’ll make. As the economy goes down because of special interest groups influencing the government, the next thing is that people start losing their jobs, their wages, and they can’t afford to buy your products anymore, or your services. So you need to get out there and make an image change, you guys.

Because if you don’t do it soon, it’s going to be way too late. This protest is just the beginning. And it’s going to spread, because it’s affecting everyone—my grandchildren, my wife’s grandchildren, our future, our homes, and our health. This isn’t about abortion or gays or guns. This is about our future. And you need to step up to the plate, Mr. CFO, and Mr. CEO.

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What global corporations could do to help is just come down to Zuccotti Park and see how we’re operating.

Understand community and what the obligation of a corporation is to the community. I don’t have too many particulars because business is business. We can’t tell you to stop making money or stop wanting to profit.

But we can tell you there’s a responsible, ethical way in which we can go about that.

On a general basis, just be more conscious of the communities which your products either enter, are produced in, or are shipped away from. Have a consciousness of the effects.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROSS CLUGSTON

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“HODGE” Wilmington, DE; laid-off investment accountant The problem is fundamentally that even as leaders of corporations, their money is dependent ultimately on the labor force. And without a good labor force to support whatever corporation they have, it’s not going to survive.

They need people to make money. That should take precedence. I think that’s the most valuable message I can deliver.

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WHAT’S THAT BRAND COMING ON THE HORIZON TO CHANGE OUR LIVES? OR THAT IDEA SO INTRICATELY INGRAINED INTO OUR WORLD WE HARDLY NOTICE ITS SIGNIFICANCE?

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ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS CLUGSTON

OUR TEAM OF CREATIVES AND STRATEGISTS EAT, SLEEP, AND BREATHE BRAND CULTURE— SO WHO BETTER TO ASK ABOUT THE BIGGEST OF THE NEXT BIG THINGS?

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TESLA

EDUCATE GIRLS GLOBALLY

UNIQLO

PROSPER

IT GETS BETTER PROJECT

While carmakers around the world are jockeying for a position in the electric vehicle market, the U.S.based Tesla brand is already a step ahead. Its all-electric Roadster, introduced in 2008, can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph, but at $109,000 it was never meant for mass production. Next year, though, they roll out the more practical Model S, a fullsize luxury sedan with a price tag of $57,400 to $77,400, depending on battery range— and it still goes 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds. They plan on building 5,000 of them in 2012 and another 20,000 in 2013 along with a new sport model.

There’s already a waiting list.

Educated women are the world’s most powerful agents of social and economic change, and Educate Girls Globally (EGG) is at the cutting edge of developing education for girls in traditional, maledominated tribal societies.

Founded in 1999, EGG is the most innovative and effective girls education program you’ve never heard of, until now. At the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in September, EGG was the featured educational development program. In partnership with President Clinton, they committed to expand their program in India and are extending it to Africa, with a target of reaching over one million children by the end of 2014.

With recent high-profile store openings in New York, including a global flagship on Fifth Avenue, UNIQLO is raising the profile for simple, tasteful, and affordable fashion. Tadashi Yanai, the CEO, is determined to build “a modern Japanese company that inspires the world to dress casual,” and they already have the highest brand value of any Japanese retailer. The brand has strong international ambitions as well, with targets to open 200 to 300 stores a year, and become the leading fast-fashion brand in the world.

Prosper bills itself as the world’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace. Through its website borrowers can request loans from $2,500 to $25,000, and anyone else can lend them as little as $25 towards that total. Prosper facilitates the transactions, certifies the loans, and sets the interest rates. With loan requests for things ranging from wedding expenses to personal debt consolidation, it provides an opportunity for people to seek financing where there may not have been one. Borrowers can connect to potential lenders by telling their story, and lenders can make a discernible difference in somebody’s life.

Founded when syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller created a YouTube video to give hope to young people facing harassment, The It Gets Better Project aims to show lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth the “levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach”—if they can simply survive their teen years. And they do mean survive: LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. Today the It Gets Better YouTube channel hosts hundreds of inspiring videos from straight allies, celebrities, professional athletes, and everyday LGBT adults and youth. What’s more, the project has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations that combat teen suicide.

Dominik Prinz, Senior Consultant, Strategy, Interbrand New York

Jez Frampton, Global CEO, Interbrand

Hiromitsu Hatakeyama, Senior Strategy Consultant, Interbrand Tokyo

David Trahan, Digital Strategy Consultant, Verbal Identity, Interbrand New York

Daniel Diez, Director, Strategic Marketing, Interbrand North America

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ISSUE 02: CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

INTERBRAND IQ

ISSUE 02: CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

41

WHO’S

ASKING

QUIZZING THE CONTRIBUTORS

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD IF YOU COULD?

I wish all people around the world could speak the same language. We would be able to travel or work in different countries without any miscommunication.

We could understand the diverse cultures in the world, resulting in a more harmonious world.

Simon Meng is a Consultant for Interbrand Beijing. He contributed to “The World is Watching” on page 24.

I remember studying Wordsworth in high school and really struggling to stay interested. There was something about a grown man strolling around Ullswater Lake and rhapsodizing about daffodils that I found almost unsettling. But today I wish more of us were like him. Nothing can beat the incredible originality of nature, and regardless of how many iPads we have, nothing ever will.

Max Guttfield is a Strategy Analyst for Interbrand London. He contributed to “The World is Watching” on page 25.

Creative Director Chris Campbell

Provide efficient plumbing for all. Since moving to Tokyo, I’ve gotten used to taps that don’t drip, hot water that’s actually hot, and pipes that don’t leak. On a serious note, access to clean water and sustainable management are important topics. Action on supply and sanitation would save lives.

tom.zara@interbrand.com

chris.campbell@interbrand.com

Editorial Director Peter Cenedella

Co-Editorial Director Ian Collins

peter.cenedella@interbrand.com

ian.collins@interbrand.com

Design Director Alan Lum

Creative Director, Interactive Alan Roll

alan.lum@interbrand.com

alan.roll@interbrand.com

Alex Murray is a Senior Consultant for Interbrand Tokyo. He contributed to “The World is Watching” on page 25.

Production Manager Erik Wicker

Marketing and Events Manager Shayla Persaud

erik.wicker@interbrand.com

shayla.persaud@interbrand.com

Dominik Prinz is a Senior Strategy Consultant for Interbrand New York. His conversation with the Deutsche Telekom executive Stephan Althoff appears on page 18.

Ilana Herzberg is a Consultant for Interbrand São Paulo. She contributed to the “The World is Watching” on page 24.

I would create a moral universe, where right and wrong matter. I was lucky enough to participate in an intimate session with Desmond Tutu where he talked about his ongoing reconciliation mission with former apartheid oppressors in South Africa. He underscored that if all of us treated one another as family and could “see with the eyes of the heart,” we could cultivate the qualities of love, forgiveness, humility, generosity, and courage that we need to change ourselves and our world.

Andrea Sullivan is the Executive Director, Client Services for Interbrand New York. Her conversation with researcher Linda Scott appears on page 26.

I would like to see alignment on the world’s core issues—for there to be common and consistent recognition of crisis and action, regardless of political or economic interest, so that more purposeful and positive outcomes can be achieved.

Jonathan Redman is a Senior Director of Client Services for Interbrand New York. His conversation with Western Union’s Luella Chavez D’Angelo appears on page 20.

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daniel.diez@interbrand.com

Guest Editor Tom Zara

I’d give people the belief that they can actually change the world if they want to. If everyone felt their actions made a real difference and drove social change, the world we live in would be a better version of itself in no time at all.

I’d have an eject button for corrupt people. Just get rid of them immediately, because I truly believe that putting petty goals in front of the greater good is the source of all evil, and it’s undermining the good stuff in this world.

Editor in Chief Daniel Diez

Special thanks to: Peter Acimovic Lindsay Beltzer Lee Carpenter Ross Clugston Russell DeHaven Chris DiMaggio Josh Feldmeth Lauren Gallo

David Hong Bommy Kim Rachel Kessman Asli Leone Moemen Omara Andy Payne Cristi Sauser Lauren Thiele Roxy Torres

Copyright © 2011 by Interbrand Corporation Interbrand IQ is published by Interbrand.

This publication was printed on FSC-certified paper manufactured with electricity in the form of renewable energy (wind, hydro, and biogas), and includes a minimum of 30% post-consumer recovered fiber.

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Michael Kim is a Consultant for Interbrand Seoul. He contributed to “The World is Watching” on page 25.

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