I’ve been wanting to write a post about marketing for a while
now, because it’s been a big part of my studies this term. To put my own twist
on marketing though, I want to talk about advertising in slums. I found a
really cool article about how advertising in Rio De Janerio is evolving... take a look at it!
As Rio’s Favelas get safer, marketers are finally venturing
into these previously inhospitable communities. This is especially important,
considering that Rio will be hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in
2016. As I learned in my class my Regional Planning and Economic Development
class last term, sometimes it takes a big event like the Olympics for a city to
improve itself.
An ad agency called NBS has opened in Rio’s Santa Marta
favela, and has attracted big names like Coca-Cola. They want to talk to the
community in order to develop the brands that they take on as clients, but
they also want to create social good (each brand in the area has to contribute
in some way). For example, Coca-Cola offers entrepreneurship courses, and banks
in the area offer micro credit. One of the most amazing displays of this agency’s
work is Akzo Nobel’s project where they donated paint and trained locals to
revitalize 2000 buildings across Brazil.
I think companies like NBS need to be the future of
advertising, not just in developing countries, but all around the world. They
create benefits for not just their clients, but the community as well. Clients
get the advantage of tailoring their advertising to their potential customers, get
to get their message across in new ways, as well as access to a greater
customer base. Communities get to take advantage of the products/services that
the brands offer, as well as the brands' contribution to their community
(whatever form that may take). Not to mention, this new way of advertising
could start to combat the problem of consumer immunity to marketing. People
will start to feel connected to the brands that advertise to them, and might
begin to trust advertising again.
So what’s your opinion on advertising with a social motive?
Can marketers here in Canada learn from
NBS?
I feel like the social good is more effective advertising to locals and anyone exposed to it than a billboard or other type of ad. I think Canada could implement these tactics, and has, to a certain degree. For example, Tim Hortons sponsors free swims in my community, and also is a backer of a community clean-up in my town, providing every volunteer with a t-shirt (advertising the clean-up and Timmies) and a Tim's coffee mug with a free coffee coupon.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you Katiana! It's great to see some companies Canada are starting to take this approach to marketing. The only problem I have with how some companies are approaching "social advertising" now is that they do it more for image rather than real social good. I don't mean to say that their initiatives make no difference and the companies intentions aren't good.
DeleteCSR is a great marketing tool, but my issue with it is a lot of it is only for marketing, they don't actually care about the social good created. Sure Coca-Cola offers classes in the area, but I'd be curious to see how much that costs them versus the profits they make by expanding their presence there.
ReplyDeleteI like that CSR is making companies actually pay attention to their impacts, but I feel some companies' CSR takes away from companies that actually care, whose main goal is the social good produced.
Like I said in response to Katiana's comment, sometimes companies do use these kinds of initiatives just for their benefit. It would definitely be interesting to see how much of a profit CSR does make, and I think that kinda data should be (but probably isn't available). On the flip side though, I still think the companies intentions are good, though they might not be making as big as an impact as they could/should.
DeleteEven though sometimes people might frown upon companies such as marketing companies for venturing or funding social initiatives to benefit themselves in return, I don't always think it is a terrible idea.
ReplyDeleteNowadays in places like Canada, Funding and grants by the government for social initiatives are becoming more limited and rare, this drives these social projects to search for funding somewhere else. I think that even though these companies are still benefiting personally, the fact that their money can benefit other too is not a bad concept.