Corporate social responsiblity - Essay Example

Discussion Product RED Product Red is a cooperative effort of several iconic or popular brands with musician Bono (of the band U2). It was “created to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria […through] RED-branded products,” (quoted from Ponte, Rickey and Baab, 301). It was launched in Davos in 2006. The various brands include American Express, Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Motorola. A certain percentage of the gross sales in said RED products go to the Global Fund.

Red has been used by corporations to sell products or portray themselves as “caring and cool” and a marketing tool linked with corporate social responsibility (4). Ponte et al has added that “RED engages corporations in profitable ‘helping’ while simultaneously pushing the agenda of CSR towards solving the problems of ‘distant others’” (302). The Ten-Point Plan Bendell and Kleanthous (42) provided the ten point plan in corporate social responsibility as follows: 1. Understanding the brand 2.

Understanding the consumer 3. Getting the company in order 4. Handling the program with care 5. Innovation 6. Motivation 7. Collaboration 8. Communication 9. Activate Consumers 10. Measure, monitor and report progress. The various ways and means that RED products can employ the Ten Point plan is as follows: 1. In understanding the brand, Bendell and Kleanthous (42) suggested that a brand perception audit be conducted. For the brands under RED, perception is generally positive due to established reputation and brand awareness.

The existing knowledge about these brands serves as the “true personality.” But aside from the current image, these brands should encompass tradition and creatively explore how the brands affect the environment and society. In employing CSR through Product RED, these companies provided an extension of their already established brands which employs the model of reputation games (Sacconi, 4). These companies have employed self-regulation as a long-run strategy in implementing social contract (Sacconi, 5), and Product RED is but an addition to their multiple marketing programs aside of course from the complementary “brand” weight the founder Bono provides. 2. Consumer awareness is a basic engagement of firms to continuously maintain competitiveness.

Aside from demographic data, many firms today explore the psyche and attitudes of consumers to provide them fitting products that address needs and expectations (Szmigin, 3). In the introduction of CSR employing sustainability, Product RED offers customers a chance to meet ethical lifestyles through consumption of the products. The website of Product RED provides a calculator for users to determine the CSR impact of buying a certain product so that with a click, they are informed of how many anti-retroviral pills were contributed through purchase of a RED t-shirt. 3. Bendell and Kleanthous (42) suggest that the firm should employ all ethical and sustainable means in their system from product development, company operations, to distribution and marketing in a properly audited and monitored process.

They propose an “