Companies help charities, build relationships with customers

Social platforms become strategies that help businesses reach out, experts say.

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By Randy Tucker, Staff Writer 8:46 PM Friday, October 15, 2010

From iPod holders to frozen dinners, retailers nationwide are hawking pink-labeled goods to raise awareness – and money – to fight breast cancer.

In the process, they’ve enhanced their reputations as socially responsible corporate citizens during one of the most socially conscious periods of the year, this month’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Companies operating in the Miami Valley, including Kroger, Kohl’s and Target, have raised huge sums for the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and other charities.

While some critics have questioned the motives of companies pushing their wares under the guise of breast cancer awareness, those companies have no choice but to be involved in such altruistic campaigns, experts say.

“Engagement on societal issues is no longer a ‘nice to do’ but a ‘have to do,’ said Carol Cone of the Edelman public relations agency in New York and a pioneer in the field of so-called “cause marketing.”

As society as a whole becomes more socially aware, Cone said, businesses must identify themselves with a social purpose or risk losing relationships with customers who perceive competitors as more socially conscious.

The need to be seen as having a social platform has become such a critical business strategy that businesses are constantly exploring new ways to reach out to customers.

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