MANILA – Uber, Kickstarter, Airbnb and Go-Jek–these are just some of the thriving brands today that are in the business of helping its customers, and are earning big bucks from doing so.
“We talk about social good and business. Talking about social good is not enough. We have to talk about the value of transaction,” shares Dick Van Motman, Chair and Chief Executive of Dentsu Aegis Network, Southeast Asia in a joint talk with Ted Lim, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia.
This way, businesses can be good, shared Van Motman. “Now that technology is more available to us than ever, the opportunity to do good is bigger than before.”
But what does social good really mean?
For Ted Lim, we shouldn’t look at social good in its purest form but treat it with a commercial conscience. At the end of the day, business is still business, companies have to earn.
Ted recalls joining Dentsu slightly three years ago after spending 23 long years in DDB, he was faced with the company slogan “Good Innovation,” to which he responded with “you mean there’s bad innovation?” It dawned on him then that by good innovation, they meant innovating for good–innovative in a way that brought about good not just to communities but also brands and sales.
“So, the challenge for us marketers and communicators–can we make social good, commercially good as well?”
Ted also notes that social good doesn’t need to be just about saving lives and giving blood. For example, in this campaign, social good is a good night sleep for moms.
While in this campaign, social good meant encouraging young people to talk more.
Indeed, value goes further than Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), “what the world wants today is the real thing. It’s not just about words, it’s about actions.”
