Tempting Brands to Do Right: Carrotmob and the Big Win-Win
Thanks to the Springwise newsletter, I just read about Carrotmob - a very clever, crowd-driven approach to changing the behavior of store owners and brands toward more environmental awareness and social responsibility.
What they have begun in a small way in San Francisco is something for which brands should be wholly prepared on the much larger scale. Consumers are more and more interested in the responsible actions of companies that vie for their hard-earned dollars. Many will respond wholeheartedly to being organized in this manner.
Here’s a bit more on Carrotmob, according to their Welcome page:
Carrotmob will be a non-profit organization. Our goal is to improve the world by helping companies embrace socially responsible choices. Our primary focus is the environment. We recognize that corporations must keep profit as their top priority. Historically, this fact has meant that the environment has suffered, since companies have made more money by harming the planet. We are going to put rewards in place that will
make environmental responsibility the more profitable choice. Companies will do what we want, not because of negative pressure, or morality, or a boycott, or a petition…there are enough sticks out there. We need a big juicy carrot. They will do what we say because they won’t be able to resist the profits.
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If you don’t yet believe that consumers are watching for the “green” or social responsibility efforts of your business, and comparing/contrasting you to your closest competitors - feel free to wait until Carrotmob or something similar comes calling. On the more proactive other hand, if your eyes have already been opened and your brand prefers to be at the cutting edge of its industry in this realm, get on the stick before the carrot needs to be dangled.
If you need one more reason: Women definitely notice the first to move, and the first to seriously commit - both to serving them as consumers and to the idea of being more socially and environmentally responsible.
Yes - this is a personal passion of mine and I could go on and on. But - the dots of our culture and economy are clearly connecting along these lines, whether I chime in or not.
