After watching the MAGA insurrection on live television, Corporate America is rethinking its political donations. Let’s be blunt about it: businesses have to decide if they support democracy or not.…
Author: Christian Sarkar & Philip Kotler
How can companies amplify the impact of brand activism activities? We’ve been exploring this question since we wrote Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action and the solution seems obvious: cross-brand…
What happens when our government fails to establish a standard for the Common Good? In the case of COVID-19 and the topic of mask wearing, we see corporate citizens step…
B2B brands are in for a rude awakening. By lagging behind their B2C counterparts, they are inadvertently creating a rift between their future customers and their future business. What do…
With today’s brand activism, we see many companies deciding to take a stand for a better world. For example, since signing Colin Kaepernick to an endorsement deal, Nike has added…
Purpose is not a luxury. It is a must have. Companies interested in the ROI of Purpose should look at the official results from a company like Unilever. Earlier this…
We live in apocalyptic times. Everywhere we turn, we see a growing number of interlinked challenges – from rising inequality to environmental collapse – that will require collaboration between unlikely…
Maria Hengeveld‘s article in the Nation, Big Business Has a New Scam: The ‘Purpose Paradigm,’ raises a critical point: “Contrary to its purported aim, the point of purpose isn’t to drive change.…
Can government be “run like a business”? This is one of the biggest fallacies in the current political debate. We are told, time and time again, that a candidate for…
“Being a responsible company means paying your taxes in proportion to your success and supporting your state and federal governments, which in turn contribute to the health and well-being of…
Eight-out-of-10 corporate leaders believe companies now have an obligation to speak out on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, according to new research on brand advocacy conducted by GlobeScan and…
Our job as citizens is to tell them what to do. Watch: see also >> David Attenborough and others on climate change: ‘The world will be transformed’
Marketing today means brands must stand for something– even if it means sacrificing a segment of their customers in order to be cool with the segment they are consciously targeting.…
“…when riches and virtue are placed together in the scales of the balance, the one always rises as the other falls” – Plato’s Republic, Book VIII A recent online survey asks…
What happens when employees decide their company should not pursue a customer or a project? Do they have the right to be conscientious objectors? At Google, that’s exactly what happened. This…
The Reputation Institute publishes an annual study of corporate reputation in America, and now, in 2018, the US RepTrak 100 reveals an average three-point decline in company reputation. This is the…
On Valentine’s Day 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost 17 students to a mass shooting. The students stood up in revolt against our politicians – asking them to do…
A Call to Action Larry Fink’s recent letter to CEOs is titled “A Sense of Purpose,” and in it he makes the case for the CEO leadership for societal good.…
Where are we going? When it comes to Brand America, the United States stands at an inflection point. It can be argued that what makes America great is our values.…
Our economic system of Capitalism is both praiseworthy and blameworthy at the same time. We need to acknowledge that worldwide Capitalism has lifted many out of extreme poverty. But almost…
Historically, most brands have been marketed on their performance characteristics. “Our toothpaste is better than yours.” We’re better at “whitening teeth,” “preventing cavities,” or giving you “fresh breath.” Positioning was the name…