CSR in Pakistan after Monsoon 2010

By Irfan A. Sheikh

In today’s world of access to information, the notions of brand behavior and brand values tend to change constantly, compelling many to re-think what they represent. It is, in a sense, a time of re-invention, re-imagining, renewal, and re-investing.
Advertising and marketing gurus worldwide believe that we are passing through a ‘Responsibility Revolution, where the future of marketing will be defined by how brands connect in a larger societal context. Today’s consumers, being in the driving seat, will re-evaluate the products and services on the basis of their convictions. Purpose and value will, therefore, figure big in the future marketing strategies.
When it comes to Pakistan, the significance of the word ‘Responsibility’ for brand managers caught up in the current state of affairs (or should I say ‘affairs of the state’) is greater than ever. Struck, perhaps, by the worst disaster ever recorded in the human history, the devastating monsoon floods have plunged Pakistan into a humanitarian crisis of gigantic scale. Hundreds have died, 20 million stand displaced and virtually half of them need urgent humanitarian and medical assistance for mere survival. What is in store is hard to tell! The rain spell may stop, but the spell of suffering will be far from over any time sooner.
The gravity of situation and urgency of action is further compounded by glaring governance gaps and credibility issues which came to the fore as the floods wreaked havoc on various parts of the country.
In these hard times, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no less than a circumstantial necessity, qualifying convincingly for being at the heart of communications by everyone out there.
Corporate generosity, after all, is not new. Companies have always been seen doing the good work—supporting charities and donating funds and sponsoring noble causes. Only the dynamics may have changed.
To quote Brad Henderson, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Plan International, a leading children’s development organization, “advertisers and their agencies are interested in social projects and social goals more than ever. Now there is a way that a corporation or a brand can work with a not-for-profit group so that both achieve value by doing something in common.”
That is where marketing departments on both sides of the table—the accounts as well as agencies—come into play, having to ensure that the resources succeed in managing a larger social outcome.
According to estimates, of the 100 largest economic entities of the world, 51 are multinationals and 49 governments. In cases where governments have less financial resources and poor governance capacity, multinational corporations are beginning to shoulder social projects. Paying forward, they know, is the best way of being paid back.
Every challenge, we all know, is an opportunity disguised. Same is the case here. For brands that are keen to align themselves with values in a cause-related way, there is much to gain in today’s Pakistan.
The enormity of the scale should make it clear that rebuilding requires a concerted, coordinated and orchestrated response where each and every brand— governments, corporations, individuals—has to join forces. Some have already started the good work. Kudos to them!
Others too should wade through the challenge and seize this opportunity to connect their brands to the mother of all causes. Smart marketers will appreciate the advantages of such ethical undertaking and the benefits it entails.
But in doing so, one needs to bear in mind that the timelines are pretty demanding. It is time to Act and Act Responsible; it is time to Think and Think Fast.
[ENDS]