What do brands need to do to have sustainable social impact?
On 29th November, our event ‘Discover Your Path to Impact’ brought together Kate McGoey (Head of Barclays LifeSkills), Deborah Clark (Sustainability Director – Thriving Communities at The Crown Estate), and Jas Kubski (Hopscotch) to discuss how brands can embed meaningful social impact in their organisational strategies.
The latest Brands in Motion global report, developed by Hopscotch’s parent company WE Communications, uncovers key insights into the need for organisations and brands to increase action and communications on social impact. Now more than ever is the time for organisations to step up given their power, tools, and resources to make a difference.
As pressures push in from all angles – economic uncertainty, social justice issues and environmental disasters, consumers and employees are urgently looking to companies to address larger societal issues.
Five common themes emerged from the discussions which are important for all brands, no matter what your issue or expertise.
Commit to issues that matter to your organisation and your audiences. Look to your purpose and values first, then dig deep into insight on pressing issues in society to find the common ground. Audiences demand authenticity, so make it personal and show long term commitment to avoid accusations of empty purpose washing.
Play the short and long game: It all starts with developing your strategy – find ways to balance long-term commitments alongside actions that deliver positive value now. This will show proof of concept and build the case to invest in breadth and depth of impact for the long term.
Take action with your audience: No matter what you do - make sure you’re doing it with people, not to people. Whether it’s a programme looking to engage young people, schools, disadvantaged groups or whole communities, you’ll see deeper and more meaningful impact if you create it with, and put it into action alongside, your audiences.
Build evaluation in from the start: If you’re serious about creating genuine impact, build measurement and reporting in from the start. That’s how you learn what works and adjust what doesn’t. It also helps you tell a compelling impact story within and outside your organisation that stands up to scrutiny and gets you noticed for the right reasons.
Embed social impact across your organisation: Impact can’t be an add-on or afterthought if you’re looking to make it meaningful. Bring key stakeholders on the journey early, to help shape the approach, gain buy-in and champion the work. The more people feel involved and see the value in investing in social impact, the more central it will become to your organisation’s wider strategy and culture.
These principles stem from Hopscotch’s Social Impact Framework, which bring together nearly 15 years of experience helping brands, charities and public sector organisations to create impact.
Our Path to Impact approach provides a fully integrated social impact offer that leaves no room for empty purpose washing. From strategic consultancy, content creation, activation and project execution, to reporting and sharing your impact story with the world - we meet you where you’re at and propel you forward on your path to impact.
If you share our passion, or are interested in finding out how we could use our Path to Impact to support your organisation, let’s chat.