Social impact and corporate social responsibility have become common buzzwords amongst marketers when it comes to reaching Millennials. According to Nielsen, 72% of Gen Z will pay more for a product or service that has a social impact. In order to reach today’s socially-conscious consumers, it is important to not only adopt a social impact strategy for the sake of being “on-trend” but to put into action effective ways to support social causes that are important to consumers. In this webinar, participants will learn how to identify social causes that resonate with today’s consumers and practical ways to incorporate mission into regular business practices. Specifically participants will learn: What motivates young consumers to care about social causes Effective messaging tools based on storytelling How to appropriately use social media for mission-based communication Strategies to generate referrals through partnering with local organizations and nonprofits

1. Hosted by National MI
Will the “ME” Generation Please
Stand Up?
How to leverage a social impact strategy to
win more business
By: Kristin Messerli, Cultural Outreach

2. Cultural Outreach helps companies create
mission-driven marketing strategies
Audit & StrategyTraining & Social Engagement

3. National MI Partnership
NMI has partnered with Cultural
Outreach Solutions to provide you with
content to support your leadership in
the industry.

4. Coming Soon...

5. TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Motivations & Values
Storytelling &
Mission-Based
Communication
Messaging Tips &
Strategies

6. Motivations & Values
What Motivates Young Consumers to Care About Social Causes
Section 01

7. Seek Meaning
1

8. Psychology Behind It
● “me, me, me” generation raised with
hyper attention from parents and
school (i.e. participation award)
● Hyper attention leads to feeling
special or significant
● The positive result is that they want
to feel they personally make a
difference

9. Personal Connection is Important
2

10. Direct Involvement
● Want to contribute at the local level

11. Highly Connected
3

12. Internet and Social Media
● Constant exposure to global,
national and local issues

13. Transparency and Authenticity
4

14. Expect companies to be a force for change
5

15. Brand Expectations
● Not just about “what do you stand
for” but “what do you stand up for”
● Result of growing up with distrust of
corporations (i.e. Great Recession)

16. What are the hot issues?

17. Top 3 issues
● Civil rights / Racial discrimination
● Employment / Job creation
● Healthcare reform
Source: “An Invigorated Generation for Causes and Social Issues”, 2017 Millennial Impact Report

18. How do they take action?

19. Top 3 methods
● Politically involved: voting, signing
petitions, contacting reps
● Posting/sharing on social media
○ #metoo movement
● Changing consumer decisions about
which products/services to support
Source: “An Invigorated Generation for Causes and Social Issues”, 2017 Millennial Impact Report

20. Why Are Brands Adopting Social Impact?

21. “Brands with a purpose set on improving
our quality of life outperform the stock
market by 120%.”
- Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2017

22. “Social enterprise is the future of
business.”
- Mark Cuban, Shark Tank

23. Social Impact is the New
Business Strategy
● 70% of millennials are willing to pay
more for a product that makes an
impact on issues they care about
● Millennials are more likely to work
for companies who have a clear
social mission
Source: Millennial Corporate Social Responsibility Study, Cone Communications 2015

24. Storytelling and Mission-based
Communication
Understand the importance of telling an engaging story
Section 02

25. Build a connection with consumers

26. Choose a subject to feature
● Highlight people or case
studies
○ i.e. partner with a local pet shelter

27. How is your service making an impact?

28. Who is benefitting from your company?

29. Reflect
● Who is your audience?
● Can it expand?
● Can it become more diverse?
● What does your talent pool
look like?

30. How do you approach outreach?

31. Delivery
● Tailor your messaging to
relate to a variety of audiences
● Offer resources in local
languages

32. Examples of brands who share their social
cause in a compelling way

33. Toms Shoes - “Improving Lives”

34. Warby Parker
“The whole story begins with you”

35. Everlane - “Radical Transparency”
#KnowYourFactories

36. Swell Investing - “Invest in Progress”

37. Earnup.org
“Higher Earning through Higher Learning”

38. Companies are advertising impact

39. Messaging Tips & Strategies
Strategies for outreach and building connections
Section 03

40. Make your purpose clear and
promote your message
1

41. Choose your cause wisely
2

42. Don’t just choose a random cause; make it
relevant to your brand and voice

43. 76% of Millennials will conduct research
when a company takes a stand to see
whether the claim is authentic or all for show
Source: Millennial Corporate Social Responsibility Study, Cone Communications 2015

44. Use combination of positive,
emotion-based language and factual
language
3

45. ● Appeal to how the individual
will be affected
● Add credibility with facts and
knowledge

46. Use a compelling story to share your message
4

47. Highlight a person or case study

48. Incorporate a call to action for timely response
and feedback
5

49. Social media campaigns
6

50. ● Create a hashtag #
● Partner with an influencer or
organization
● Incorporate live video or IG
story takeovers

51. Handle controversy head-on
7

52. Host regular events
8

53. ● Volunteer opportunities
● Educational seminars
● Donation drives
● Community building

54. Promote initiatives in an organic way; not super
sales-ey and be cautious of the humble brag
9

55. Questions?

56. Access free resources at
www.culturaloutreach.com

57. culturaloutreach.com
kristin@culturaloutreach.com