Measuring the social value of corporate sponsorship

The corporate sponsorship of the London Olympics has certainly not been without its critics. Amongst the sponsors, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Cadbury in particular have been criticised for promoting high-sugar, high-caloric brands that seem far removed from the slim, trim world of professional athletics. However, Coca-Cola has fought back by teaming up with the think tank Demos to measure the positive social value of its Olympics sponsorship. And in doing so, forms part of a vanguard of corporate advertisers aiming to promote the social conscience of their brands. Demos has recently launched a report Measuring Up: The value of sponsorship on the back of its work with Coca-Cola. The report’s author Max Wind-Cowie argues that, “All companies that engage in sponsorship ought to be looking at the social value of what they’re doing.” To help businesses do this, Demos have designed a tool that combines corporate social responsibility (CSR) and commercial measurement techniques to effectively measure a social return on a commercial investment. The motivation behind brands measuring their social value is, however, an interesting and complex one. Writing in the foreword to the Demos report, Jon Woods, general manager for Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland, says: “Traditionally, many sponsors view partnering with high-profile events as the chance to raise the profile and visibility of their brand and little else. However, we think that sponsorship has much greater potential — that it should be designed to create social as well as commercial value.” More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: UK | Company: Coca-Cola Company, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Cadbury  | Source: The Guardian