Case Study for Corporate Social Responsibility
FORTUNE 10 COMPANY CHALLENGE:
Build a Meaningful Corporate Responsibility Program that Differentiates it from Competitors
After a Fortune 10 company chairman pledged a shift in the company’s philanthropic giving to education-based initiatives, VOX Global set out to identify exactly what that signature program should look like based on specific criteria including ownability, measurability, credibility, brand positioning compatibility, and newsworthiness.
VOX Solution:
Engage Stakeholders and Develop Research-Based Philanthropic Giving Program with Education Focus
The VOX team built out the initial program, beginning with in-depth analysis and outreach.
- Stakeholder Outreach: VOX conducted in-depth interviews with nearly one hundred internal and external stakeholders to determine the most effective CSR program.
- Competitive Research: VOX mapped the competitive landscape of private and corporate foundations, concentrating on work focused on education.
- Media Audit: VOX produced an in-depth mainstream, trade and new media audit to determine how education philanthropy best resonated with media.
- Executive Buy-in: VOX presented the company’s senior management with a number of detailed programmatic scenarios and related communications plans that brought our recommendations to life.
- CSR Analysis and Recommendations: VOX analyzed the areas of human need in the education space that were not being fully met through other philanthropic or government initiatives. Taking into account stakeholder and executive input, as well as competitive research, VOX compiled a final comprehensive report with specific recommendations to the company. These recommendations focused on the gaps that existed in the crowded field of education philanthropy and how to focus their giving in a way that connected the company with their employees, customers, communities they serve and key stakeholder audiences.
VOX is now engaged in developing and implementing the initiative’s scheduled four-year rollout; including vetting program partners, program development, executive positioning and thought leadership, strategic communications planning and continued media and stakeholder outreach.
RESULTS
The program launched April 2008, and initial media coverage garnered more than 27 million impressions.
The program continues to enjoy very public support from leading policy-makers, including the Obama Administration, education opinion leaders and diversity groups across the country.
In 2010, the giving program encompassed initiatives with over 700 local and national education groups, garnering an additional 26 million media impressions per year.
