Disney and Corporate Social Responsibility
Today we are going to discuss corporate social
responsibility and how Disney is a wonderful example of how it is done
correctly. The primary example I will be using is Disney's Give a Day Get a
Disney Day campaign from 2010.
Corporate
Social Responsibility or CSR is when a company does environmental
monitoring, public relations audits, communications audits, and social audits.
Now I know that the word audit is a bit intimidating, but it
really only means to examine or inspect something to improve effectiveness and
appropriateness. The before mentioned audits are put forth to maintain
credibility, build solid relationships with the internal and external audiences
and to manage issues. In doing so, Disney was able to come up with a plan that
not only gave back to the community, but also get more publicity for
themselves.
Here is a link to the promotional video for Give a Day Get
a Disney Day.
Another trick they
used in the video was using famous actors and actresses along with well-known
Disney characters to get people interested. People may be more likely to turn
out if Teri Hatcher is working alongside them. ;)
Helping out with
school and park restorations, and building homes with Habitat for Humanity
really drew the public eye to Disney. By catering to family oriented
communities, Disney was able to promote volunteering as a whole and show kids
that it can be fun to help out a neighbor. This also was a catalyst for parents
to help out and get a free admission ticket to Disney if normally they would
not have the ability to take their kids, or just give the family an excuse to
go if they have not gone before.
All in all, by
getting people to the Disney parks, Disney opened up a wider consumer base
because people are more likely to come back if they have a good experience
while they are there. This campaign improved their public image (which was not
bad in the first place), improved communities in five major cities, and gave
one million people the chance to experience the Magic of Disney.
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Disney is really thinking when it comes to building and maintaining their popularity. Consumers like seeing a company give back. It's true, not only does it benefit those the company is giving back to, but it's also benefiting the company a lot more than some people may realize.
ReplyDeleteI am a strong proponent of this. I think it is great that the government allows tax breaks and give other incentives in order to promote giving back to the community in the private sector. This not only benefits the community but associates these positive behaviors with some of kids favorite companies. The longterm result can be a positive association with community service.
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