But charity work can help shape a humane corporate image. When commercial director Damien Carlier joined the company in 1998, he decided to make the donations more public, both to draw attention to social problems and to highlight the company's caring image. Last year the company ran adverts in the Kiev Metro asking the public to donate clothes and toys in special boxes set up in Argo shops. Such efforts help dispel the negative image of Western firms as big bad capitalists. Used in tandem with traditional advertising, sponsorship can help burnish brand images.
Ukrainian regulations are unhelpful.
Customs duties must be paid even on goods donated for charity, so BA has curtailed its appeals to global staff to donate clothes and toys for Ukraine. Charitable organisations lack professionalism. Although foreign firms are inundated with appeals, few charities know how to put together a really good proposal, much less stick to it. Ferrero's high-profile Opera sponsorship deal crumbled amid public acrimony. BA Ukraine has also had its fingers burned.