Introducing Catalyst 17. Helping brands get in shape for the New Economy.
By: Brian Hickling
Tags: Brands, Social Impact, Social Change, Brand Strategy, Business

A few years ago I co-founded a small social impact organization called The Give Agency.

The Give Agency was a five-day strategic hackathon for Not-For-Profits built on a simple idea — that a gathering of smart-talented people, who took a day off from their normal work, could provide big impact by helping a Not-For-Profit solve one of it’s most pressing challenges.

Members of The Give Agency (Givers) presenting ideas to our Not-For-Profit client.

Here a link to an article about The Give Agency

For about five years my partners and I, along with over a thousand “Givers” with backgrounds in business management, service design, marketing and advertising, provided approximately one million dollars worth of free professional strategy and creative services to some amazing social impact organizations. Something I am extremely proud of.

As rewarding as The Give Agency was, it was more of a social project than a company.

I felt that for me to continue on my personal journey of helping make a better world through the power of creativity, I needed to be part of a company that also embraced my love of brands and innovation. A company with a clear and exciting purpose, built for a new era.

Catalyst 17. A new type of creative company built for the New Economy.

Last week I officially launched a new company called Catalyst 17 and I am grateful for all the people that have reached out to offer their support and encouragement. Also, thank you to all the people I have connected with who have given me valuable feedback and insights as I designed Catalyst 17. I am grateful for your candour, ideas and support.

Catalyst 17 is a creative Strategy & Innovation company built from the ground up with a bold purpose.

Catalyst 17 purpose: To help brands make a better world.

How? By helping companies leverage the competitive advantage of doing good.

Time for a new brand playbook.

This year feels like seven years already. I imagine everyone will agree that 2021 can’t come fast enough.

We have seen some big disruptors — global health pandemic, economic damage, social justice, new ai based technologies, cryptocurrencies, supply chain vulnerabilities, and nationalism — pose big threats for anyone with a business-as-usual approach.

These disruptions also create exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs who have foresight, creativity, and most of all positivity as well as brands and companies who embrace change and want to do things differently.

2021 and beyond will be a whole new ball game for brands. It’s time to throw out your old playbook, build a new one.

The Covid-19 pandemic and social upheavals have to lead to a watershed moment. A global mindset shift. People are demanding more. More from their governments. More for their communities. And more from the brands they support and the companies they choose to work for.

Social Impact Brands do really well.

Here’s some good news! Social Impact Brands do well. They build trust and loyalty, they attract new customers and talented employees, and they have been shown to improve bottom-line financial performance.

In a recent study by Kantar, one of the world’s leading data and insights organizations, they found that brands with perceived positive impact (Social Impact Brand) outperform brands that are not or only partially effective. According to Kantars Purpose 2020 report, over a 12-year period, brands with high perceived positive impact have a brand value increase of 175% compared to only 86% percent for medium positive impact and 70% for low positive impact brands.

Edelman’s Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust in 2020 reveals that brands face a fundamental reordering of priorities amid the disruptions of the global pandemic. Global health concerns, economic instability, growing climate change urgency, and the societal justice outcry over systemic racism are causing people to rethink their relationships — including their brand affiliations. In this environment, consumers are looking to brands to act and advocate for change. 74% of consumers surveyed say that a brand’s impact on society is a reason why would trust the brand.

As most of us know, consumer trust is a linchpin for brands and increasingly becoming one of the biggest differentiators.

The Kantar study also identified that many leaders are simply not prepared for The New Economy or these changed customer drivers. While a majority of marketing leaders (76%) polled in the Kantar study believe their organization has a well-defined purpose, only 10% have a corporate purpose statement backed by a meaningful activation plan.

It is not enough for a brand to simply take a “point of view”, or to create “awareness” on an issue. Real action is needed, otherwise, brands will be seen as exploitative or as opportunists.

Welcome to the New Economy playing field.

A new opportunity to differentiate your brand by standing for something. In the past, many companies and brands have taken the view that it was too risky to wade into social tension. Too risky to stand for anything more than “Whiter Whites”, or “Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands”.

One thing brands and company marketers have always been obsessed about is a Unique Selling Proposition or USP. They are always seeking a competitive advantage, a way to increase sales and a way to connect with their audience. But a USP is increasingly getting harder to find. Companies do not have a tangible product advantage for very long.

Over my career as a Creative Director and Brand Strategist, one of the hardest things to find and articulate was a meaningful brand differentiator. Many products and services today are simply the same. Adidas and Nike, Pepsi and Coke, GM and Ford. Uber and Lyft, you get the point.

As brands look for ways to connect with their customers, engage their employees, and stay ahead of the competition in the New Economy, Social Impact Branding will be an exciting new area to leverage. We only need to look to Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, North Face, or Unilever’s Dove to see brands well-positioned for growth in the New Economy.

Brands need to stop focusing on “consumers” and “employees” and start thinking about their humans holistically.

The New Economy will not be driven solely by “small v” values, such as product differentiation or service superiority, but by “Big V” values such as what your brand stands for, and how it is helping people, communities and the planet.

In order for brands to survive in the future, it will be imperative that businesses take steps now to identify what their human stakeholders (customers, employees, the general public, investment community) care about most, and to start getting into New Economy shape.

People can no longer solely rely on governments, philanthropic foundations and Not-For-Profits and NGOs to fix our big social challenges. Brands and companies of all sizes need to step up and do their part. This should be seen as a big opportunity for companies to gain more brand awareness and growth.

Moving beyond a CSR approach.

It will no longer be enough to have a CSR “sidecar” at your company. The CSR approach of cash donations, sponsorships and employee volunteers is great but no longer enough. CSR corporate giving is merely table stakes.

If you want to elevate your brand or company in the hearts of your humans then you are going have to start exploring beyond just a CSR approach and look to embed social impact into your business model, and your brand's DNA.

This is an awesome time for brands!

The ones that can clearly define purpose activated through actions of “Doing” and stand for a cause people care about will be in the best shape for the New Economy.

Sure taking a stand on a big issue has risk, but there may be more risk for brands that do not have a social impact element heading into the New Economy.

And one last thing to think about. Canada might be is one of the least risky places for brands to explore Social Impact strategy. Our unique mix of capitalism and socialism creates ideal conditions for us to look at new ways for brands to prosper by also helping to change things.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the 17 in our name, you will find the explanation on our website, a shameless plug for a website visit. ;-)

Stay safe. Make Impact.

Brian

Originally published at https://www.catalystseventeen.com on November 19, 2020.