By Hadi Khatib
Daily Star, LebanonJuly 21, 2002
Network to aid firms working together to benefit the community
The key rule behind cause-related marketing: Firms that do good, do wellA nongovernmental organization will soon bring together a network of businesses aspiring to promote corporate social responsibility, or "corporate citizenship," using a well-known western concept, "cause-related marketing" (CRM).
CRM is defined as "a commercial activity by which businesses and charities or causes form a partnership … to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit." In simple terms, companies that do good, do well.
For example, if a supermarket earmarks part of its sales for a specific cause, beneficiaries of such a cause ? be it the building of a playground or a lab or any other project ? will be more likely to frequent the store helping their community than another local store.
The expanding global marketplace, as well as the need to develop brand loyalty, have drawn corporations worldwide to CRM. Recent studies show consumers consider a company's reputation before making purchases and that a firm's community involvement can boost employee morale and loyalty.
CRM was first used by American Express in 1983 to raise money to restore the Statue of Liberty. The firm made a 1 cent donation to the restoration each time a client used the company's charge card. New card holders grew by 45 percent, and card usage jumped 28 percent. In Lebanon, business and commercial lawyer Marie-Claude Saade has been mulling over the concept for about two years and plans to introduce the idea here "soon" through the establishment of Business to the Community-Lebanon.
"The novelty comes not from doing CRM work in Lebanon, because it is already being done, but rather by putting together a national network of companies that will work in unison toward building a cooperate citizenship culture," Saade told The Daily Star. In another interview, former Economy and Trade Minister Yassin Jaber, also a founding member of the NGO, said: "This is not the first NGO that we are part of.
"We are creating internet centers in the South and the North with the Professional Computer Association, where users pay a symbolic fee of LL500 per hour to cover the cost of the telephone line, whereas normally, users would have to pay up to LL4,000 per hour."
The computer centers and Jaber's social center in his hometown of Nabatieh, where he serves as MP, is a typical example of a businessman getting involved in NGO work. "When people are joined together, they build a culture. They have more means for financial contributions and can create more support," he said.
Saade, who holds a doctorate in international law from the Sorbonne, is no stranger to social-economic work. She taught "bankruptcy" at the Lebanese University in Jal al-Dib and worked with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss and then Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on establishing the Social and Economic Council, which was endorsed by a bill in 1996. Her experience in dealing with public and private institutions and NGOs in different areas is substantial. But her plan to connect business' community work was conceived in 2000 when the British Council invited her to visit different institutions in the United Kingdom. Among those she visited was Business in the Community, an NGO presided over by Prince Charles.
Business in the Community is a unique movement of companies across the UK committed to continually improving society with a 700-member-strong core, 70 percent of whom are listed on the London Stock Exchange's FTSE100. A recent UK survey found that 75 percent of chief executives, marketing directors and community affairs directors believe that CRM could enhance corporate or brand reputation.
"The idea fascinated me, and when I returned to Lebanon, I thought, ‘Why not set up a similar organization?'" Saade said. She then organized a visit by the group's CEO, John Heaslip, who met many different organizations and businesses, "grabbing the interest and support of mainly Jacques Sarraf, former president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, (LIA) and Wajih Bizri, Economic Forum president and current vice-president of the association."
Since March 2001, Saade, who drew the by-laws, Sarraf and others, including former Economy Minister Nasser Saidi and current LIA head Fadi Abboud, have been working to get the organization on its feet.
"The private sector plays a major role in societies, and it is very important for it to be aware of its image, duties and commitments to the society it works in," Jaber said. He added that the private sector suffered from an image problem in that citizens believe they are in business only to make money, "so (CRM) creates a better relationship with the community, by giving back some of what you are taking."
Jaber, CEO of Middle East Investments, a real estate development firm, stands to win little through the public by joining this fraternity of companies, as CRM works best with trade and service sectors, such as retail companies and banks.
"I am a businessman and a former economy and trade minister with experience regulating, stopping any excess and protecting the consumer," Jabber said. "My involvement is geared more toward making that structure work."
Still in its early stages, Business to the Community-Lebanon has not announced its first order of business, but Saade hinted that a broad project involving revitalizing professions, occupations and vocations "has received great attention from companies as a program that … responds to their aspirations."
The group's action plan includes a number of activities involving corporate volunteering, good state governance and key social issues such as child abuse and women's rights. "We don't deal with politics, but it is within our objectives to target politicians to perform community work, because it enhances their chances of re-election," Saade said. "We'll get in touch with anyone if it serves our objectives."
"We have started with a number of influential people to ensure our success," Saade added. "We intend to be efficient, powerful and a well-organized institution that will open its doors to any company or other corporate social responsibility NGO that shows the desire to join us."
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