Philanthropy or Not Philanthropy?
This afternoon, whilst waltzing through the streets of Bath, I decided to pop into my local supermarket, Waitrose and pickup a fresh baguette, some British Oak Smoked Ham and some fine Davidstow Vintage Mature Cheddar for a spot of lunch for my housemate and I.
When I got to the checkout I realised that I was staring at those little green tokens like a vulture would at a Lion’s unfinished meal. You see, the last four times I have been to Waitrose, I wasn’t given one, so this time, I was adamant I was going to get one.
For those of you who may not shop at one of the many other supermarkets, after acquiring a green token, on your way out of Waitrose are three transparent containers each with a different charity assigned to them in which at the end of each month Waitrose will divide and donate £1000, accordingly, between the three chosen causes.
But whilst staring gregariously at these little green tokens, I wondered, why do I care so much for one of them?
It’s because it makes the consumer feel as if they are doing their part for the community and humanity. For example, I popped my token in the Soundswell Music Therapy Trust which is the only UK music therapy trust for adults with mental health problems.
But the absurd thing is, is that these little green tokens probably equate to no more that 0.1 pence yet they have such an interactive affect on the consumer. You watch someone next time you’re at Waitrose pop one of their precious green tokens into a container. Before hand, they’ll thoroughly read each explanation of each charity or cause and then see which container has the most tokens in so as to put their token in the container that has the least tokens. You wait, you’ll end up doing it too!
It’s a very successful example of how corporate social responsibility is used as a public relations tool to help fashion a favourable corporate identity and eventually corporate citizenship. The green tokens are also ‘On-brand’ which helps to build upon Waitrose’s powerful, bold brand image and the customer loyalty gained through such a scheme obviously affects the bottom line.
A part of me is just shocked at the actual worth of a green token and the amount of emotional investment the consumer has with them. Give the consumer a sense of choice, coupled with the concept of philanthropy and you've got yourself quite an interesting outcome.
When I got to the checkout I realised that I was staring at those little green tokens like a vulture would at a Lion’s unfinished meal. You see, the last four times I have been to Waitrose, I wasn’t given one, so this time, I was adamant I was going to get one.
For those of you who may not shop at one of the many other supermarkets, after acquiring a green token, on your way out of Waitrose are three transparent containers each with a different charity assigned to them in which at the end of each month Waitrose will divide and donate £1000, accordingly, between the three chosen causes.
But whilst staring gregariously at these little green tokens, I wondered, why do I care so much for one of them?
It’s because it makes the consumer feel as if they are doing their part for the community and humanity. For example, I popped my token in the Soundswell Music Therapy Trust which is the only UK music therapy trust for adults with mental health problems.
But the absurd thing is, is that these little green tokens probably equate to no more that 0.1 pence yet they have such an interactive affect on the consumer. You watch someone next time you’re at Waitrose pop one of their precious green tokens into a container. Before hand, they’ll thoroughly read each explanation of each charity or cause and then see which container has the most tokens in so as to put their token in the container that has the least tokens. You wait, you’ll end up doing it too!
It’s a very successful example of how corporate social responsibility is used as a public relations tool to help fashion a favourable corporate identity and eventually corporate citizenship. The green tokens are also ‘On-brand’ which helps to build upon Waitrose’s powerful, bold brand image and the customer loyalty gained through such a scheme obviously affects the bottom line.
A part of me is just shocked at the actual worth of a green token and the amount of emotional investment the consumer has with them. Give the consumer a sense of choice, coupled with the concept of philanthropy and you've got yourself quite an interesting outcome.
posted by Joseph Tipping @ 09:41
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