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Advertising for good: What is it good for?
Journal of Brand Strategy,
7
(4),
337-342
(2019)
Abstract
It has lately become de rigueur for brands and agencies to shift their focus to campaigns that support a social cause, such as sustainability or female empowerment. This makes ‘Advertising for Good’ one of the biggest paradigm-shifting trends in marketing today, save for the impact of technology. But why do more and more brands choose to allocate their resources in supporting a social issue rather than highlighting their profit-generating products? What is the underlying benefit in doing so, beyond being good citizen in the public eye? This paper investigates what ‘advertising for good’ is good for. It uses case studies from ANZ Bank, Boost Mobile, and Amnesty International to discuss the benefits of an ‘advertising for good’ campaign for the business, the social cause, and the people involved. It also warns readers on how to avoid the pitfall of being perceived inauthentic in their efforts, while demonstrating through negative examples how quickly good can turn bad.
Keywords: advertising for good; social responsibility; cause marketing; brands; effectiveness; fight for attention; brand relevance
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Toygun Yılmazer is Chief Strategy Officer at TBWA\Istanbul. Over the course of 18 years, he played a vital role in TBWA\Istanbul’s journey to become the biggest and the most awarded agency in Turkey. He started his career at IXIR, a disruptive internet service provider, and in 2000 he joined TBWA\Istanbul as an account planner. He currently leads the strategy team START and the digital insights and content team, NABZ, within the agency. He also organises and runs disruption workshops for clients on strategy, innovation and growth. He is the vice president of the Turkish Foundation for Advertising Training, Development and Research. He is also a marketing mentor for Endeavor Turkey start-ups since 2013. He served on Euro Effies and Effie Turkey juries. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous festivals such as Golden Drum, Kaktus and Crystal Apple. This paper is based on his 2017 keynote on ‘advertising for good’ at SXSW Festival.
