Can Marketing be Used for Good?

Mark DiMassimo  Founder and Creative Chief of DiMassimo Goldstein joined Twinning Strategy this week to discuss using our marketing 'superpowers' for good. 'Doing well by doing good' is not always an obvious match in the marketing space. We have certainly been bombarded by green-washed petroleum company ads and their counterparts enough to be cynical. Mark said the quiet part out loud in our discussion--marketing is always about changing (manipulating?) peoples' behavior. We need to own that part before the conversation can even get started. The difference is made when the marketing not only drives home the potential the product can do to achieve improved lifestyles, better environmental impact, and improved inclusion, but when that message and those ideals are deeply 'owned' by the company. 

Entrepreneurs often come to their paths because they are inspired by an idea or an ideal. The grind of driving a startup through the difficult days of establishing the brand can distract those founders from the destination they had initially set out to reach. Returning to the roots of your product and the good it does is worth remembering. As we discuss, this good doesn't only have to be defined in idealistic terms--chocolate brings happiness and escape from the day-to-day diet management many of us operate under. Marketing for good is not about being a saint, it is about being responsible for the impact your brand has and making good on the promises you make. 

The business case for doing good may seem counterintuitive. Our natural inclination is to believe that good outcomes are going to cost more. Mark brings up the counter example of Nike's campaign decades ago to develop a running shoe that was better for the runner, and happened upon a message that inspired people around the world to get moving more. In other words, doing something good expanded the appeal to a broader customer base at the same time as it expanded in its positive impact. I suspect this is not a crazy exception, but rather an example of good business (especially in the current climate of increased demand for healthy food options, reduced carbon footprint, and brands that foster positivity). Impacting the world for good is not at odds with commercial success, it is only at odds with commercial success at the expense of people's health and well-being, the environment, and their dignity as human beings.