An advertisement for hair products featuring the bald!

You don't believe the title, do you?

Gone are the days of television advertising when, in the video, a halo was simulated behind the model’s head to promote a shampoo that ‘makes your hair shine’. The consumer doesn’t fall for such tall claims any longer. Instead, what makes him/her patronize your product is a story that speaks the truth and touches his/her heart. That is precisely where the power of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories are coming into play in the field of branding today.

Do good and cast in to the river.

Contrary to this ancient Indian proverb, which practically translates to ‘Do not brag about your good deeds’, the best tool to aid the popularity of an advertisement today is highlighting one's contribution to or involvement with social and environmental causes. Companies have a dedicated department to manage CSR, and the Branding team works closely with it to ride upon stories that can fetch mileage to the brand.

In context of the title of this article, one very good recent example is a 'goosebumps-generating' TV commercial created by Dabur…

Now do you believe me? Dabur, with this video which has received more than 2 million views on YouTube, showed us how even a bald model can succeed in selling hair products. That's the indispensability of CSR in effective branding!

So how does it work?

• It's all about building trust within consumers about the brand, and that is done by showcasing the company as one which has a heart. Consumers feel that if the company is doing good deeds for the society, chances are rare that it will harm them by selling a bad product.
• Also, do not forget that every consumer is a human being first, and despite their varied characteristics, every human being wants to do good deeds in his/her life. By associating with brands such as these, which show a proven CSR involvement, the consumer, albeit indirectly, can do his/her bit. 

So the next time your company is distributing recyclable bags to its employees or creating a free software to educate underprivileged children, don't hesitate to create a story and publish it in the form of an article or, even better, include it in your next advertisement.