Social Responsibility

Managing Social & Media Responsibility at the Corporate Level

When marketers were asked about how this is managed and connected to other parts or efforts of the organization at marketers, there are notable differences based on the company/brands, the shape of the organization (including CSR divisions), and response protocols. However, there are common themes of close collaboration, inside and outside the organization; a continuous, and self-reflective strategy; and buy-in from the very top.

• “When issues arise, we huddle with Corporate Communications to outline a pathway to response. Mistakes do happen, but we want to do the right thing. Corporate sustainability efforts are not usually impacted by brand safety issues as they are usually tied to community- based programs targeted to the underserved, globally.”
• “We are desperately trying to match the right placements with scale. It’s consistent, and hard, work. We go to great lengths to give our [agency] media teams the greatest potential to reach goals by constantly re-evaluating choices, and through close collaboration.”
• “Our Marketing and Comms teams take the lead, but we have a Corporate Council to help guide decisions, along with a Chief Privacy Officer. It is a challenge to manage across 65 countries – we follow a centrally crafted roadmap.”
• “Within our new structure driven by a commitment to consumer experience, we set global standards for brand safety, but empower local interpretation and response. A region can go dark at a moment’s notice and can shut us down globally until we come together to resolve. This works across brand, agency, and verification provider. Transparency and strong communication are expected.”
• “Our role is to simplify the complexity of brand safety at both a macro (DE&I and Creative) and executional level. To do that, we are constantly evolving our practice [at the agency] with technology, our partners, and setting global digital standards. This is leading to more time spent with clients on these topics and we find that clients are thirstier than ever for new perspectives.”
• “My role broadly is to sit across teams to keep issues out front and collaborate across functions – Trust & Safety, Community Guidelines, Product Strategy, and Policy. We also have 60-person Brand Safety Committee – it’s a daily effort.”