Two Social Causes: Dove’s Real Beauty and the Livestrong Wristband

Executive Summary:

Social responsibility, ever presently, is a growing major factor in the business environment today. From the “Go Green” moments to breast cancer awareness, in recent decades social awareness and responsibility has become a significant focal point. Companies are orchestrating marketing and public relations mechanisms in order to impact society, improve their brands, and cement a public perception. Cause-marketing can really impact consumers and draw a greater connection with them psychologically and emotion (Neff, 2014. Therefore, cause-marketing presents a great opportunity for businesses to seek after.

Two companies that will be analyzed are Dove and Livestrong(Nike). Dove, back in 2004, launched its “Real Beauty” campaign, and Livestrong (formerly the Lance Strong Foundation) officially started the Livestrong brand in 2003. Both companies sought and identified social needs in which they would profit from social awareness in their perspective areas. Dove sought to celebrate the many various physical bodies and physical characteristics of all women, inducing confidence and comfortableness in their own bodies. Livestrong sought to support, inspire, and empower people affected by cancer. From these two separate journeys, the two companies met success as well as saw controversial threats to their cause and their benefits that any company seeking a social cause must be aware of.

In 2004, Unilever (a brand focused on health and well-being) created a societal cause that sparked international interest. It focused and addressed women and beauty stereotypes that society casted upon them. Unilever established the Dove Self-Esteem Fund with goals to have reached 5 million young women with messages of positive body image by the conclusion to 2010. The mission was to change perceptions; perception of women’s body image. A major global study, The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report, discovered that an estimated two to four percent of women worldwide...