Brand distinction through social leadership

Brands have become the single most recognisable representation of business and wealth creation and as such are powerfully compressed symbols of purpose, meaning and promise. They are icons of trust and distrust and political, economic, social and environmental ideologists. Summed up, brands have the influence to shape the future.

As a result of the requirements of stricter and more accountable corporate governance, transparency and sustainable business practice, over the past decade we have seen the emergence of a new brand prototype - the leader brand.

The leader brand is far more issue focused than its traditional peers. It shapes new expectations, leads people through confusing issues and a complex future, and sets new standards - not just at a level of product, service and creative quality, but increasingly at the level of values and proactive social contribution.

The concept of a brand evolves beyond the functional, emotional and self expressive relevance of products and services to the consumer. It embraces the added responsibility and opportunity to address and lead on issues of concern and turn them into compelling brand building initiatives that are good for society and create new competitive advantage for the business.

In other words, don't just sell me food. Sell me food that was safely produced and without abuse of humans or animals. Sell me food that won't lead me down the path of obesity or ill health. And if you can sell me food that has created new jobs for innovative people previously unemployed - even better.

The opportunity in an issue-based and development orientated brand building era calls businesses to build social issues into their strategy in a way that reflects their actual business importance. In this way a brand begins to define its contract with consumers and its contract with stakeholders and society as an integrated brand promise and purpose.

It takes them off the back foot and gives them new advantage of relevance, relationship and inspired innovation. This is where Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Investment need a new ambition - building the brand and shaping a future that is better for business and for all stakeholders.

Corporate social investment as previously understood was largely about financial contribution and most of it philanthropic and unrelated to the business. The new environment requires not only financial but, more importantly, sustainable solution contribution.

Social investment choices are strategic future design choices, the development capital for new social and business capacity. As a result they should be aligned with a desired future view that will be beneficial to the brand and its stakeholder constituency and result in stronger brand association with a successful and meaningful development outcome.

As individual brand pockets might be limited so a leader brand way of thinking will not be to go it alone, but to create a development consortium of like-minded and strategically aligned brand companions to contribute to the co-creation of this development solution. It's like co-branding but on the development front.

While this collaborative model is not new and has been used very effectively in the past to bring about significant political and social change in South Africa, it is not commonplace in modern day strategic brand building. If there is any country rich in issue brand building material, it has got to be South Africa. And if there are any brands best placed to build distinction on this basis, they are operating in South Africa.