Brands that do social purpose well, have an opportunity to make a real difference: Diageo
Marketers have huge influence over the content people consume, the messages they receive and the way that stereotypes are built or challenged, believes head of global media partnerships at Diageo, Jerry Daykin.
2017's chairperon's award winner, Men in Progress by Lynx and TMW Unlimited
As chairperson of The Drum Social Purpose Awards judging panel, Daykin says that marketing with a powerful social purpose can mean hugely direct initiatives, but it can also mean building better thought and representation into all of your work.
“It’s naive to think that social purpose will ever be the single most important factor in most consumer decisions, but brands which can pull it well have an opportunity to truly stand out as well as make a real difference.”
The awards deadline has passed, but you still have time to enter by applying for an extension. Our judging panel includes industry experts from Diageo, Direct Line Group, MC Saatchi, Oberland, Dixons Carphone, Good Agency, Shelter UK and JWT London.
On what he would like to see from this year’s entrants, Daykin says: “I’ll be looking for organisations who are truly driving a more diverse, purposeful and socially responsible representation of marketing today, but who are doing so in line with clear business objectives that they deliver on too. I think social purpose can come across both in big sweeping gestures but also in small considerations.”
In 2017, Lynx and TMW Unlimited won the chiarperson's awards for the Men in Progress campaign.
Creative partner of the Good Agency, Reuben Turner, enthuses that these are one of the only awards that focus solely on this fundamental, growing and significant aspect of modern marketing and business. “It’s not a last-minute, added-on category in another award show,” he explained. “It’s not a consolation prize for niceness, given to an ineffective but popular idea. It’s serious and should represent a benchmark for quality work in this area. It’s the real deal.”
He adds that you should be excited about the kind of work that constitutes social purpose. “It doesn’t have to be a charity partnership or an emotive TV ad. It can be about products, people, spaces, platforms. Brands have so many ways to make their social purpose real today. And don’t be afraid to share work that demonstrates an organisation that’s trying – we know social purpose is a journey not (yet) a destination for most commercial brands.”
The Drum Social Purpose Awards deadline has now passed but you can still apply for an extension by contacting Katy Thomson.