Expert View: Engaging business in social issues
‘Making a difference’ in local communities is most readily associated with the public and third sectors. But Stuart Jackson, Chief Executive at ICE, says now’s the time for the business community to start thinking more creatively about its role in promoting sustainable social change.
Initiatives around responsible drinking, healthy eating or safer sex may seem far removed from the average day in the office, but perhaps these social issues are closer to our working lives than we think.
I think an increasingly ‘pluralist approach’ is starting to emerge, which recognises that no one sector has all the answers for bringing about social transformation and tackling the key challenges affecting our communities. Whilst partnerships between the public and third sectors are often long established, the potential role of the private sector is all too often under-estimated.
As a marketing & communications agency which specialises in social marketing – the use of commercial marketing techniques to help bring about social and behavioural change amongst individuals and whole communities - we see the value of cross-sector partnerships on a day-to-day basis.
Here are just two of our recent social marketing projects which both provide a great case in point:
1. We’ve recently been working with Liverpool Young Addaction to deliver a Liverpool Drugs Awareness Week, in conjunction with more than 20 of their partner drugs, alcohol and community related services from across Liverpool.
The week culminated in a high profile, city centre event, aimed at educating and engaging with young people and their families with a very close partnership approach – and crucially, reaching those who’ve fallen ‘between the gaps’ in terms of being able to access the help they need through more traditional approaches.
This type of partnership, which is one of the first of its kind in the country, showcases the full range of support on offer and illustrates how learning and working together can better engage with audiences and achieve positive change for individuals and communities.
2. We’ve also recently employed two full-time community alcohol intervention workers as part of a social marketing intervention project, which is targeted specifically at communities across North Liverpool. It’s all part of the work ICE is doing to support ASSIST, a new alcohol awareness scheme spearheaded by Liverpool Primary Care Trust.
On a day-to-day basis, the Community Alcohol Intervention Workers offer free and non-judgemental information and advice, and provide alcohol screenings in a range of local community venues. They’re working right at the heart of local communities with a wide range of community partners – such as local NHS health centres, Surestart children’s centres, and local community centres and services - to raise awareness of the issues and help people make long-term changes to their drinking habits by meeting them on their ‘own turf’.
This type of innovative partnership, involving community intervention workers, is probably a first for a creative agency like ICE.
Ultimately, I believe that businesses really can play a vital role in providing more rounded solutions that change people’s behaviour and attitudes for the better, and not just in marketing and communications either.
As businesses, there are many areas of expertise and shared learning which we can offer to the public and voluntary sectors, in order to achieve better outcomes for communities, whether that’s through paid for consultation or through exploring creative new partnerships in our CSR-based activities.
Taking a collaborative approach is vital to the success of any project that really seeks to bring about sustainable social improvement, and the boundaries between the private, public and third sectors will need to become more and more fluid in the future – and I would encourage anyone in the business community to be thinking about these issues.
Best Wishes
Stuart Jackson
stuart@icecreates.com
