Corporate social responsibility and philanthropy – Essential tools for building strong brands; A marketing perspective Rao M V A L Narasimha, Assistant Professor, Babu S Ramesh, Assistant Professor, Dr. Babu M Kishore, Associate Professor K L U Business School, K L University, Vaddeswaram, Guntur Online published on 4 June, 2013. Abstract Corporate social responsibility and corporate philanthropy are essential in building a brand. In the current global scenario, corporate are adapting Corporate Social Responsibility as an important strategy in order to maintain competitive advantage and long term sustainability in the markets. Further, it is becoming an essential tool to build strong brands. Corporate Philanthropy is done without any expectation of direct corporate gain such as increase in revenue, but usually involves indirect gains such as enhancing a company's brand, Engaging employees, Recognition, etc. Where as strong brand is another competitive advantage of the “Enlightened self-interest.” The purpose of this research paper is to explore the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Philanthropy as tools to build strong brands. The study is felt important in the context of globalization, increasing competition in the markets and the decreasing effectiveness of traditional brand building strategies which can not make any distinction from among the players in the market. This study is based on literature review covering the concepts of corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy connected to brand building strategies. The key concepts of building brands, developing competitive advantage, building trust among the consumers and developing favorable corporate image are thoroughly reviewed from different research papers and an attempt is made to discuss the impact of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy on building strong brands. The paper highlights that, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Philanthropy are becoming more and more important elements in making strategies for brand building. Further, it is identified that the favorable impact created among consumers and in the society at large through the corporate social responsibility and philanthropic activities can be leveraged to build the brand strength in the market. Top Keywords Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Philanthropy, Brand building, Brand image. Top |