A Major Trend in Consumer Behavior – Conscious Capitalism

This column was first published in Shift Age Newsletter 22Initially this behavior was mostly about creating a feel good halo around a brand Donating to or underwriting a charity has long been a way to allow a company to point to something that it was supporting to benefit its hometown community or a national charity Supporting a 10k run or walk for charity or volunteering employees for a day of community clean up became very popular in the latter part of the 20th century The message was quotlook at us we do good workquot Okay fine and good to do but since every company now does this whether supporting the fight against cancer or sponsoring a little league team it is no longer anything other than normal behavior that is expectedThis then led to creating a campaign or product line where a percentage of proceeds usually miniscule went to a larger cause The best example of this was the Red campaign a few years ago that gave a small percentage of revenue to the fight against HIV and AIDS The problem with campaigns like this is that the actual amount of money as a percentage of total revenues was small So the perception developed particularly among younger generations was that this was an activity that used the feel good participation of consumers to drive sales The response to such behavior was no longer quotthat39s great here39s my moneyquot to quotbefore I spend how much of my money actually goes to the cause to which you are aligningquotThen companies like Tom39s Shoes came along and changed the game Tom39s shoes position was basically buy a pair of shoes from us and we will donate a pair of shoes to people who have no shoes in the developing world Not a small percentage of revenue or effort but a one to one ratio of contribution This is the new paradigm if you want to be perceived as making a difference in the worldAnother company that has chosen to change the world with compassion is the Panera Bread Company Currently in six locations around America Panera has opened or converted stores under the Panera Cares brand These are now nonprofit places serving the communities Walk into a Panera Cares as I did last month and when your food or beverage order is rung up you are told something like quotthis is a suggested donation please put your donation in the donation box in front of the cash register if you can39t make the full donation donate what you can If you want to support our efforts to help the community feel free to make a larger donationquot Well in went my 10 bill for my 798 saladThen while enjoying a catch up meeting with a friend people came around to ask if they could clear the table and to thank us for dining at Panera39s As a largely selfpick up and clean up restaurant this was different I looked around at the fuller than usual restaurant and in addition to those intent folks with ear buds and laptops or office mates sharing a meal I saw a number of people who were older clearly down on their luck and as I found out having a free meal The people who were clearing the tables were other people who were working an hour or two in return for the free food they had consumed One free serving a week and if you need more you have to work for moreEntering Panera Cares one is greeted by an quotambassadorquot who clearly explains the nonprofit contribution model in place The mission however goes beyond simply providing free food to those in need One ambassador proudly told me that this was not only the best job she has ever had but showed me a reason why On a bulletin board were photographs of former recipients of both free work and good work training at Panera Cares who had moved on One former patron she pointed out with pride had been released from a quothomequot due to a budget cutback then had been given works skills help at Panera Cares had gone on to gainful employment and had just won quotemployee of the monthquotThe name over the door is Panera Cares They doCompanies such as Tom39s Shoes and Panera for Panera Cares are at the leading edge of what will be a huge move to conscious capitalism The two largest driving forces of this are global and generational Global in that the climate change fundamentals are dramatically increasing our quotSpaceship Earthquot mentality of sense of fragile preciousness of this lone planet of ours Generational in that the Millennial generation sees conscious capitalism as one of the first influencers of what and where they buy I guest lecture at the Ringling College of Art Design where some of the most creative and talented 1823 year olds grace me with their attention It is not far from the truth to say that almost every class I have been in there is a Tom39s decal on a laptopIncreasingly in the future if you seek money from customers expect them to ask first what your contributory vision is of making the planet a better placeNote 1 quotSpaceship Earthquot is a term both Buckminster Fuller and Marshall McLuhan used Best quote is from McLuhan quotThere are no passengers on Spaceship Earth We are all crewquotNote 2 I will address the other two major consumer trends in the next NewsletterDavid Houle is a futurist strategist and speaker He has always been slightly ahead of the curve Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment Most recently David is a featured contributor to Oprahcom Check is out here wwwoprahcomdavidhoule David can be contacted at DavidDavidHoulecomRead all Davidamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Evolution ShiftCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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A Major Trend in Consumer Behavior – Conscious Capitalism

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David Houle

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