IPG Mediabrands bets on investment for good
Brands have a role to play in people’s lives – not just as products and services but a much more intrinsic role of adding value and helping consumer to a better life. While various companies including the likes of Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, The Coca-Cola Company amongst others have shown this in their various endeavours, IPG Mediabrands also is taking this conversation forward.
In a recent blog, IPG Mediabrands’ CEO, Matt Seiler, wrote, “What if in the next election you didn’t have to choose a politician or a party? What if instead you could choose a marketer? Would you have more confidence in the marketer than the politician? I would. If I could vote for Amazon or Unilever, Coke or Chrysler, I think I would. Because I think that what matters most to their businesses is also what matters most to those of us around them. I think that their need for growth is most likely going to be good for the world around them.”
While Mr Seiler has voiced similar opinions on various platforms, the company has now taken this a step ahead and launched mediaBRANDSMATTER – effectively an investment fund for good.
“We took a look at the USD 37 billion we invest on behalf of our clients and asked ourselves how we could do more with that than to simply aggregate audiences and distribute messages to them,” said Mr Seiler in the blog as he explained the thought process behind this initiative.
IPG Mediabrands identified five areas that are of critical importance to its clients and related stakeholders. These are the environment, health and wellness, science and technology, community and education. The media holding company engaged Purpose, that brought in three launch NGO partners to kick the mission forward.
The holding company then approached media owners and clients and asked them to participate in the mediaBRANDSMATTER initiative. “Currently, we have about a half dozen of each. When incremental spend is directed to participating media partners through the fund, a percentage is directed to the NGO’s in support of the issues that matter most to the participating clients. It doesn’t cost our clients anything, and yet for a client like Unilever for whom sustainability is critical, the money they were spending on media can now do something more,” said Mr Seiler.
For IPG Mediabrands, the mediaBRANDSMATTER mission is embracing the fact that companies in the marketing and communication business have the power to make a change. “We hope this becomes something much larger than ourselves. That the entire industry embraces our commitment to help our clients prosper in the recognition that their health is our health,” summed up Mr Seiler.
