Can Corporate Goodness Save the World?†

Goodness500 Ranks Companies on CSR

Advertising Age, September 2, 2009 — Is it possible for corporations to use their resources to work on the world's problems? Michael Mossoba of agency GeniusRocket thinks it is, and he's keeping track.

When I was growing up, I heard Bill Clinton say, "There is nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America." Today this pithy aphorism largely sums up how I feel about business. If companies are powerful enough to slurp up the world's fossil fuels, create the iPhone and put 50 different types of toothpaste on the shelf, perhaps they can save the world, too.

Sigg Tries to Control Brand Damage After Admitting Its Bottles Contain BPA†

Klean Kanteen, CamelBak Ready and Waiting to Take Advantage

Advertising Age, August 31, 2009 — Sigg, maker of the metal, reusable bottles that became a badge of consumer eco-consciousness and all-around cool, is in danger of becoming a poster child for brand deception and corporate dishonesty.

When Chevron Hires Ex-Reporter to Investigate Pollution, Chevron Looks Good

New York Times, May 11, 2009 — What did Chevron do when it learned that “60 Minutes” was preparing a potentially damaging report about oil company contamination of the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador? It hired a former journalist to produce a mirror image of the report, from the corporation’s point of view.

Kellogg Rep Takes Rap After Phelps Flap†

Little-Known Brand Tracker Vanno Finds Marketer Took a Hit for Dropping Olympian

Advertising Age, February 25, 2009 — What can more damage your reputation — recalling peanut butter products due to possible salmonella contamination or firing a bong-smoking Michael Phelps? According to a little-known online "social evaluation" community, Kellogg took a much bigger hit for the latter.

Starbucks' Volunteer Push Gets Boost From 'Oprah Effect'†

Pledges to Coffee Chain's 'I'm In' Campaign Soar After Talk-Show Mention

Advertising Age, January 21, 2009 — Starbucks' campaign to promote volunteerism (and store traffic) got a huge bump today from no less than Oprah Winfrey — and by extension, Barack Obama.

The talk-show host talked up the java giant's "I'm In" campaign, which encourages consumers to pledge five hours of community service before the end of the year. Those who commit to doing so at Starbucks between now and Sunday will be rewarded with a free coffee.

New Domain Names Put Name Brands in a Bind†

To Protect Their Reputations, Some Companies May Have to Buy Up Millions of Dollars of Web Sites With Suffixes Like '.bank'

Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2008 — Worried about having to shell out millions of dollars to protect their brands, several major companies are protesting the launch of a slew of new top-level domains — the suffixes like ".com" that appear at the end of Web-site names.

Verizon Communications, Marriott International and New York Life Insurance are among the companies arguing that the new domains could open the flood gates to Internet fraud and drastically increase their costs of doing business online. The companies also say there couldn't be a worse time than a down economy to saddle them with the added expense.

Filtrbox: The Latest Reputation Management Tool

MediaPost Publications, July 1, 2008 — Dealing with dozens of feeds from hundreds of Web sites, social networks and blogs may be par for the course when it comes to the new practice of brand reputation management. But online strategists have a slew of new media monitoring tools at their disposal.

Boulder, Colo.-based Filtrbox joins Trackur, Snydey Web and Google Trends as the latest entrant to the space, offering an application that aims to make aggregating, sorting through and sharing online information cheap and simple.

America Has Spoken: In Google We Trust†

Harris Poll Has Search Giant No. 1 in Reputation; J&J, General Mills and Berkshire Hathaway Make Top 10

Advertising Age, June 23, 2008 — The most reputable company in America: Google, which toppled Microsoft from the top perch in the 2007 Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient study released today — and sent it tumbling all the way down to No. 10.

But what should be even more eye-opening to the companies rounding out the top 10 — which include Johnson & Johnson and General Mills — and the rest of the list is that Google's victory shows that a company that spends nothing on advertising can still be the most positively perceived by consumers.

McDonald's Wants to Clear Its Food Rep†

New Campaign With Strong Digital Push Addresses Quality of Menu Items

Advertising Age, April 2, 2008 — McDonald's Corp. has set out to dispel some myths about ingredients and preparation as part of a yearlong food-credibility campaign.

We've been hearing over the years that consumers have some misperceptions about the quality of our food at McDonald's," said Molly Starmann, director-U.S. marketing, at the chain. "In 2008 we're engaging in a conversation with our guests because we feel it's important for them to know the truth about our food."