In its 2012 publication, New Urban Tribes of South Africa, Flux Trends tracked the rise of the techno hippie: the new age activist who galvanizes change from the comfort of his/her laptop (like the thousands who assisted Molly Katchpole in her fight against The Bank of America on change.org). However, in 2013, philanthropic feistiness starts to fade into a fatigue. Clicking for a cause, whether for a campaign page, vote, or petition, is no longer a novelty, but is beginning to feel like a chore.
This means that charitable crowd sourcing initiatives, like Pepsi Refresh, which tries to bring a moral, socially aware element into a brand, are becoming passé. More importantly, the idea of the armchair advocate also heightens suspicion for consumers about the extent to which a company’s do-gooding is ‘pseudo-gooding’. Increasingly, brands will be under even greater pressure to convince its ever-cynical customers of its empathy levels. For companies it means their CSI talk must be reflected in the entire company’s DNA – from the CEO to the cleaning staff. For petitioned weary consumers it could spark a dangerous disengagement with fixing the growing problems of the world.
Dion Chang in conversation with BizRadio’s Grant Jansen
PODCAST | Click HERE to listen
@madammichelle thank you. Hope you enjoy all my upcoming columns for @advantagemag as much
— dion chang (@dionchang) February 6, 2013
Join Grant Jansen (@Kapetonian) every weekday morning from 10 to noon for the Daily Biz on Biz Radio. Stay in touch with Grant at @Biz_Radio on twitter, Biz_radio on Skype and [email protected] to mail him.
- WHY CORPORATES HAVE TO ADJUST NOW! |#LTC |#Kevinbritz | Mpume Ncube-Daka |#ebizradio |#Podcast - January 13, 2021
- WHAT OWNS YOU? |#LTC |#Coaching |#Kevinbritz | Angela Hardy |#Podcast |#ebizradio - January 12, 2021
- Rethinking organisational design and effectiveness through CEOship |#OneEyedMan |Rowan Belchers | Lockstep |#ebizradio |#Podcast |#Mikestopforth - January 11, 2021
- Behavior is Truth |#LTL |#Leadership |Mike Abel |#Kevinbritz | Naomi Basson |#ebizradio |#podcast - January 11, 2021
- Looking forward to 2021 | #eBizTrends| Dion Chang| Podcast - January 4, 2021
- Driving demand for local businesses this festive season| #eBizWires | Daryn van Arkel |Podcast - December 18, 2020
- Why podcasting is an effective marketing tool |#Marketing | Paulo Dias |Ultimate Media | #ebizradio - December 17, 2020
- HOW DID I LAND UP HERE? #LTC |#Coaching |#KevinBritz |Julio Muhorro |Sharing Knowledge International #Podcast |#ebizradio - December 15, 2020
- Do you want to go to MONEY SCHOOL? |#Digital |#Mbali Ndhlovu | Nabeel Khan |#MoneyTalks |#podcast - December 15, 2020
- CARING IS THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP |#kevinbritz | Naomi Basson | #leadership | John Joubert |#cocacola |Peninsula Beverages - December 14, 2020