Bringing the social conscience of a company into view

How our content story evolved into a social responsibility platform that is changing lives

 I use the word “authentic” a lot when I talk about content marketing. Throughout the industry, content marketing is one of those phrases that has become a “buzzword” for companies wanting to share their story.

Authenticity is what sets one story apart from another. Consumers are savvy, and their time is short. They will no longer tolerate companies pandering by disguising advertising as content. And rightfully so. We all know the public searches for content that agrees with their social norms and political leanings, so if we try to reach this cynical constituency with our words and video, it has to be something they want to engage with, that they get value out of. It has to be authentic.

When we launched the Small Business Revolution, the juxtaposition of a large, publicly traded company like Deluxe celebrating our love of small businesses was not lost on me. I believed deeply in the plight of small businesses and how they are the backbone of our economy, yet would our message resonate with the public, even as we took pains to ensure this campaign did not emphasize the sale of our products.

To our team and partners, I evangelized the notion that consumers will spend time with authentic content, on images and stories that move them. "We can build a movement" I said. And we did. I am so proud of the work Deluxe did in 2015...but in 2016, as we evolved the Small Business Revolution to help one small town through a $500,000 makeover, I realized that our authentic story-telling had given way to more...to social responsibility.

This was no longer a campaign to celebrate just small businesses; it was now an exercise in social responsibility. Through our meaningful connection with the people of Wabash, Indiana, we are changing lives and deepening the relationships within that community. Not our own relationships, but those of the business owners themselves. Many engaged with others as they had never before. Wabashians (as they call themselves) realized that the scope of our project could help nudge the community further ahead, forcing leaders to emerge when and where they didn’t exist before.

In launching the Small Business Revolution – Main Street contest, we sought to continue the movement started in 2015 to engage the public in sharing what is great about America’s small businesses. We assumed once the winning town was selected, that our ability to help local businesses with marketing services would generate attention and goodwill in the region, but we never realized the overall social implications of our efforts.

Social responsibility is, among many things, acknowledging the imprint large corporations like Deluxe have on the fabric of society. Understanding that it is our duty to give back in some way to the constituencies that buy our products and use our services, the Small Business Revolution project in Wabash quickly evolved from being a content platform to a community building initiative.

Beyond our hope, working with a handful of businesses in the Wabash downtown corridor helped create a sense of camaraderie and togetherness that we were told didn’t exist in the community in the past.

As we move forward with this project this fall, we will be seeking nominations from towns across the country again. And I just feel so blessed to be at a company that cares...the social impact of a company investing in the future of a region, city or neighborhood is truly gratifying. In branding and marketing, our responsibility is to our stakeholders and our board to drive awareness and sales for the good of the bottom line. Yet it is our social responsibility to realize we can have a greater impact on the common good of a community through the collective work of our people.