Tell your stories !!

We all know that with web 2.0, industries have taken advantage of consumer-generated media because it allows the company and its publics to build two-way communications. Tools like YouTube, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Stumble Upon and LinkedIn are the excellent ways to encourage consumers to be actively involved in a brand. Another practice of web 2.0 is digital storytelling. It is a 5-6 minutes multimedia story that combines digital images, sounds, narrations. It sounds hard but it doesn’t because everyone has stories to tell.

British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) has been using digital storytelling in its marketing communication strategy. Instead of bombarding people with programmes that somehow will solely benefit for the company, it encourages Wales people to participate in production methods. I think it’s really useful. Look at the example like YouTube and we will see that people love showing their identity, expressing their views, and sharing their experience. Indeed, people can tell whatever stories they like. What digital storytelling does is opening up the possibility that individuals can turn the television around to become the company’s “active master”. But in digital storytelling project.

I can’t recall the example of digital storytelling in the Capture Wales website. I don’t know. It says it’s not available in my area. However, I found a couple of examples of digital stories on YouTube. And in Australia, there is a project DigiTales that give you a lot of examples of what digital storytelling is really about.



For the BBC, digital storytelling gives fresh output because it can attract advertisers. We all know that television production works on selling people’s interests and that’s how they get profit. Then, BBC can have an original and sustainable contribution to community self-expression and open channels to reach and connect with the communities. Also, BBC can take advantage of this tactic to look for talents in journalism, script-writing and visual skills, and of course, to boost profit.

For the community, BBC provides access and education in the latest multimedia technology and promotes technology literacy. It’s also useful for people because they can make money from their contents.

Therefore, digital storytelling is a way to act socially responsible by facilitating people to participate in TV productions. BBC can make profit from this tactic and communities have tools to express their identity and escape from the boundaries of dominant images generated by mass media, which is obsessed by celebrities. In short, digital storytelling raises the self-esteem of community. And that’s how CSR works !


Reference:
Meadows, D. (2003). Digital storytelling: research-based practice in new media. Visual Communication, 2(2), 189-193. doi: 10.1177/1470357203002002004.

Getting ingredients and treating local people fairly

Everyone must know who Anita Roddick is. She is a social activist who, then, a founder of The Body Shop, a second largest cosmetic company. It has about 2400 stores in 61 countries. Of course, it’s not easy to provide raw materials to cater all the need of product distribution.

Most of the products from The Body Shop are made out of natural ingredients. Body Shop has been using, for example, Aloe Vera, coconut oil, banana, and shea nut (I really love the last one). Then, I think where do they get the raw materials from? Click on this and you will find that many raw materials are from places around the world. Next, in terms of public relations perspective, The Body Shop forms community partnerships (which I believe it is another words for CSR) with local community in efforts to get the finest raw materials. That’s why, Body shop can get Guatemalan Aloe Vera and Polynesian coconut oil, other ingredients.

The Body Shop tries to position its brand to focus on social issues in which Anita Roddick has been trying to reinforce. And in this context, it appears on the values of the organisation and one of them is to support community trade. The company tries to promote fair trading for marginalised communities (especially in Third World countries) by guarantying a fair price for the top quality of natural ingredients. So, the firm partners with local farmers and activates their participation (skills) in producing their own resources.

I think this is a good strategy. The company is not solely focussing on exploiting natural resources in order to produce the finest cosmetic products to continue selling, but it facilitates and encourages local communities (especially the expert local farmers) to explore their own natural resources by its community trade campaign. The company tries to build a sustainable quality exchange, not only by treating local farmers with respect and dignity but also giving them with a fair long-term wage. The benefit will then improve the lives of community. Although, there is a controversy saying that this program is human exploitation, but I would say, it is better than just exploiting natural resources from one place without allowing local people to get something from their own land and treating them fairly. It’s like stealing people’s wealth. So in this case, The Body Shop has attempted to source responsibly. Don’t you think?