Case Study: The Dannon Company
Daniel Caracas, Isaacs son, continued to grow he company by launching the company Deanne in Paris.
Business for Deanne continued to prosper in Paris until 1 941, when Daniel Caracas was forced to leave France during the German invasion. Leaving behind the Deanne foundations in Spain and France, Daniel fled to the united States, where he founded The Daemon Company (Daemon) in 1942. After returning to France in 1945, he put all his efforts In rebuilding the original Deanne he had started sixteen years earlier.
In the process of building Deanne, he decided to sell the US Daemon to Beatrice Foods in 1 959, which later sold it back to Deanne in 1981. Now Daemon operates in the US, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Deanne, and is has its headquarters located in White Plains, New York.
Daemon currently employs more than 1300 people, and produces more than 100 dairy based products (“2011 Sustainable,” 2011). Daemon follows closely in the footsteps of its parent company, by actively working to maintain a high level of commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (Marquis, Poops, Toeless, & Thompson, 201 1).
According to the “2011 Sustainable” (2011) report, Daemon strives to incorporate CARS into its daily activities by integrating social goals with economic oils, and using its mission as a way to inspire the success of its progress. The case study takes a closer look at the strategy Michael Nurturer, senior director of public relations for Daemon, deployed to determine how Daemon should communicate its CARS Annihilates, or IT Daemon snouts even Invest assets at all Into communicating ten CARS initiatives of the company (Marquis et al. 2011). By looking at the history and mission of Daemon, in relationship to its parent company Deanne, Marquis et al.
(2011) examine the collaborative efforts of Nurturer, along with other department dads, to find measurable impact of such a communication strategy. Much of the concern for Nurturer, throughout the case study, was in reverting back to the mission statement of Daemon and how it aligned with the philosophies of Deanne, and ensuring that any actions taken supported the vision and mission of the company.
To Communicate or Not to Communicate? The case study points out that Nurturer was working on the concept of the project in the beginning of 2009, and it is of considerable note to point out that Daemon released its, “2009 Corporate Social Responsibility Activities” report on Gag 02, 2010 (CARS Press Release, 2010). From every aspect of the case study, one could argue that Daemon had every reason to proactively communicate its CARS initiatives; the real question was more focused around on how it should be done.
The challenge then was more about making sure the company took the right steps to build its communication around a foundation of the mission of Daemon. The company needed to look as the potential risks and cost effects of an active CARS communication policy, then determine a strategy for measuring the success of its efforts.
It appears Nurturer implemented a process for communicating Damson’s CARS initiatives, much he same way a solid CARS initiative should operate, by getting stake holders involved.
He started by considering the impact of a communication strategy on the company, and began openly communicating ideas and looking for feedback from other company leaders. A good portion of the case study revolves around the conversations Nurturer had with five “Key Daemon leaders”, although undoubtedly more conversations were conducted before he made his final decision. The key leaders Nurturer communicated with were: Alexandra Arioso, Senior Director of Marketing; Jon Pollock, Brand Manager; Marc Jove, Senior Vice President of Marketing;
Claudia Sergeant, Director of Media; Tony Socio, Vice President of Human Resources; and Galley Binned, Manager of Corporate Responsibility and The Daemon Institute (Marquis et al. , 2011).
Stakeholders will generally detect duplicity in CARS motives; intrinsic or genuine motives as well as extrinsic profit-related motives; however, stakeholders will be tolerant of clear extrinsic motives, if the CARS initiatives are rooted in intrinsic values.
This leads to the perceived “win-win” scenario, and is one of the driving factors behind company CARS initiatives, as they realize the value of eloping society while still being able to focus on the impact to the bottom line (Tangelo, 2011). In addition, if campaigns are not communicated specifically around the brands it produces, then a “halo effect” for the entire industry could be the end result, of a poorly executed communication strategy (Marquis et al. 2011) Therefore, it is important for Daemon to construct a carefully balanced communication strategy, which considers the perception of its stakeholders in the marketplace, while also ensuring to highlight the specific impact of its CARS initiatives within the communities it operates. Impact off Corporate Parent First and foremost, Daemon is responsible for reporting to Deanne, and is ultimately accountable for its actions to the parent company.
This is inevitably going to impact ten calicles making process, Tort ten learners AT Daemon, when considering ten communication of its CARS initiatives.
Although Daemon leaders are entrusted with the local management of the company, they still must consider how their decisions will be perceived by the leadership at Deanne. Daemon leaders will certainly consider their business model, mission statement, and resources before making any session; however, the process for making a decision, evaluated by superior management, will arguably always be a different, than if the decision where made at the highest level. In addition, Deanne has traditionally worked to train and communicate company values to the leaders of the organization.
Deanne uses the acronym HOPE: humanism, openness, proximity, and enthusiasm; to instill the values of the company in the leadership of the organization.
This process of training and instilling the core values of Deanne into the senior leadership of Deanne is referred to as the “Deanne Way’ (Marquis et al. 2011) Since 2001, the Deanne Way is used as a method of evaluating subsidiaries’ social and environmental responsibility performance, by evaluating performance levels for 16 key practices in five separate categories (“Deanne 2012,”2012).
By generating a way of thinking and culture structure for managers, Deanne is essentially creating an accountability framework for its leaders, and in doing so sets an expectation for how performance will be delivered and evaluated. Having a parent company gives Daemon several advantages; that is as long as Deanne gives Daemon leadership the freedom to make congenial decisions that specifically impact the American marketplace. The advantage to Daemon is having a global brand that gives its strategies substantial economic stability.
While many companies would be considering the livelihood of their business in relationship to their CARS initiatives, Daemon is able to exercise its communication strategy, more as an opportunity for potential growth, than an essential part of survival in US marketplace. This could be contributed, in part if not entirely, to its ownership by a large multi-national corporation with substantial and table economic positions. The benefits of having Deanne as a parent company are arguably much greater than any risks it presents, other than the accountability Deanne presents to the leadership of Daemon.
The Communication Strategy A solid strategy for Daemon needs to stay focused in the segment of healthy foods, as this is the core of their mission, and the impact of healthy foods on improving society. Since one of the core mission principals of Daemon is to increase consumption, then an effective CARS communication strategy should also support measurable increases to consumption. The key is to foster collaboration between the CARS program and the overall mission of the company, to drive win-win outcomes with its efforts.
Tangelo (2011) lays out quite a useful framework for an effective CARS communication strategy, which should prove useful in developing a strategy for Daemon, outlined below: CARS When selecting CARS programs to get involved with it is first important to evaluate how well the program can be associated with the products a company produces. This will prove to be a value, not only to the sustainability of the program; but also, with the received intrinsic motives by stakeholders.
In 2010, Daemon decided to get involved in the fight against cancer by supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation, with an annual Give Hope with Every Cup campaign (Marquis & Thompson, 2011). Even tong tenure could appear to De little connection Detente ten Talent against cancer and dairy products, there is a good CARS strategy fit, since the cause is fundamentally based related to nutrition and health. But also, and possibly more impact, is because Daemon selected a high issue support campaign that aligned with its mission to increase consumption.
By mirroring the competition, Daemon is able to fend off market share loss each October, the time when its competitor, Hypoxia, runs its Save Lids to Save Lives campaign in partnership with the Susan G. Someone for the Cure foundation (Marquis & Thompson, 2011). Daemon did an excellent Job selecting a CARS initiative that aligned well with the perception of its product, mission statement, and marketplace challenges. CARS Impact It is important for a company to stay focused on CARS commitment or the impact of CARS, to keep the communication based in facts, as to avoid the appearance of showboating its contributions.
Also, if communicated correctly the motives of the company can be seen in the durability of the commitments it makes.
By getting involved in long term projects for change Daemon shows a real commitment to society and its stakeholders, as opposed to short term involvements, which could be perceived as PR exploits for profits alone (Tangelo, 2011). During the first year of the Give Hope with Every Cup campaign, Daemon reports over 12 million codes were uploaded online and over $1. 6 million was raised to support cancer research.
In addition, the campaign generated over “1 50 million earned media impression and 47 stories and placements”, and media coverage of the campaign was found in numerous national media sources (Marquis & Thompson, 2011). Where to Communicate: Message Channels Reporting Daemon should continue to report its annual CARS activities on its website and in the marketplace.
Utilizing multiple platforms will help the impact of Damson’s CARS communication, as multiple channels give the company multiple opportunities to reach various stakeholders, and multiple channels will reinforce the value of CARS initiatives for stakeholders.
Various channels would include, but not limited to, the many website (Daemon. Com), an annual stand-alone report, including CARS issues in the annual shareholder reports, public reporting of political donations and policies, regional human rights policy reporting, and other sources of official reports (Tangelo, 2011). By reiterating the CARS initiatives the company is involved in, and repeating the message within all its official communication, Daemon drives home the value of its program and its commitment to the success of those programs.
In addition, it is fundamental for Daemon to incorporate CARS into every form of immunization it puts out into the marketplace.
If the company intends to operate within the framework of a truly socially responsible company, then its communication should reflect those values woven into the core of how they operate. Advertising and Packaging Daemon should continue to review its advertising campaigns to ensure that elements of its CARS program are built into every message it delivers to consumers. Daemon has done a commendable Job by partnering with Jamie Lee Curtis for its Active campaigns.
Curtis, 51, is not only a highly recognizable celebrity in the US market, UT she also has her own story about the fears and personal contact with breast cancer (Ga consumers can Intuitively associate curtly as a reasonable spokesperson for the Active brand, as well as a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness. This aligns well with the mission of Daemon, “to bring health through food to as many people as possible”, by finding synergy between a marketing campaign to increase consumption, while also building marketing platform to increase CARS awareness to its consumer base (“2011 Sustainable,” 2011).
In addition, the breast cancer awareness campaign is relatively easy to recognize by the color pink and armorial the pink ribbon, which is the international symbol of breast cancer awareness (History, n.
D. ). Utilizing the color pink and placing the pink ribbon symbol on the packaging of Daemon products, is an effective way to associate its products with a high visibility CARS initiative in the marketplace. Daemon should continue to evaluate its packaging schemes to ensure the synergy between its CARS initiatives and mission are represented and communicated through labeling.
External Communicators of CARS and Stakeholder word-of-mouth When considering the communication of its CARS initiatives, it is important for Daemon o evaluate the various channels of external communication sources.
Daemon leaders need to be aware of how their CARS initiatives are being communicated by media, consumers, Nags, governments, and other stakeholders. There will likely be a tradeoff between the credibility of communication channels controlled by Daemon, compared to communication channels the company has no control over.
Consumers would understandably be more skeptical of communication about the benefits of company CARS programs, if the communication is coming directly from the Daemon (Tangelo, 2011). Therefore, Daemon leaders need to work diligently to gain the support of external communication channels to help promote positively on their efforts. Finally, Daemon needs to consider the word-of-mouth exposure its CARS initiatives receive from its stakeholders. With an effective CARS communication strategy, Daemon can effectively gain support from employees and consumers.
Leveraging the social ties of these focus groups, Daemon can spread the effectiveness of its CARS programs across multiple channels, as these groups typically have a wide reach to other stakeholders (Tangelo, 2011). Not only does the impact of word-of- out spread quickly through various forms of social media, it is often perceived as more genuine and believable. In addition, this is a powerful marketing resource, costing Daemon very little, in terms of financial resources, but could reap the greatest level of returns on its efforts.
Conclusion The Daemon case study provides an excellent analysis of the next steps a company should take after establishing a solid CARS program. If a company can build a culture around CARS and implement it effectively, then the company will most likely operate more responsibly. However, once the initiatives are in place and are actively being executed, a company needs to consider how and when to communicate its efforts to stakeholders.
It is one thing to do the right things for the right reasons, but in the business world it is always important to ensure your actions are supporting the mission of the company.
If resources are being utilized to ensure the long term sustainability of the organization, then the allocation of those resources need to be transparent to stakeholder, Just like any other financial or human resources would. I en concept AT reporting CARS Annihilates Is relatively new Ana Is undoubtedly part AT nonuser demand for companies to be more transparent. As consumers lose faith in the actions and intentions of corporations, it becomes more and more essential for company leaders to open up avenues of communication.
This is important, not only to let stakeholders know what the company is doing to make positive changes; but also, to seek genuine feedback from stakeholders to ensure the efforts of the company are in line with market demands.
It would seem the days of “fat cats” making decisions for the good of the company, behind closed doors, is becoming an unsustainable business model. Much like people develop slowly overtime, companies are also slowly developing more socially sustainable programs and finding ways to communicate their efforts effectively.
