Posts by Wray, Vicki

• Ameriprise Financial, Inc: Tapping Multiple Channels to Find and Tell Stories (01.05.16 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact “Once you start celebrating your stories,” says Jennifer Jones, senior director, community relations, “you will find that everyone has a story to tell and wants to tell it. The trick is to provide a way for them feel comfortable telling it and doing so in their own voice.” […]

• Ford: Strengthening Brand Loyalty, Innovating, and Connecting with Next-Generation Drivers (11.25.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact As brands deal with changing trends, in terms of sharing and disseminating news, Ford Motor Company was looking for new ways to strengthen brand loyalty, talk about its latest innovations, and connect with the next generation of drivers. Alongside Blue State Digital, the company expanded its social media […]

• Cardinal Health: Using Delegates to Reach Your Field Force (10.14.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact Communicating to a decentralized workforce is no easy task, but Cardinal Health is committed to engaging and supporting employees across the enterprise—10 countries and 90+ facilities. One key communication method is carried out by facility-level site leaders, who act as extensions of the community relations team.

• Allstate Foundation: Turning Employees into Advocates (09.10.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact The Allstate Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Allstate, is playing an important role in the company’s evolution from insurance company to lifestyle brand through the engagement of its internal audiences, which include employees and agency owners. Giving back is part of the company’s DNA, according to Patricia Lara […]

• Target: Working Collaboratively for Sustainable Impact (08.27.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact Target has a legacy of giving 5 percent of its profit, but for a long time it was not telling a collective story or using that story to help advance the business. In past years, messaging had targeted a variety of social impact programs and partners with fragmented […]

• Verizon: Letting Your Audience Guide Your Master Narrative (08.06.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Your Social Impact Several years ago, the Verizon Foundation took an opportunity to go into a “quiet period” and re-evaluate its path forward. The result was a decision to move from a philanthropic model to a social innovation platform. This shift allowed the Foundation to accelerate social change by incubating […]

• Medtronic: Using Gamification as a Campaign Focal Point (07.28.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact Good citizenship was—and still is—important to the founder of Medtronic, and it is ingrained in the company’s mission statement. While the company had long been focused on doing good, it realized it could do more, especially when it came to promoting the philanthropic work of its partners. The […]

• The Hershey Company: Building a Platform to Communicate the Pairing of CSR and Business Processes (07.16.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact In 2014, The Hershey Company, on the heels of important strategic realignments, recognized it was the right time to restructure its corporate social responsibility model. Known for deep social commitments dating to its founder, Milton S. Hershey, and, more recently, growing leadership in areas of sustainable operations, such […]

• General Mills: From a “House of Brands” to a “Branded House” (07.09.15 )

  By Vicki Wray, Author, Communicating Social Impact Since 1954, The General Mills Foundation has fueled more than half a billion dollars in support to nonprofit organizations in global communities, with much of it through brand philanthropy and corporate contributions. Yet when it came to communications, until recently, the company had been acting as a “house […]