CMO Council Invites Marketers to "Make a Stand as an Ethical Brand" at the Ethical Brand Forum in Dubai
Marketwired
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES and PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 3, 2013) - The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, in partnership with Social Enterprise Week, will present the Ethical Brand Forum on September 17, 2013, at the Meydan IMAX Theatre in Dubai. The event will include a screening of the acclaimed documentary The NakedBrand, along with an exclusive keynote presentation and interactive Q&A session with the film's director, writer and producer, Jeff Rosenblum. The Ethical Brand Forum is open to all regional marketers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, media representatives, agency principals, non-governmental organizations, government officials, academics and students free of charge. For online registration, please visit: http://www.cmocouncil.org/ethical-brands-event.php#register
Closing the complimentary half-day session will be a knowledge-brokering executive panel, titled "Making a Stand as an Ethical Brand: Tools, Tips and Techniques for Evolving Into a Social Brand and a Socially Responsible Business." The interactive panel will engage audience members in a strategic dialogue to understand key issues and challenges, identify best practices, highlight the rewards of ethical brand principles, and assess progress and potential for ethical branding and corporate social responsibility (CSR) transformation in the region. The panel will feature speakers such as:
Noha Hefny, External Communications & Citizenship for Asia, Middle East & Africa at PepsiCo
Ibrahim Al Zu-bi, Head of CSR and Sustainability at Majid Al Futtaim Properties
Gundeep Singh, CEO and Founder at The Change Initiative
Ebrahim Al Haddar, Co-Founder & Chairman at Nahtam Social Responsibility
Appearances from the CMO Council's MENA Advisory Board members are also expected, including executives from leading brands such as Philips, General Motors, Emirates Group, FVC, RAK Ceramics, FoodFund International, Citi, Western Union, UAE Exchange and United Safety.
"Corporations today are not simply judged by their own direct actions," said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. "Corporate behavior and social commitment resonate with the consumer, whose voice and influence have been amplified and multiplied many times over through social media, web connectivity and mobile channels, further underscoring the need for brands to take a critical, authentic, transparent and ethical stand."
This forum kicks off the MENA-focused "Make a Stand as an Ethical Brand" campaign, which was conceptualized using insights from the CMO Council's MENA Advisory Board members. As this campaign rolls out across the region, areas of discovery and discussion will include:
Merits, value and benefits of ethical branding in the MENA region, as well as social media pressures, regulatory developments and societal drivers influencing greater corporate social responsibility and ethical behavior
Issues, challenges, complexities and ROI associated with ethical branding policies and practices, in addition to how to achieve organizational buy-in, participation and ownership
Delivering on the ethical brand promise or claim; ensuring corporate behavior and brand authenticity is true, trusted and transparent
Criteria for ranking and rating ethical brands relative to cultural authenticity; corporate governance/transparency; product integrity/safety; operational responsibility and sustainability; sourcing and supply chain ethics; customer care and commitment; labor conditions, workforce benefits and employment policies; community investment and involvement; business practices; and environmental concerns
The initiative will culminate in a best-practice report, which will include highlights from CMO interviews, quantitative (survey) research findings, innovator and leader profiles, social media strategies and analytics, grassroots embrace, domain expert commentary and more, along with the creation of an ethical brand scorecard and a set of measures and metrics that will become a resource for investors, government agencies, business partners, customers and the media.
About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is the only global network of executives specifically dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide range of global industries. The CMO Council's 6,500-plus members control more than $350 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include more than 35,000 global executives in more than 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa. The council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Mobile Relationship Marketing (MRM) Strategies, LoyaltyLeaders.org, CMOCIOAlign.org, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Institute, GeoBranding Center and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org.
About Social Enterprise Week Social Enterprise Week is the Middle East's first week dedicated to social enterprise in the region. Our mission is to build a platform that brings together thinkers, innovators and leaders to shape the future of social enterprise in the region through a dedicated week of events. Social enterprises are businesses that use market-based solutions to tackle social problems, making society better while generating profit. The week highlights the success of local and regional social entrepreneurs who have built social enterprises in diverse sectors, from tourism and finance to fashion. It also seeks to foster a better understanding of how social enterprises can contribute to our vibrant local economy. Learn about social enterprises straight from the pioneers in the field. Listen to their experiences about what it takes to help your business succeed. Make the connections that you need to take your social enterprise to the next level. Social Enterprise Week has a full schedule of back-to-back events that will enlighten, excite and inspire. More information is available at www.socentweek.me.
