Caring for the well-being of others

I have always believed that brand awareness and brand association can be enhanced with relevant and sustainable advocacy programs

. The 3As framework—awareness, association and advocacy—shapes the concept of share of mind in marketing. I have been fortunate to discover many such corporate case studies in societal marketing and I share them here.

I have been part of the board of Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) as an independent director since April 2021. It is a bank I admire, respect and often cite in my various talks as a best case example of various strategy and innovation themes. I found how they not only allow courageous conversations to happen as questioning existing norms and assumptions is acceptable practice in their culture.

This mindset led them to start a digital-first banking strategy ahead of all other banks in the Philippines, and to stop expanding physical branches unlike their peers. In fact, many banks all over the world have started closing down physical branches postpandemic since more and more consumers have gotten used to banking digitally.

In one breakfast meeting with Dennis Omila, an executive vice president of the bank, he shared proudly an initiative to train and retrain paraplegic people from Tahanang Walang Hagdanan. They are employed as data analysts to help with the remote monitoring of transactions. I was pleased that the bank had done that even before COVID-19 lockdown, understanding how an inclusive culture that addresses diversity and provides opportunities for the marginalized is the right thing to do.Employee volunteerism

Digging deeper, I found that all these initiatives are actually part of something bigger, something that started a decade ago. In 2013, UnionBank launched a program called Go Beyond Communities (GBC). This was initiated by their human resources department based on the vision of then chair and CEO Justo Ortiz.

The innovation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate of chair Ortiz then was to allow employees to initiate and lead their own CSR programs as volunteers. This was in line with the bank’s spirit of “ubuntu,” an African Zulu term that roughly means “humanity to others,” or thinking about the well-being of others and understanding the importance of collaboration in our place in the universe. Employees conceptualized, planned, proposed and implemented their own CSR projects with funding assistance from the bank, consistent with its purpose of cocreating innovations for a better world.

In the process, employees learned about compassion, empathy and caring for others in a unique way. While GBC programs can be in education, sustainability, employment and livelihood or the environment, two other programs on upskilling people through technology stood out for me.

Walk the talk

The first is Heroes 2021, where employees of the bank made possible the creation of 18 modules of teacher training program for the Department of Education. This was in coordination with many different partners to build the communication soft skills capability of instructors critical in teaching online during the pandemic. This helped upskill the teachers and made them ready for new online and flexible teaching methods. To date, more than 800 teachers have completed this module. They are expected to teach other teachers, benefiting over a million students in the short-term.

The second is consistent with UnionBank’s value proposition, which is about superior customer experience and personalization using superior technology (i.e., investment in artificial intelligence, data science, among others).

Employees used robotics technology, such as sensors and microcontrollers, to help automate and create a smart hydroponics system for a school feeding program. This enabled the school beneficiaries to receive both a vegetable garden and a robotic field laboratory for their students to observe the advantage of using technology in agriculture.

Since the Philippines has the lowest per capita consumption of vegetables in Asia (source: World Health Organization), the initiative became a platform for the students to be more aware of the importance of consuming more vegetables as well.

Artists from Angono, Rizal were also given space at the lobby of the bank’s head office in Ortigas to display art pieces and help find buyers. This initiative was personally supported by UnionBank CEO Edwin Bautista, a known collector and supporter of the arts.

Impact

Within 10 years of GBC, some 1,542 communities have been served, with 2.26 million direct and indirect beneficiaries so far. With the Citi retail business incorporated into UnionBank in mid-2022, it is expected to draw greater employee involvement in the years to come.

While CSR can benefit a company by way of its reputation and brand association, consistency in execution is a reflection of how a business creates genuine social accountability beyond revenue and profit, and beyond mere public relations.

Integrating good work in their regular operations combined with a corporate culture of not expecting anything in return, is a testament to UnionBank’s authenticity as a socially conscious enterprise with clear purpose and heart. —Contributed INQ

Josiah Go is chair and chief innovation strategist of Mansmith and Fielders Inc. As disclosed in the article, he is also an independent director of UnionBank of the Philippines.