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How Coke, Disney use data to donate smarter

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

How Coke, Disney use data to donate smarter

(Photo: Rob Beechey via Coca-Cola)

Handing over giant cardboard checks is often what companies think of as philanthropy. But some big companies like Walt Disney (DIS) and Coca-Cola (KO) think they can do better - using data.

Big companies are wondering if social responsibility can be more than just writing a check - but also a way to boost their businesses and brands. Rather than simply donating a part of profit each year, companies are mining consumer data to find where they can invest in social causes that will actually help their business, too.

'Companies are turning their business brains back on when it comes to charity,' says Jason Saul CEO of Mission Measurement, a consulting firm that helps companies quantify the business benefit they get from social efforts.

Companies are finding ways to get hard data showing how these initiatives are working better than just donating money. Take Coke. The Atlanta-based beverage maker has long done business in Africa and wanted to contribute to better economic conditions for families and women there. Coke could have just written a check as a donation to a local organization, which is still does. But additionally, five years ago the company created a program where local women could buy Coke's beverage products at wholesale. These female entrepreneurs are then given basic business instruction and take the Coke products to sell by carts, bicycles and mopeds.

Coke's business benefits because it gets product distributed more efficiently into tiny towns than it do on its own by rolling big trucks. Five years into the program, Coke is getting results showing the plan is working. “Now, five years into our journey, we’ve empowered 865,000 women across 52 countries and we’re seeing preliminary results from impact studies that show increases in women participants’ confidence and financial stability,” says Bea Perez, chief sustainability officer for Coke. “Coca-Cola’s (program) isn’t about philanthropic check writing. It’s about sustainable business,” Perez says.

Investors are coming around to the idea sustainability - while very difficult to measure - is becoming an intangible that's more important with younger consumers and could affect the bottom line, says David Palmer, stock research analyst at RBC Capital Markets. 'Investors care about long-term growth,' he says, which usually involves monitoring financial data like revenue growth and profit margins - not social measures that are difficult to quantify. But the quest is on to measure social factors that many think can move numbers on the financials. Social factors 'do not change the rules on what move stocks,' he says. 'But if there are certain things that are important to employees or consumers that help the measures that are important (to investors), we will increasingly pay attention to those.'

Disney's theme parks unit, famous for bringing precision to its operations, is attempting to do the same with corporate giving. The company has conducted research showing consumers look to it for creating experiences for families to do together. Disney's parks business is looking to contribute its expertise, not just money, to help causes connected with families, which also helps its brand, says spokeswoman Suzi Brown. 'Consumers want to spend money with companies they feel are making a difference,' she says.

Disney Monday ends its Share Your Ears campaign with Make-A-Wish. Consumers were urged to share photos of themselves wearing mouse ears. The company will donate money to the non-profit, which helps children with life-threatening illnesses have wishes granted, based on the participation of the campaign. Disney is seeing the effort as way to lend its marketing skills to raise awareness for the organization, which Disney has granted 100,000 wishes for over the years, Brown says.

Disney has also built a replica of its 'Turtle Talk with Crush' attraction in the Children's Hospital of Orange County where kids can interact with characters from 'Finding Nemo.' The company also hosts an annual ImagiNations Design Competition for college students and lends its Imagineers to mentor students. This, too, has a business benefit in it allows Disney to identify students with the skills it seeks for future employees, Brown says.

Companies are increasingly aware that social efforts are important with consumers and are a factor in purchase decisions, Saul says. Companies are looking at philanthropy to 'make a positive impact and reinforce the benefit to the business,' Saul says. 'Wall Street is starting to take this seriously.'

Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz