Happy marriage?

It seems that strategic partnerships between companies and charities are all the rage. Whether it’s P&G’s Pampers brand and UNICEF’s ‘One pack=One Vaccine’ campaign or the Samaritan’s partnership with Network Rail to reduce rail line fatalities, many of us can now point to mature, well considered partnerships between companies and charities, designed to meet clear objectives.

A recent report by C&E Advisory revealed that collaboration between the sectors is really adding value. Based on a poll of 120 leading companies and NGOs, as well as roundtable discussions with senior practitioners from both sectors, the report noted that 93% of corporate and 79% of NGO respondents declare that partnerships have helped to enhance business understanding of social and environment issues; whilst significant numbers (46% of corporate and 40% of NGO respondents) say that cross-sector collaborations have helped to improve business practices for the better.

However, the benefits of cross-sector partnering are not realised by magic. To be successful, partnering organisations need to be well matched, their joint proposition well conceived and executed, and the partnership itself well nurtured and steered towards achieving the joint ambitions, as well as the individual goals of each partner.

The partnership between M&S and Oxfam was voted the Most Admired Corporate-NGO Partnership for the 4th year in a row. What key learning should The Marketing Society community take from this partnership?

Here are four lessons to note:

Lesson 1
Look for a partner with shared values: The Oxfam and M&S relationship is a true partnership, based on common goals. Like Oxfam, M&S has placed ethical principles at the centre of its business practices. Both organisations continue to lead the way on a comprehensive and long-term approach to corporate responsibility.

Lesson 2
It takes time to develop trust: Oxfam and M&S have collaborated for over ten years. During this time they’ve worked together on how to improve labour rights in the supply chain, the benefits of M&S selling FairTrade products, and supporting the development and implementation of M&S’ Plan A. The trust that developed enabled both organisations to address potentially thorny issues and to deliver lasting change. It also meant that both organisations have a better understanding of each other’s strategies and challenges, which ultimately led to the award winning Shwopping scheme.

Lesson 3
Certainty: Oxfam and M&S were very clear with each other from the start about their expectations. Because of this Oxfam had enough certainty to invest time and resources into the project and develop long-term communication and marketing strategies.

Lesson 4
Mutual benefit: The most important element to a successful long-term corporate/charity partnership is that it needs to be beneficial to both parties. Straightforward philanthropy and charity of the year schemes have their place but they tend to be short-term engagements. Identifying areas that deliver mutual benefit to both the business and the charity partner is the key to building successful, long-term relationships.

The C&E Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer report is available for download at www.candeadvisory/barometer. It is the fourth in an annual series of practitioner-led studies. Manny Amadi, MVO is CEO of C&E Advisory, a ‘business & society’ enterprise @mannyamadi.