Chapter 11
FROM THE 4PS TO THE 5IS – SOCIAL CAPITAL STRATEGY
In the previous chapter we outlined a number of qualities or traits that we believe Social Equity Brands, by and large, exhibit in one form or another – qualities that allow us to glimpse their modified DNA, separate them from the crowd and hold them in good stead to become recognised and rewarded engines of social capital. The list is far from exhaustive, primarily because we don’t claim to have all the answers in what we feel is an emerging role for brands, and we’re sure not all characteristics need be present at all times.
But accepting that these qualities coalesce into some Social Equity Brand ‘archetype’, the question that now stands up in front of us is this: how can a combination of these characteristics manifest itself in the day-to-day business of the brand, and constructively contribute to the creation of social capital and its resultant public and private benefits? In other words, how can these traits be linked to the creation of new value through influencing how the brand engages with its audiences?
The answer – the link – is the creation of a Social Capital Strategy (Figure 42).
Figure 42: Linking traits to capital to value via a Social Capital Strategy
A Social Capital Strategy represents a holistic and manageable way to interpret the salient Social Equity Brand characteristics effectively and leverage them ...
