Marketing for Good

In September, the Kilts Center for Marketing launched its new series: “Marketing for Good.” The series explores how marketers and general managers can use their talents to develop sustainable marketing practices that evoke a positive change in the world.

The series kicked off with an event focused on the question, “How do companies respond to Black Lives Matter?” Since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has prompted companies worldwide to respond with public statements, marketing campaigns, donations, and more. Even before the resurgence of the movement, organizations were already under pressure to take a more active stance on social and race­-related issues, initiatives for which marketers play an instrumental role.

Held in conjunction with Chicago Booth Review and its Big Question video series, the event featured president and CEO of Converse Scott Uzzell, '98, founder and·principal of Virgil LLC Chipo Nyambuya, and Joseph T. and Bernice S. Lewis Distinguished Service Professor of Marketing Pradeep Chintagunta. The panel navigated the elements comprising a socially-aligned marketing campaign and the dos and don’ts for corporate responses to social justice movements. The panelists also shared their own experiences with the role of marketing in steering organizations through social unrest.