An estimated 3,000 kids die daily, and more than 3.5 million children do not live to the age of five, largely due to diarrhea and pneumonia – both manageable with soap and water. People worldwide wash their hands with water, but far too few use soap, particularly at crucial moments such as after using the toilet, cleaning a child, or before handling food.

In 2008, Unilever, its Lifebuoy soap brand, and Population Services International (PSI) joined forces to declare October 15th Global Handwashing Day. Last year, the public-private partnership produced a PSA starring actress Mandy Moore, among other efforts.

This year's Global Handwashing Day bring a new partnership with the Millennium Villages Project, a joint effort by the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the United Nations Development Program. The PSA simply asks for support for an initiative working with 500,000 people in rural villages across ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa as part of a bigger goal to reach one billion people:Continue reading...

While baseball fans sat and watched ball after ball after ball get hammered out of the ballpark on Monday during the 2011 State Farm Home Run Derby, part of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities, execs at the insurance company, which has sponsored the Derby since 2007, must have been sitting back and enjoying themselves.

The broadcast from Phoenix attracted almost 7 million viewers to ESPN, according to Nielsen, giving a big boost to the State Farm Brand. The insurer received about $45 million worth of brand recognition during the game, estimates Front Row Analytics, a division of marketing, research, and naming-rights firm Front Row Marketing Services, estimates, according to TheBigLead.Continue reading...

Among the more interesting journeys to purpose-driven branding has been Procter & Gamble’s road. Under previous CEO A.G. Lafley, innovation was clearly the oft-spoken lifeblood of the company.

But now that current CEO Bob McDonald has had the reins for a while, “broader purpose” is the most important concept in the CPG giant’s cultural lexicon.

That priority, increasingly, is coming through in how P&G treats its brands, both globally and in “local” markets.Continue reading...