Firdaous El Honsali, Dove’s esteemed global marketing head, opines that mission-driven marketing campaigns cannot only be measured by their PR impact. She believes their alignment to a brand’s target and objectives, as well as their long-term societal influence, should also be key metrics.
El Honsali encourages brands to focus on real-world effects, considering impacts such as the number of children participating in sports or the regenerated forest acreage as success measures. Driving home her point, El Honsali underlines the need for brands to move beyond mere PR wins towards genuine societal improvements.
Through her work at Dove, El Honsali invites a new understanding of assessing socially impactful campaigns. She advocates for linking real-world challenges with practical remedies and viewing the social effect of a campaign as an indispensable element in the planning and execution process.
With a backdrop of scepticism surrounding social purpose in advertising, El Honsali promotes brands publicly asserting their social initiatives.
Dove’s marketing leader advocates societal impact
She argues that social responsibility should be more than a marketing maneuver, it should be central to the company’s identity and mission.
El Honsali oversees the marketing strategy for Dove, a brand present in over 150 countries. Dove’s mission, as steered by El Honsali, is to endorse real beauty and nurture positive female self-confidence. Dove’s tactically curated campaigns resonate with this mission and continue to challenge societal beauty norms, fostering women’s empowerment globally.
In addition to global issues, El Honsali also emphasizes addressing local cultural norms within Dove’s markets. Citing campaigns such as the ‘Stop The Beauty Test’ in India that tackles region-specific beauty stereotypes for marriages, she highlights Dove’s globally consistent yet locally resonant approach to marketing.
Finally, El Honsali reflects on Dove’s recent decision to minimize the use of artificial intelligence in marketing efforts due to ethical concerns. With this change, Dove aims to respect individual beauty standards influenced by diverse cultures and experiences, displaying commitment to inclusivity and local cultural norms, further establishing Dove as a socially responsible brand.
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