It’s fair to say that social media is the modern advertising tool; certainly at The Practice, we use it every day alongside most other creative agencies. From brand and product to event advertising, social media mobilizes large groups of people making it suited to a wide spectrum of pitches. And that also includes raising awareness, issues of sustainability and social responsibility.

At The Practice, we were intrigued to see Benetton’s latest campaign, ‘Unemployee of the Year.’ The title’s pretty self-explanatory, and typifies Benetton’s company stance and that of its chairman, Alessandro Benetton.  The advertisement draws on the same premise and advertising shock tactics as the retailer’s previous ‘Unhate foundation and awareness’ campaign, yet this time, it highlights the growing plight of marginalized young people worldwide who struggle to find work. Benetton’s newest campaign features an online Facebook competition asking 18-30 year olds to suggest projects that would improve the lives of those within their communities. Running alongside is a campaign YouTube video which Alessandro Benetton hopes will add further buzz and generate ‘a practical response’. Ironically though and according to official findings, there were just three Benetton jobs advertised globally at the time of the launch- ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ certainly springs to mind!

And of course, social media awareness campaigns are no new feat. The Pepsi Refresh Project launched in 2010 by PepsiCo, was perhaps one of the most famous. The campaign’s initiative was to award $20 million in grants to individuals, organizations and non-profits who thought of new ideas and solutions that could have a positive and long-lasting impact on their local communities or areas. Aside from creating an official website (refresheverything.com), users could connect via new Facebook, iPhone and Android applications that facilitated voting functionality and community aspects. These were also supported by online banners, integrated media campaigns and a host of other visual marketing displays.

2011 also saw Huggies’ ‘Mom Inspired’ competition, offering grants to stay-at-home mothers who showed great initiative and entrepreneurship through proposing their new business plans. These could be inspired from any aspect of parenting such as envisaging a contraption to make baby-changing easier, to a baby memory book enterprise. By positioning themselves at the forefront of social change, it’s clear that these companies have all benefitted not only from a boost in brand reach, but also in reputation.

We believe that social media raises awareness better than any traditional or even online marketing campaign because it gets individuals engaging. It’s all too easy to be affected by a heart-wrenching billboard or TV advert for a few minutes, but if there’s no way to respond and no incentive, it’s likely to be much less successful. Word on the street here in New York is that The Guardian’s holding a social media for corporate responsibility workshop on the 17^th October. We’re definitely interested in finding out more, and listening to some great strategies. See you there?!

So do you think companies should utilize social media more effectively to highlight the issues we’re overlooking? And do you think this will create long-term success? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to and follow us @PracticeDigital and check out our Facebook page.