Corporate social responsibility

Case study: SmokIT

This case study is based on the theoretical sub-section “How is CSR communicated?”

The materials in this case study have been taken from a real company and adapted for the purposes of this module. SmokIT is a fictional name. 

Background

You have recently graduated from the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Antwerp and you have found a job in the communication department of a big tobacco company, called SmokIT.

You have a meeting with your boss every Monday. Last Monday she told you that recent research from the sales department is showing a steady decrease in the number of cigarettes sold. According to the researchers, more and more people are trying to quit smoking and are looking for smoke-free alternatives, which are a better choice than cigarettes. Furthermore, about 80% of customers reported that they would like to see SmokIT engage more with CSR.

As part of its CSR strategy, SmokIT has actually already begun developing and selling some smoke-free products around the world, but it seems that customers are not aware of this move. While smoke-free products were described in detail in the latest annual report, they are not mentioned anywhere on the company website and this could be the reason why customers are not aware of them.

Task 1: Revision

To solve this issue, your boss has sent you an extract from the latest annual report which contains information on the company’s CSR, and in particular on their smoke-free products. She has asked you to read the extract and to convert it into an accessible and engaging post, with a catchy title, that will be published on the SmokIT website. She has also asked you to read about the smoke-free alternatives produced by another company, so that you can learn a bit more about smoke-free products.

Before you start…

• Start making the revisions in the Word document that the researcher has provided.
• You do not have any time limit, but please complete the task in one session.
• When you revise the extract, you can consult the theory in this module as many times as you need.
• To get inspiration for your website post, you can look at the websites in the relevant recommended reading sub-section.
• If there are terms/concepts that you don’t understand, do some online research on them. The more you know about the topic, the easier it will be for you to revise the text.
• Convey the key messages, but also be creative and inventive with your revisions. After all, you work in the communication department!

Task 2: Liaising with the graphic designer

Even though you are not a graphic designer, your boss trusts your judgment. So, after you finish revising the text for the website, she asks you to send your opinions to the graphic designer regarding which image(s) should accompany your website post. The graphic designer will make the final decision, but he will definitely take your opinions into account.

Contact the graphic designer using the form below (and you also need to make the CAPTCHA calculation next to the “Submit” button).