Microsoft was founded in 1975 by William H. Gates III. It went on the stock market 11 years later in 1986. Over the years Microsoft became one of the leading companies in the operating system industry for laptops and computers with their windows system. Microsoft launched their first tablet PC in 2002 and launched the search engine Bing in 2009. In 2015 Microsoft revealed their first Surface Book and released a newer model in 2016 (Microsoft 2017).
MICROSOFT
One of the main things that is stated in the current letter from Microsoft’s CEO is that they want to make a ‘cloud for global good’, meaning that Microsoft is trying to develop a social and economic beneficial cloud, so that everyone can benefit from the technology and not just the fortunate few (Microsoft 2017). Microsoft is not solely focusing on what they can do alone, but what they can do in partnership with stakeholders in order to advance technology and societal needs (Microsoft 2017). They want to make the voices heard of everyone be that a singular customer, a policymaker or a human rights in
The benefits a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy brings to a business include amongst others winning new business, developing and deepening relationships with consumers, suppliers and other stakeholders, creating and maintaining a good work environment, increasing the reputation of the business, etc. (Simply CSR 2017). Furthermore, CSR benefits the society as well, as a good CSR strategy includes working with the community that the company, as well as its suppliers are situated in, in order to create a sustainable business (Shuili Du 2007). However, just having CSR strategy is not enough for a company nowadays (Business Standard 2012). Research has shown that many
company (YouTube 2017). On this second YouTube channel they are showing all kinds of information about the corporation as well as advertisements that underline their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies such as their videos with the hashtag #MakeWhatsNext which focus on the fact that only a low percentage of women graduate with a so called STEM Degree (YouTube). A STEM degree is a degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Best Value Schools 2017). The video tries to animate women to get more engaged with this topic and show the world, that there is a lack of female representation in this area (YouTube 2017). This goes hand in hand with Microsofts’ CSR strategy, as they want to bring people together all over the world through their technology and software (Microsoft 2017).
Many of their videos on this account actually focus around the theme of bringing people together (YouTube 2017). However, they also have a few videos about sustainable practices and fair working environments (YouTube 2017). Generally, one could say that Microsoft is using that channel to solely promote their CSR strategy to the consumer.
It is also apparent from Microsofts’ Instagram account, that Corporate Social Responsibility plays a big part in how they market their company (Instagram 2017). Their account is full of pictures and videos of how technology brings people together and helps them achieve their goals (Instagram 2017). Those pictures and videos are about people and their stories all over the world, be it people with visual impairments in India and how Microsoft is trying to create an artificial intelligence that can correct the vision or how a well-known photographer is using Microsofts’ Surface Book in order, to choose the perfect shot (Instagram 2017).
Microsoft is the perfect example on how a company can use Corporate Social Responsibility in order to promote their company further and make it approachable for all stakeholders. Their messages are incorporated into videos, Instagram posts and pictures and without even noticing the stakeholders are informed about Microsofts’ CSR strategy, even on TV.
As research has shown, more people are now interested in CSR
customers are actually unaware of companies’ CSR strategies. This is one of the reasons why they need to use their strategies as a form of marketing. They can use advertisements as a way to show what they see is also what they do (Delbard 2010). Customers are becoming more and more aware of the importance of for example climate change, recycling, etc and it is now part of their decision making process when buying products, to consider if the company they are buying from makes any efforts in that regard, therefore it is important for businesses to show their engagement and the best way to do this would be through their marketing (Delbard 2010).
When looking at the advertisements that Microsoft releases, it is rather obvious that they do not use their CSR strategies in them, when it comes to hardware products. They focus on the look of the product, the fact that is using windows as an operating system and things such as battery life. However, that is only the case for their hardware products. Microsoft has two YouTube accounts, one for Microsoft in general and one for their ‘Surface’ products. The ‘Surface’ channel holds the newest advertisements and explanations about their Surface Book and their new Surface Studio (YouTube 2017). Their general Microsoft YouTube channel holds all kinds of videos about Microsoft as a
strategies and the interest will most likely only grow in the future. Other companies can learn from this and use Microsoft as an example on how to use Corporate Social Responsibility as a marketing tool.
order to establish a pleasant work environment for their employees, their suppliers’ employees and the people who live in the communities they operate in (Microsoft 2017). Furthermore, Microsoft is committed to create products and software that value and preserve the privacy of its user (Microsoft 2017). Another important part of their CSR policies focuses on the planet and its environmental sustainability, which they try to support with climate change policies, responsible sourcing of raw materials, etc. (Microsoft 2017).
