How brands are leaning into social impact storytelling

Several brand executives at this year’s Advertising Week New York discussed their corporate activism efforts. As many consumers want to see brands taking action, here's a look at how two marketers—one in agricultural machinery, and one in delivery—are connecting with their communities.

John Deere 

John Deere, a name synonymous with tractors and other heavy machinery, highlighted some of its recent social justice efforts on Thursday.

In 2020, the brand launched the Legislation, Education, Advocacy, and Production Systems, or LEAP Coalition, partnering with Marshall College Fund and the National Black Business Council to help farmers legally regain lost property and also provide them with resources to sustain the property, such as educational and training programs.

Over the span of 100 years, Black farmers have lost more than 12 million acres of land, according to Census data. A new documentary, “Gaining Ground: the Fight for Black Land,” created in collaboration with Al Roker Entertainment, addresses the disproportionate economic issues Black American farmers have faced for generations, including heirs' rights.

“If there is injustice for some, there is injustice for all,” Al Roker said in an interview. “So the idea of being able to protect one’s legacy, one’s heritage and one’s family right, I think it’s something that’s universal so we want everyone to be able to see this.”
 

Eternal Polk, who directed the documentary, met and spent time with several families in the rural south, even attending family reunions, to tell their stories in the film.

“My own personal conversation is not having a family that’s very closely cohesive and then experiencing that through this film,” said Polk. “The film was giving to me in so many ways, directing was probably the least part of the giving. It was the people I met in particular.”

John Deere expects to further promote the film, which is still in the works, through paid social media placements, film festivals, and viewing parties.

Doordash

On Tuesday, Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, chief marketing officer of DoorDash, spoke about the delivery app company’s decision to invest more in the needs of drivers, or—in DoorDash's terminology—dashers.

Dashing is essential to the delivery service’s business model. The average dasher spends four hours a week on deliveries, according to Amoo-Gottfried.

At Advertising Week, Amoo-Gottfried highlighted a campaign called Beyond the Dash, which supports the goals and career paths of DoorDash drivers. One dasher, Özgür Seyben from Turkey, was able to pursue his dreams of filmmaking when the company partnered with Tribeca Studios, Chromista, and director Patricia Riggen to bring his film "Alien (The Other)" to life. The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

DoorDash posts stories like Seyben’s on its Beyond the Dash site.