When strategy decided to introduce a new special report called Step Change, we wanted to celebrate companies or brands that are breaking the rules and redefining the marketplace for themselves – and, ultimately, for everybody else.
In our search for those going boldly where no one’s gone before, two major themes quickly emerged: the increasing role of corporate social responsibility in marketing and the changing relationship between agencies and clients. We found all kinds of strange new things happening: a bank giving profits back to the community; a massive retailer slashing its energy use and its packaging; and advertising agencies wading into the business of creating art and designing nightclubs. Read on to see who’s disrupting category conventions in our inaugural Step Change challenge.
Vancity: CSR as brand identity
Wal-mart: Small changes equal big results
