Interview with Social Entrepreneur

Our founder and president, Russ Stoddard, recently appeared on the Social Entrepreneur podcast, hosted by Tony Loyd. As the title implies, the podcast focuses on conscious companies, impact investing, and social entrepreneurs—those brands and business people who manage to combine purpose and profit. 

Tony has featured dozens of purpose-driven people working toward real change, and it was a true honor to appear on the show. 

The following is a loose transcript of the podcast, which can be heard online here. 

Tony: Hi, and welcome to episode 34 of Social Entrepreneur with Russ Stoddard of Oliver Russell.

Purpose matters. In fact, according to one study, 90 percent of U.S. consumers said they would switch brands to one associated with a cause given comparable price and quality.

In another study conducted by the World Federation of Advertisers, 60 percent of people said they’re actively seeking brands with a sense of purpose. According to Deloitte, six out of 10 millennials said “a sense of purpose” is part of the reason they chose to work in their current jobs.

Given all that, purpose really matters.

I’m here with Russ Stoddard of Oliver Russell, who builds brands for purpose-driven companies. He's been at this for about 25 years, and he’s learned a little bit along the way about the intersection of purpose and branding.

His understanding continues to evolve. He'll tell you the story about how he thinks differently about it today. His company, Oliver Russell, is a Certified B Corporation® and the first public Benefit Corporation registered in Idaho.

Russ came to my attention in 2015 when he published three really useful white papers, called "How to Build a Purpose-Driven Company." 

Here he is, Russ Stoddard of Oliver Russell.

Russ Stoddard: Hello everyone, I’m Russ Stoddard and my company is Oliver Russell. My title is founder and “Magnet for Good.”

Tony: A magnet for good. That fits well on a business card.

Russ: Yeah, it does. It's a conversation starter.

Tony: It is. 

Oliver Russell, what is it?

Russ: We build brands for purpose-driven companies. What that basically means is it can be a startup that's looking to figure out its foundational elements, such as its purpose and its values, to its positioning in the marketplace. From there, we go on to a full suite of visual exploration for a logo and identity, and then messaging to wrap around that.

Tony: Do you do social media management for companies?

Russ: You bet we do. We do it on all the platforms, whether that's Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Tony: You help them to build those consistent messages over all the platforms?

Russ: Yes, we do. Whether it's social media or working with influencers through PR efforts. We help create the brand and then we help implement it. These days, of course, a lot of it happens online, whether it's via YouTube, on a website, or a blog.

Tony: Russ, is Oliver Russell a Benefit Corporation?

Russ: It's an Idaho Benefit Corporation. We enacted legislation this year in Idaho to create this new legal class of companies. We actually were the first company to register here in Idaho as a Benefit Corporation.

We’re also a Certified B Corporation, which is related to being a legal benefit corporation but different. You have to go through a fairly rigorous assessment of your environmental, social, community, employment practices, and other areas in order to qualify as a B Corporation.

Tony: I want to come back to Oliver Russell in a moment, but right now let's talk about Russ Stoddard. What brought you to wanting to build brands for purpose-driven companies?

Russ: Oliver Russell, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. We've been at it for a while. We've always had as one of our four core values the desire to be a socially responsible corporate citizen. Often times over the history of our company what that really boiled down to, Tony, is giving back to the community.

It wasn't as fully fleshed out as what we're seeing and defining as a purpose-driven company today, but we've always had that in our DNA. Over time I learned about, for instance, Benefit Corporations and B Corps. I had a desire to actually codify that a little more deeply into our operations here. That fleshed out as being fully mindful and intentional in what we do across a number of areas.

Then a light bulb went off for me. I had a startup called Social Good Network that went up and, as most startups do, actually went down. I met an awful lot of people and organizations through the process of that. 

I became far more intimately involved with consumers who had a purposeful bent to actually create a relationship with brands who exhibited and shared their own values rather than just a transactional basis.

I came out of that experience, which I did in tandem with keeping Oliver Russell operating, with a newfound desire to work with other businesses that were seeking environmental, or social, or business-model change in the world.

Tony: When it comes to purposeful consumers, do you see that as a trend?

Russ: Yeah. I'm careful of the word "trend" because sometimes people associate it with a “fad.” I think the overall meaning goes beyond consumers. People are seeking meaning in their life. In these challenging times—whether it's economic turmoil, shootings in this country, things in the Middle East—I think that translates into the purchases they’re making as well. They want to, given the choice and given parity among a product or service offering, spend their dollars with a company that exhibits their own values and is trying to make positive change in the world.

Tony: You said Oliver Russell has been around for 25 years. When you first started, you thought about doing social good as making donations or contributing in some way to society. How do you see it differently today?

Russ: It goes into every aspect of our operations here, Tony. It's not only the money that you give to, say, a non‑profit as a donation. I think that's where most businesses either begin the trek to becoming more purposeful, or maybe actually even end there and think that's good enough.

The difference is how you treat your employees. What the inputs and outputs of your operations are from an environmental standpoint, whether that's the energy you consume or the recycling you do, the wastewater you divert, or what have you. It’s also about having a very transparent and open governance structure, which as a Benefit Corporation we do.

It's really far beyond all that. It goes to the heart of your company's DNA as far as all your actions.

Tony: Why do you think you personally wanted to be involved in purpose and meaning in your business?

Russ: All I can say is that, for me, the challenge of earning money through business has never been enough. I've always wanted to use not only my talent and my time but my resources, as well, to help others.

Tony: When Oliver Russell first started, was it a brand-building kind of company, marketing company—how did you first start 25 years ago?

Russ: It started as a PR agency. I worked at a couple of large corporations in communications and investor relations, and through that had the bright idea that I could do it better than some of the other agencies we'd worked with.

It started as a PR agency and we broadened from there. Right off the bat, I guess I had brand-building in my heart. The first thing we did was shape our core values, which are to be creative, to be collaborative, to be progressive—which we define as embracing change as we move forward—and to be socially responsible.

Tony: Oliver Russell came to my attention not that long ago because you were publishing a series of white papers. I think that all three parts of the series are now out, right?

Russ: They are, yes.

Tony: Can you tell me, first of all, what are the white papers? What was your intention in publishing these white papers?

Russ: I'll start by telling what they are. The series is called “How To Build a Purpose-Driven Company.” It's in three parts, Tony.

The first one is called “Create It,” which is about building a very strong foundation for your brand by slating what your values are, your purpose statement, your market positioning, your personality, some other aspects as far as that goes.

The second installment of the white paper is called "Prove It." That's putting some teeth behind what you're doing, which is to figure out how you can measure your efforts and your actions, and hopefully do it with a credible third party so that it gives you some street cred instead of just simply talking about the good you're doing.

The last, which we just recently released, is called "Share It.” It's basically how you share the goodness you're trying to create in the world. Not only to serve as a model for other businesses, but also to tell that story to potential customers, whether you're B2B or a consumer company.

Tony: On “Prove It,” what do you think is the most difficult part about measuring social and environmental impact?

Russ: It's interesting. The most difficult deal would be simply the time and effort required going into actually measuring the various aspects, Tony. It's not so much how do you go about doing it, because there are a number of organizations out there, from a B Lab and a B Corporation to, if you wanted to look at it larger, consulting firms, as well.

They'll give you a template and guidelines that walk you through and say, "These are the metrics that are important in these areas." I think, more than anything else, it's that people are so busy; it's tough to turn good intentions into action and actually measure up.

Tony: What do you see as common missteps or mistakes when it comes to brand building for social enterprises?

Russ: First of all, it takes a little while up front. That common rush to market—people don't take the time, especially right up front, to actually create those shared values and purposeful intentions. What happens is that, if that's either rushed or isn't done, Tony, you have partners in a venture and two years down the road, all of a sudden, you realize that you don't share values when it comes right down to it. I saw this recently with a good friend who started a brewery. It fell apart at the seams, he said, because they actually hadn't taken the time to determine shared intentional values.

Beyond that, I think it's actually the storytelling where many, many fall short. They have a story. They don't necessarily shape it with the target audience of purpose-driven consumers in mind. Or they completely bury it somewhere on their website where you'd have to search for it when, actually, it’s a compelling differentiator.

Of course, your product or your service has to perform well. It has to be priced right and what have you, but beyond that in a commodity- driven marketplace where everything can be copied so quickly, oftentimes it's your purpose that's the great differentiator.

Tony: I've heard this phrase, "People want to do business with companies or individuals that they know, like, and trust.” Any advice that you'd have about helping people to know us, to like us, and to trust us?

Russ: To know us, ultimately is about getting exposure and awareness, and going from basic awareness to actually having a deeper understanding of what the company's about.

Likeability? Wow, Tony. That's really at the heart of basic branding, whether you’re a purpose-driven brand or not.

The last one is really the heart of it. It's that trust component. That's where I think the measurement is so absolutely important because it's one thing for a company to say, "Hey, you know, we're socially responsible. We do good. We give money to the homeless mission. There you go."

It's completely another thing to see what happens when it's integrated, measured, and assessed by a third party, and then communicated out there to your various publics.

Tony: Who do you see out there in the marketplace that impresses you? That you say, "You know, I think this is a company that's really evolving and becoming more of a conscious, purpose-driven organization?"

Russ: You know, the one that comes to mind that actually has a huge amount of scale is Unilever.

Tony: Say more about that. I'm seeing the same thing, but tell me what you're seeing there.

Russ: What I'm seeing there, and they might not necessarily call it purpose-driven, it might fall more under the category of sustainability.

It's interesting because, of course, it's an international behemoth. To try and undertake change at that level is far, far more challenging than it is with five guys with a startup in Denver who have an organic food company.

Tony: Right. Exactly.

If there's a new or aspiring social entrepreneur listening to the podcast, what's one great piece of advice, maybe something that's been handed to you or something that you'd like to hand to them? 

Russ: The advice I would give them is to make certain they always look at it as a business. There are people who look at these things as being mutually exclusive. You have an org sort of box, and sustainability, or purpose, or social impact might be off to the side. The key thing is to realize this is a business. Social impact and entrepreneurship is at its heart. You should actually figure out a way to budget for it within your business as opposed to do it off to the side.

Tony: If people wanted to find Oliver Russell on the web, how would they do that?

Russ: A great place to start is at our website, which is oliverrussell.com. We blog there very, very frequently on subjects that are typically of interest to social entrepreneurs, whether they're startups or established.

Beyond that, of course, we're on LinkedIn. We're on Twitter @Oliver_Russell and Facebook, as well.

Tony: We'll link up to all that in the show notes so that people can find that.

I'll also include a link to your white paper. That's www.oliverrussell.com/insights/white-paper/, right?

Russ: Yep.

Tony: I'm going to give you an opportunity to have a call for action for people listening to the podcast, but before I do, Russ, I wanted to acknowledge you for sharing so generously.

You mentioned that you blog often. You've been publishing these white papers. These latest three white papers aren't the first things that you've published. You've been sharing for a while. There's some really great content that you've been putting out.

I wanted to pause for a second and just acknowledge that you are a generous person, a giving person, that you're a thought leader, and that you've provided some really great content over time.

Russ: I appreciate that. It's interesting, the recent white paper series, when I proposed it internally, one of my senior people said, "Wow, you're giving away a lot of the secrets there."

I was like, "You know, I think it's time, because it's actually a blueprint we use with paying clients here at Oliver Russell. We make reasonably good money doing it."

I thought that if we can use our experience to accelerate this movement—which I fundamentally believe has the ability to actually change the world in significant ways for good—we should be doing that.

Tony: A call to action. For people who are listening to the podcast and they’ve been in their car or at the gym or out for a run and they've been listening to it, what's one action that you would love to see people take as a result of hearing this podcast?

Russ: What I'd ask people to do is to actually, going back to that measurement piece, to figure out a way to certify either as a B Corporation or to establish your legal structure as a public Benefit Corporation because it not only holds you accountable in some ways, but it will make you better, not only as a social entrepreneur but as a business person, as well.

What I'd also say is if you're considering creating a business like this, Tony, you've really got a gift there in front of you. The gift is actually filled with meaning, which is, work gets so much better when you are trying to improve the world, either with an environmental product, a social service, or what have you.

Do it with a for-profit imperative and work with others of your very, very same ilk. It's interesting; we deal with some sharp, sharp, sharp business people who have purpose-driven endeavors. It's not like they don't hold us accountable at all. They do. They're very, very bright but there is a difference in working with people who are actually trying to use their business to change the world.

There's a feeling of camaraderie there that you just don't get in a traditional business relationship.

Tony: I have to agree with you. I'm doing this series of interviews for the podcast. The people that I'm meeting are just amazing.

Russ, thanks so much for taking the time to be on the Social Entrepreneur podcast.

Russ: You bet. Thanks to you, Tony, and what you're doing. It's great to have other people out there spreading the word.

Tony: Thanks to you, the listener, for joining us today. You are the reason we provide Social Entrepreneur every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Be sure to subscribe. Write and review Social Entrepreneur on iTunes. You can find the show notes over at TonyLoyd.com/034.