A lot of global health problems can be prevented by persuading people to alter their behavior--something marketers excel at. That's why brands have a critical role to play in tackling these challenges, says Sidibe, Unilever's first social mission director. In this article she offers any brand that wants to achieve a social purpose a five-part framework for success: inspiring individuals to change behavior; winning internal backing; measuring performance at multiple levels; partnering with governments, NGOs, and other firms; and sparking a broader movement. This approach has allowed Unilever's Lifebuoy and Knorr brands to make great strides in reducing disease and poor nutrition in the developing world, while enhancing their profiles and their growth, and it could help other brands, like Carling Black Label beer, which has taken on the task of combating domestic violence.

Unilever subsidiary Dove soap became a "brand with a purpose" and created shared value when the company decided to launch a Campaign for Real Beauty to combat the artificial media-driven stereotype of female beauty that causes appearance anxiety in women and girls around the world. From as young as 6 years of age, girls develop concerns about their body image that affect their self-confidence, relationships, health and careers. Through research and evidence-based practices, Dove developed a global campaign including advertisements, school curricula, online resources, public events, policy advocacy, and training sessions that reached more than 35 million girls and women across 140 countries. Rigorous evaluations demonstrated positive impact in self-esteem and body image while driving a decade of consecutive sales growth for Dove, ultimately becoming Unilever's biggest brand. Yet the challenge of deciding how to allocate funds between advertising the product and conducting educational programs to deliver social impact remained. The company also faced criticism about other Unilever brands, such as Axe or Fair & Lovely, that contradicted the Dove campaign.