David Neff says corporate community involvement is powerful — both for the community and the corporation.
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For any business, getting the word out is crucial, whether that’s done through social media, public relations or traditional advertising. If people don’t know you exist and what you do, they can’t take advantage of what you offer.
For more than three decades, David Neff, founder and president of the Philadelphia communications firm Neff, has specialized in amplifying the messages of a wide array of clients. But along the way Neff has specialized in something else, too: giving back to the community and supporting the nonprofits that make communities thrive.
In this conversation, the new Satell Institute member talks about Corporate Social Responsibility from a variety of angles, including how it fires up employees, how it enhances a brand’s reputation, how it can make a difference in the world, and why the Satell Institute inspires and informs in a way that’s unique.
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Neff is…
…a full-service marketing communications firm. We do branding, advertising, web sites, social media, public relations, videography, photography. And we do virtually everything in-house.
We’re very diverse in the services that we offer, and also very diverse in the clients that we serve. We work with big companies and smaller businesses. We’re in banking. Food. Real estate. Technology. Hospitality. It keeps things interesting. I love what I do.
I started the firm…
…35 years ago. I was working for the first reseller of AT&T, and I had grown the customer base of that company by about 300 percent in nine months. So other similar businesses solicited me to submit proposals to do similar programs for their businesses. And that’s really how I got started—with the world to gain and nothing to lose.
One key to success has been…
…that I always seek out really smart, young, creative, and strategic colleagues, and then I let them run their show. Everyone here is a specialist. They’re a designer, a social media expert, a publicist. You have to surround yourself with people who know what’s going on and that you have a lot of faith and confidence in. Then let them do their thing and stay out of their way.
The Nonprofit Affiliate we support through SI is…
…the Jewish Federation Real Estate Group, which is referred to as JFRE. I’m not very religious, but I have a lot of pride about being Jewish. I’ve experienced, unfortunately, anti-Semitism, and, unfortunately, I continue to experience anti-Semitism. Getting involved with JFRE was a way for me to merge my passion about fighting anti-Semitism with helping real estate developers in the region. I’ve been involved with JFRE for four or five years, and I wanted to elevate my involvement and elevate my contribution to Jewish Federation.
I’m also involved with…
…The Urban League of Philadelphia. Fighting racism is just as important as fighting anti-Semitism. I’ve been on the board of the Urban League of Philadelphia for seven or eight years. It’s a passion of mine. I’ve also helped with Connor Barwin’s Make the World Better organization for many years.
Corporate Social Responsibility…
…has just always been an important part of my DNA and my agency’s. People are passionate about helping organizations that need some help along the way with some of the areas that we’re experts in, whether it be branding or a better website or getting them publicity or sharing better quality content.
The impact of CSR on my colleagues…
…is obvious. I can see by the looks on the faces of my employees and know that people are passionate about helping organizations that need to amplify their message. I’m thankful that we can do it.
For a business, the brand value of giving back…
…can only be a very positive thing. If that message happens to cross someone’s radar, it can only have a positive effect. I don’t really leverage it as much as I could or should, but when the shoe’s on the other foot and I’m advising a client, I’m much more aggressive in suggesting that the client allow me and my PR team to leverage their generosity and corporate community involvement. It makes a difference.
I went to a couple of Satell Institute events…
…to learn more about the organization. When I looked around the room and saw a who’s who of 400 or 500 business leaders in the region, I was like, this is an unbelievable group. This group really wants to help make the world better.
The best thing about belonging to Satell is…
…you just feel this vibe of giving and helping, and a level of openness that’s refreshing. When you’re invited to as many events as we’re invited to, you realize there’s something different about a Satell Institute event. You take something away from each experience that’s positive and helps you grow your business.