Alibaba Group/China
Co-op Bank/UK
Marks & Spencer/UK
Merci/France
Pictet et Cie./Switzerland
SAP/Germany
Selco Solar Pvt. Ltd./India

The Colin Morley Award is given to:

Muna Abu Sulayman/Saudi Arabia

Detailed descriptions and web links follow:

Alibaba Group
www.alibaba.com
A young Asian brand built on the idea that it must exist as an experience to elevate their own or other people’s level of happiness. Jack Ma founded Alibaba in his cramped apartment with 17 colleagues. A decade later, Alibaba Group is the largest ecommerce company in China, with 15,000 employees and more than 100 million users. It also has a B2B unit with a community of more than 42 million registered users from more than 240 countries and regions. This year Alibaba will unveil partnership plans for Grameen China, a project to significantly increase access to micro-credit for poverty alleviation in Sichuan and Inner Mongolia. (Medinge named Grameen Telecom a Brand with a Conscience in 2005, and its parent Grameen Bank was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2008.) Employing the Grameen Bank microcredit model, the group hopes to impact more than 72,000 lives in its first five years.
   Ava Hakim, IBM exec and member of the Medinge Group, remarked that Alibaba is a business ‘built on trust, one which respects intellectual property rights and will remove sites which infringe upon the rights of others.’ She also was impressed by the six core values named, which they have successfully applied to their business.

Co-op Bank
www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1193206375355,CFSweb/Page/Bank
The Co-op, founded in 1872, from its origins has focused on serving local communities. Today the Co-op is the only UK clearing bank to publish an ethical statement. Medinge director Patrick Harris lauded the brand, noting that ‘since 1992 Co-op has been building its ethical stance by asking its membership to vote on issues such as animal welfare, human rights and ecological impact.’ It claims to have turned away over £900 million in loans to businesses not in keeping with the Co-op Ethical Policy. The commitment to improve their food business’ ethical and environmental performance is in line with expectations arrived at in consultation with 100,000 members. Co-Op was double-nominated this year, for both its banking and food businesses.

Marks & Spencer
plana.marksandspencer.com
In her nomination, Medinge director Erika Uffindell emphasized the focused approach to climate change, waste and sustainability that Marks & Spencer have adopted. With their Plan A campaign, the company established 100 commitments to achieve in five years, clear targets for their business, actionable by people across the group. Uffindell finds the brand very accessible and involving: they have engaged 17,231 customers in making pledges to support climate change and a commitment to sustainability.

Merci
www.merci-merci.com
Merci is a 1500 m² shop for fashion and home furniture based in Paris, France. All sales profits are destined for women and children in Madagascar. The store sells new or artist-reworked donated goods and has had a huge impact. Some goods are sent directly to Madagascar. Merci’s website is especially minimal and modest, yet effectively states the store’s mission. In his nomination, Medinge’s Philippe Mihailovich expressed the hope that Merci’s actions influence others to follow.

Pictet et Cie.
www.pictet.com
This Swiss-based private bank started in 1805. Medinge director Nicholas Ind cited two significant aspects of the brand.
   First, its focus on sustainable development and the redirection of funds in this direction by encouraging the maximum investment in sustainable areas for a given risk: the bank’s management of a water fund, launched in 2000, which has become the world’s largest of its kind, with over €4 billion in assets; and a Clean Energy fund. The second aspect is the Prix Pictet—the world’s first international prize dedicated to photography and sustainability—mandated to encourage the use and power of photography to communicate vital messages to a global audience. This year’s theme is Earth.

SAP
www.sap.com/about/SAP-sustainability
Today, many B2Bs are silently doing a fantastic job to adapt to our global challenges. Medinge’s chairman Thomas Gad nominated Germany’s SAP, a software company whom he admires because ‘they actually help other companies to create usable metrics in their CSR and sustainability.’ Over the past 10 years, SAP has been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for upholding ethical, environmental, social, and governance values in products and services.

Selco Solar Pvt. Ltd.
www.selco-india.com/index.html
Medinge CEO Stanley Moss described Selco as an interesting small business, 14 years old, who supply solar power solutions, mostly in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They rely on microfinance loans, employ 140 people, and have done around 100,000 installations of small to large size. They are partially funded by Grameen. Moss was impressed by their cradle-to-grave attitude about product, longevity in the marketplace after a tough start-up, good work on the individual level, private ownership, and the understanding of need for innovation.

The 2010 Colin Morley Award to Muna Abusulayman
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muna_Abu-Sulayman
Simon Nicholls, a member of Medinge, nominated Muna Abu Sulayman, who receives 2010’s Colin Morley Award, for excellence by an individual or NGO, acknowledging their contribution to the betterment of society through sustainable, socially responsible and humanistic behaviour. In giving this award, the Medinge Group recognizes Muna’s outstanding work in educational development, poverty alleviation and strategic philanthropy; as Executive Director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, developing and implementing operations for humanitarian assistance across the globe; her role as the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador; and for exceptional reporting as co-host on popular MBC-TV social programme Kalam Nawaem, in particular her advocacy of rights for women. As a public and media personality, she speaks about issues relating to Arab society, media, building bridges of understanding between east and west. Since 1997, Ms Abu Sulayman has served as lecturer on American literature at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. She frequently appears as a panelist at the Davos World Economic Forum, Jewish Economic Forum, C-100 of the World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute Conferences and other venues.

   Patrick Harris, a Medinge director, added, ‘In the list of 2010 Brands with a Conscience winners, we can see a clear focus on commerce and finance. This is no accident. Instead, this is a sign of the world’s markets responding to the need for responsible and inter-generational business activities.’
   Regarding his nomination of Co-op Bank, Harris said, ‘The UK’s Co-operative Bank is a prime example of a highly principled business within a traditional competitive landscape. The Co-op are being recognized by Medinge for their values-led business focus and for the impact that they bring to a beleaguered sector.’
   Jack Yan, a director of Medinge said, ‘Again, the Medinge Group’s international influence has resulted in a global list of winners, all of which practise our ideals of humanistic branding. I’m thrilled we’ve recognized our first Chinese and Saudi Arabian winners this year.
   ‘In particular, Selco Solar of India shows a commitment to green energy that is very poignant in the 2010s. Just because fuel prices have dropped from their 2008 highs does not mean that the energy crisis is over, a fact the Medinge Group recognizes.’
   Medinge Group member Ava Maria Hakim commented, ‘The message to the world—and Alibaba’s 100 million users—is that China’s Alibaba Group has set a global brand and business benchmark that goes beyond corporate social responsibility to building an integrity-based business driven by long-term vision. Alibaba Group is a Brand with a Conscience of the future.
   Erika Uffindell, a director of Medinge, commented, ‘Marks & Spencer is a great example of an organization living by its beliefs. M&S has been recognized by Medinge for creating the innovative Plan A—an initiative that involves customers and partners in their ambition to help combat climate change and reduce waste. Plan A focuses on five key areas: climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, health and being a flair partner. Marks & Spencer’s ability to involve their stakeholders in such a simple and accessible way has been reflected in their significant achievements to date.’
   Nicholas Ind, a founding director of Medinge stated, ‘This year, the Medinge Group’s Brands with a Conscience awards shows impressive diversity and reflects the commitment that brand owners are demonstrating around the globe to building organizations that meet the needs of all parts of society. The 2010 winners come from the UK, China, India, Switzerland, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.’

Special thanks to Medinge’s 2010 BWAC nominating committee
Paulina Borsook
Thomas Gad
Ava Hakim
Patrick Harris
Pierre d’Huy
Nicholas Ind
Philippe Mihailovich
Sergei Mitrofanov
Stanley Moss, chairman
Simon Nicholls
Anette Rosencreutz
Erika Uffindell
Jack Yan

Muna Abu Sulayman is today announced as the winner of the Medinge Group’s 2010 Colin Morley Award, given to an individual who has contributed to the betterment of society through sustainable, socially responsible and humanistic behaviour. The award is part of Medinge’s annual Brands with a Conscience list, now in its seventh year.
   ‘It is a great honour,’ a delighted Muna Abu Sulayman remarked, when informed of the award last night by Simon Nicholls, of the Medinge Group, who made the nomination.
   In giving this award, the Medinge Group recognizes Muna’s outstanding work in educational development, poverty alleviation and strategic philanthropy; as Executive Director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, developing and implementing operations for humanitarian assistance across the globe; her role as the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador; and for exceptional reporting as co-host on popular MBC-TV social programme Kalam Nawaem, in particular her advocacy of rights for women. As a public and media personality, she speaks about issues relating to Arab society, media, building bridges of understanding between the East and West. Since 1997, Ms Abu Sulayman has served as lecturer on American literature at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. She frequently appears as a panellist at the Davos World Economic Forum, Jewish Economic Forum, C-100 of the World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute Conferences and other venues.
   Medinge, an international collective of brand practitioners, meets annually in August at a secluded location outside Stockholm, Sweden, and collaborate on the list, judging nominees on principles of humanity and ethics, rather than financial worth. The Brands with a Conscience list is shaped around criteria including evidence of the human implications of the brand and considering whether the brand takes risks in line with its beliefs. Evaluations are made based on reputation, self-representation, history, direct experience, contacts with individuals within the organizations, media and analysts and an assessment of the expressed values of sustainability.
   Three years ago the group added a unique category commendation, the Colin Morley Award, recognizing exceptional achievement by an individual or NGO. Mr Morley, a member of the Medinge Group, died in the London Underground bombings on July 7, 2005. The award commemorates his visionary work in humanistic branding.

For more information on Medinge and Brands with a Conscience, contact: Erika Uffindell, erika@uffindellwest.com.

Among his many campaign ideas he has proposed free city-wide wifi, which he believes is a must-have for many Wellingtonians. Other issues that Mr Yan wants to address include the establishment of a mid-sized music venue, a single carless day each summer to allow Wellingtonians to walk around their city, and a firm opposition against the installation of water meters. He is also an advocate of transparency, putting public information on digitally into the public domain. Mr Yan will also push for the re-establishment of the sister-city relationship with San Francisco. 
  
Over the past decade Jack Yan has been a critical player in the development of humanistic thought at the Medinge Group. He authored the group’s Brand Manifesto in 2003, which set forth core principles of humanistic branding, and contributed to the group’s 2004 publication Beyond Branding. He has consistently contributed articles to the group’s online Journal (see www.medinge.org). ‘Medinge is extremely grateful to Jack Yan for his ongoing commitment to our work,’ said Stanley Moss, CEO. ‘He is a cornerstone of our thought, and a brilliant mind, and we wish him all the very best in the mayor’s race. Wellington will only benefit from his voice in the campaign, and we are hopeful that in October 2010 we can add the title “Mayor” to his many other credentials.’

The Medinge Group bases its core ideas on humanism and compassionate conduct, and strives to influence organizations from the inside and out through an annual series of initiatives. These include yearly dialogues on the brand discipline, an awards’ programme, and publication of an annual online journal of their evolving thought. Medinge is composed of 21 career professionals, representing interdisciplinary practices (strategy, place branding, high technology, luxury, consumer goods, narrative, industry, NGOs, academia).

The round table at La Sorbonne/CELSA follows last year’s successful panel at Paris’s oldest school. Thanks to Medinge’s international membership, participants from the group will introduce perspectives from the UK, Sweden, Russia, France and the USA.

The panel title will be announced in early January.

Date
Friday, 29 January 2010, 2–4 p.m.

The panel will run from 2 to 4 p.m., in the format of a one-hour discussion, followed by a Q&A.

Venue
TBA

Mél information@celsa.paris-sorbonne.fr 

About University Paris–Sorbonne
Founded in 1257, la Sorbonne offers an enriching and coherent curriculum in the field of the humanities: languages, literature, and the human and social sciences, to a population of 26,000 students.

About CELSA
Founded in 1965, CELSA is the ‘Grande École’ of University of La Sorbonne on SIC (Information and Communication Science). CELSA offers postgraduate and doctoral degree programmes in communications, human resources, marketing and advertising, multimedia and journalism. Recognized for the quality of its courses and teaching faculty, the school trains 800 students and professionals each year.

A decade ago CELSA was first in France to launch a Master 2 (M.Sc.) programme in the branding specialization, training students to become brand strategists or strategic planners primarily in advertising and communications.

About the Medinge Group
Founded in 2002, the Medinge Group first published a brand manifesto of eight statements encapsulating a vision of healthy brands for the future. In 2003, the group authored a collection of essays entitled Beyond Branding, which explored the ways in which brands could add value within alternative business and social models. In 2004, the group established the annual Brands with a Conscience list to recognize organizations who epitomize humanistic behaviour; in 2006, Medinge added a special category of recognition named in honour of its late colleague Colin Morley, which acknowledges excellence by an NGO, in keeping with Colin’s humanistic vision. The Medinge Group maintains an online, automated speakers’ and experts’ bureau accessible through its web site, www.medinge.org . In 2007 Medinge launched an online resource, The Journal of the Medinge Group, a digital anthology of papers and articles written Medinge celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2010.

Patrick Harris will be provide the keynote address at the annual Executive Education meeting of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). His talk will centre on how creativity can inspire and equip business leaders, managers and organisations to recognise, and better realise, their creative potential.

Corporate Transparency book launch at Frankfurt Book Fair, which includes a chapter by Tim Kitchin and James Thellusson of Glasshouse Partnership. The chapter, titled ‘Coping with translucency; preparing for transparency’ provides analysis and future insight for brand owners adapting to the world of social communications, and is now viewable online in The Journal of the Medinge Group.

The Medinge Group, a Stockholm-based think-tank on international branding, today announces publication of the third edition of its yearly online review, The Journal of the Medinge Group at www.medinge.org <http://www.medinge.org/> . Exclusively digital, the collection of essays and thought provides a window into the think-tank’s evolving vision of humanistic branding.

Medinge is closely watched in the business community for its vanguard thought. In 2003 the group inaugurated the yearly Brands with a Conscience award, which is frequently cited in international media. The awards are given every January at a private ceremony in Paris. The think-tank also runs a free-standing for-profit consultancy. Medinge celebrates its tenth anniversary in year 2010. The third edition of Medinge’s online Journal focuses on place brands, new spirituality, greater recognition of the ethical underpinnings of brands in the world today, and a chapter excerpted from a new book on the luxury category.

Vol. 3, No. 1, August 2009
Table of contents

Sicco van Gelder
Placebranding 2.0
This article argues that in future, places will function differently and that their governance is evolving into one where multiple stakeholders will come together to solve specific issues and that governments, although almost always involved, will be only one of the partners of such new alliances, coalitions and partnerships.

Patrick Harris
Strategy, Teams and Momentum
Harris introduces the technique he calls a visual Mind-Map via a supporting audio file. This alternative to the conventional PowerPoint presentation allows all the key points of a talk to coexist on a single page, and personalizes the process. Harris says he sometimes begins with a blank page, filling it in with participants in an interactive scenario.

Pierre d’Huy
Nul ne peut se jouer des signes (French text)
When brands make claims which they cannot support, stakeholders easily spot the ruse. Pierre d’Huy makes a semiotician’s case for the fact that signs can’t lie. In the philosophical universe, people won’t be misled.

Pierre d’Huy
Who’s Kidding Who? (Translated from French by Stanley Moss)
An English-language version of d’Huy’s article “Nul ne peut se jouer des signes.”

Nicholas Ind
Against Leviathan: building rhizomatic brands
This paper challenges ideas about resistance to change and by implication, the traditional model of brand building which suggests the dominance of the organisation in controlling a brand. In its place we will stress the value of movement and difference – both of which are inherent in people’s relationships with brands.

Philippe Mihailovich
Minding the Gap! Branding Bridges in the Brain
Where the brand’s personality is seen to begin – often the first successful product – is critical to the brand’s credibility and its ability to stretch further over time. It’s all a matter of bridging the gaps in our minds so that we can accept and trust these brands in a new category.

Stanley Moss
Demythologizing the McElroy Memo
In 1931 a young P&G executive wrote a document which proved crucial to the formation of ideas about contemporary brand management. But attitudes about branding have since grown up around the memo’s opportunistic policies. This article deconstructs McElroy’s directives, reasssessing our perspectives on how brands need to be viewed in today’s post-globalisation strategic universe.

Stanley Moss
Quiet Brands/Invisible Brands” (PDF presentation)
A short slide show on how enterprises are unbranding, or moderating their public positions, exploring avenues of greater discretion in brand strategy.

Simon Nicholls
New Movement
The author proposes that integrity, relevance and shared values need to drive to the forefront of dialogue about brand theory.

Erika Uffindell
Turning Discord Into Harmony
Ultimately, change is simply what happens to us all, all of the time. The lesson is not in the amount of change we can handle, but in the way we manage that change.

Jack Yan
Poised for Success: the Indian Nation Brand
Yan cites the ‘Incredible India’ campaign as a strategic triumph. He calls it a good example of Nicholas Ind’s principle of “living the brand.”