Dentsu Aegis Network launches CSR advisory, InDeed

InDeed will facilitate corporate investments by companies in corporate social responsibility, through insights and brand-led approach.

InDeed, will provide expertise and capabilities in creative, media, digital, OOH, activation and PR communications services, which will help brands build a truly integrated and a brand-Led CSR journey in India.

InDeed will work with clients to infuse brand purpose into their CSR strategies. The aim is to integrate branding and CSR in order to build a corporate culture around responsibility, leading to business sustainability and thereby reap reputational rewards. This will in turn make corporate social responsibility into an opportunity that is accountable, measurable and scalable across several CSR areas of development (eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, education, gender equality, rural sports, rural development projects, measure for the benefit of armed forces, ensuring environmental sustainability, contribution to the prime minister's national relief fund and contributions or funds provided by technology incubators).

InDeed is building a repository of India's most credible and reputed NGOs and will connect them to corporate on the basis of thematic and geographical priorities - to create the best possible match. It will also be involved in conducting employee engagement activities and volunteering programs that result in a meaningful engagement of the staff in innovative social initiatives that are grounded in business practices.

InDeed has also invested in best brand led CSR case studies to link into NGO / Brand / CSR activity. More than 2500 case studies are mapped by geography, cost, product, NGO and CSR activity to make sure the best brand-led CSR is delivered.

Commenting on the launch, Ashish Bhasin, chairman and CEO, South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, says in a press release, "Today several of our clients are making a huge investment in CSR but in an adhoc manner. Many corporates want to give back to the society but often don't know how to go about it in a consistent and meaningful manner. InDeed will act as a catalyst in this entire process and Haresh and his team have really done pioneering work in this area. Feels great to be able to give back to society via a socially relevant business"

Haresh Nayak, mentor and managing director of InDeed, will lead this initiative from Dentsu Aegis Network. He strongly believes that brand building should be seamlessly combined with CSR strategies.

Nayak says in a press release, "It is not enough for brands to just 'Greenwash' their actions to provide PR-able fodder. Mostly such acts of philanthropic projects are short lived and rarely build a brand connect. However, if implemented in the right manner and with the right approach, brand building and CSR can perfectly complement each other."

Being a part ofDenstu Aegis Network, InDeed will not only work with their existing clients but will also look at fresh collaborations. Currently the InDeed team will be based out of Dentsu Aegis Network's Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore offices.