The Power of Corporate Advocacy: Beyond Policy Influence

In these highly politicized times, corporate advocacy teams have a critical role in keeping businesses running smoothly despite changes in policy and government. But corporate advocacy can do so much more than this.

Let’s explore some of the less understood benefits of corporate advocacy, both for lobbying and grassroots advocacy.

The Benefits of Corporate Advocacy 

The core outcome — and therefore value — of corporate advocacy efforts is influencing policy in your company’s favor. 

“If you care about policy, you need a strategy,” says Courtney Snowden, founder and president at Blueprint Strategy Group. “You need to communicate to regulators and lawmakers about things that affect your business model. In fact, it’s often necessary to educate policymakers on how your business model works, and then spend time building those relationships.”

Demonstrating your support for positive policy outcomes is one thing, but so is making it clear to lawmakers when a particular policy will have negative effects, and working with others in your industry to prevent negative policy outcomes.

Adding a Human Element 

Although typically not the primary focus of advocacy teams, stronger brand recognition can be a byproduct of corporate advocacy initiatives. Additionally, if these efforts are communicated clearly to customers and stakeholders, brands may see higher rates of loyalty and engagement from employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Caring about particular issues is traditionally associated with humans rather than corporations, but infusing your brand with more humanity is almost always beneficial.

Positioning Your Brand as a Thought Leader

Another benefit of a sound corporate advocacy policy is being seen as a thought leader in your industry. 

Stephanie Armstrong-Helton, who oversees communications and digital advocacy at Trinity Health, explains that this is a key focus of the company’s corporate advocacy team. “We often try to position Trinity Health as a policy and thought leader in areas that we forecast will have a significant impact on not only our health system, but the national health system as well,” Armstrong explains. “As we have invested in this work over many years, there is a great deal of brand recognition at the federal and state levels.”

Connecting With Strategic Partners

Because corporate advocacy is often “industry advocacy,” companies can find many opportunities to forge relationships with important partners in their industry. “We often look for opportunities to collaborate with other key stakeholders on specific areas of focus,” Armstrong says. In these cases, advocacy campaigns may open the door to a long-term partnership that can extend far beyond politics.

Advocacy as a Tool for Employee Engagement

Beyond customers, some companies find corporate advocacy — particularly grassroots advocacy efforts — a highly effective tool for employee engagement. “Our team has often thought that advocacy, especially digital advocacy through the VoterVoice platform, enhances our colleagues’ overall engagement with the organization,” Armstrong says. “It informs them of our current challenges and asks them to be part of the solution.”

Snowden cites ‘get out the vote’ initiatives as a successful case study, noting that many companies have conducted these campaigns and seen almost unanimous support and engagement. Though such initiatives may not fall under the traditional advocacy umbrella of engaging lawmakers, their ability to engage team members can be a win in and of itself.

Research shows that companies that prioritize their corporate values see lower rates of turnover and absenteeism, with many employees seeking a sense of meaning and purpose at work and deciding whether to take or leave jobs based on a company’s values.

What About Causes That Aren’t Directly Related to the Bottom Line?

While corporate lobbying has a long and proven business track record, in recent times corporations have spoken publicly on issues that may not directly affect their bottom line. In many cases, vocal support of popular causes may paint the organization in a positive light, demonstrating that it values more than simply turning a profit. 

However, speaking out in favor of one view may risk alienating a large segment of your customer base. Additionally, while a few years ago we saw pushback on brands staying “silent” during particular crises, we are now also seeing pushback on corporations weighing in on issues at all, with many detractors claiming that these brands are simply virtue-signaling.

“There are big risks to it now,” says Snowden, noting that some corporate leaders are “paralyzed” over the decision to speak out.

So, should you speak out? 

Here are some considerations when deciding whether your organization should take a stance on a particular issue. 

• Let your leadership team weigh in. Ultimately, the question rests with your leadership team and whether they feel the cause outweighs the risk. 
• Actions speak louder than words. If you choose to speak out, make sure you’re doing more than just claiming to care; back it up with donations, grassroots initiatives, or real-world outcomes. 
• Limit the number of causes you champion. Don’t spread yourself thin across too many causes; the fewer issues you get behind, the more authentic your claims.

Corporate Advocacy Tells a Better Story in Your End-of-year Reports

While most large companies now produce CSR or ESG reports annually, these reports face growing scrutiny. Including your advocacy efforts in these reports can help your company stand up to the scrutiny, particularly if your advocacy efforts align with your other environmental, social, and governance initiatives.

Here’s a negative example: in 2023, oil companies spent over $93 million in anti-climate lobbying, despite simultaneously releasing ESG reports about their net zero targets and decarbonization progress.

ESG report readers don’t appreciate this cognitive dissonance. Instead, aligning your advocacy efforts with your other ESG initiatives can prove that you’re genuine, improving your brand’s credibility in these areas. Even reporting on efforts (campaigns conducted, emails sent, initiatives joined) rather than outcomes (actually influencing policy is never a guaranteed result), can still position your company as authentic about its purported values.

Ultimately, corporate advocacy should not be a separate concept but entirely integrated into the business, designed to protect and further the business interest, manage its risks, and represent stakeholders at the political level.

Case Study: How Trinity Health Used VoterVoice for Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a key priority for Trinity Health’s corporate advocacy team. With this in mind, the team recently launched an eight-week “Civics 101 Care for the Common Good” campaign through the VoterVoice platform.

The campaign featured gamified elements and used VoterVoice leaderboard tracking to help identify those who took part in individual quizzes (surveys) on the platform after each lesson.

The campaign’s goals included:

• Educating employees about local, state, and federal government
• Instilling a greater sense of understanding of American civics by outlining the roles and responsibilities of engaged citizens
• Communicating the value of taking part in future advocacy initiatives

The campaign saw an average engagement rate of 83.4%, and a total of 659 participants were acknowledged for their level of participation and received thank-you notes and certificates.

Trinity Health’s Civics 101 campaign is an example of a successful advocacy campaign in action — not because it influenced a particular policy outcome, but because it engaged employees and may improve future advocacy efforts as a result.