In the fifth of a series of interviews with social enterprise professionals, On Purpose Associate Dalibor Tomko talks to Sylvia Lowe, head of UK innovation at Comic Relief, the leading UK charity.
How did you get to where you are now?
I started off at a strategic brand and innovation consultancy. Working with clients that made everything from biscuits to bras, to cleaning products, to petrol, I learned the power of a strong brand. I then made the move "client side" to broaden my experience. As brand manager for Johnnie Walker whisky at Diageo, and then global brand manager for Glenfiddich whisky at William Grant & Sons, I developed my commercial thinking. Brand managers were encouraged to manage their brand's profit and loss like a mini business.
After years of marketing expensive whiskies in far flung lands – think the opening scenes of Lost in Translation – the job with Comic Relief gave me a chance to cut down on my air miles and use my business and marketing skills within a creative organisation that does huge amounts of good. I don't think of it as "not for profit" – my job is all about making money. It's what we do with the profit that is important.
Why is being socially responsible important to you and your organisation?
Comic Relief's vision is "a just world free from poverty" – being socially responsible is at the heart of who we are. Our aim has always been to get people who don't normally "do" charity, to "do" charity – so we're always trying to bring social responsibility to the mainstream by making it easy and fun.
What does your job involve?
While I have "innovation" in my job title, it's fair to say that innovation runs throughout Comic Relief. Our annual Red Nose Day and Sport Relief campaigns have seen stunning growth in the last few years, thanks to the creativity and innovation of the whole organisation, and the unfailing generosity of the public. My particular take on innovation is looking for ways that we can use our assets – our brands, relationships with celebrities, or skills, for example – to develop new sources of income outside of Red Nose Day or Sport Relief.
We don't tend to call this social enterprise at Comic Relief but it always involves commercial mechanics, like licensing, rather than traditional fundraising. For example, my team launched a range of year-round cooking sauces fronted by Gordon Ramsay called Seriously Good sauces. Every jar helps Comic Relief – and Gordon doesn't get a penny. Social enterprise is a relatively new term, but Comic Relief has a long history of developing commercial propositions to raise income for good causes – think of all the red noses we sell.
What is the most difficult or rewarding part of your job?
It's hugely rewarding to help shape the future horizons of a unique, inspirational and hugely successful organisation by developing commercially sustainable income streams that will help continue to fund amazing work in the years to come. We don't have a shortage of ideas for new income, so the most difficult part of my job is sifting through opportunities and deciding which business ideas to pursue with our finite resources. There's also a huge moral responsibility that comes with investment in new initiatives in the charitable sector – which doesn't exist in the commercial world. New business development is risky, and returns aren't guaranteed. We don't use donations directly from the public to finance this work, but of course you still have to be as sure as possible that you're making sound use of precious funds.
What do you see the social enterprise movement being in five years time?
I hope it will be moving towards being the norm as a business practice, rather than the exception. With the need for increasing sustainability in all spheres of life, it's a no-brainer to converge the efficient commercial practices of the business world with the social responsibility that has traditionally sat only in the charitable realm.
And where do you hope to be at that point?
At Comic Relief overseeing a range of profitable products and services – proving that consumers can buy products that are good quality, and do good too.
Sylvia Lowe was interviewed by Dalibor Tomko, a 2011 On Purpose Associate. Dalibor joined On Purpose after starting a creativity-unleashing social venture Fleq, building on his previous consulting experience with McKinsey & Co. His On Purpose placements are at InterfaceFLOR and Comic Relief
On Purpose is a leadership programme that helps high-calibre professionals kick-start a career in social enterprise; it combines paid work experience with intensive training and support. Applications for the 2012 Associate intake are now open
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To join the social enterprise network, click here.
