The importance of CSR is being recognized globally. Now, Ogilvy Public Relations has formed a partnership with social good consultancy Good Scout Group to bolster its CSR and cause-related efforts for clients worldwide.

The US firms decided to join forces after working together on the nationwide insurance make safe happen cause campaign, which was launched in January, said Philips McCarty, CEO of Good Scout, a Causemedia Group company. The campaign aims to reduce preventable childhood accidents.

Despite receiving backlash on its Super Bowl ad – referred to as "morbid" or "disturbing" by many viewers – the Nationwide Insurance campaign earned top tier media coverage from outlets such as CNN, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal.

Good Scout handled the overarching social good strategy, while Ogilvy executed the campaign and handled communications, McCarty said

Good Scout is strong in strategy consulting and program development, but in the past, it had to partner with other firms for the implementation phase of an initiative, he said.

Jennifer Risi, MD of Ogilvy Media Influence and head of media relations for North America at Ogilvy, explained that through the alliance the firms will be able to identify and service like-minded social good clients.

"The big thing we’re seeing is that brands are challenged today as they seek to make a true impact on society," said Risi. "It used to be that you gave back as an extra, but now doing good and creating a program that makes a substantive cause-related impact is essential to businesses."

Good Scout Group works with clients across the nonprofit and entertainment sectors, such as the American Heart Association, the Livestrong Foundation, NBCUniversal, the NASCAR Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.