Angel Maass
Carlos Romero
EGADE Business School Mexico
When, in 1991, a trust was created to raise funds for the first interactive museum in Mexico, one of the first companies to commit to the project was Bimbo Group. The leading bread manufacturer in Latin America had decided to support the construction of the Papalote Children’s Museum. While this was not Bimbo’s first or most significant social responsibility venture, it certainly was the project that enjoyed the company’s deepest engagement.
This case analyzes the advantages of strategic alliances and the opportunities provided for companies’ marketing development through the support of social causes. The old taboo that states that no strategic advantage should be drawn from supporting social issues does not seem to apply to Bimbo’s case. The company came to believe that “if you support a social issue, you may draw a strategic advantage from it, since it will generate additional revenues, which will result in greater social contributions.”
The case questions whether the company should view the alliance as an opportunity to obtain a competitive advantage through the children visiting the museum.