More and more businesses are taking sustainability seriously.
The Purposeful Company recently announced that 14 of the UK’s top companies have pledged to put employees, communities, and broader society higher on their boardroom agenda.
In the UK, on average, one company per day is gaining B Corp certified status. Even the FT has recently said that “rewards await those who put sustainability ahead of short-term gains”.
There has also recently been a wave of books devoted to the concept of ‘conscious capitalism’, from John Elkington’s Green Swans to Mark Carney’s Value(s) via Bill Gates’s How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.
The consensus is that we still need to make significant changes to the way we make, sell and buy our stuff; but change is happening, and businesses are realising that sustainability and profitability are not contradictions (in fact, they are often catalysts).
What can we, as advertisers and marketers, do to help? Well, according to the World Federation of Advertisers, quite a lot…
They’ve recently launched ’Planet Pledge’ in an attempt to create a framework to galvanize our industry to make a difference.
We need to stop thinking of ourselves as merely ’consumer drivers’ and look at the bigger picture – and who else is better placed to help shape consumer behavior and preferences than marketing and advertising specialists?
As someone who works in conversion optimisation, I’ve been considering how to add this way of thinking to our armory. We’re used to considering various heuristic frameworks, cognitive biases and persuasive mechanisms when seeking to refine customer journeys; let’s overlay the importance of sustainability factors too.
In order to do this, I found an incredibly useful resource from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board: their ’Materiality Map’. It’s a detailed summary of the sustainability issues most likely to affect the performance of companies in different markets and industries.
These issues can act as a proxy for consumer preference and help us move away from just thinking about ’sustainability’ as a whole, and dig deeper into what really matters.
From the SASB Materiality Map we can see that under the building products and furnishings section, one of the key factors is product design and lifecycle management. As they state themselves, this relates to the way a company manages the product lifecycle, including end-of-life.
Our conversion optimisation experience also tells us that consumers respond well to reciprocity (will feel a need to give back to others if they’ve gained themselves) and also commitment (when someone publicly commits to doing something that aligns with our values).
With this in mind, you can see why Ikea’s ‘buy-back’ service could be a great success for them… as well as generate some fantastic PR.
Nationwide has always created compelling messaging built on their heritage as a building society, hence their investment in community.
When it comes to typically persuasive messages that would align with this, we’d probably lead with social proof (evidence that other people have been here before) or liking (we like to buy from people and organizations that seem ‘similar’ to us).
But if we consider the sustainability factors, it reminds us that financial institutions are judged very closely on factors such as privacy and data security – remember, sustainability isn’t just about treating the environment well, it’s about treating people and society well too.
If you take a look at the Nationwide website, and many of their advertising campaigns, you can clearly see plenty of references to the crossover between data security, privacy and community. It’s not at all surprising why this is impactful.
Sustainability has always been a core part of the mission for Bamboo Clothing (you can read their story here), so messaging around sustainability obviously features significantly along the customer journey.
However (and I’m trying to be objective because they are a client of ours), they display these messages in some fantastic ways.
From a conversion optimisation perspective, the journey contains prominent, product-level, third-party reviews that provide reassurance.
The website has loads of great content around sustainability, which cements their value proposition as a leader in this area; plus, they do a great job of reducing anxiety by providing clear messages around their flexible delivery and returns policies.
But it’s one specific sustainability element that I want to highlight.
If we go back to the SASB Materiality Map, we can see that in the apparel, accessories and footwear sector, two of the key factors are supply chain management, and materials sourcing and efficiency; consumers want to know their product has been produced in a truly sustainable way.
What better way to do this than show the impact of every item’s production on the environment? Bamboo Clothing has worked with Green Story, a Canadian business specializing in supply chain evaluation in the fashion industry.
The objective credibility of this is great, but it’s the execution that’s brilliant. For each product, they then display the positive impact the consumer will have if they purchase this product from the supplier in question compared to a regular fashion retailer.
Sustainably-conscious customers can toggle between a view that shows the ‘equivalent’ impact (for example, water saved is shown in ‘days of drinking water’) or the ‘actual’ (water saved shown in liters)
Each of these businesses has taken an approach to sustainability that is more meaningful and widespread rather than using it simply as a tool to nudge someone along the customer journey; for an increasingly sustainability-conscious consumer, that authenticity is key.
However, it’s the way they are then leveraging that approach, inserting compelling signposts to improve their website performance, that is impressive.
I expect to see more and more of this over the coming year; as such, maybe those of us working in conversion optimisation just might be able to do our bit extra to help save the planet.
This month I’ve been stunned by two different films that come from popular mobile brands, Samsung & Orange.
Although the films are very different, they have some telling things in common. Neither of the films feature any product or service whatsoever, apart from the logo at the end. How refreshing…it’s as if the Covid crisis has forced many brands to have more of a conscience. Both these films support an idea that benefits humanity. Brands are beginning to realise that unless they put their money where their morals lie, unless they can actively demonstrate they are purpose-led, as well as creative in their communications, consumers will just switch off.
SAMSUNG’s film – ‘Inspired by a True Photo’ – is really inspired by an original photo, a simple sack of ‘Onions’, taken by a real person called Scott Anders. But we don’t see Scott take the photo, instead Director Sam Hibbard of Somesuch imagines a story behind the photo that sees a boy meet a girl for the first time – but full of comedy, pathos and using a surreal style. At its heart, the film is about connection – the hope & expectation of the boy’s journey.
Samsung have realised that it’s not the quality of camera that is important but the way people use images to communicate with each other. Samsung claim that when we take and share our images, they take on a life of their own. The shot becomes the conversation. The beauty of Sam’s film is that it avoids all the brand’s technology to tell a fun story using great characters, images & original music.
Connection & communication that is funny & uplifting in the time of Covid has never been more important.
The ORANGE film – ‘The Toy’ – takes a more direct approach to saving humanity by encouraging us to recycle our old phones. Millions of old phones are to be found hibernating in long-forgotten draws & these phones are wasting our planet’s precious resources.
The film is directed by Frédéric Planchon of Iconoclast, aimed at a European rather than UK market. It shows the relationship a little girl has with one of her first toys, the famous ‘Fisher-Price’ rolling phone. We see the girl become an adult & then rediscover her old toy in the attic with her own child. The recycling parable is clear.
Like the Samsung film, ‘The Toy’ uses great images & music to tell a life-affirming story with emotion.
This is a Bristol Media People Forum event, with our special guest speakers Dan Foster of Triodos Bank, Nick Davies of Neighbourly.com and Sue Turner of Quartet Community Foundation. This session is kindly sponsored and hosted by Bristol Sport Foundation.
It increasingly matters to employees that their organisation does something good and socially responsible for the community and in what they offer customers. What’s more, a sense of purpose and values fit is particularly important to the millennial workforce.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can therefore be a strong enabler of employee engagement. So what is it, and how do you get it right?
About the session:
Our three speakers come from organisations where giving something back is at the core of their principles. Doing the right thing also contributes strongly to their employer brand and engages talent within their businesses.
This session will cover what good CSR looks like and offer tips on how to make it successful in your organisation.
You’ll leave the session with:
This seminar will build on Bristol Giving Day on the 10th of October. One day in the year when local businesses celebrate and showcase their charitable and volunteering efforts. But, as we’ll show in our seminar – it’s good to do this for more than just one day a year.
There will be an opportunity to have a guided tour of the Stadium after this event on 29th November at 12pm (optional).
About the speakers:
Sue Turner is the CEO of Quartet Community Foundation – the organisation that inspires philanthropy across the West of England to give everyone here a fair chance of a good life. Quartet gives over £3 million a year to support local charitable causes and Sue and her team created and delivered Bristol Giving Day to stimulate businesses and their staff to give to small local causes rather than always choosing a large, brand name charity of the year.
Dan Foster is Talent Acquisition Manager at Triodos Bank. Well known for their ethical stance, Triodos Bank believe banking can be a powerful force for good by lending exclusively to organisations who put people and the planet before profits.
Nick Davies launched Neighbourly.com in July 2014 to help forward-thinking companies find the right balance between value for shareholders and value for society. Neighbourly companies can work together to help communities address local needs – and together become a powerful force for good in the world.
All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Bristol Sport Foundation.
For further information:
Please contact Richard Roberts at en:Rich HR
Phone: 07941 201916
Entry Cost: £11.37 (includes breakfast)