By Duncan MacLeod, Vice President Hydrogen and GTL, Future Fuels and Co2, Shell International, UK
Reaping the brand benefits of long term investment.
The Future Fuels research programme, conducted by Added Value, was our first real opportunity to see the issues surrounding alternative fuels from a consumer perspective. So what did we learn?
All brands and businesses have a continuous struggle to innovate & differentiate to keep ahead of the competition. The opportunity for us as marketers is to consider the role of sustainable marketing as a springboard for brand and business growth, ensuring we stay emotionally connected with our consumers as they search for more accountability from their brands and more meaning from their purchases. Subscribe to NEWS, our Branding for Good Newsletter.
Marketers are starting to realise the opportunities for those brave enough to adopt a responsible strategy, as evident by the high attendance at the ‘Branding for Good’ Summit on the 6th March. They’re well aware that today’s consumer can’t and won’t be fooled by spurious claims made by brands and will be quick to tarnish with the “greenwash” label. So how do marketers start their responsible brand journey and how do they get it right? This was the challenge for delegates at the summit. Stimulating speeches were mixed with energising workshop sessions to put the theory into practice for specific brands.
As headlines over global warming, cheap labour and carbon footprints dominate the press; Europeans are taking an active interest in ethical issues across the board, according to new pan-European research from brand consultancy, Added Value.
Welcome to Issue 9 of News, Added Value’s newsletter on ethical marketing.
This month sees global warming as a key issue in the race for the White House, with the top candidates in both political parties promising to introduce a ‘cap and trade’ system similar to the EU’s emission trading scheme. Whilst in China, the government is introducing a ban on the manufacture of cheaper plastic bags & taxes on consumer use.
Socially and environmentally responsible brands are becoming a competitive advantage, with smart businesses recognising that it not only helps financial success but is also key to attracting and retaining talent, boosting morale and productivity.
Each month News invites an expert to give us their view on a topical issue. This month we approached one of our expert speakers at the ‘Green 2.0: Avoid the Greenwash’ summit in March this year – Lucy Calver, Head of Marketing, Food & CSR, Marks and Spencer. At the ‘Branding for Good’ summit, Lucy will share some of the highs, lows and learnings from M&S’s journey so far in building a sustainable global business. Read more…
Happy New Year and welcome to Issue 8 of News, Added Value’s newsletter on ethical marketing.
2007 will be famous as the year the world finally woke up to climate change.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this year, more than any other, has seen green issues increasingly driving the business agenda. Findings from our Invoke live session earlier this month supported the consumer shift too with 77% of consumers having actively taken steps to change their behaviour to become more responsible. 80% of consumers also said it was important for brands to behave more responsibly, with issues like reduced or recycled packaging, locally sourced produce and CO2 emission reductions high on their expectations. Price, however, continues to be a key barrier to buying “green”.
