On Tuesday 16th September team Flourish were welcomed alongside Scotland’s marketing community to join the CIM Scotland Conference, at Glasgow’s Social Hub. Topically titled Unlock the Commercial Advantage of Responsible Marketing, the team contributed to and enjoyed an afternoon of stellar insights, discussion, and networking. Here were a few of our key takeaways from each of the wonderful speakers.
Climate Change – Finding the language for action
Sam Gardner, Head of Climate Change & Sustainability at ScottishPower
Sam set the scene for the day by providing a run through of how climate change is perceived by the UK public, progress made so far, challenges faced, the direction of travel, and what evidence tells us about how we should be communicating the required change as marketers. The stand out takeaways for us, were:
- For the most part, the public are worried about climate change and engaged with the cause. Contrary to popular belief, support is fairly consistent across all demographics.
- There is a need for balance in how we communicate climate change. Yes, we need to back up statements with evidence, but we also need to show the opportunities that change will create. And acknowledge the stark progress that has been made so far!
- Negative views and language towards climate change are becoming slightly more common but are still very much the minority against consistent support.
- At a commercial level, ‘sustainability’ isn’t widely present in job titles quite yet, but 83% want to do more and take climate action through their work.
Marketing with Impact
Caroline Bates, Brand Strategist and Founder of Citizen Good
Caroline defined the term ‘citizen brand’ as a brand that doesn’t just communicate messages – but instead drives very real change by embedding values and ethics over issues like the environment or social equity into everything they do. She then gave us some really great examples of this in practice, including:
- IKEA – Showcasing that doing good can also improve your bottom line, as the furniture store invests more in the upcycling of past products. By selling spare parts to mend past products it embedded circularity into its efforts – and profited from that too!
- REI – By closing doors on Black Friday and inviting their teams to spend the day outdoors instead, they highlighted one of their core values and put profit to one side. Team members were still paid for the day they spent outdoors and years later it’s become an annual event and has boosted sales on those days from customers who align with the brand’s ethics.
- Corona – Corona turned the issue of plastic littered across Brazilian beaches, into a powerful piece of advocacy. The brand collected the litter and turned it into a 15ft wall blocking access to the beach to make visitors stop and recognise the issue. Since this event, they’ve committed to eliminating single use plastic from their business, achieving that goal in 2021.
How community centricity helps put responsibility at the heart of modern marketing Alice Brady, Chief Strategy Officer, Responsible Marketing Advisory
Alice kicked off by summarising the hyper-fragmented media landscape. She shared the example that in the early 00s, one ad placement during Friends being shown on Channel 4 would earn you 4 million views. To get that same reach nowadays, you need to be across several channels and platforms far more frequently.
She then talked about attention span – and demonstrated that contrary to what many of us think, attention spans aren’t shortening, they’re being reallocated. We now need to think about community when we’re looking to reach people in a meaningful way – and when we do so, we should be responsible with it!
Our very favourite snippet that will stick with us as we plan and strategise: “Modern marketing needs lots of littles!”
Standing for something sets you apart
Barrington Reeves, Founder and Creative Director, Too Gallus
Barrington shook up the room sharing his refreshing take on brand activism. Stating that now is not the time for agencies – and their marketers – to be apolitical, he showcased how standing for something and embedding that in your work can truly become a competitive advantage (Barrington’s homegrown agency Too Gallus now has Disney, Chanel, and Byoma on its enviable client roster).
He delved into how consumers operate; how identities are now intrinsically linked with the brands we consume; and why that means that people want to see brands stand for something – particularly at this current time of political change and upheaval.
His session ended with a call for us all to act: “There has never been a more important time to have a voice.”
Building trust through authenticity and ethics: face value and fashion
Dr Elaine Ritch, Marketing and Sustainability, Glasgow Caledonian University
Dr Elaine Ritch used the fashion industry to exemplify how authenticity is key to building more responsible industries. In a world where fast-fashion production regularly costs less than its associated marketing budgets, Elaine showcased that marketers play a key role in driving that responsibility. And that if action isn’t taken to drive change – the consequences for the planet will be all too awful.
Elaine also provided examples of historic brands owning previous mistakes that may be deemed unethical by modern standards. One pertinent example showed Adidas partnering with activists to create art inspired by the poor conditions that Adidas’ manufacturers in Cambodia put upon workers.
The example clearly demonstrated that all brands have the opportunity to do better – and that poor practice can be changed and owned through honest and open marketing.
Overarching takeaways
Across the afternoon’s various sessions, it became clear that responsible marketing is about more than checking a box – it’s about aligning values with actions, embedding them into business, and implementing them through strategy.
Honesty and authenticity are key to this to ensure there’s no danger of greenwashing – or the opposite – greenhushing, which is where brands do a lot of good, but don’t talk openly about it for fear of being challenged.
Community is also central to how we communicate change and more responsible business practices. Successful brands aren’t just talking at their audiences; they’re fostering connections around shared values, actively listening, and delivering very real outcomes that matter to all size and scope of audiences.
Throughout the day we saw evidence of why change is required – for our planet as well as its people. As marketers it’s within our ability and power to take a stance and encourage businesses and organisations to continue to do better. And in current times, that shouldn’t just be an option, it should be an imperative.
