Will people’s personal narratives change in tough times?

I have talked before about brands having narratives that are influential in our choices when we seek to use them to augment our personal narratives – like the 40 year old accountant who buys a Harley as it fits his personal narrative of being something of a rebel and maybe with a slightly ‘dangerous’ side.

But will the current economic climate drive us to change these personal narratives and thus our brand choice?  Will workers in the financial sector re-write their narratives as caring, hard working people and make choices with brands that suggest prudence and parsimony rather than overt opulence?

My only concern is that financial pressures my make us move the chapters on sustainability and eco-friendliness to the back of our narrative, slowing down the movement to brands with a sustainable narrative of their own.

There is more to sustainable brands than just being green

Sustainable brands and sustainable marketing are often seen as synonymous with ecological responsibility and being green. But there are three key pillars to a sustainable strategy; ecology, economy and culture.

The ecological dimension

This is perhaps the best known and best understood dimension, and many brands are already working hard in this area.

The economic dimension

Is the economic and financial model sustainable? What effect will this have on the other two dimensions – will the pricing model unavoidably  lead to offshore manufacture, social exploitation or long distance transportation? How will the brand’s business plan impact upon increasingly globalised markets.

The cultural/social dimension

Brands operate in human societies: everything that happens is an interaction between people and the brand. And those interactions cause impacts and changes on both. We must weigh the effects of the brand upon the societies in which it operates – its employees, suppliers, customers and the world at large.

Consideration of these dimensions is not only socially responsible, but makes sound business sense as it can be seen as a differentiator of corporate social responsibility.

Put aside the green dimension for a moment. Consider the impact of such economic and social actions as sports goods brands manufacturing in third world sweatshops or banks moving call centres emerging economies – then think of the impact that had upon the brands, their values and their reputations.

Is sustainable marketing alive and well in the US?

A while ago I was working on an event for a government body and part of the brief was that it was to be a ’sustainable event’.  Having been involved in sustainable marketing for some time, I was well aware of the principles and techniques but as I am a keen proponent of making use of specialists, I decided we needed a sustainable events consultant on the team.  I searched the UK in vain for somebody with the right credentials so decided to turn my attention to Europe: surely we would find someone – perhaps in the green focused Scandinavian markets?

No, surprisingly the richest source of specialists was the US. Given their attitude to ecology and global warming this bemused me. Looking closely I saw that I was confusing national government issues with those of local activists. At state and city level, authorities are keenly aware of the need for sustainable dimensions. This has stimulated a vigorous sector of specialists and even spawned professional bodies.

Sometimes our generalisations blind us to the specific cases.  I feel suitably chastened and heartened and I will look more closely at individual, sustainable leadership from the US (sorry Mr Gore).

I’m pleased to say that now, just a few months after my original search, there is a lot of help available from UK sources in mounting sustainable events in the UK. There is even a government site providing help and guidance.

Green Brands – Green Values

As I was standing at the supermarket checkout with my fistful of use again carrier bags I was considering how green values have permeated our culture and how brands have followed them.

I hear a lot of cynicism, much of it justified, about companies artificially promoting their green credentials, and mounting specious eco-chumly initiatives.  But lets unpick this for a moment… brands are owned by the greater public, so their relationship with greener brands will be a reflection of their own eco-friendly values. As we respond to green values so they will be promoted.

Most brands embody green credentials I believe, and promote them to a greater or lesser degree. It’s just that we view some brands with more scepticism than others. So why do I feel cynical towards Tesco as I recycle my carrier bags and collect my Green Points? I guess they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to adopting sustainable policies.

So I would urge brand stewards to be resolute: adopt sustainanble policies for the RIGHT reasons; be sincere; ignore the cynics. Ultimately I believe honest values will come through and can only be good for the planet and your brand.

Green credentials as brand values

With global warming, sustainability and ecology high on the world agendas, it’s little wonder that green credentials are increasingly becoming a feature of organisations’ brand values.  I was delivering a training course just last week and as part of the session I was getting the delegates to clarify their corporate proposations. Out of eight companies, six included a ‘green’ dimension in their explanation.

While it really heartened me to find this close to the top of the agendas of at least these medium sized companies, it led me to question whether environmental responsibility can be considered a differentiator any more?  Increasingly (and thankfully) it may now be becoming a critical success factor – something every business must get right.