Arnold on ethical marketing

CHRIS ARNOLD

Today’s conference was a rewarding day that left many people a little less green about green issues.

(As there will be synopsises of all the speeches being published on the Applied Green site soon I won’t try and sum up all the speeches. But check the site out later this week or beginning of next.)

If there were a couple of key messages that came across in between many case studies, stories and revealing facts it would be that green is here to stay. That it’s not a passing fad or fashion. That those brands that don’t take it seriously are going to find themselves loosing market share as well as customer faith in their brands.

If you are going to do the green talk you need to do the walk. In a rush to look ethical, green wash won’t wash. Thinking that a few nice ads making green claims will do the job wont. They’ll soon be unpicked and, as has been revealed this week, have you up in front of the ASA (complaints about false green claims have reached an all time high).

While some speakers left us inspired (Jonathan Porritt & Eugenie Harvey) others really made us think (Russell Davis & Jon Gisby). There were many interesting facts and stats.

Arlo Brady gave us glimpse of a trailer for a new film ‘11th Hour’ that follows ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Its message was that whilst we have the technology and will, what we need are the political and business leaders to grasp the green nettle and act now.

Another theme was that if many people all make a small change we achieve a big change. Both SKY (Matt Anderson) and We Are What We Do raised this. SKY’s commitment to sustainability and environment is impressive and they have invested considerable funds in delivering their CSR policies rather than spending money on vacuous spin.

Several speakers highlighted the change from having to make sacrifices to how being green means you can now make a difference and have fun. ‘Easy green’ has become the new way. Green is now the new cool, being non-green is now seen as un-cool, old fashion and outdated. Brands are realising that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. As a consequence more and more brands are working together and dropping competitive attitudes.

One area of debate was over the difference between what the public says and what they do. (No real surprise to those of us who work daily in this arena.) People pay lip service to ethics but when it comes to putting their hand in heir pocket it can be a different outcome. However, there has been a dramatic growth in the purchasing of ethical products & services – the spend is now more than tobacco and alcohol (Co-op report).

Add to this the fact that the public are very confused. Most don’t know the difference between climate change and global warming. Too many symbols on food. Too many conflicting stories in the press. Consumers are looking for guidance. There is a need to keep it simple.

While some brands are getting it right, far too may are getting it wrong. Maybe because they are rushing to jump on the green bandwagon or because too many traditional agencies don’t get green, don’t understand ethical consumer mindsets and are badly advising clients.

The industry needs more conferences like these. We need to be challenged. With still only a small number of us working in this specialist area we need the wider audience to get to grips with the issues, the changing attitudes and more importantly, to realise that as we now work in what is being called the ‘honest economy’. Agencies need to seek out the truth in a brand not create fictional ones.

Shocking to hear, but honest, is that the consumer doesn’t trust brands or advertising. What they do trust are real people. Use different language – instead of 'brand' think 'reputation'. Word of mouth is your biggest form of advertising but it is also what can kill you if you try to con the public.

And let us not forget about “brand terrorism”. A bunch of 14 year olds with a £600 PC can destroy a multi-million dollar brand on the internet within days just by publishing the truth.

Those brands that will be winners over the next decade are those that take the time to get it right. To realise that honesty is a key value. To take the time to understand the new consumer. To realise that there is a new set of rules in marketing. That you need to do the green walk before you do the green talk. That being more ethical actually improves business and profits.

Those brands that lie will simply die.