SB '15 London’s Wednesday afternoon sessions kicked off with a colourful session by Matthew Yeoman, founder Sustainly, a knowledge consultancy and advisory platform based around bringing the worlds of sustainability and communications together.
Yeoman discussed the results of The Big Brand Report: How 175 Major Brands Do and Don’t Talk about Sustainability which looks at if and how brands are talking to their customers about sustainability. The workshop revealed what is and isn’t working for brand-level social media communications.
Ten years ago, companies, the government and the media had power in terms of sharing information. Now customers are more connected and informed. “This has led to a changing framework of how companies and customers interact both online and offline,” Yeoman pointed out.
He stressed that it is even more critically important for any brand to instill trust in their customers. Scandals spread faster as customers are holding companies to account on issues. He highlighted examples of KitKat’s use of palm oil from endangered rainforests in Indonesia and customer pressure, which led to the end of Lego’s long-standing collaboration with Shell.
“How do companies rebuild trust to stay relevant?”
This is a major question every successful company is asking in today’s society.
In today’s environment a company looks to demonstrate transparency, community and authenticity in their communications, so as to build trust with their customers.
“These sound like the pillars of sustainability and how to communicate it,” he pointed out. “Sustainability becomes a crucial pathway to winning back that trust.”
The biggest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) influence our lives daily. “If the companies behind them are as committed as they say they are to being sustainable, then imagine the power they have to change the world,” argues Yeoman.
Of the 175 companies examined in The Big Brand Report only 66 brands discussed sustainability on their Facebook pages. 109 brands do not use Facebook to talk about sustainability. One of the main reasons is that “people do not like to discuss serious stuff on Facebook”. All 175 brands have a combined total 758 million Facebook users following them, that’s a huge potential audience to influence change.
Yeoman demonstrated how different brands like Dove, Pepsi and KitKat use social media tools like Facebook to discuss their sustainability efforts. This platform creates a two-way conversation with customers. He used examples to show how the real people on Facebook do engage with brands on sustainability issues, which shows that people do care about the topic.
Rather than using the word sustainability, many brands are discussing issues which are closer to home like health and fitness, friends, family, nature, security and food. These are issues that affect people on a daily basis.
The workshop explored examples of smart ways brands are talking about sustainability on their social media accounts and demystifying the subject. They are using their communications and marketing to create a better understanding of what sustainability means.
Doritos & “It Gets Better” Campaign
Doritos raised awareness about LGBT rights by selling rainbow coloured crisps in support of gay and lesbian victims of bullying. All the money raised from the limited edition packets of Doritos was donated to an LGBT charity. The campaign went viral on their social media pages.
Ben & Jerry’s & Join The Climate Movement
A Ben & Jerry’s video (below) demonstrated the effects of climate change by using a metaphor of melting ice cream which they promoted through Facebook and other social media.
“To make it work and resonate outside the brand, it has to resonate with an audience that is not used to hearing the technicalities,” explained Yeoman.
Hellmanns & Their New Squeeze Bottle
Hellmanns launched a new squeeze bottle. The bottle has an inbuilt sustainability story as the campaign shows the amount of waste is reduced from the new technology of the bottle. “This is how we are going to see a lot of communication about sustainability moving forward in the future,” said Yeoman. The campaign makes sustainability easier to understand, more relevant to the brand and there is a seamless connection between the two.
From all the examples Yeoman displayed, all the campaigns they all back up their work with action.
“When you are doing good work you’ve got a good story to tell. If not, no one will trust you,” he concluded.