MY NUMBER 1 RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE FULL TIME INCOME ONLINE: CLICK HERE
30-second summary:
- Today’s consumers are more concerned than ever about the impact of brands on the environment they enjoy, especially with regard to food and drink.
- For brands, there is a unique opportunity to reconcile their purpose and growth with the desires of consumers to care for the world in which we live.
- Brands need to step up their sustainability efforts and can share strong success stories to build trust in their brand.
- A healthy sustainability strategy can motivate and inspire people and create a multiplier for inclusive growth
-
- In honor of Earth Day 2022, I hosted a panel by The Marketing Society on promoting the future of sustainability. Four global market leaders from the food and beverage brands participated in the discussion: Danone, PepsiCo, Diageo and Kitopi.
Today’s customers have a greater desire to do well and are very attentive to the impact of their purchases on the environment when choosing a brand. ‘Food and Health Survey 2021The International Food Information Council has found that nearly half of American consumers believe their food choices have an impact on the environment.
As a result, brands are facing enormous pressure to step up their efforts for sustainability, which is most evident in the food and beverage space. Our panel explored the importance of brand purpose and investing in the future. We discussed sustainable product sourcing, waste cutting, packaging improvement to expand product sets, and the importance of engaging all key stakeholders as brands embrace market ethics.
Measuring and sharing sustainable success is powerful
In our conversation, our four marketing managers shared examples of the initiatives they initiate and the lessons they learn. Who so much The conversation about sustainability is exceptional, resounding messages of progress and success motivate people and inspire them to act.
By sharing these stories, marketing leaders highlighted the benefits and effectiveness of the positive storytelling as a means by which marketers in any industry can connect with the next generation of educated consumers.
Finally, I asked our panelists, “What is your brand’s commitment to sustainability and how do you measure the success of your brand?” Here’s what they had to say:
Danone – Linda Bethea, Head of Marketing
“At Danone, we have a portfolio of more than twenty brands and have many different commitments. They are all in the service of achieving Danone’s vision of one planet. One health – which reflects the belief that human health and the health of the planet are interrelated. We continue to make progress on the path of exploiting business as a force for good. We are committed to becoming a Certified B Corp by 2020, and we achieved our goal in April 2018. Danone North America is now the largest certified B Corp in the world. We’ve also committed to halving food waste by 2030 by working with food rescue teams like City Harvest and We Don’t Waste.
“Last year, we announced a new partnership with the Rothy’s brand to transform Evian water bottles collected at the US Open 2021 tennis tournament into a limited edition inspired by tennis. The first collection of capsules of this kind will be presented in September 2022. Regarding measurement, we have established very specific KPIs at the company level to measure corporate commitments, as well as at the brand level to measure such commitments as carbon positive on Horizon Organic by 2025 or become 100% recycled. plastics in Evian by 2030. We have established KPIs and we regularly measure them and monitor our sustainable path. ”
PepsiCo – Ciara Dilley, Vice President, Better Snack Brand Choice, FNLA
“At Pepsi, we have a fantastic corporate program called pep + (PepsiCo Positive), which enables everything and drives everything we do in our work, and our goals are embedded in pep +. This includes sourcing ingredients and making and selling our products in a more sustainable way, leveraging our connections with consumers every day to take sustainability at its core and attract people to make better choices for themselves and the planet. This flows to brands. For example, one of our innovations in packaging is around ‘Off the Eaten Path’, our plant-based vegetable snack. “
“We have now launched the first industrially composted snack bag in the United States. It was a huge step for us, because we know that if we can do it as the largest snack company in the country, if not in the world, we can bring others with us. This material can be started commercially feasible for several companies. We follow our commitments from the point of view of the company, as well as from the point of view of the brand and the consumer. Do our consumers feel good about it? Do they think we are doing enough? And does that make them feel closer to our brands? ”
Diageo – Jim Ruane, Vice President, Reserve Vodkas
“Diage’s Sustainability Sustainability Plan requires responsibility for all functions, from supply to demand. Similarly, we demand that every role embrace this brand activist mindset: a willingness to act, passion, a creative flair, and austerity — beyond the ordinary. Water conservation is one of the critical pillars of our sustainable grain-to-glass platform. As such, we are committed to conserving and restoring water wherever we operate. “
“Our goals are to ensure that every beverage we produce by 2030 will consume 30% less water than today, and achieve a net positive impact on water in our key pools and water-laden communities. In addition, we are working for a low-carbon future, reducing emissions and restoring biodiversity to the environment. Simply put, Diageo measures success by measuring whether we have done what we have said we will do. Our success lies in our commitments to the world and the investor community; we are following 25 different commitments by 2030. ”
Kitopi – Ziad Kamel, Vice President of Global Brands and Co-Founder of Cloud Restaurants
“Dubai-based Kitopi started as a cloud kitchen technology company. We solved the problem of on-demand food delivery and we grew incredibly fast in the region. With the pandemic, however, we have seen a shift in consumer behavior, from going out to ordering, which has added rocket fuel to our growth and introduced many new opportunities. The most important impact we have made is on the packaging. Switching to restaurant delivery means that consumers want food on demand instead of eating on a ceramic plate.
“We have noticed a significant improvement in the supply chain and a shift from plastic containers to sustainable, biodegradable, reusable or recycled packaging containers. We have taken steps to ensure that the user experience is not adversely affected, while still ensuring that our sustainability measurements are maintained. Small decisions have a huge impact, such as working with our delivery partners to avoid the default delivery of cutlery with every food order. We made a commitment a few years ago and now 50% of our packaging is recyclable or biodegradable. We continue to advance and innovate with our suppliers in this area. One metric we are targeting is 100% durability of packaging by 2024. “
What adjustments do marketers need to make in their mindset?
Marketing leaders are given a unique opportunity in a generation to reset the relationship between purpose and growth when they adopt ethical marketing practices. A successful sustainable strategy is a key pillar of this opportunity. To achieve this reset, leaders need to make three shifts in the thought model:
1) From pause to portal: health, environmental, economic and social just crises are not temporary interruptions that need to be endured just to get back into our lives before a pandemic. Instead, these challenges open the door to a new future. They are a portal through which we can re-examine the purpose of the company, make new commitments, establish new relationships and open up new growth opportunities.
2) From a few tribes to multiple stakeholders: Leaders need to overcome shareholder primacy and customer obsession to consider all stakeholders. Responsible growth occurs when purpose is not transformed as a marketing artifact, but as a fundamental principle of operation. The purpose is a means of fostering talent, attracting investors, encouraging customer choice, unlocking innovation and re-introducing an ecosystem involving the private, social and public sectors.
3) From monuments to movements: building a brand is no longer about static words and images; it’s just an experience. Brand success is a function of the narrative it creates to inspire people and the experience people have with the brand. After all, ambitions are shifting from a brand that exists only in an external context, to instilling a sense of membership in all stakeholders. Sustainable and ethical marketing strategies are key areas for implementing this approach. Telling stories that show progress and impact is a powerful way to involve all stakeholders as members.
How can brands dedicate their purpose to ethical marketing?
Presented marketing speakers are staunch advocates of harmonizing the purpose and growth of your brand by improving people and the planet. Their positive stories and visceral commitments are inspiring. As your brand wants to advance on the path to reconciling purpose and planet, answer these six questions:
1) Is your brand ready for this wave of stakeholder capitalism and focus on it inclusive growth?
2) How well do you understand what your stakeholders value?
3) Do you have a brand purpose that resonates in general?
4) How is your brand displayed?
5) Do you know where your brand can travel?
6) Finally, do you have a plan for your brand to create and communicate value to all stakeholders? Or will he remain immersed in perseverance? Or – even worse – will he be immersed in nostalgia, as it used to be?
The last few years have been about creating character for brands. Many brands have refreshed and accelerated their focus on the connection between the planet and humans. They have doubled sustainability and enjoyed the benefits of ethical marketing practices. Brand responses to the crisis have reinforced my belief that brands can be catalysts for positive systemic change. A well-established sustainability strategy is a force multiplier. Increases responsibly inclusive growth.
Margaret Molloy is the global CMO at Siegel + Gale. You can find her on Twitter @MargaretMolloy. More useful insights from Margaret on how brands can align with audience feelings can be found in her post on building trust.
Subscribe to ClickZ Newsletter for insight into the evolving market landscape, performance marketing, user experience, mindfulness management, videos, podcasts and more.
Join the conversation with us at LinkedIn in Twitter.
MY NUMBER 1 RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE FULL TIME INCOME ONLINE: CLICK HERE