GUESTAUTHOR–LOYALTYMARKETING
BECKYWILLANshowshowtrulysustainable
communicationscanhelpcompaniesweatherarecession.
butit’simportant,because
sustainabilitycommunications
withoutsubstancearebeing
singledoutbyNGOsandare
evenbeingbanned;intheUK,
theASA(AdvertisingStandards
Authority–the independent
regulatorforadvertisements,
salespromotionanddirect
marketingintheUK),ruled19
adsshouldbewithdrawnfor
makingmisleadinggreenclaims
in2007,arisefromtheten
bannedin2006(TheGuardian,
November2007).
Clarity:
Clear,genuine,authentic
messagespromote
transparency,andresearch
showsthereisapositive
It’sabout
correlationbetween
transparencyandtrust.This
increasingthe
meansthatinsteadofmaking
emotionalvalue
vaguestatementsaboutbeing
‘eco-friendly’,touchpointsneed
ofbrandswhile
tobetangible.
Eighty-eightpercentof
decreasingthe
consumershaveapositive
associationwiththeconceptof
physical
energyefficiency,whileonly61
resourcesthat
percentfeelthesameway
about‘green’(TheShelton areusedin
Group,October2008).
Eco-labelling,while
creatingtheir
sometimeshelpful,doesnot
alwaysprovideclarity.When
communications.
Boots,aBritishretailer,
notabouttacklingsingleissues Conversation: penetrationintothe
surveyeditsconsumersafter
and,assuch,principlesshould Intheolddays,thebrands blogosphereandcreateaclear
labellingarangeofshampoos
beappliedconsistencyacross whichwonwerethosetelling calltoactionforyour
withitscarbonfootprint,they
businessprocesses. thebeststories.Butdigitalis consumers.
foundthat28percentdidn’t
Companiesneedtodevelop changingthisand,inthenew Butremember,ultimately
knowthataproduct’scarbon
longtermsustainability world,thebrandsthatwinwill (andthisiscomingfroma
footprintwasrelatedtoclimate
strategiesthatarematchedby bethosewhoseconsumersand sustainabilitycommunications
change(ClimateChangeCorp,
rigorousbusinessdisciplines, otherstakeholderstellthebest consultancy),whatyoudois
January2008).
andcreateamovement,nota stories. moreimportantthanwhat
campaign. Itusedtobeaone-way yousay.
Consistency:
Consistencyisalsoimportant narrative–nowit’satwo-way
Sustainabilityisnotatrend.In
inthesensethatmessages conversation.
fact,webelieveit’sthebusiness
mustresonatewiththe Taptheinteractivepotential
modelforthe21stcentury.
company’sexistingvoiceinthe oftheInternettoengageyour
BeckyWillanissenior
Sustainabilityissystemicand
marketplace. criticsaswellasyourfans,get strategistatClownfish.
www.dmi-news.com January/February2009 11
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