ESG EXPERT ADVICE
EXPERT ADVICE
Communicating on environmental, social & governance topics
Tom Marshall reveals the importance of social ‘listening’, and when and how to respond
U
nicepta combines human expertise with AI technology to hone marketing and
communications strategies for brands. Here, Tom Marshall, Managing Director of Unicepta, underlines the importance of social ‘listening’, and when and how to respond, especially when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
What are key ESG issues? In the beauty industry, the issue of ESG is a broad church of topics, with significant risk factors attached to each of them. These include: supply chain welfare and ecological impact; mental health and the impact of advertising beauty standards to children, teens and vulnerable adults; gender, sexuality and the role of cosmetics in gender roles; palm oil and other ‘cancelled’ ingredients; and celebrity partnerships that turn toxic.
Is online ‘chatter’ about ESG issues positive or negative? ESG discussion points across all industry sectors tend to receive roughly an even split in sentiment on social media – in the past months, for instance, we’ve seen 26% positive, 30% negative. This is also a lot less ‘neutral’ coverage than we tend to see around other corporate topics, suggesting it’s usually quite a charged debate. Beauty and skin care are no different.
That’s why we urge clients to have systems in place to understand, react and engage with debate, and to be prepared for when things go wrong.
How can brands engage with debate in a constructive way? By measuring the impact of social and traditional media discussion around the risk topics in real time. Here, speed is vital. Brands can also use data to pick their battles. On social media, spend time responding to the right people to maximise the impact of messaging. It is
cosmeticsbusiness.com
Tom Marshall, Managing Director, Unicepta Tom Marshall is Managing Director of Unicepta, which uses AI to help brands develop marketing and communications strategies based on key issues
www.unicepta.com
How are companies adapting to the risk of social media ‘call outs’?
also worth preparing top-level stakeholders to comment directly on challenging topics and to okay crisis responses quickly. Honesty likewise goes a long way. Don’t over-inflate ESG messaging and be prepared to have to prove claims to the public. Finally, harness employee advocacy. This is an extremely powerful and convincing tool for ESG topics.
What aspects of ESG should brands be focusing on? It is important for all brands to factor global trending topics into their marketing and communications strategies. For instance, employee welfare and equality have seen increased focus during the past two years – particularly with Covid, Black Lives Matter and Me Too drawing these issues into the spotlight. In addition, over several years, we’ve also witnessed a growing audience desire for brands to have a clear stance and philosophy on social and even political issues.
The potential for any ESG issue to be at the centre of toxic social media debate means we’ve seen a material shift in the way ESG is handled by corporate comms teams, moving from niche to front and centre as business leaders understand the reputational risk attached to ESG topics as a serious threat to business performance, comparable to more established risk management areas such as data vulnerability or financial security.
Are there any areas of ESG that will grow in importance for companies?
When it comes to what we’re expecting upstream for the beauty industry, there are clear signs from our most recent data that public scrutiny will increasingly fall on supply chains, representation and plastic waste. For supply chains, consumers want to know where ingredients come from, who is producing or harvesting them and under what conditions. They also expect honest accounts of the environmental impact of production and shipping. The brands that are able to deftly navigate the pitfalls of today’s complex and various ESG agendas, while maintaining coherent communications around positive, transparent operations and values will be the winners
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What are your brand values?
December 2022 15
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