The Marketers Guide to Good in 2020
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This document summarizes the key findings from a year-long social media campaign called #365Daysofgood that highlighted examples of brands doing good. Some of the top trends they identified include: brands taking action to solve problems rather than just talk about issues; allowing customers to choose which causes they support; focusing on smaller, brand-relevant issues rather than vague promises; prioritizing local communities and grassroots organizations; and repositioning corporate social responsibility efforts to engage younger generations who expect companies to consider social and environmental impacts. The document advocates that marketers can anticipate greater support for purpose-driven marketing from corporate boards and customers in the coming years.
The Marketers Guide to Good in 2020
- 1. #365Daysofgood The marketer’s guide to good in 2020
- 2. WRAPPING UP A YEAR OF GOOD #365DaysOfGood We began 2019 with a hunch. We believed it would be the year when the long-term trend of businesses wanting to be famous for good reasons would evolve: from a fashionable marketing choice, to a meaningful goal in boardrooms around the world. And we hoped it would be a permanent shift: not just greenwashing or lip-service to sustainable organisations. Business leaders and brands would finally have the confidence to stick their heads above the parapet, instead of sticking them in the sand. We’ll happily admit it wasn’t a new idea. Many were businesses set up this way years ago and are now the darlings of brand workshops and marketers who believe there’s a better way, but couldn’t quite make it happen in their business. In recent years, plenty of B-Corps have been certified as ‘sustainable’ and in 2017 Blue Planet snagged the UK’s most- watched TV moment. The clues have been there for some time, so it wasn’t much of a leap for us to focus our efforts on understanding this direction for brands and culture. A year of good marketing on social With this in mind, we kicked off our #365Daysofgood social media campaign. It started with an ambition to demonstrate and catalogue the depth and breadth of change in brands’ priorities and marketing budgets. Over the course of 2019, we followed, shared and put the spotlight on a different brand every single day to show that ‘good’ comes in all shapes and sizes. Our bet on ‘good’ wasn’t long odds, based on all of the evidence we could see. And we certainly didn’t struggle to find plenty of great examples to keep #365DaysOfGood going. Even so, the move by nearly 200 business leaders in the US back in August surprised us. It signified the permanent shift we thought could happen, but expected to take much longer. It might not sound like much. But as a statement from some of the most powerful business leaders in the world, it’s a paradigm shift. Big corporates are now seen as key players in looking after the world and having a responsibility to all stakeholders, not just investors. As we enter the next decade, we look forward to a business landscape where marketers can finally anticipate greater support from the boardroom when it comes to making their brands famous for good reasons. After all, good is happening across all categories and industries, as #365DaysOfGood shows. Some are heavily publicised, others are humble. But they all signal the permanent shift that started many years ago and seems to be coming to fruition. To help you navigate this new landscape, we’ve studied our #365DaysOfGood findings to see what marketers can learn from the businesses doing well by doing the right thing. Here’s our top 10 trends and some questions to help you anticipate what they could mean for you. You can also search #365Daysofgood to see every campaign covered throughout 2019. “Shareholder value isn’t everything* .” *Ref*https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/business/business-roundtable-ceos-corporations.html The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 3. Less talk, more action 2019 saw lots of brands move from joining cultural, political and social conversations, to rolling up their sleeves and solving problems. Co-op partnered with charity Steel Warriors to combat knife crime by building outdoor community gyms from melted- down knives. Good things to consider: • What are the big issues currently at the top of your audience’s minds? • What small step could you take to make a difference? #365DaysOfGood You choose Typically, brands that channel ‘good’ by supporting a charity choose a single, specific cause. But many brands now involve their consumers in the decision. Toms, which originally made the one-for-one model famous, now lets its customers personally choose an issue to support as part of their purchase. Good things to consider: • Do your customers want to be involved in your initiatives? • At what point in the consumer journey could this interaction be most valuable? 1 2 DAY #137 DAY #137 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 4. Sustain in your lane Rather than grand but ultimately empty promises to change the world, in 2019 brands focused on smaller, more specific and brand-relevant issues. For example, rather than promising to solve a global plastic-waste problem, Corona funded and ran beach-cleaning projects around the globe. Good things to consider: • What occasion or place is your brand most associated with? • Use the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals to brainstorm how your business could help with each. #365DaysOfGood Nourish them like they nourish us For over 30 years Butcher’s Pet Care has built a business on the belief that every dog should be able to enjoy natural, nourishing food. It’s the least we can do when they give us so much, unconditionally, every single day. This belief recently fuelled a £25m investment in the business, a programme that included the removal of all nasties from food formulations, making packaging recyclable and repositioning the brand as affordable natural - an underserved but valuable segment of the dog food market. As part of this investment, LIFE were challenged by the Butcher’s team to deliver a TV brand campaign that would drive consumer reappraisal of the brand. The campaign needed to resonate with dog owners throughout Britain, appealing as much to a new generation of modern mindset dog owners as to the brand’s loyalists. With just a few months in which to deliver the TV campaign, we developed an ode to dogs throughout Britain - interwoven with intimate moments captured between real owners and their pets. Moments that would be instantly recognisable and relatable to all dog lovers and would encourage owners to nourish them like they nourish us. The campaign has been transformative for the brand, performing over and above expectations since launching during Britain’s Got Talent in April 2019. 3 DAY #117 LIFE truly embraced a collaborative way of working with us here at Butcher’s. They provided a potent mix of strategic thinking and creativity with passion and pace to deliver against one of the most challenging briefs. Everyone at Butcher’s is hugely proud of the TV ad we created with the expert guidance of LIFE and we will be forever grateful to them. This campaign has had an enormously positive impact on the Butcher’s business. – Rachel Collinson, Director Food for Dogs The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 5. 54 Start local Previously, brands that wanted to be seen to be making a difference supported causes in developing countries. But this year, we noticed big, small and global brands alike focus on problems closer to home. HSBC championed the idiosyncrasies of UK cities and supported their local communities to make their banks more relevant to customers. Good things to consider: • What are the close-to-home problems that your brand could help solve? • Who are the local heroes that don’t get championed enough? #365DaysOfGood Do it for the kids Brands are getting behind grassroots organisations and running initiatives that help support the next generation of game-changers. BT’s Beyond Limits platform is all about inspiring children and developing their critical digital technology skills. Good things to consider: • What are the grassroots organisations close to your brand’s positioning? • What problems are your future generation of customers likely to face? DAY #7 DAY #312 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 6. #365DaysOfGood Repositioning corporate social responsibility to engage the next generation of shoppers – Charles Croft, Brand Loyalty We work with retailers around the world that are wrestling with a ton of different challenges. However, there’s one emerging, consistent theme: the next generation of shoppers is the biggest threat that traditional retail faces. Since 2010, Generation Z’s influence on spending has steadily grown even though their direct impact has been limited. But from 2020 onwards, as they enter adulthood, we must adapt or risk losing the spending potential of what is now the world’s largest generation. So where do we start? Gen Z has grown up expecting more from retailers. Put neatly, their shopping behaviour is ‘everything, now’, a reality created by a heady mix of Amazon Prime, Uber, Netflix and TikTok. They’re a generation that expect more experience, technology, travel, and entertainment. But they also expect restraint and responsibility. They recognise that we face an uncertain future and believe that big corporations should act accordingly, putting the planet before profit. For forward-thinking retailers, this presents an opportunity to create a new base of loyal shoppers. It requires a plan that’s less about incentivisation and more about shared value, includes fewer short term campaigns in favour of longer term programs, and a change in mindset from corporate social responsibility to corporate social opportunity. This is where sustainability becomes motivating and is placed at the heart of the business. Many consumer brands are unable to do this. They have relatively infrequent or superficial interactions with their audience, making any meaningful behaviour change difficult to achieve. However, retailers like Sainsbury’s see the same shopper upwards of 6 times per week, account for a huge proportion of monthly spending and have an influence on fundamental issues such as health, nutrition, waste, community and celebration. When a large retailer encourages more sustainable shopping choices or helps families cook more together, it can make a significant impact to society. They have the means to make a difference. Often what’s missing is the motivation. While many shoppers say it’s a priority to reduce food or packaging waste, their day-to-day actions don’t always match up. That’s why we work with the world’s biggest entertainment brands to bridge the gap. The emotional power that they have is unparalleled. Fans love the likes of Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, and their desire to find out the next chapter of the story in each franchise is extremely motivating. We believe the world’s biggest retailers can partner with the world’s most powerful entertainment brands to create a cycle of positive, everyday actions that lead to a more sustainable future. It’s an approach that takes corporate social responsibility from the back pages of the annual report to the heart of the annual marketing plan. It’s our way of rethinking loyalty programs and helping retailers take on the challenge laid down by Generation Z. Grocery retailers need to realise the unique means they have to create lasting change, and the motivation that entertainment brands can offer. When they do this, they’ll see that a sustainable future is more than a responsibility: it’s an opportunity to turn Generation Z into loyal shoppers before they’re lost to Amazon and Uber for good. The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 7. Give packaging a second life With growing concerns about waste, more brands are designing their packaging with multiple uses in mind. Pink Ribbon Foundation teaches women how to check for breast cancer with step-by-step instructions on its shower product packaging. Good things to consider: • How long is your packaging valuable for? How could that be extended? • What other single-use touchpoints could you give a second (or third, or fourth) use? #365DaysOfGood Improving biodiversity, one gin at a time Warner’s are on a mission save the world from mediocre gin. They believe they’ll do this through graft, not just craft, bringing their incredible farm grown gin to drinkers across the country. Their farm is at the centre of their success. It’s a thriving ecosystem that allows them to grow the ingredients that go into every bottle. But more than this, it’s a leading example of how we should protect our natural environment and promote biodiversity so we can create a more sustainable world. As part of a broader campaign to raise awareness of the brand and the uniqueness of their farm grown gin, LIFE took an age old on-trade mechanic and gave it a reboot. Warner’s seed infused coasters create greater visibility for the brand in bar, but can also be planted to grow a mini wild flower garden. The flowers that grow are essential for bees to thrive and create a more biodiverse environment - a small piece of ‘good’ from the brand that leads to an important environmental impact. Keep an eye out for more good actions from Warner’s throughout 2020. #6 DAY #254 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 8. Prove it Customers want to make more conscious choices. With a rise in brands boasting about their sustainability credentials, sceptical consumers are rightly looking for proof. Claims aren’t enough. Allbirds makes proving their claims about provenance fun by letting consumers trace their shoes’ materials all the way back to their roots (or sheep). Good things to consider: • Which of your claims might need more substantiation? • How could you dramatise a functional transparency initiative? #365DaysOfGood Celebrating a commitment to sustainability Bird’s Eye approached LIFE wanting to raise awareness of the brand’s 100% MSC and ASC labelling across its entire portfolio and to encourage families to explore how their fish is sustainably sourced. Our solution Taking cues from the rich and varied world under the sea, we created a vibrant depiction of Birds Eye’s sustainable world, commissioning children’s illustrator, Gareth Lucas to bring our ocean concept to life. We then delivered an on-pack promotion offering consumers the chance to win a beautiful limited edition Ocean Explorer ceramic plate every 15 minutes. Each Ocean explorer plate was accompanied by an informative Ocean passport allowing families to find out more about Birds Eye’s sustainable fishing. To support the promotion, the Birds Eye Fish Provenance Tool – a tool that follows the journey of a fish from the ocean to their plates - provided further information and education around Birds Eye’s commitment to sustainability. The activation wias supported with a multi- channel TTL campaign, spanning TV, digital and PR. #7 DAY #4 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 9. Make sustainability simple Lift the lid on recycling and the only thing clear is how unclear ‘doing good’ can be. From knowing which bin is the right one for your rubbish, to finding out what happens (or doesn’t happen) to your recycling, to uncovering recycling conspiracy theories, there’s a risk that society will lose faith in sustainable actions altogether. Take a look at how Coca-Cola’s billboards simplify recycling by literally pointing drinkers to their nearest recycling bin. Good things to consider: • What stops people from recycling your product? • How could you make ‘good’ actions simpler and more fun for consumers? #365DaysOfGood Making green, greener. Carlsberg Danish Pilsner’s relaunch in 2019 centred around their #newbrew; a completely new liquid rebrewed from head to hop. However there were also significant changes to their product that set the brand up to be part of a more sustainable future. Packaging innovations like Snap Pack, which removes the need for plastic rings on can packs were an important part of the brand’s story. LIFE have taken Carlsberg on the road throughout 2019, from train stations such as Waterloo to university freshers fairs to spread the word. We made sustainability fun with engaging stands that rewarded sustainable actions and introduced the #newbrew to tens of thousands of new drinkers. #8 DAY #153 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019
- 10. Give your brand, build your brand. One of the first rules of marketing is to protect and develop your most distinctive brand assets. But more and more brands are giving away their assets for good causes. Deliveroo partnered with the Missing People turn its iconic thermal food backpacks into media space to help bring missing people home. Good things to consider: • What are the distinctive assets and codes of your brand? • How could you use them to draw attention to an issue? #365DaysOfGood Share the good Enlightened brands have realised that they have collective power and responsibility to do good, rather than use it purely as a competitive advantage. Unilever even developed a black pigment that transforms the ability to recycle black plastic. Instead of keeping the technology to themselves, they shared their innovation with other manufacturers to improve recycling beyond their business. Good things to consider: • What are the problems in your industry that your brand could take the lead on? • What are the good practices and innovations that your brand could share with a wider industry? #10#9 The marketer’s guide to good in 2019 DAY #5 DAY #150
- 11. #365DaysOfGood The 10 trends that we’ve seen develop throughout 2019 show a real change in marketers ambition. Vague CSR campaigns and empty promises aren’t necessarily a thing of the past, but more businesses are choosing to speak up and spend marketing budget building their brand in a way that also benefits others. Some do this directly, some by supporting a broader cultural shift towards a fairer, more sustainable society. Either way, we’re looking forward to helping more brands create effective work in a world where businesses look beyond shareholders to create value. To find out more and to discuss the implications and opportunities for your brand in 2020, call Niki Cook on 0121 00 7200 or email niki.cook@lifeagency.co.uk. LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020 Tel: +44 121 200 7200 45 Frederick Street, Birmingham, B1 3HN, United Kingdom #365Daysofgood