Don’t Go Overboard With Promises Of Sustainability

I recently led a talk with industry peers about purposeful marketing: the use of good causes, sustainability and social responsibility in brand communication. After the talk, I was flooded with comments – particularly online. There was a misunderstanding; people thought that I was against social responsibility in advertising. But that was not my point.

My point is this: social responsibility is too often misused by many brands. I think that brands act socially responsible as a way of looking good but not because it’s relevant for them. This is a development that worries me. Not because I’m a moral crusader but I want to warn people about the devaluation of important ideas, like sustainability and social responsibility.

Already, these terms are under lots of pressure. The annual sustainability report, initiated by DDB & Tribal Worldwide, reflects this. Consumers are tired of these words because the balloons of good intentions are too often pierced and as a result, credibility is lost.

In fact, a brand’s actual contribution to a good cause is usually smaller than what is initially promised in the advertising campaign. Consumers will inevitably hear about this. And this will only reduce the sincerity of others’ actions and similar campaigns, even if they are reputable. So, who suffers? The brands with integrity, of course.

Logos help in the decision-making process. Products are frequently labelled with buzzwords; honest, sustainable and animal friendly are some of the most common – which only makes deciding which to use more confusing, rather than less.

And sometimes, the connection between a brand and its purpose can be difficult to understand. Say, a sexy underwear brand does something to support children in Africa – while it is always good to support work, especially for children, how can you expect consumers to understand the connection with underwear?

The point I was making on the evening I aforementioned is that many brands do something socially responsible just because it’s on trend. But consumers are not stupid. Now, you can fool consumers even less as there’s so much information out there for us all to see. Social media only highlights every lie – so the punishment hits a hundred times faster.

The only solution? Perhaps something you wouldn’t expect from someone in advertising – hold integrity high in everything you do. Don’t do anything that doesn’t suit you to the core. Don’t overpromise, but if you do - make sure that you can explain why in two sentences.

When it comes to sustainability, the magic word is transparency. ‘The chain should be transparent’ is my mantra and it will always remain that way until the chain does become transparent.

For brands and organisations that already operate on this side of the coin – hang on in there. With powerful values like honesty and integrity, you’re more likely to survive the test of time.

Everything you do should adhere to your brand promise. It is only when you know it inside out, you truly discover the core passions of the brand. Why not be a genuinely trustworthy and responsible advocate of social purpose?