Branding is certainly the most important way to ensure a business’ success, so how do you build the best reputation for your brand?
Traditionally, the process starts by defining the brand purpose, known as the ‘why’. Values and the mission, the brands’ promises to customers are then built around your why. With these elements in place, your brand is ready to inspire your customers, to connect and engage them through your purpose and values
Until recently having a strong purpose and values, conveyed through revolutionary and consistent marketing and advertising campaigns, was enough to catch your target and gain their trust and loyalty. Recently something has change in the way brands must work on their branding strategies.
Now consumers are asking brands to embrace and get involved in global and social issues, turning the brands’ purpose into activism. Edelman research from 2019* showed that only 34% of consumers trust the brands they are buying from and 53% of them think brands “trust-wash”, meaning they are not committed to society as they claim. Exciting campaigns and purpose narratives are not enough anymore.
How then can you activate your brand purpose and show it to your customers? You must build concrete platforms to show your customers that you are committed to improving the world they are living in.
The fashion industry, with its personal connection to consumers, feels very directly how important sustainability is to consumers. Throughout the fashion industry, we constantly find examples of brands embracing social issues and screaming it via their marketing and advertising campaigns. Here are some great examples:
Timberland embraces and promotes sustainability in every facet of its business model, using not only environmentally conscious materials, like recycled plastic and regenerative leather, but sources them from suppliers which have a minimal impact on the environment, or use regenerative agricultural techniques. Timberland has also committed to plant 50 million trees by 2025, in partnership with different associations around the globe, and they launched the ‘Nature needs heroes’ manifesto, a call to action to their consumers.
Another concrete example is the Adidas ‘Run for the Oceans’ campaign launched this year in partnership with Parley, an organization that raises awareness about the beauty and fragility of the oceans. Participants can join the challenge in the Adidas Running app and run, walk or wheelchair to help clean plastic waste in our oceans. Adidas and Parley cleaned up the equivalent weight of 10 plastic bottles of ocean waste for every kilometer run between May 28th and June 8th, via the Adidas Running app – the brands committed to cleaning up to a maximum of 500,000 lbs. of marine plastic waste from beaches, remote islands and coastline.
So how can you effectively integrate sustainability into the brand building process described at the beginning?
In my opinion, there is only one way: Follow the fashion industry’s lead – Fully integrate sustainability into your brand ‘why’, and credibly build your mission and values around it.
We must keep in mind though, as marketers and communicators, that our brand reputation is now more than ever in the hands of our consumers, so we must be true to our promises. One negative comment is enough to jeopardize a brand and the internet has no mercy and no reset button.
Marta Mezzenzana, Global Brand Manager Police, Cerruti 1881 watches and jewelry presso International Luxury Group (ILG of Switzerland Ltd)