Luc Speisser, Global Chief Innovation Officer at Landor & Fitch, explains why getting consumers to believe in sustainability initiatives will improve brand reputation and drive revenue. He shares five lessons learned from the company’s experience with sustainability and profit.
Today, brands are powerful instruments of change for consumers, stakeholders and society as a whole. They are closely connected to consumers around the world and deeply integrated into their daily lives and the choices they make. In return, consumers spend on the brands they love and strongly advocate for ideas that are embedded in a brand’s philosophy and image. From Patagonia to TOM’s, Levi’s to Adidas, when a consumer believes in your sustainability initiatives, your brand experience increases in terms of reputation, awareness and profit.
Therefore, companies that own successful brands, which are followed by a large group of loyal consumers, have the power to modify or even completely change consumer lifestyles, value systems, attitudes and behaviors. . Therefore, being socially responsible is an essential part of a brand’s marketing strategy and concept, as implementing sustainability can trigger massive changes in consumers and accelerate revenue across the entire industry. ‘organization.
However, brands face a Herculean cost challenge. All stakeholders – from consumers and employees to regulators and investors – expect more. Brands need to invest heavily in sustainability, while recognizing the underlying challenges that persist for their business.
Something has to change.
Of course, meeting ever-changing expectations and standards is essential: companies must achieve parity in their sustainability strategy. Yet finding a point of differentiation is where organizations can unlock the best returns. How can companies adopt sustainable development in a differentiating way? The brand is the missing piece of the puzzle. The brand drives differentiation, change and return on investment. Therefore, sustainable brand actions can help create brand preference and value through meaningful differentiation.
Companies can evolve in two ways: by transforming to become more sustainable and by creating new sustainable brands and business models. From exploring and experimenting with new sustainable materials and technologies, to making them inclusive and accessible to everyone, there are plenty of ways for your brand to present itself as a leader in the sustainability industry.
But the process can be difficult, so I want to share five lessons we’ve learned from our decades of experience working with leading global brands and organizations across industries.
- Don’t just react, create: look at sustainability through the lens of innovation
Sustainability represents a huge business opportunity. To get the most out of it, companies need to go beyond compliance, which leads to commoditization. They need to innovate and come up with their own unique sustainability solutions.
- Be different: build your brand to stand out from the green sea of sameness
The key is to link sustainability to the brand. Taking a brand-centric approach allows you to stand out and stand out. Companies that play their cards right and approach sustainability in a meaningful, clean and differentiated way – going beyond just compliance – are sure to reap the rewards.
- Be vulnerable: be transparent about the challenges you face
No brand can solve all of its sustainability challenges or change entirely overnight. There are no “bad” or “good” brands: any brand that is improving is legitimate, as long as it acts, and not just talks about sustainability. Wherever you are in your journey, communicate your shortcomings and challenges in a meaningful and transparent way.
- Be humble: don’t try to solve everything by yourself, nobody can anyway
Innovating for sustainability is a huge and complex challenge that shouldn’t be attempted alone and should be embraced by everyone in your business – not just the C-suite. Partner with others, both externally and internally. within your business. The greater the collective intelligence that can be brought to the table, the better equipped a brand will be to address sustainability issues.
- Make Money: Remember that sustainability is about bringing together three indivisible pillars: people, planet and profit. Otherwise, it’s just not viable for business.
If you want to have a real impact, choose your fight. You can’t defend everything, but you can defend something. No brand can achieve all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It’s about focusing on what creates both relevance and difference to unlock sustainability ROI: connect sustainability to what you do best (your business) and what makes you unique (your brand).
If you’re at the intersection of profit and sustainability, find out how Landor & Fitch can help your brand. With Landor & Fitch, we can determine your sustainability goal, imagine your brand experience and ultimately bring your stakeholders to life.