Is it on-brand?
Yesterday, I came across an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal that I really wanted to weigh in on. This was a problem because a) there isn’t a way to do so on the PSBJ website and b) the topic isn’t related to marketing or branding. I was in a dilemma. Here was an issue I had strong feelings about, but I had no outlet with which to express myself.
Sure, I could have posted my response here; that would have been a bad idea. This is a place to discuss all things brand-related; the “Mindshare Marketing” brand, if you will. To discuss an article about sustainable business practices wouldn’t really have been on-brand behavior for the blog. It would have compromised this site’s mission and taken me too far off-track to be productive.
This is where my good friend Aaron Daniels comes in. He runs a blog called International Business Development and comments frequently on sustainable business practices. I forwarded him the article and was greeted this morning by a beautiful discussion of the issue. If you want to read my particular take on the article, you’ll have to check it out in the comments section over on his site – this isn’t an appropriate place.
Why shouldn’t we blur the lines between marketing and sustainability? Businesses are managed to please the shareholders. As such, most businesses will not choose to pursue a path of sustainable business practices because it puts them at a disadvantage in relation to their competition, and ultimately negatively affects shareholders.
But, if a business chooses to pursue sustainable business practices and uses it as a marketing point, suddenly things change. Not only do consumers feel better about buying from that business, it puts pressure on everyone in the whole industry.
Take a look at Nike. When they chose to become 100% transparent by posting on their website exactly who their contract factories overseas were, it put them at a tactical disadvantage with their competitors. They broadcast to the whole world who their suppliers were, costs, etc.
However, this move went effectively ended the scandal that had previously consumed the company. Nike customers felt good about buying Nike products once again. And it put enormous pressure on the entire (shoe and garment) industry to do the same.
Using sustainability as a marketing issue is good for the company, good for the industry, and good for the consumer.