Thanks to Luis Maram for this perspective!
http://www.wobi.com/blog/advertising/sustainability-isnt-sexy-three-tips-make-it-irresistible
In the last World Marketing Forum Mexico, we had the opportunity to interview marketing expert Martin Lindstrom with the sole objective of asking the following question: What is the relationship between marketing and sustainability?
It didn’t take more than a few seconds for the neuromarketing guru to respond:
“I think the problem with sustainability is that it isn’t sexy. Just hearing the word I fall asleep, and I think consumers feel the same way.”
The saddest part about his reply is that he’s right. Does this mean sustainability isn’t an important topic? Of course not. It is one of the two biggest revolutions catalyzing business today; however, it isn’t something that interests many people. So whose fault is it? It is businesses’ fault for not transmitting the concept’s value, and it is our fault, the marketers, because we haven’t found a sufficiently seductive way to make it sellable, or even worse, we’ve interpreted it as just a business strategy.
So what can we do? An obvious and rational answer is…benchmarking. Observe who is successfully managing their organization in a sustainable way and take away the best practices to turn it into a strategy to follow. We briefly analyze some examples and attempt to synthesize the three tips to make sustainability irresistible.
1) Sustainability isn’t about green campaigns…it is the new way to do business from the heart of the organization.
A lot of us confuse green products with sustainable ones; however this is a short-sighted vision. Sustainability implies viability in three channels: environmental, social and economic. To think that being environmentally friendly is synonymous with sustainability is to tarnish the concept.
On Nike’s sustainability page they define the concept as follows: It isn’t about just being better at what we do – studying the impact of our entire supply chain – it is about fighting for what matters, creating value for our business and innovating for a better world.
If you analyze the information on the site, you’ll find that they not only discuss the environment, but also transparency, corporate government, innovation, empowering employees, and supporting communities in order to inspire…
Nike understands that sustainability involves environmental, social and economic factors, and are injecting this knowledge into the core business of the organization to generate enormous savings in their supply chain, developing a profound engagement with collaborators and other interest groups. In doing so, they become a source of inspiration for consumers, avoiding reputational risk, and in doing so, unleashing enormous profitability…without having to go crazy with green campaigns…although occasionally they do so as well.
2) Sustainability should be taken to social media.
At the beginning of the post I mentioned that sustainability was one of two revolutions catalyzing the business world; the other is social media. It is impossible to avoid either of these two transformations. The companies that have understood and crossed the two are obtaining impressive results.
Through the online initiative “My Starbucks Idea”, the coffee chain has generated explosive crowdsourcing that allows clients to become the generators of innovative ideas to improve the business, from product development to…yes, sustainability. From there arise initiatives such as biodegradable teabags, recyclable coffee containers, a push for local products, support against child labor in coffee communities, and more. Today, the brand has collected over 18 million ideas related to the subject. What better example is there of crossing sustainability with social media to be more profitable?
3) Sustainability should be marketable.
Stewart Henderson Britt used to say “Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know you are doing it, but no one else does...”
...and he was completely right. Not advertising because a company does so for conviction rather than profitability; it is a decision that someone should lose their job over.
Not letting the world know what you are doing positively for it is wasting a huge opportunity to generate a corporate reputation and competitive advantage in the market. It is a big error to not understand that sustainability can and will have transformative economic results .
Coca-Cola understands this idea perfectly, and besides inserting sustainability into its DNA, they are telling it to the world. Their philosophy, “Living Positively”, is one that they dedicate a good part of their advertising budget to, and is a great example of “a commitment to make a positive difference in the world, and making sustainability as much a part of their business as for the communities they serve.”
As you can see, sustainability isn’t about a ton of hippies trying to change the world… it is a business matter that is driving not only positive impacts on the environment and society, but also generating enormous profitability for the companies that know how to make it sexy. Is your business ready to do the same?
We have always been a fan of pushing boundaries...
As she walked through the hall of her life, she watched as the doors flung wide. Through the grace of others, she came to know her purpose on earth. It had always been the case. She need only pay attention. Whispered under the whispers, felt as the cool breeze blowing through her. There was no purpose, simply joy.
It breathed the sheets that danced in the wind. It painted the painting.
Cavern of her heart. With each pulse fluidity as part of the dynamic whole.
It was as if she was finally given the room to grow.
A series of pictures, momentary visions of experience and potential. The depth and form of which are still but bleed into the next. Placid and unwavering, the pulsation of time and space collapse. There is texture- vital breath. The breath that breathes me…it is a teacher. Whirling and Resting.
It is likely that the greatest teacher is ourselves. If we look around us, we are surrounded by objects that arise and fall in our awareness. The dynamic momentary movement of life takes us, leading us through a dream. We might consider all to be a teacher, and as we do so, we might rest with even the most uncomfortable and unexpected of expressions.
As it takes us over, we realize we never had control. In fact, we have been taken by ourselves. That which we are has no beginning, nor end, so it cannot be taken or lost.
We only believed we were.
All that is taken and lost, all forms are its essence.
Who is it that pecieves lost control? I cannot find her.
Now, as we begin to watch ourselves more closely, we begin to hear Truth ushering us forward. Forward into the space where we meet another form, another reflection. They seem familiar somehow.
Unfolding perfect suffering.
You are here. Here you are. Feet on the ground, wings expanding in all directions, you let go into the stillness that surrounds you. You know who you really are before the dream began.
What if you never recognized you had fallen asleep? How could you know it had been a dream if you never woke up?
This past year, IE was hired by pioneering film company, K23 Films, to integrate existing talent with aspiring vision. K23 has aspirations of contributing in a more holistic fashion, creating emotive and beautiful film to inspire and connect. IE is a platform built to birth collaboration- through which collective emergence arises.
With our help, K23 is settling into an innovative groove of digital film production, shaped by a balance of great timing, nuanced mission, and niche market. Its clarion call is being greeted by new clients, and welcomed by existing partners. IE is proud to contribute to its work in the world. As a result, IE and K23 are now collaborating to use film as a vehicle to create waves of change.
Most recently, IE connected K23 with Lucky’s Market. The aim was to promote Lucky’s Community Project, as well as to usher K23 into creating meaningful content for a thriving world. K23 successfully enlivened Lucky's vision- a world where communities support each other and flourish around food. Building a bridge between K23 and Lucky's was a matter of aligning principles and creating a unified vision, achieved through diverse and multiple channels.
Lucky’s is courageously expanding in many different states, each store causing a ripple that creates more resilient potential and heightened awareness.
The good leader is he whom the people revere. The great leader is he of whom the people say, "We did it ourselves." - Lao-Tzu
These musings are intended to provoke us to consider the state of the world and our place in it. These threads of thought are the result of years of curiosity, subsequent confusion, and succeeding clarity. It is our hope that we, as a diverse global citizenry, commune around similar inquiries, challenging ourselves by pushing into the limits of what we do not understand, thus shaking ourselves free of some of the ties that bind us.
How do we act in the world, informed by the texture of existence, while maintaining equanimity? How do we live and work with things we don’t understand? How do we enact a better future while holding our agenda lightly?
In a world of increasing complex problems, we need simple and elegant solutions—easy to say, difficult to embody. Paradoxically, our action in the world seems to require both great surrender and great effort. Historically, it has been challenging to create social containers of embodied and strategic action, yet the impulse to create innovative ways of working with our universal interdependence is happening. It is a result of necessity.
Patterns of the past remain, thus many of our solutions are band-aids on samurai cuts. We need reactive, adaptive, and creative responses. Action is analogous with perception. In a world torn with confusion and ambiguity, we desire clarity of purpose and meaning.
We find ourselves amidst a world of pain and suffering. Hearts closed off and minds checked out. We look around and see many people talking the talk, but not walking the walk. We look ourselves in the mirror and wonder if we are the same. Talks loud, says nothing.
We are asked to become soft again. We are asked to open to the experience of the stunning situation of ourselves in the world. We are asked to dig deeper. We ask difficult questions. We listen quietly and carefully. From this silence arises clarity of action and purpose.
What is skillful action? How do we fully engage our beauty, creativity, and potential in the world in such a way that the light of our truth ignites others to engage their own unique being? How are we a vehicle for transformation within ourselves, with others, and with the world?
If we agree that we live in an interdependent world, than certainly the solutions to our global problems are not linear. Ultimately, there may be no direct causation, but there do seem to be processes of causation. In this way “solutions” are not found by tracking the patterns of the past, nor are they found by forecasting into the future. They exist right now, in this very moment as all things. It is this wisdom that we call upon.
How might we as individuals and as societies craft our solutions to meet the challenges that face us in this moment, while remaining open to shift our strategy the very next moment? We are invited to stay in the present- from here we meet each circumstance with spaciousness and instantaneous resolve. We may rest in the spirit of curiosity and take refuge in the knowledge of the teachings passed down through many generations. It seems to be a tremendous leap to acknowledge the collective intelligence residing within us. We must be fearless and bold. Our future must not be sold to us in the shape of preconceptions. We must move fast and learn quickly. We must speak plainly and honestly. We must laugh in the face of it all. We must be joyful in a world of pain, untold atrocities, and squandered potential. We must soak up the beauty that surrounds us in all of its forms. This is the world in which we live, and within which we are called to contribute. Let us descend into the cavernous depths of our hearts. Let us unify our spirits in skillful and wise action. Let us support and challenge one another to become more fully what we already are.
Action without intention is foolish. Intention without action is futile.
There are many paths up the mountain.
Are you climbing to reach the top? Or are you climbing to light a beacon?
Living amidst the wildness of the Rockies, we are enchanted and moved by our surroundings. We find that natural wisdom can be shared and understood through metaphors. Metaphors help us see ourselves more clearly. We realize our strengths as well as our weaknesses as they are mirrored in the natural world.
Up here, we are consistently humbled by the brutal honesty of the land itself. The mountain environment inspires and challenges us. We realize again and again the subtle nature of our egos. It’s nearly impossible not to- when faced with a mile walk home in four feet of snow, or the necessity of starting a fire to keep warm, or collecting rainwater to bathe, or getting cornered by a moose with your pants down…
Clarity of perspective allows for transparency.
We attempt to learn from the environment and follow its wisdom. It invites us to be more forthright and sincere, within ourselves, with others, and with the world.
Consider the wisdom of Aspen trees:
1. Aspens never grow alone.
Being in community forces us to look honestly at who we are, how we are engaging, and what our motivations are. Aspens are not so proud to think they can grow alone in such a severe and challenging environment. They grow with the help of others.
2. Aspens are SUPER resilient.
Aspens regenerate and strengthen in crisis. Challenges encourage growth. Rather than avoiding conflict, embrace it. It may seem devastating at first, but ultimately, being scorched to the ground is just what the doctor ordered.
3. Aspens collaborate.
Because they are one, they work together. Rather than competing, the massive root system shares nutrients. The system enables the group of trees to become strong and to evolve given the pressures of their environment.
Getting clear on the intentions behind actions creates cultures of integrity, creativity, and trust.
In a world of feigned sincerity, it is difficult to know who to invest in and who to believe. In business, this is particularly challenging. Without authentic relationships, efforts to grow together are difficult and stunted.
As a company, we have experienced how power struggles and avoidance wreck potential. Sincere attempts to create new approaches of working in the world can be squashed by the shadows that lie dormant and suppressed in the basement of ambiguity.
We continue to wonder how we might create genuine and healthy relationships that cultivate mutual growth and expansion, while strengthening the root system.
Clearly it is possible- just look to the aspen trees.