Trends & Insights Digest 2023 Spring

trends and insights digest

Table of contents

6 8

WELCOME

THE ACADEMY OF CHIEF MARKETERS

THE DIS/ CONNECTED CONSUMER INDEX Damon Segal & Nathan Mathan

5 82 52 68

In partnership with Grayling & Opinium

HOW BRANDS CAN LEVERAGE BLOCKCHAIN AND DECENTRALISED APPS IN THEIR BUSINESS

In partnership with DNA | Emotio

CARBON FOOTPRINTING: TAKING THE FIRST STEP ON YOUR NET ZERO JOURNEY

In partnership with Grain Sustainability

THE POWER OF BRAND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY AND ARCHITECTURE

In partnership with Baron Sauvage

THE INSIDERS’ GUIDE TO PURPOSE

In partnership with Given

36

THE ART OF IMPROVISATION

In partnership with John Cremer

THE IMPACT OF DATA WASTAGE ON PROMOTING BRAND SUSTAINABILITY

In partnership with Treasure Data

28 44 90 100 106

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS BRANDS: EFFECTIVE ESG THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

In partnership with Man Bites Dog

DON’T LET GREENWASHING LEAVE YOU RED-FACED

In partnership with CMS Legal

OUR PARTNERS

Welcome

The Trends & Insights Digest is a curated collection of the best insights from the world’s top brands, advertisers and agencies.

Every day, we’re bombarded with information about what’s happening in the marketing world. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to sift through all that noise and bring you only the most interesting, relevant and important trends and insights.

As you know, The Academy of Chief Marketers is all about creating valuable insights for our readers. We’ve got a lot of exciting information to share in this edition.

We want to give a big shout-out to our outstanding contributors: [examples of contributors’ names], who have been carefully curating content for years. They give you an understanding of what is happening in the brand and marketing world, allowing you to stay on top of your game.

Staying up-to-date is invaluable in a rapidly changing world. Understanding the latest trends and where brands focus their marketing efforts is priceless. Use these tips to generate ideas that immediately positively impact your business and stay ahead of the competition.

Finally, thanks to our team for their hard work putting this digest together!

Damon Segal & Nathan Mathan Co-founders of The Academy of Chief Marketers

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Thought leadership

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GRAYLING & OPINIUM

Sarah Scholefield

GLOBAL CEO GRAYLING

grayling.com

In communications, our job is to inform and engage. To do this, organisations - whether businesses, the public sector, charities, utilities or non-governmental organisations NGOs) -need to understand their audiences and connect with them.

At Grayling, we know that audiences are complex. This research highlights again the need for organisations to innovate communications to ensure they reach all sections of society. That is why every project we deliver starts with understanding our clients’ audiences inside out.

It’s worrying to find a large number of people at risk of becoming ‘Disconnected’. Not just from media, but more broadly. As we come out of one global health emergency and into a serious costof-living crisis, this presents a huge

There is a tendency in both market research and communications to focus on people who are young, enthusiastic, and engaged.

They tend to be the most passionate advocates of brands, the earliest to adopt new technologies, the most forthcoming in expressing their views, and often the easiest to persuade through marketing.

However, focusing on this group alone gives a highly distorted picture of society. Opinium was founded on the belief that success comes from understanding what people think, feel, and do. And it’s just as important to understand people whose views may be seen as

challenge to governments, brands, media, service providers, and communicators; we need to work hard to ensure vital communications and messaging reaches those people who need it most.

We are clearly better connected than ever before, but many traditional channels don’t work for everyone. We know from working with clients who strive to reach their audiences in every way possible that we always need to find alternative ways of connecting with audiences. That’s why we view people at risk of disconnection as alt-connected.

We just need to find alternative ways of reaching them. Organisations who adopt this mindset can create a competitive advantage by engaging all segments of the society more effectively.

hostile, apathetic, unconstructive, or simply different to our own.

Similarly, we often assume that having more ways to communicate than ever is an unalloyed good. But communication is underpinned by trust and good faith.

Without these, new technology is an irrelevance at best and a recipe for further alienation at worst. Communicating with groups who feel disconnected starts by better understanding them. We hope that this report goes some way to improving this understanding and starting an important conversation about how we can reconnect.

The dis/connected consumer index

We are supposedly better connected than ever before. A combination of traditional and new media, underpinned by record investment in technology and digital infrastructure, should enable the public and private sectors to better reach and engage people across the UK.

To answer this question following an unprecedented period of change, Grayling and Opinium have sought to understand how - and to what extent - people are connecting with brands, government, culture and society as a whole. We wanted to understand how people are engaging with content and how much faith they have in it - two elements integral to effectively driving action.

Studying this will enable us to understand the mindset of different groups in society, their perspective on contemporary media, brands, society and culture and what this might mean for their well-being, as well as the implications for communications campaigns looking to reach them and cut through the noise to make an impact.

We want to address this because we believe audiences are the biggest driver of success for organisations. The ability to understand, reach and engage audiences is what enables a business to increase sales, a disrupter to drive product adoption or a public body to deliver behaviour change.

But audiences are incredibly complex. Perceptions of campaigns and media are always shifting, whether generationally or because of events like the Covid pandemic or cost of living crisis. This research tries to look at audiences from a different angle and to learn lessons for how businesses and the public sector communicate with the people who will have the biggest impact on their business.

Methodology and the Four Quadrants

We surveyed 12,000 adults in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Singapore and the USA. The survey began by asking respondents about the frequency with which they consumed various forms of media (TV, social media, etc.) and about various topics (local news, sports, etc.).

The media consumed by respondents was then mirrored by a set of questions asking how much they trust each form of media and how much they trust the media they consume about various topics. For both the consumption and trust questions, each response was assigned a score.

These were summed together to create an aggregate measure of:

a)

b)

total level of consumption of media and; total level of trust in media for each respondent

(low consumption, low trust): those below the median value for both consumption and trust in their market. 01

THE OPT-OUTS

(high consumption, high trust): those above the median value for both consumption and trust in their market. 02

THE PLUGGED-IN

(low consumption, high trust): those below the median value for consumption, but above the median value for trust in their market. 03

THE LOYALISTS

(high consumption, low trust): those above the median value for consumption, but below the median value for trust in their market. 04

THE INFORMED SCEPTICS

Taking the median value for consumption and trust in each market, we were able to split the sample into four groups in each of the six markets:

The Opt-Outs – a group at risk of disconnection

Grayling and Opinium Research find that across six key global markets, brands and governments are finding it hard to reach, engage with or influence a significant proportion of the population. In the UK, just three in ten consumers feel highly connected to the national conversation, having both high engagement with, and trust of, media, government, brands, and other people.

That leaves seven in ten who are, to some extent, either harder to reach, engage or influence. Within this is the most challenging group of all –the ‘Opt-Outs’.

The Opt-Outs are a group of people who are largely disengaged from the media and distrust much of what they hear when they do tune in.

These people feel a growing sense of alienation from and cynicism about society and contemporary culture, resulting in them actively leaning away from communications, content and information.

This trend has serious commercial repercussions for businesses, as well as hindering the work of government, NGOs, and other groups who have important messages (for example, around fraud protection) or need to engage people with vital services.

This disconnection could put them at a serious disadvantage when it comes to receiving important public announcements, such as healthrelated news.

The Opt-Outs aren’t a fringe group in the UK. They make up a significant portion (29%) of the UK population and include people who will be a key target segment for a range of businesses. Whilst the group skews to having a lower income than average, nearly four in ten (39%) earn more than £30,000 per year. They are also still active purchasers; nine in 10 make key purchasing decisions and more than one in five (22%) shop online every week.

When combined with the Informed Sceptics (another segment identified in the research), we see a huge chunk of the UK population who are incredibly distrusting of the information they receive. This is a worrying trend that businesses and government need to address.

This phenomena of large swathes of society being tuned out from the mainstream is not unique to the UK. In Poland and Germany, we identified 29% of the population as belonging to the Opt-Outs group, rising to 30% in Singapore, 31% in France and 33% - one in three people – in the United States.

Worsening trends in trust and connection

Distrust and disengagement with media, digital communications and society more broadly, isn’t a problem solely limited to the most disconnected groups.

The findings also demonstrate a fall in trust in all forms of media over the last two years from across society. Social media, in particular, is facing a challenge of trust. Although people across the board are likely to say they spend more time on social media than two years ago, trust in the medium is down significantly in all territories. In the UK, nearly four in ten (38%) of people say they trust social media posts less than they did two years ago. When it comes to good governance, two thirds (66%) of the British public do not trust the government to make choices in the public interest, with the Opt-Outs particularly sceptical (73%).

Print media also risks a crisis in trust, with nearly a quarter of respondents saying they trust information they read in print less than they did two years ago.

In this study, Grayling and Opinium Research explore the stories behind the data to examine how social disconnection impacts many areas of lives from falling trust in media and government, to views on health, politics, brands, and even conspiracy theories.

Which groups are most affected by disconnection and how can we redress the balance?

Let’s take a look at each of the quadrants that we analysed individually to understand their media traits and the challenges and opportunities.

WHO ARE THE FOUR QUADRANTS?

29% The Opt-Outs

The Opt-Outs are the second largest quadrant in the UK, representing 29% of the population.

They are alienated by many aspects of society and contemporary culture, which they feel is not working for or relevant to them. This includes traditional media and significant global issues like politics, the environment, brands and other social groups.

The Opt-Outs tend to have less disposable income than other quadrants, and a significant portion are retired.

This left-behind group often features more women than men and are generally the over-55s. In the UK, people in this quadrant are the most likely to be disconnected from all forms of media and put little stock in the content and information they are consuming.

The Opt-Outs are 45% and 39% less likely to read print and online newspapers daily than other groups – with 70% and 85% finding newspapers and social media ‘untrustworthy’, respectively.

They are the only quadrant to see immigration as more of a burden than a benefit and are less likely to see environmental damage as being consumers’ responsibility. They are also the most cynical of the government, with nearly three quarters of the Opt-Outs not trusting the government to make choices in the public interest.

However, despite their feelings of disconnection and alienation, the Opt-Outs still wield considerable power and represent a currently missed opportunity for businesses and political parties. They were the quadrant most likely to have voted for Brexit in 2016 and to have the second highest proportion of Conservative voters, just behind The Loyalist quadrant.

While a disproportionate number of the Opt-Outs live in northern England, it’s likely that many respondents who fall within this quadrant are historically ‘Red Wall’—putting the Opt-Outs in a position of significant sway over future election outcomes.

3/10 The Plugged-In

The Plugged-In are both highly engaged and receptive to all aspects of communications across society and contemporary culture including from media, government, and brands. In short, they are easy to reach and the least cynical group.

Three in ten Brits are Plugged-In, and they skew slightly more male and younger than average. Nearly half of this quadrant works full-time and are, on average, the highest earning quadrant with 44% earning over £40,000. They are also the quadrant least likely to have children (71% not being parents vs. 38%).

The majority watch TV, read online newspapers, and listen to radio on a daily basis. They are also the group most likely to regularly read print newspapers (47% do so on a weekly basis vs. 35% national average).

They have inherent faith in the trustworthiness of these sources, with an average of 60% scoring each format a 7+ out of 10 for trustworthiness.

They also have a strong appetite for online and other forms of content, including daily video content and podcasts.

This quadrant is tapped into politics and current affairs (with 65% paying lots of attention) and care deeply about social issues. Threequarters believe in stronger political interventions on the environment. They have the highest proportion of voters with 90% claiming to have voted in 2019 and have the most trust in government to act in the public interest.

The Plugged-In represent a captive audience. The challenge isn’t reach but content and cut-through, with 39% consuming shopping or product content daily, meaning they have high exposure and engagement with brands.

They are the most likely to buy brand names, and half say they care about the brands they buy from – emphasising the importance of brand propositions, purpose and values for this quadrant.

The Informed Sceptics

Informed Sceptics are the smallest quadrant, making up just over one in five of the UK population. This quadrant has similar levels of engagement with media, key issues and brands to The PluggedIn but showcases suspicions about content and others more in line with the Opt-Outs.

They are evenly split in terms of gender, skew slightly younger than average and are more likely to be full-time workers. They have appetite for staying informed with significant numbers consuming daily media – whether live TV (61%), online news (65%) or live radio (50%). However, they are much more sceptical about what they consume, with less than 10% highly trusting of each of those sources.

They are the most avid consumers of social media and online video with 81% and 47% engaging with these channels daily – but don’t trust what they receive with 70% and 55% believing these channels are untrustworthy.

Strikingly, this crisis of trust in the media they are consuming is something that seems to be more recent and growing – they are most likely to report having less trust in all media sources now than compared to two years ago.

They are the group most likely to pay ‘lots of attention’ to brands, but struggle to spontaneously think of any brands they trust – indicating what they are currently hearing isn’t working effectively.

They are the most cynical about the government with almost threequarters not trusting them to make decisions in the public interest. This can perhaps, in part, be explained by the fact Informed Sceptics have the highest proportion of Labour voters (40% voted Labour versus 35% voting Conservative in the last election).

in partnership with Opinium

>1/5 The Loyalists

The Loyalists make up over a fifth of the UK population. With the majority (62%) being women and 50% being over 50. They prioritise other things in their life over engaging with content and, as a shortcut, are happy to fall back on fewer trusted sources.

The Loyalists skew towards higher earners, with 58% of the quadrant earning over £30,000 (49% of the national average), giving just over half of them £200 to spend every month after essentials.

The group are the second lowest consumers of media. While they sit at the national average for watching TV, they engage with online or print media at a significantly lower level.

They also under index on their use of social media and other content formats like podcast, videos and non-news sites.

When it comes to trusting media, the group has high trust and stable views in the sources they are using, and will not engage with sources they don’t trust, indicating their tendency to both form and stick to strong preferences when consuming content.

Although the group fall slightly below the national average in their desire to stay informed on current affairs, they do see other social issues as important, particularly healthcare and the NHS.

The Loyalists are likely to stick with brands they like and trust, with their top factors being trustworthiness, environmental, and social credibility. Brands looking to engage with Loyalists need to earn their trust but also find ways to disrupt their existing preferences and connect with them.

Reaching the Opt-Outs

THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISINFORMATION RISK

Nearly a quarter (24%) say they ‘never’ receive any government communications and a third don’t trust the media when it concerns public health. Post-Covid, this disengagement and distrust of public health messaging could be catastrophic in a future pandemic or public health crisis.

POLITICAL DISILLUSIONMENT

In an increasingly polarised society, the Opt-Outs are the most frustrated. Nearly three-quarters do not trust the government to make decisions in the public interest. As we enter a costof-living crisis and a potential recession, this trend is likely to worsen and with more than a quarter saying they ‘never’ see any political information, a large portion of the British public are left outside the national conversation.

DIGITAL FIRST DOESN’T DELIVER

The Opts-Outs are an important reminder that a digital first society doesn’t work for everyone. Just five percent of the Opts-Outs engage with brands on social media, less than half the national average (11%). Just over one in five (22%) buy online at least once a week, compared to the national average of 29%.

PURPOSE, SUSTAINABILITY AND ESG DOESN’T LAND

When choosing a brand, the Opt-Outs were the least likely to choose a business for caring about the environment and society (10%) or behaving ethically (16%). Put simply, they are focused on price rather than purpose in communications.

As the Opt-Outs are more disengaged from traditional marketing channels, they can miss out on better deals, falling victim to ‘loyalty penalties’. This group were most likely to be unsure whether they had fallen victim to a common range of scams, a worrying trend as businesses work harder than ever to warn customers about the risks both on and offline.

Recommendations

It’s easy to look at the Opt-Outs and ask: “Why bother?” But this could be a devastating decision for businesses, public bodies, or institutions. Whether the conversation is about public health, the best deals, or economic policy decisions (e.g.,interest rate rises), this group need to be included.

Rather than championing loftier global and national issues in messaging directed to this group, think about ways you can support neglected regions and local areas and connect on heartland issues (e.g. economy, jobs, local services).

INVEST IN UNDERSTANDING

If you want to reach this group, you need to understand them. Consumer research, particularly focus groups and interviews can help understand the channels they will trust and engage with, as well as the messages that will land.

LISTEN, ADAPT AND REPRESENT

We know that the Opt-Outs are less connected to big national issues, so go hyper local, whether advertising in local newspapers or working with micro-influencers who look and feel like your target audience. Also don’t ignore radio – it’s an undervalued channel for reaching more disengaged and disconnected audiences. Use down to earth language and ensure imagery feels relevant.

How can you reach them?

Reaching the Plugged-In

COMPETING FOR THEIR ATTENTION

With the highest disposable incomes, this group are the most sought after by brands and marketers. Multiple brands from each category will be vying for their attention, so organisations need to work harder to stand out. Inevitably, this battle for attention may mean the media they consume command higher.

DEFINING AND COMMUNICATING PURPOSE AND ROLE IN SOCIETY

This group pay the most attention to the commitments businesses make beyond their bottom line. But in a world where most brands take a position on sustainability, ESG and societal purpose, businesses will need to work harder to stand up and stand out on purpose commitments.

DISLOYAL CUSTOMER OR NATURAL SWITCHERS

The Plugged-In are constant consumers of information, researching and comparing brands. They use a variety of sources to remain attuned to the best deals. Inevitably, this means they are likely to switch and refresh their decision making regularly - brands can’t rest on their laurels. Whether banking, insurance, supermarkets or automotive, this group will change their preference, so brands must be nimble in their messaging and always offer a better deal.

Recommendations

INTEGRATED CAMPAIGNING

This group are most likely to engage with multiple channels and media. Organisations who truly want to reach and engage this group should develop integrated campaigns, with calls to action, link to purpose and business commitments which run through the line.

This means communications that align with what a business says in their annual report, through out of home marketing, PR campaigns and partnered content, whether on a podcast or in person.

DIGITAL WORKS

Digital channels offer a great opportunity to engage with the Plugged-In, who are the most active and expressive group online. 40% also say they buy online at least once a week.

Around one in six (17%) of this quadrant engages with brands on social media and, as the group most likely to use social networks to express their viewpoint, could become advocates for brands online.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT PRINT REMAINS A KEY CHANNEL

The Plugged-In consume a lot of entertainment, so brands need to think about how they can make the most of this medium to land their messaging. This could include online video (40% more likely to consume daily), or podcasts (50% more likely to consume weekly).

The Plugged-in are the most likely to read print newspapers (47% on a weekly basis) and 71% read online. While this format may not work for other segments, paid and earned coverage in print media remains a vital tool for reaching this sought-after group.

How can you reach them?

Reaching the Informed Sceptics

NATURAL SCEPTICS

Believability is key with this group, as they are naturally inclined to be sceptical about brands and public communications. They are most sceptical about government, with almost three-quarters not trusting them to act in the public interest and are more likely to be critical of measures in response to Covid-19. Again, this presents risks for future public health messaging.

A GROWING CRISIS OF TRUST IN MEDIA

Their distrust of media is a growing trend. They are the most likely group to report having less trust in all media sources than two years ago. This has implications for all organisations looking to reach this segment.

THE BRAND CONUNDRUM

Informed Sceptics are the group most likely to pay ‘lots of attention’ to brands, yet are less-than-average buyers of branded products – indicating that what they are currently hearing isn’t working effectively. We know they are consuming content, but it’s clearly not cutting through.

PRICE OVER PURPOSE

Informed Sceptics have a lot in common with the Opt-Outs when it comes to distrust for brand narratives around purpose and ESG. They are another group with whom businesses would do better to focus on price and value, especially in the current economic climate.

Recommendations

BE PART OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

This group spends lots of time consuming media online and offline, but aren’t necessarily looking for corporate or brand content. In response, businesses need to develop campaigns which align with the trends and themes that matter to them. This is especially important for businesses that want to earn fame and meaning with Informed Sceptics.

CUT-THROUGH, CUTTHROUGH, CUT-THROUGH

As this groups consumes a lot of content, the challenge isn’t in reaching this group but cutting through to them. Investing in behavioural research to understand how this group engage with content both online and offline, as well as what messages and approaches cause them to switch off, will be key.

SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY

Informed Sceptics are also the most avid consumers of social media and online video, with 81% and 47% engaging with these channels daily. If you can master the messaging to connect with this group, these are the channels to invest in – whether for brands, governments or other organisations.

How can you reach them?

Reaching the Loyalists

LOYAL CUSTOMERS

The Loyalists aren’t that open to change when it comes to brand decisions. They are the most likely to buy brands that they already like and trust. Comfortable in their decisions, nearly half of this group pay limited attention to brands, posing a big challenge to brands who want to encourage them to switch.

DON’T DO DIGITAL

This group skew older (50% are over 55) and perhaps as a result are less likely to use online, digital and new media. Paid social, podcasts or online print aren’t the way to reach this group.

HIGH EARNING CONSUMERS

This group might not be easy to reach or keen to switch, but there are rewards for brands who can communicate with them. They are one of the highest earning segments, with 58% earning over £30,000 and this is reflected in their disposable income.

FOCUSED ON VALUES AS WELL AS VALUE

Similarly, to the Plugged-In, Loyalists also over-index on factoring brands’ environmental and social credibility into their decision making.

Recommendations

UNDERSTAND THE DRIVERS OF TRUST

This group are the most likely to identify trustworthiness (39%) as one of the most important attributes when choosing a brand. If earning their trust is key, businesses need to use quantitative research – for example focus groups – to understand what drives that trust.

In short, this group are much less likely to use channels they don’t trust, or perhaps don’t feel comfortable with –for example new media. The best channel to use to reach Loyalists is TV, with 59% watching daily.

FOCUS ON PURPOSE ESG AND SUSTAINABILITY

It’s no surprise that John Lewis come up as one of the most trusted brands for this group. Businesses that want to connect with this group should ensure that they can clearly articulate the role they play in communities, society and for their employees.

The Dis/Connected Consumer Index Report by Opinium emt.io/3hV0GZq

LIVE TV AND RADIO WORKS BEST

The insiders’ guide to purpose

How to transform your business and close the gap between purpose rhetoric and purpose reality

Given recently launched the second volume of its Insiders Guide to Purpose, which highlights the five transformations businesses need to undergo to truly embed purpose throughout their organisation and close the gap between purpose rhetoric and purpose reality.

The guide draws on Given’s experience of working with large, complex businesses serious about making their purpose real and captures the experience of purpose leaders at John Lewis Partnership, Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest, Kimberly Clark, and Anglian Water and some of the steps they have taken to transform their businesses.

The purpose gap is underpinned by research conducted by Given and YouGov, based on a survey of over 2,000 UK employees.

Given’s The Insiders’ Guide to PurposeVolume Two: How to transform your business emt.io/3HZAasF

The purpose gap

Creating an aspirational mantra about an organisations’ role in the world might make everyone feel good, but on its own it’s a licence for business as usual.

Purpose-driven businesses understand that purpose is a complete management strategyone that goes beyond the ‘why’ to consider the ‘what’ and ‘how’ - to be embedded in every aspect of the organisation. The benefits of being truly purpose-driven are so evident that most senior leaders, whether it be the CEO, C-Suite, or the top 150, want in.

However, purpose is about more than just a statement, and the

research shows that the majority of employees at large businesses feel that their organisation isn’t doing a great job of practising what they now preach.

This is what is called the purposegap, highlighting a clear gulf between the purpose rhetoric of senior leaders and marketeers and the reality of workers’ experiences. It means that at best, businesses are failing to reap the rewards that being purpose-driven generates - drive growth, spur innovation, boost talent attraction and retention - and at worst they are exposing themselves to the risk of purposewashing.

01 02 03

EMPLOYEES AT LARGE BUSINESSES WANT ACTION ON BUSINESS PURPOSE

Almost half (48%) of large firm employees want to see more action from their companies when it comes to purpose.

BUT MOST EMPLOYEES AREN’T SEEING PURPOSE IN ACTION

64% of large firm employees feel that since their business set out its corporate purpose it had changed only a little or not a lot.

AND WHAT THEY DO SEE AND HEAR FROM LEADERSHIP AND MARKETING TEAMS ISN’T CONSISTENT WITH THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE

Five transformations that can help close the purpose gap

Leaders want to run purpose-driven organisations but aren’t always sure how to go about it. To succeed, a different organisational muscle needs to be exerted; it demands serious questions about decisionmaking, innovation, investments and rewards.

Purpose must mean transformation, not just a tagline.

In response to this challenge, Given created the Insiders’ Guide to Purpose, a free handbook to help CEOs and their senior leaders embed purpose into their businesses.

The guide outlines five critical components of purpose transformation which help close the gap between well-crafted words and meaningful action when it comes to purpose.

Align your structures and processes to power purpose-driven decision-making.

Governance guides decision making. Traditionally, that meant navigating risk in pursuit of profit and profit alone. But if you want purpose to become a beacon for everyone in your business you need a framework that turns goodwill into real action. Rewiring your organisational governance may be a tough sell, but doing so can supercharge your purpose transformation.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Change decision-making processes to always consider purpose. Start with your Board. After all, they are the people holding your exec team to account.

LEADERSHIP

Help leaders set the tone to inspire their teams into action.

If your leaders don’t buy into your purpose, don’t expect anyone else to either. Role modelling, clear communications and a united voice from those at the top are vital for any successful, company-wide transformation. But not all leaders are identical, so find ways to put a powerful arm around them.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

CEOs and senior leaders must be visible champions of your purpose. If they’re not, no-one else will be. Involve them in the transformation, inviting them to find their own purpose and train them to talk about their journey.

COLLEAGUE ENGAGEMENT

Create conversations and share stories that keep everyone engaged .

Everyone needs a stake in your purpose. But getting all of your busy colleagues to buy into a completely new way of doing business is going to take more than a poster campaign. Create opportunities to truly listen, share human stories and give people specific roles to make purpose a part of everyone’s lived experience.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Purpose should change every conversation in your business, but people need time to figure out what it means for them and their team. Rally natural influencers; 15% of people being on board from the outset creates a tipping point to stimulate lasting change.

BRAND AND INNOVATION

Prove your purpose authenticity and boost your brand’s success.

More people than ever want to love your whole company, including its ethos. By instilling your products with purpose, making your impact relevant and being honest about where you’ve still got work to do, you win the opportunity to build a loyal fanbase and crack open new markets. However, if words aren’t backed up by actions, you run the risk of being exposed for purpose-washing

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Businesses need not worry about accusations of “purposewash”, unless purpose only shows up in marketing and PR. Brand innovation – involving pricing, product, and performance makes purpose tangible for customers and employees.

METRICS AND MEASUREMENTS

Measure your purpose performance to verify your impact.

How to measure purpose has become something of a hot topic. One message is always consistent, though: metrics and reporting are essential to validating your efforts in pursuit of purpose. But what to measure? The trick is to work out what you want to know before you figure out how to know it.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It’s tough to measure purpose, but like performance, it’s multidimensional. Do you really believe business success is only defined by profit? On the other hand, by reducing purpose to a single measure, you risk pitting it against profit when the two should be in harmony.

The art of improvisation

BY JOHN CREMER

AWARD WINNING

PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER

ACADEMY OF CHIEF MARKETERS Trends and insights digest — v.13

‘Twas ever thus, but the pace and intensity of change in every realm of our business and personal lives has increased over the last few years. At the same time our attention spans are getting shorter. In order to engage effectively with ourselves, our clients and our colleagues we need skills that are relevant to these circumstances. Which is where improvisation comes in; for most people their experience of improvisation is the TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” or perhaps a live performance which aims to evoke laughter by responding rapidly to audience suggestions. It is a fast-paced, witty genre with an ever present element of risk – it can always fall flat. Performers of

improvisation learn a set of specific skills which work consistently on stage and are powerful techniques when used off stage to manage the attention of other people. Human attention is the greatest resource on Earth – when we apply our attention to a situation then tremendous possibilities arise and creativity is unleashed, when we don’t pay attention, nothing happens.

Many US business schools have improvisation classes as part of the core curriculum in order to give students the many benefits of this training which include: increased self-confidence, problem solving, building rapport with clients, creative thinking, innovation, emotional intelligence and much more.

In the words of Bob Dylan “The times they are a-changing”

written by John Cremer

LISTEN

This vital element of human interaction can easily be overlooked or minimised in our enthusiasm to express and create solutions. When we choose to truly, deeply listen we become more present to our surroundings, our inner responses and other people.

At a profound level - we can only listen to what is happening in the present moment. There is a growing appreciation of the value of mindfulness in reducing stress and increasing personal effectiveness. If you want to practice mindfulness right now it’s very simple – just listen and notice what happens!

SAY “YES”

Much public discourse has become polarized, especially online. We can easily slip into a mind-set of “I’m right, you are wrong” Improvisers do it differently, they overcome this knee jerk reaction and agree wholeheartedly with what is offered by another person for the duration

of an interaction. This creates a positive arena where ideas can be invited and explored and novel solutions discovered. When the mechanism of blame is stopped we can choose to truly collaborate in a purposeful way.

Here are the basic tools which are deceptively simple and have been shown to have positive impact when applied in the world of business:

COMMIT

unfamiliar ways and this can be uncomfortable. When we commit to stay with the process of exploration then we find innovation flows and our approach is more agile.

written by John Cremer

The quieter, more reflective participants find themselves more willing and able to express themselves without fear of judgement or embarrassment. They are able to contribute their insights and viewpoints more freely as the habitual patterns of the culture are suspended.

Their wit and humour frequently surprises their colleagues who have previously not seen these aspects in play. Whenever I conduct an improvisation session I will recall the cliché “It’s always the quiet ones that surprise us!”

Those who habitually speak up first or may even play the “class clown” role in the workplace find themselves in a subtly different structure which invites new patterns of behaviour and interaction. During the briefing process I am often told “Person X will love this training and want to take centre stage”

but during the workshop they find themselves on an unfamiliar stage and give space to other people and their own internal responses –which may previously have been covered up by a certain style of humour. Their take away learning is often connected to the value of listening and collaborating.

When a team or organisation takes part in an improvisation experience, whether a one-off or a series, there are a number of positive outcomes which emerge and can be further developed:

The group as a whole becomes more open and agile and appreciative of each other’s styles of communication and interaction. By stepping into the unknown together, in an environment which is safe and supportive, people

increase their levels of trust. Once this creative, collaborative spirit is unlocked it is easy to access it again as needed. Listening and affirming can become a part of the culture once the benefits have been seen and validated

written by John Cremer

“Bob” (not his real name!) is a member of a CEO peer learning group which meets monthly for a whole day and engages an external presenter in the morning. Bob was in his early sixties and had been made redundant six months previously. After many unsuccessful job interviews his confidence had diminished and he was considering taking early retirement despite his wealth of expertise and experience. His body language indicated clearly how he was feeling and he was reluctant to take part in an improvisation session which must have seemed frivolous to him under the circumstances.

During the workshop Bob started to open up and laugh, his demeanour changed and his face lit up. In an ideal group experience the level of challenge increases as we proceed and the level of support from the facilitator decreases as the group supports each other more readily. As a finale I asked for a volunteer to step up for a high risk scenario.

Bob’s hand shot up (before he had time to think about it!) and he stepped on stage. The group gave him the role of the world’s leading expert on teaching kangaroos to play cricket and I interviewed him on this topic. Bob did not hesitate and by the time he explained, with total commitment, how kangaroos store cricket balls in their pouch and polish them on their fur the group was laughing uproariously.

Six months later I heard from the chairperson of the group that Bob had made a transformation. He decided “if I can convince my peers that I teach kangaroos to play cricket then nothing can phase me” His confidence returned and he found a new position which made great use of his talents. During the job interview he internally recalled the kangaroo scene and was unflappable. The skills of improvisation can give us ready access to our inner resources once we rediscover them.

Here’s a story of an individual who was positively impacted by just one session of improvisation.

With some gritty interpersonal dynamics and external stresses constantly in play they knew they were not functioning in an optimal way. All the ingredients were in place in terms of talent and will but it just wasn’t coming together. They felt they were going in circles and did not know how to change the pattern. At a team retreat they decided to have an improvisation session to lower their stress levels and have a laugh. Once they realised that something unusual was unfolding they threw themselves into the experience whole heartedly. Some of their challenging dynamics surfaced but for the first time these became raw

material for good hearted humour and there was a palpable sense of emotional decompression in the room. It is difficult to maintain a personal resentment against someone we have been laughing helplessly with. We start to see them differently and with more generosity. Several members with strong technical backgrounds found themselves fascinated by the processes and structure which were used. As a team they decided to use some of the simpler activities in their meetings and managed to bring a positive cultural change which rippled out through the organisation.

If you wish, right now, listen to your surroundings until you can hear a sound from outside the room you are in. Expand your listening.

Notice what happens inside you, perhaps you became calmer, more mindful and even more present.

When we are more present we have more options available to us.

Listen to your colleagues and your loved ones more attentively and see what happens. The rest of your life will be improvised, if you listen more, say “yes”more and commit more you will bring more value to your clients and more fun to your life.

If you want to know more about improvisation please be in touch.

One more tale: A senior leadership in a large telecommunications business was finding collaboration to be a challenge.

Here’s a gift for you, dear reader, to thank you for reading this far.

One step forward and two steps back: the impact of data wastage on promoting brand sustainability

With recession on the horizon, it’s sink or swim for brands. Recent research conducted by Treasure Data found that 72% of marketers are feeling more pressure to prove ROI/ROAS in the context of the cost of living crisis, whilst 65% are concerned by the prospect of further budget cuts.

To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, brands must not let budget pressures derail the progress they have been making in promoting sustainability. Consumers still have high expectations when it comes to environment, social and governance (ESG), and marketers have more to do to win their trust in the area.

At Treasure Data, we asked consumers to list the factors most important to them when making everyday purchases, and unsurprisingly sustainability was high on the list - behind only price, quality and value for money - two of which are explicitly linked to consumer’s own experience of recession. But as consumers increasingly scrutinise their brand consumption, in particular when it comes to environmental records, mistrust for marketers becomes all the more alarming.

Amidst changing shopping behaviour, we also found that 63% of consumers believe they should be marketed to less by brands because of the cost of living crisis, whilst eight in 10 said that marketing campaigns should be adapted to be more sensitive to customers’ changing priorities and needs.

It means that marketers must work hard - in the face of tightening budgets - to retain their loyal consumer base amidst a cost of living crisis, while staying true to their consumers’ sustainability expectations. Marketers must ask themselves; will consumers still pay the sustainability premium during a recession? How will they communicate their businesses’ ESG commitments during this challenging time - will they still resonate?

Critical to answering these questions, is understanding their inextricable link to data and targeting. Brands hoping to connect with customers and retain their loyalty throughout this period, must consider bolstering their data management strategies.

How can marketers leverage data in the face of budget cuts and a cost of living crisis?

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The Data Obstacle

As marketers across all sectors scramble to navigate this challenging environment, efforts are being impeded by stalling data-management strategies. Alarmingly, we found that as marketers look to campaign strategies for the year ahead, their hands are tied by operational challenges which are creating data inefficiencies. We found three core challenges:

Data blind spots

Despite trying to listen to consumers, marketers are missing the full picture. Three quarters (75%) of the marketers we surveyed admit that their organisation has data blind spots which are impacting how they communicate with consumers.

Data quality

Whilst most marketers agree they have access to insights on identity, attribute and behaviour, roughly a third feel that this is not accurate or of high quality. So it comes as no surprise that 30% feel as though they have wasted marketing spend in the last six months.

Data wastage

61% of marketers don’t feel properly equipped to get the most out of the data they use for marketing. Despite having access to sales and customer service data, they are not using it to inform their campaigns.

The Industry View

In short, marketers are missing the mark. Not only from a point of view of retailers, and the sustainability premium for products, but also more broadly - the key communications around ESG achievements and sustainable initiatives that brands want to convey, but currently, these are falling on deaf ears and that’s in part, because of poorly optimised data strategies. From the research we conducted, we identified the following pinch points in the Financial Services, Automotive, CPG and IT sectors:

Financial services

• 82% of marketers in this sector say that data blind spots are the biggest obstacle for their organisation, and this is fueling the fire of the customer data crisis. By not knowing where their customers’ values lie, FS providers are missing key opportunities to engage customers with the sustainable credentials of their brand.

• It’s important for brands to understand which sustainable messages consumers want to receive. For example, accurate data collection and management can help uncover whether they should be communicating the steps they are taking to achieve net zero first, or concrete news of investing in green initiatives.

• By not having a clear picture of where customer’s priorities lie, marketers in FS are putting themselves at risk of failing to adapt to the expectations of consumers who, more so now than ever, are willing to drop brands quickly.

Automotive

• Poor quality customer data is hitting the automotive industry hard, with 43% of marketers in the sector admitting to wasting marketing spend as a result of poor data quality. As the transition to electric vehicles speeds up in the automotive sector, manufacturers and dealers are often being led in the wrong direction when it comes to targeting the right customers, at the right time.

• This is being fueled by a clear disconnect between marketers and consumers. 25% of the Brits we surveyed told us that they sometimes give false data about themselves, whilst 47% deliberately try to withhold their personal data from brands.

• Worryingly, this reveals that marketers in the automotive sector are working with inadequate tools as they navigate the transition to electric vehicles, resulting in inefficient targeting and wasted budget.

Consumer packaged goods (CPG)

• Poor customer data optimisation in the sector means marketers are wasting on average 43% of their budget. Over a six month period, marketers surveyed said that their marketing budgets in the sector amounted to approximately £5.7 million, on average. But this means almost £2.5 million of that budget could have been wasted by poor handling of data.

• Losing crucial insights to poor optimisation means CPG marketers will not be able to communicate the value of its sustainability credentials effectively. Every penny wasted on lost data is a lost opportunity to target consumers correctly, and communicate the sustainability premium appropriately.

• And as businesses scramble to cut costs and not corners, this is spend that marketers cannot afford to waste.

IT and Computing

• Out of the marketers we surveyed, 68% of those in IT and Computing did not feel properly equipped to make the most out of the data they use in their marketing.

• This means marketers in the sector could be missing key opportunities to spot what customers want to know about how IT and Computing manufacturers are doing to lower their carbon footprint with steps such as: optimising their supply chains to reduce emissions, sourcing sustainable materials and reducing hardware wastage.

• By lacking the skills and resources to build a 360 degree view of consumers, marketers in the sector are missing out on the opportunity to help their ESG credentials shine.

What can be done?

There is hope and there are solutions. All sectors can deploy these steps to upgrade their data management strategies and make the most of the opportunities in a carbon neutral future.

A vast pool of data is only valuable if the internal teams within a brand are fully joined up. Businesses need to take immediate action to eliminate silos and create effective channels of communication - or risk missing out on critical intelligence about their customers and operations.

It’s clear that consumers aren’t always confident or happy to share their data with marketers - this means they must do everything they can to shore up consumer trust. One way this can be done is by communicating the value exchange at hand – data sharing in return for a vastly improved experience – and ensuring that consumers feel like they’re getting a reasonable return for their data.

ENSURE TEAMS HAVE THE SKILLS TO SUCCEED

A strong data management strategy is a perfect marriage between the right tech and a properly trained team to make the most of it. Brands need to invest on the ground and make sure employees are trained to get the most out of their data with confidence.

Being a sustainable brand is no longer a choice – from ESG commitments, to supply chains, and product pivots – consumers demand more transparency and credibility from brands on their commitments. Of course, during a cost of living crisis, brands will need to review their priorities for the year ahead – but not at the detriment of a sustainable future. Robust data management strategies will help brands connect and retain consumers during this challenging time.

How brands can leverage blockchain and decentralised APPS in their business

It’s pretty common to hear the word ‘blockchain’ today. You might even have heard it mentioned by your friends, colleagues or family members while they talk about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies. However, many people still don’t know how blockchain technology can help them. If you’re one of those people wondering what the fuss is about, then read on as we explain exactly how brands can leverage blockchain in their business.

In 2001, Apple launched its first iPod,

The iTunes Store was unveiled later that year with 500 000 songs already on offer. The launch of the iPod made it possible for people to take their music wherever they went — in their pockets — and it also opened up new opportunities for artists in terms of distribution and income.

At first, it may seem absurd that the world’s largest tech company would look at operating a bank with no physical branches. But if you look at their business model, it seems only logical that they would want to control their payment rails through their digital ecosystem.

Most will know that Apple operates a payment system called Apple Pay, an alternative to traditional card transactions and cash. It allows users to make payments with their iPhone or Apple Watch, and hundreds of millions of customers worldwide are already doing this.

Apple has also launched Apple Pay Cash, a peer-to-peer payment solution that allows users to send and receive money using their iPhones. Users either load funds into their Apple Pay Cash account from a debit card or directly from their bank account. The service is available in the US only at this stage, but they will likely expand this functionality if there is demand for it.

The idea of Apple becoming a bank is not as crazy as it seems. They have the customers and the technology and can offer better deals than traditional banks. The challenge for them will be how to make money from this business model, but given their history of innovation, I am sure they will find a way.

which changed how we purchase, listen to and share music.

The market is already heading towards these open financial networks (e.g. Bitcoin) on the back of decentralised apps (DeFi). The bigger question is not whether or not you should use blockchain in your business but how you can use it to your advantage.

Uber and Airbnb are prime examples of how a simple app can create massive disruption in an industry.

If you’re unfamiliar, Uber is a transportation network company (TNC) that operates via an app-based platform where drivers use their vehicles to provide on-demand rides. Unlike traditional taxi companies, it doesn’t own any vehicles or employ drivers: it acts as an intermediary between passengers and drivers. Passengers can track their driver’s location using the app, which lets them pay for the ride using credit card information stored within their account profile.

Similarly, Airbnb is a community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations worldwide, from private homes to hotels. It has become so successful that even large hotel chains like Marriott now offer similar services through its Residence Inn brand.

The market is already heading towards these open financial networks on the back of decentralised apps.

If a company can create an app that allows for frictionless payments, it can disrupt any industry – just like Uber did to taxis and Airbnb to hotels.

The concept behind blockchain is that it allows secure transactions between parties. The technology is not just limited to cryptocurrencies but also has the ability to disrupt every industry.

Using NFTs will create unique opportunities for brands looking at ways of leveraging the blockchain in their business models.

What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?

NFTs are unique digital assets that can be exchanged between users. They are also known as crypto-collectables, not because they’re limited in number like actual collectables but because each has a unique ID and can only be owned by one person at a time. This makes NFTs ideal for creating digital scarcity allowing brands to incentivise their audiences to engage with unique content or to prove ownership of physical products.

For example, let’s say you want to create a limited edition t-shirt for the launch of your new album but only want ten copies available at launch. With NFTs, you could create a token representing each shirt that acts as an asset on its blockchain (e.g., Ethereum) and then make it available through an app store where users can purchase them using cryptocurrencies such as ETH or BTC. The user would then receive the physical album and t-shirt and the added value of their NFT asset.

How brands can leverage blockchain and decentralised APPS in their business / 55

Every industry will likely become disrupted by blockchain technology as companies begin using cryptocurrencies and tokens as part of their business model in the very near future.

How will NFTs help companies use blockchain?

Digital scarcity is a key advantage.

By creating a limited-edition item, companies could create buzz around their brand. They can also provide unique benefits for those who purchase these items, making these customers feel more valued.

For example, if you were interested in purchasing a new pair of trainers (sneakers for those across the pond) from a wellknown brand but didn’t want to wait until they were in stores, NFTs would allow you to pre-order the shoe online. You would pay a premium for it (like a reservation fee), then get first dibs on getting your hands on this limited edition item, and it will become part of your digital portfolio forever!

Are NFTs just for high-end brands or luxury goods?

The answer is simple; no: If you’re looking for a way to incentivise customers or drive loyalty and engagement, NFTs are an excellent option. The ability to give consumers something digital that is both scarce and transferable makes NFTs very appealing to brands looking for new ways of engaging with their audience.

If you have a luxury product or experience that consumers are willing to pay more for, creating a limited-edition NFT could be another exciting way towards monetising your business and establishing your brand as authentic within the blockchain community.

The world is moving towards blockchain, and your business could be left behind if you don’t know how to use it. Blockchain technology will disrupt every industry as it has the potential to change the way we think about trust, security and identity.

It’s not just a fad: companies that don’t find a way to leverage this technology will risk getting left behind by their competitors who do embrace it.

All companies will have to find a way to leverage blockchain technology or risk getting left behind.

How to build blockchain DAPPS using Ethereum

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DNA | EMOTIO

WRITTEN BY DAMON SEGAL

Ethereum is a platform and a programming language that allows any developer to build and publish next-generation decentralised applications. Ethereum can be used to codify, decentralise, secure and trade just about anything: voting, domain names, financial exchanges, crowdfunding, company governance, contracts and agreements of most kinds and intellectual property.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a blockchain platform that allows developers to build and deploy decentralised applications.

Ethereum is a decentralised platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference. These apps run on a custom-built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds following instructions given long in the past (like a will) and many other things that have not been invented yet because this toolbox for developing applications is so new.

Decentralised Application (Dapp)

It’s important to understand that a Dapp is not just any application. A typical web application runs on a centralised server and is controlled by one entity (the owner) while also being subject to censorship or other limitations. On the other hand, Dapps run on decentralised peerto-peer networks, which means no central entity controls them. They are open source too!

Dapps are also often referred to as decentralised applications. However, the terms Dapp and dApp are not interchangeable because they differ in one crucial aspect.

A Dapp is an application that runs on a blockchain, while a dApp is an application that uses specific types of blockchain (e.g., Ethereum).

Just to clarify, a blockchain is a decentralised, distributed ledger that stores data in an immutable and transparent way. This technology has many applications, including: - Enabling secure transactions between parties without the need for an intermediary such as a bank or credit card company. - Allowing users to verify the integrity of data (such as identity) by providing proof that it hasn’t been tampered with since being created.

What are Smart contracts?

Smart contracts are computer protocols that facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract or that make a contractual clause unnecessary. Smart contracts usually also have a user interface and often emulate the logic of contractual clauses.

Proponents of smart contracts claim that many kinds of contractual clauses may be made partially or fully self-executing, self-enforcing, or both. Smart contracts aim to provide security superior to traditional contract law and reduce other transaction costs associated with contracting.

Among the advantages touted by advocates are lower barriers to entry in markets, increased transaction security; reduced risk of fraud; reduced cost of enforcement; faster dispute resolution and lower risks for non-payment.

Smart contracts can be public and transparent, like Bitcoin transactions, yet do not require third parties such as banks to enforce obligations between people who don’t know or trust each other. (a massive advantage for blockchain technology).

This means there’s no need for lawyers/notaries/banks etc., over time as everything will be recorded on blockchains which no one but themselves controls because they run off decentralised networks powered by thousands of computers around the world called nodes!

Smart contracts can be used to create digital tokens, which can be used as an incentive system for people to contribute value to a network. For example, they could be used by a company to reward customers who refer new people or by governments to pay citizens in certain situations, such as being part of a local community group or volunteering for charity work.

Blockchain offers superior security compared to traditional technology.

The blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a growing list of records that cannot be altered. It’s like a ledger; however, it can’t be changed or deleted.

Because of the blockchain’s decentralised approach (no one person owns it), it is transparent and verifiable. This makes it incredibly secure — and valuable to brands looking to prevent fraud and protect their data.

Blockchain technology is more reliable than traditional security systems because there are multiple

copies of the data stored on every computer in the network, preventing any single point of failure or attack. If one copy of the blockchain is damaged by an attack, there are many more backups available for reference.

It’s immutable — once something has been recorded in a block on the blockchain, it can’t be altered retroactively (therefore reducing opportunities for fraud). The immutability aspect also means that all users must approve any changes made to a record before being accepted into the chain.

How to code blockchain DAPPS using Ethereum?

There are many tools to help you code using Ethereum. You can use a tool called Remix to create your contracts and then deploy them using Mist or Geth. If you’re just starting with blockchain development, it might be best to start with a framework. These frameworks simplify some of the complexity involved in coding and offer tutorials that can help you build your first DAPP.

Some of the most popular Ethereum development frameworks include Truffle, Embark and Web3.js.

• Web3.js is a Javascript library that allows you to interact with an Ethereum node via HTTP requests. It’s designed as an abstraction layer over the

Ethereum blockchain so that developers don’t need to know how the blockchain works to be able to use it.

• Embark is a framework that allows you to build DAPPs using Javascript. It includes many features such as debugging, testing and development tools.

• Truffle is a development environment that supports testing and smart contract development. It includes libraries for compiling contracts, deploying them to a testnet or the mainnet and interacting with them using Web3.

What kind of decentralised apps can I create?

Decentralised apps can be built to solve problems related to data storage, data security, and data sharing.

Examples of successful decentralised applications include:

• EOS - this is a smart contract platform that enables vertical and horizontal scaling of decentralised applications. It does this by acting as an operating system for decentralised applications.

• Brave Browser - This browser makes use of the Ethereum blockchain for payments between advertisers and publishers. Users get paid in BAT tokens for their attention while browsing the web (or watching videos).

• Augur - An open-source prediction market built on top of Ethereum’s public blockchain network, allowing users to buy or trade shares based on current events

Conclusion

The world of business is changing, and it’s changing fast. Brands need to find ways to leverage new technologies like blockchain if they want to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in an increasingly digital world. The good news is that plenty of options are available for companies looking to launch their own crypto-based products or services – whether using an existing platform such as Ethereum or creating their own customised solution tailored to their needs.

like sports matches or elections (and hopefully not celebrity deaths).

• QTUM - This smart contract platform enables mobile and web applications to be built on top of it. The platform provides a secure environment for decentralised apps (DApps) to run while also being compatible with existing systems such as Ethereum.

• Lisk - This platform allows developers to build their own blockchain applications. The platform provides tools and libraries for decentralised apps (DApps) built on top of its blockchain network.

There are many other uses for Ethereum, including: - Creating a token that represents an asset or utility (like a currency or loyalty points) - Creating a decentralised organisation (DAO) and allowing it to run on its own without the need for human intervention.

We’ve covered some basics and how to build DAPPS with Ethereum. Keep in mind that this is just a brief overview of what you need to know to get started with building your own DAPP. Many other resources are available on this topic, including books and courses that can help you learn more about everything from development tools to blockchain technology.

NIKE

Nike has a long history of innovation and being at the forefront of the tech industry. This time, they’re taking it to another level by using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to power their latest clothing collection.

Nike is leading the way in the NFT fashion sector, with $185 million in sales from its limited edition shoes and clothing collection.

The brand quickly sold out of its first release — a line of 10 sneakers available for purchase via the Metaverse Fashion app.

The collection includes designs inspired by the Air Jordan 3, Air Max 1, NikeLab Air VaporMax Moc 2 and more.

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Nike Sold an NFT Sneaker for $134,000

The New York Times

DISNEY

Disney has been a pioneer in using blockchain technology, an example of this being the Disney NFT collection on veve.

The Disney NFT collection on veve is part of Disney’s effort to “reinvent its licensing program,” according to Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products (WDPECP).

He explained, “we wanted to create a new platform for our licensing partners that would enable them to share the magic of Disney with their customers in new ways.”

The new program will allow retailers to sell their own custom collectables based on the characters they love most in their stores.

What are Disney NFTs? Where can I buy a Disney NFT?

NFT News Today

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DAMIEN HIRST

In the past few years, Damien Hirst has been making art with his name on it. He’s sold a pill cabinet and a set of prints that look like pills. He’s also made a diamond-encrusted skull called For The Love Of God (2007), which he put up for auction in 2008 and sold for £50 million ($70 million).

Now he’s using blockchain technology to make art that can be sold repeatedly without any risk of duplication.

Hirst’s initial instinct was that it was too complicated. Then he thought about it some more and realised there was no reason it couldn’t be done — as long as the artist created a digital certificate of authenticity beforehand so buyers could be sure they were buying something authentic. This was his latest project.

Damien Hirst destroys 1,000 physical artworks of ‘The Currency’ in front of NFT buyers emt.io/3PYvxkr

ROYAL SALUTE

Royal Salute, the master of exceptionally aged Scotch, drops the oldest whisky NFT on BlockBar, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits.

Royal Salute, a brand of Pernod Ricard, unveiled its ultra-limited Royal Salute Time Series 51-YearOld Whisky in a revolutionary new way: as a non-fungible token (NFT) on BlockBar.

This is the first time an ultra-premium Scotch has been launched as an NFT on a public blockchain.

This rare Royal Salute is one of only 101 crystal decanters which the purchase can safely trade using its NFT or use to claim the real-world physical product.

Glenfiddich sells $18,000 super-rare whisky as NFTs –here’s what that means emt.io/3I8pNCO

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey

Carbon footprinting estimates the total volume of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by an individual, organisation, event, or product.

Measuring it has become a key business decision as companies race to set climate commitments and targets in order to keep global warming under the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, but it can be difficult to know where to start.

At Grain we use a platform that adheres to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard to measure our clients’ footprints, before going on to create their overall sustainability strategy.

Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions refer to the greenhouse gases emitted by a company and where they originate from. Scope 1 considers the direct emissions from business activity, for example natural gas used to heat company facilities or fuel used in company vehicles, whereas Scope 2 refers to the indirect emissions from purchased energy, including electricity, heating, and cooling.

Scope 1 and 2 figures are easily calculated from company data and are therefore a good place to start when working out an organisation’s carbon footprint.

Scope 3 incorporates all other indirect emissions from the company’s value chain — both upstream and downstream — and is more challenging to track.

Different industries will find that their emissions come from varying sources. If your company is not directly burning fossil fuels or using a large amount of energy, Scope 3 could easily represent more than 90% of emissions. It’s worth diving in and analysing your value chain now to reduce your environmental impact and take a vital step towards net zero.

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports that CO2 emissions have increased by about 90% since 1970. Nearly 3/4 of current global GHG emissions come from energy use including 24.2% in industry, 16.2% from transport and 6.6% in commercial buildings.

“Net zero means that the UK’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be equal to or less than the emissions the UK removed from the environment. This can be achieved by a combination of emission reduction and emission removal.”

— Office for National Statistics

According to the Net Zero Tracker, more than 1/3 of world’s largest publicly traded companies now have net zero targets, up from 1/5 in December 2020. However, 65% of corporate targets do not yet meet minimum procedural reporting standards and the creation of net zero targets has not yet spread widely beyond high-income countries.

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey /

The UK Government has committed to reach net zero by 2050 as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit rises in global temperatures to 1.5°C compared with a pre-industrial baseline. To achieve this, businesses must make concrete net zero plans now.

Net zero and the different official measures of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions emt.io/3ju2mJV

Net Zero Stocktake 2022 emt.io/3WJdv7T

partnership with Grain Sustainability

Sharon Lee

Sharon Lee — how we can help you deliver against your green credentials

emt.io/3YQ5AYt

Fashion, workwear, and promotional headwear brand Sharon Lee approached Grain with a desire to strengthen their sustainability and to set the standard of change in their industry.

As they are a UK manufacturer with a small facility in Essex using no gas and with no company owned vehicles, Sharon Lee has no Scope 1 emissions, and minimal Scope 2 coming from purchased electricity.

Much of the manufacturing is done by suppliers, meaning around 90% of the company’s footprint is Scope 3, with freight and waste together making up most of the figures.

Terraclear - Clean water access for families in Laos

link provided goes to 404

Sharon Lee already has a positive impact on sustainability through their textile recycling scheme for production waste. Their use of shipping whenever possible rather than aviation meant they were already using a lower-emission transport option. We have helped them set waste and freight reduction targets and choose carbon neutral transport where possible. Furthermore, Sharon Lee is now offsetting their Scope 2 emissions through a Gold Standard project.

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey /

Pegasus Group

emt.io/3hWSIze

Pegasus Group is a leading planning and development consultancy. When Grain was analysing their data spanning multiple offices, one location stuck out with an abnormally high water usage figure, affecting overall emissions. We found out that the building had been flooded and had to undergo water testing, which accounted for this unusually elevated figure.

Leading development consultancy | Pegasus Group

The group has an environmental management system in place for many locations which made data collection straightforward, despite missing some data for Scope 3 — a common situation since there are fifteen different Scope 3 categories.

In fact, Scope 3 measurement entails defining which categories are the most significant, and sometimes using averages or estimates in place of exact data.

Often in carbon footprinting, results can be tainted by missing data or anomalies. Overall Pegasus Group has a low environmental impact as a services provider, and we are working with them to ensure all emissions are accounted for, moving forward with a holistic sustainability strategy.

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey /

Megger

emt.io/3WPhb8p

Megger is a global provider of electrical power asset management and grid performance solutions. Their solutions are helping industry to avoid unnecessary emissions through proactive and predictive maintenance of electrical installations.

Electrical test equipment | Power station to plug | Megger

As part of the overall sustainability strategy, Grain guided Megger through the process of establishing a first carbon footprint for the entire group. With nine manufacturing sites, and a number of sales offices worldwide and differences in the quality of data, the challenge is to collate a coherent data set. Choosing a suitable baseline year is key with the recent COVID disruption. Rather than using the most recent full financial year, choosing 2019 eliminates the anomalies in emission patterns.

As a manufacturer, Megger is expected to have a high percentage of Scope 3 emissions, and the collated data helped to identify the areas where changes in reporting will facilitate high quality emissions data based on usage rather than money spent. This will create the insight needed to collect a full Scope 3 data set and allowing for detailed emissions reduction planning.

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey /

University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is home to almost 30,000 students and 7,000 staff. Having already measured their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions for several years, Warwick came to Grain for help to develop their alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), cementing their net zero ambition set in 2019, and to be on a solid path to meet the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

While Scope 1 and 2 are part of the creation of an emissions reduction trajectory for the SBTi alignment, the bulk of the work was a deep dive analysis of their Scope 3 data (75% of emissions). Not only was it about identifying carbon hotspots like staff/student travel, building/ landscape services and IT/tech but

identifying where and how the most progress can be made. This allowed the setting of clear interim and near term targets as well as identifying what work needs to be done to develop high quality data that leads to detailed longer term targets.

Ambitious corporate climate action | Science Based Targets

emt.io/3GklMtD

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey /

Learning points

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET STARTED TRACKING YOUR ORGANISATION’S CARBON FOOTPRINT, DO NOT PUT IT OFF ANY LONGER.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions are easy to measure, and it is crucial to start collecting data in order to set reduction targets and to have comparison points for the future. There may be simple changes you can make now to drastically

decrease your company’s carbon footprint and enhance efficiency, for example switching to a renewable energy contract, which is easily done in the UK and will drastically cut your Scope 2 emissions.

THE REWARDS FOR EMBRACING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS NOW ARE PLENTIFUL.

In addition to reducing your environmental impact, creating a sustainability strategy has endless benefits. It will improve your brand image, create competitive advantage, engage employees and customers, minimise costs by increasing productivity, and put you ahead of the curve for future

legislative changes. Set a target according to SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) or gaining B Corp certification is a clear way to visibly portray your environmental and ethical commitments, win over conscious customers and boost investor confidence.

VARIOUS CERTIFICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE

Whether your target is to become carbon neutral (Scope 1 and 2 emissions are compensated for by carbon offsets) or net zero (Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are reduced and offset as a last resort, creating a stronger commitment to climate action aligning to the 1.5°C warming limit). There are now an overwhelming number of organisations offering sustainability

certifications, yet it is important to ensure you choose legitimate and credible ones, for example PAS 2060, the only internationally recognised standard for carbon neutrality. If you purchase carbon credits, make sure they are certified by third-party organisations like Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) to avoid greenwashing.

The UK B Corporation movement emt.io/3Gkm8QZ

Gold Standard Offsetting Guide | The Gold Standard emt.io/3VkjQFW

Verified Carbon Standard | Verra emt.io/3WDEWjO

Carbon footprinting: taking the first step on your net zero journey / 81

The power of brand portfolio strategy and architecture

WRITTEN BY NICK LIDDELL

One of the nice things about being a brand strategist is that you only need to be good at three things:

• Brand positioning: being clear about what your brand stands for

• Brand portfolio strategy: defining a clear role for every brand, subbrand, and proposition in your business

• Brand architecture: establishing clear relationships between your brands, subbrands and propositions

Unfortunately, brand positioning gets all the attention. Google Trends data from the past five years reveals that ‘brand positioning’ is by far the most searched term: more than twice as popular as the other two terms put together. The bias towards brand positioning is also strikingly evident in the books marketers like to read: Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ (for

many people this is the bible of brand positioning) is Amazon.com’s #1 rated book in entrepreneurship and #2 rated in business management. Jim Collins’ ‘Good To Great’ (another book that emphasises the importance of brand positioning) is also in this top ten list.

Brand positioning is sexy: it’s emotional and passionate. It is the antidote to indifference. But it is not the be-all-andend-all of brand strategising. Brand portfolio strategy and brand architecture are powerful and often overlooked tools. They provide the mechanisms through which organisations turn great positioning ideas into rich, compelling experiences, capable of meeting the needs and expectations of diverse audiences.

They are the unsung heroes of branding and the chances are that your organisation has overlooked their potential.

Most portfolios I’ve seen follow the Pareto principle: 20% of the propositions generate around 80% of the value, which means that there is often a ‘long tail’ of products and services that deliver little or no value.

The chart below shows a typical example from an FMCG brand: 154 SKUs out of 196 (79%) generate only 20% of sales. These could be rationalised to free up investment for propositions with higher growth potential.

in partnership with Academy of Chief Marketers

The propositions that generate the greatest value – or those with the greatest potential –should be the most prominent in the portfolio, but this is rarely the case. Many brand architecture systems have evolved through accidents of history or internal politics, rather than as a coherent plan for value-creation. Consider, for example, Coca-Cola GB’s brand architecture and how you would explain the difference between Diet Coke and Coke Zero to someone who wasn’t familiar with the brand:

WIMBLEDON: BUILDING AN ICON

Wimbledon’s brand architecture system is designed to embody the brand’s positioning, ‘In Pursuit of Greatness’. And the ‘pursuit’ matters to Wimbledon every bit as much as the ‘greatness’.

Since 2019, Wimbledon has been evolving its brand architecture to enhance the brand’s ability to stretch into new areas of opportunity while maintaining its integrity.

The entire system has been developed to build an iconic brand, with partnerships, services, initiatives and authenticators sitting within a carefully defined hierarchy, on top of which sits the Wimbledon Icon. Every level in the hierarchy opens up a new opportunity and follows a consistent use of colour, type and graphic devices to make navigation as simple as possible for the millions of people who follow the brand every year.

in partnership with Academy of Chief Marketers

FARFETCH: HEROING SUSTAINABILITY

Following a successful IPO in 2018, Farfetch embarked on the next phase of its growth plan: to become the global platform for good in luxury fashion, which has long been a byword for wasteful, unsustainable excess. Collaboration is a central feature of the brand’s sustainability strategy: to use its platform as a way to work with brands, boutiques, creators and the fashion-buying

public to encourage greater inclusion, more circular behaviours and more conscious consumption. To bring the strategy to life, Farfetch overhauled its brand architecture: creating a sustainability-specific subbrand, ‘Positively Farfetch’, supported by a set of five goals, which are used to organise and prioritise sustainability initiatives and partnerships.

Image credits: Farfetch

SOUTHAMPTON FC: BRINGING A CLUB ETHOS TO LIFE

Like many successful football clubs, Southampton FC is much more than just a football team: following years of Premier League success, the club had expanded into events management and professional services, as well as running a Foundation to support the community of Southampton and its surrounding area. However, because its growth had been rapid, the result was a complex network of branded

divisions, services, initiatives and spaces with little in common: the whole was less than the sum of its individual parts.

In 2018, the Club reorganised around a single ethos: ‘to turn potential into excellence’. This became a springboard for rationalising and reorganising the club’s activities, as well a developing a more cohesive and coherent system for bringing these to life.

partnership with Academy of Chief Marketers

Image credits: Getty

Learning points

PORTFOLIO AND ARCHITECTURE SHOULD BRING POSITIONING TO LIFE

Positioning is all about belief: what’s the thought or idea you’d really love to plant in people’s minds about your brand and what it stands for? Portfolio strategy and brand architecture complements this belief by adding a structure that can guide thought and action.

The three disciplines should work in concert and if you’re not speaking internally about your portfolio strategy and brand architecture, then your brand is almost certainly less effective and less efficient than it could be at bringing your positioning to life.

BRANDS ARE A SYSTEM

Positioning is only the beginning of the story: it establishes a central organising principle for your brand, but most brands sell more than one product or service to more than one audience and so need to

define propositions with a clear role (brand portfolio strategy), as well as establishing clear relationships between the propositions and the overall brand (brand architecture).

THERE’S MORE TO BRAND ARCHITECTURE THAN HOUSE OF BRANDS AND BRANDED HOUSE

More often than not, brand architecture is framed as a choice between these two extremes. Don’t fall into this trap! The examples show that your brand architecture should be shaped to reflect the idiosyncrasies of your business:

it is as individual as a fingerprint. More complex businesses with more diverse propositions require more layered, sophisticated systems. More monolithic organisations can get by with simpler systems.

Branded House and House of Brands | Baron Sauvage

emt.io/3BZ8ekD

Building sustainable business brands: effective ESG thought leadership

The scale of investment in innovation and organisational transformation required to bring about a net-zero economy cannot be underestimated. Research by Man Bites Dog shows that nine out of 10 multinational companies require substantial transformation to make it happen and eight out of 10 companies will need significant additional finance. If we thought digital transformation was a challenge, net-zero transformation will put it firmly in the shade. We are all now in the ESG business and marketing professionals must step into the role of purposeful strategic partner to their leadership team to make change happen.

Business will need to drive the transition – we know that the majority of climate reductions must come from corporate action. As marketing communications leaders, we can help organisations and their customers take a stand and accelerate net zero. This is about companies themselves setting and achieving their own sustainability and

broader ESG targets, but also about communicating that with authenticity, and using powerful platforms, content and coalitions to drive change through their value chains.

From global warming to biodiversity loss, we face major systemic issues that cannot be solved in isolation. Marketers can play a key role in positioning organisations to have a positive influence on the broader ecosystem, helping them to mobilise others to build a community for change and advancing key strategic agendas.

B2B marketers have a particularly important role to play, as B2B brands impact a wide and varied network of other businesses. Thought leadership is a powerful tool for business brands to highlight and quantify ESG-related opportunities and threats, and give customers the opportunity to interact with data and expert insight, creating an emotive rallying call for change.

Climate change is the defining crisis of our time, and marketing professionals have a pivotal role to play in driving the change we need to build a greener, more inclusive world.

Navigating the sustainability curve

Man Bites Dog’s Sustainability Curve is a thought leadership framework that helps organisations evolve from being a sustainable business (one that has its own house in order) to become a sustainability business – a company that enables its customers to accelerate their net-zero journeys.

The first is a firm’s impact on its customers. How can a business help its customers become fit to operate in the net-zero economy? This may mean reevaluating your organisation’s product and service offering and how you use marketing and business development to promote those products and services. How can you create content that will be genuinely useful to customers in advancing change?

The second dimension is about a firm’s influence on its broader ecosystem. Reaching net zero is bigger than any company or nation, and it will take a collective effort on an unprecedented scale to mobilise communities for change. How can your organisation use its convening power to curate a coalition of change with the world’s leading experts?

The Sustainability Curve has two key dimensions, which should be addressed in parallel.

We use this model to create and amplify strategic thought leadership platforms and agendas to deliver our clients’ purpose, and to achieve a wider purpose for people and planet.

CASE STUDIES: EXAMPLES OF MAN BITES DOG’S ESG AND SUSTAINABILITY WORK

THE SUSTAINABLE CITIES INDEX 2022: PROSPERITY BEYOND PROFIT, FOR ARCADIS

Man Bites Dog invented the first-of-its-kind Sustainable Cities Index (SCI) in 2015: a pioneering thought-leadership campaign which propelled the specialist topic of urban sustainability onto the mainstream news and business agenda. In 2022, with sustainability now a crowded market, Arcadis challenged us to refresh this visionary Index to help the firm retain its market-leading position and reignite the urban sustainability agenda.

We identified the opportunity for Arcadis to champion a new vision of city success, redefining prosperity to incorporate people

Arcadis: The Sustainable Cities Index 2022

emt.io/3GnvNGJ

and planet as well as profit. The 2022 Index – Prosperity Beyond Profit – ranked 100 global cities across 51 sustainability metrics, demonstrating that sustainability and prosperity are now one and the same.

The Index generated strong media engagement, securing over 800 pieces of coverage in over 50 countries. The SCI platform not only enables Arcadis to lead the agenda, but remains the primary sales tool for the firm’s urban sustainability services, reaching over 2,000 corporate prospects.

in partnership with Man Bites Dog

THE PATHWAY TO INCLUSIVE INVESTMENT, FOR BNY MELLON INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

BNY Mellon Investment Management challenged Man Bites Dog to create an integrated global campaign that would engage the world’s largest underaddressed investment market – women – and help close the Gender Investment Gap. The Pathway to Inclusive Investment built the case for inclusive investment through the largest ever global research study into consumer investment behaviour and investment industry bias.

Our research found that the investment industry is excluding 72% of women.

It also revealed that women are more likely to make investments that have positive social and environmental impacts, meaning that – if women invested at the same rate as men – we could see an influx of $1.87 trillion of additional capital into Responsible Investment.

The campaign engaged three million women, delivered over 300 pieces of media coverage, improved female financial education and created a clear call to action for the investment industry to ignite change.

BNY Mellon: The Pathway to Inclusive Investment

emt.io/3VpVMBx

ZERONOMICS: FINANCING THE TRANSITION TO A NET-ZERO WORLD, FOR STANDARD CHARTERED

Man Bites Dog’s Zeronomics campaign positioned Standard Chartered as a thought leader by highlighting the critical role of finance in the greatest challenge ever undertaken: decarbonisation.

We identified a new angle – the economics of transition to a net-zero carbon world and invented a new term to encapsulate it –Zeronomics – creating a unique platform to promote the bank’s sustainable finance capability.

Our research highlighted the risk of a “lost decade” as companies postpone action

on climate change and revealed that 55% of corporates are not transitioning fast enough to reach net zero by 2050, with insufficient finance the greatest barrier and the most significant transition capital shortfall occurring in emerging markets.

The campaign generated 246 pieces of international media coverage, and the report findings were viewed 2.4 million times. It has powered numerous stakeholder conversations, and been referenced in industry roundtables, webinars and online conferences.

Standard Chartered: Zeronomics

emt.io/3GkQ2EL

in partnership with Man Bites Dog

ACCOUNTING FOR A BETTER WORLD: PRIORITIES FOR A TRANSFORMING PROFESSION, FOR ACCA

Man Bites Dog created an exciting longterm brand platform for ACCA – the global body for professional accountants – redefining the role of the profession as shaping a fairer, more resilient and inclusive future for all. Based on qualitative research, Accounting for a Better World envisions the future of the accountancy profession, identifying seven new dimensions of impact.

Designed as ‘a big conversation’ to teach, inspire and mobilise others, this brand platform enabled ACCA to convene and engage a community for change – global

governments, policymakers, international business leaders and others – on the role of the accounting profession in shaping a path towards a sustainable and equitable future.

The initiative has been rolled out across the globe – to the ACCA community and beyond – and has already played an important positioning role at a number of milestone events, including an international assembly with senior business and finance professionals from around the world.

Three secrets of successful ESG thought leadership

Like all good marketing, ESG-related thought leadership should be based on a strong story, be supported by substantial content and drive change by creating a platform that can be sustained over the long term.

Man Bites Dog is the definition of news: “Dog bites man happens all the time, Man Bites Dog’s a story.” The secret of a great campaign is a Man Bites Dog story – a radical idea worth sharing. Start by identifying your organisation’s authentic white space: where you can take a leadership position to create

meaningful change. Marketing campaigns tend to cluster around the same themes – when you’re operating in a crowded agenda, it’s even more important not to follow the crowd. Identify an emerging issue aligned with your strategy that your brand can own, and crystalise it into a Man Bites Dog story.

A MAN BITES DOG STORY

Remember that when it comes to ESG, your content itself can be part of the solution by providing genuinely useful information. Base your campaign on firm foundations by supporting your big idea with robust new proprietary data and substantial expert insight. For example, Man Bites Dog has used scenario planning to curate the views of global experts on how we achieve a just transition, or canvassed the opinions of investors with $50 trillion in assets under management to determine how we direct capital to where it’s needed most.

Man Bites Dog has used economic forecasting to examine issues from future water resilience and the investment required for climate adaptation, to being the first to forecast The Global Talent Crunch. This research-backed approach not only gives your campaigns news value, but engages your customers with genuinely useful insights, providing them with a wealth of bespoke data that they can use to for example, plan infrastructure investment or benchmark their performance on the road to net zero.

A SUSTAINABLE, LONG-TERM PLATFORM

We partner with our clients to create powerful, long-term platforms and repeatable concepts so that they can take ownership of an agenda and lead the debate. For example, our Sustainable Cities Index for Arcadis has been running since 2015, and this hotly anticipated annual index has cemented the

company as a visionary leader in urban sustainability. Likewise our strategic positioning work with ACCA, Accounting For A Better World, provides a north star for all future thought leadership activity.

It’s time for business brands to be the change they want to see.

Building sustainable business brands: effective ESG thought leadership / 99

Korn Ferry: The Global Talent Crunch emt.io/3jqCKgZ

Don’t let greenwashing leave you red-faced

Stuart Helmer, Head of Advertising and Marketing at international law firm CMS, breaks down the key points to avoid falling foul of advertising regulators on the key compliance issue of the moment

Exaggerated claims about businesses’ environmental credentials – aka “greenwashing” – are currently the hot topic for advertising regulators, both in the UK and further afield. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Boohoo. com, ASOS and George at Asda, and warning that other sectors will be next, with travel, transport and FMCG as priorities.

This makes the stakes higher than usual: the CMA can take advertisers to court over misleading claims, which can result in fines, costs orders and even (in extreme cases) custodial sentences. On the other hand, businesses that are doing a good job on the environment should be able to tell consumers about it. Here are some key watch-outs for keeping green claims compliant.

BE CLEAR

Don’t use jargon terms, or, if you do, make sure you explain them clearly. Green claims can be technical and regulators are wary of attempts to blind consumers with science.

BE SPECIFIC...

If a green claim really only relates to part of a business, product or process, make sure you specify what. If, say, you have reduced the carbon footprint of your manufacturing, say so – don’t try to give the impression that the whole product is “greener”. In February,

the ASA upheld a complaint against an Innocent Drinks ad that contained little more than aspirations (“reduce, re-use, recycle… dreams for a healthier planet”), because it gave the impression that drinking Innocent drinks had an overall benefit to the environment.

...BUT ALSO CONSIDER YOUR WHOLE BUSINESS

HSBC recently faced a complaint about advertising claims that were clear and specific, and apparently true. However, the ASA upheld the complaint because, elsewhere in its business, HSBC finances fossil fuel businesses.

If a business contributes significantly to environmental harm, it may not be possible to make green claims at all.

Don’t let greenwashing leave you red-faced / 103

QUALIFY CLAIMS TO REDUCE RISK

Small changes like “greener” instead of “green”, lowerimpact” instead of “low impact”, or “aiming to reduce our carbon footprint” instead of

“reducing our carbon footprint” make minimal difference to the claim but can reduce the risk.

START WITH THE EVIDENCE, THEN DEVELOP YOUR CLAIM

If a green claim really only relates to part of a business, product or process, make sure you specify what. If, say, you have reduced the carbon footprint of your manufacturing, say so – don’t try to give the impression that the whole product is “greener”. In February, the ASA upheld a

complaint against an Innocent Drinks ad that contained little more than aspirations (“reduce, re-use, recycle… dreams for a healthier planet”), because it gave the impression that drinking Innocent drinks had an overall benefit to the environment.

TRAIN MARKETERS

Off-the-cuff claims that a product is “green” or “sustainable”, for example by social media, can raise serious issues. Make sure marketers are aware of the risks.

RESPOND PROMPTLY!

Early engagement with the ASA or CMA is often crucial in obtaining a good outcome. Don’t put a complaint on the too-difficult pile.

CMS has extensive experience of defending advertising complaints, and we often achieve great results even where the background is unpromising. If you’d like to know more, or need help with a specific claim or complaint, get in touch for a free-of-charge initial chat.

Don’t let greenwashing leave you red-faced / 105

Our partners

Founded in 2007 Opinium is an award-winning strategic insight agency built on the belief that in a world of uncertainty and complexity, success depends on the ability to stay on the pulse of what people think, feel and do.

Creative and inquisitive, the Opinium team is passionate about empowering clients to make the decisions that matter. Opinium works with organizations to define and overcome strategic challenges – helping them to get to grips with the world in which their brands operate. It uses the right approach and methodology to deliver robust insights, strategic counsel, and targeted recommendations that generate change and positive outcomes.

Tom symondson Global Head of Growth

+44 (0) 20 3861 3750 tom.symondson@grayling.com grayling.com

Becky Willan’s career has been focused on a single, radical idea – that businesses can win by being a force for good in the world. Becky has worked at the intersection of profit and purpose for nearly 20 years. Beginning her professional career in sustainability at The Body Shop, Becky went on to provide consultancy for brands like Unilever, Tesco and SCA. Becky co-founded Given, the original consultancy for purposedriven businesses, in 2009.

Given helps leading brands and businesses define, embed and activate purpose. Bringing together a unique mix of purpose and sustainability expertise, creativity and cocreation, Given helps organisations like John Lewis Partnership, Lloyds Banking Group, IKEA, L’Oreal, Swarovski, Haleon, Virgin Media O2, and Zalando unleash the power of purpose to drive growth, by fostering innovation, attracting and engaging talent and creating better customer outcomes.

Josh

Director

glendinning Research

+44 (0) 20 7566 3190 joshglendinning@opinium.com opinium.com

Becky Willian CEO and Co-founder becky.willan@givenagency.com givenagency.com

John Cremer

John Cremer is an award winning professional speaker, facilitator and improviser. His style is highly engaging and humorous - with impactful personal learning woven in. He is the founder of the Maydays – one of Europe’s top improvisation companies and also has deep expertise in an ancient method for understanding the hardware of human beings. He engages with a wide range of clients such as Roche, Ericsson, Beiersdorf, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Facebook, GSK, Lloyds Bank, VMware, EDF, Million Dollar Round Table and Deloitte. He is the author of “Improv” and “The Art of Reading People” and chairs three business peer learning groups called “My Sherpa” based in Sussex, England.

When John is not performing in hilarious improvised shows, presenting at conferences or delivering compelling training sessions you will usually find him fly fishing in far flung locations.

John Cremer

johncremer.co.uk

Treasure Data was built to radically simplify customer data management and help brands transform customer experiences by identifying, engaging, and acquiring customers efficiently in a flexible, scalable, and secure environment. Founded in 2011 with a deep heritage data management, the award-winning Treasure Data CDP unifies customer data across silos at scale. The highly configurable platform has comprehensive connector network that evolves with your existing technology stack to futureproof all customer data initiatives.

Treasure Data helps over 400 customers, including some of the world’s most recognizable brands generating new data opportunities. Treasure Data’s sophisticated cloud-based customer data platform empowers companies to responsibly collect and understand massive amounts of data, transform their business, and create new customer experiences

Andrew Stephenson Director of Marketing EMEA & India

www.treasuredata.com

Our partners

After spending nearly 20 years in leadership and personal development and 30 years in the design and marketing arena with almost 25 of those online, Damon wanted to facilitate a completely confidential environment for Chief Marketers and Marketing Directors to learn, inspire and grow.

“Often a marketer’s role is a lonely misunderstood one in an organisation, and the Academy can provide the learning and guidance that marketers often miss out on in their businesses which is great for both the marketer and business growth.”

Damon Segal

Managing Director

damon@emotio.co.uk

+44 20 8385 5050

emotio-design-group.co.uk

The mission of Grain Sustainability is to help businesses become champions for people and the planet. This aim to use business as a force for good is reflected in our status as a Certified B Corporation.

We provide companies with sustainability assessment, planning and implementation tools to create a positive impact on people and the planet, increasing stakeholder engagement and providing competitive advantage.

Grain was founded in 2002 as a branding, design, and communications consultancy and over the years we have shifted our focus to sustainability consulting, supported by our design and communications know-how. Our clients represent many sectors from built environment, education, and manufacturing to fashion, pharma, and finance.

Madelyn Postman Director

madelyn@grain-sustainability.com

+44 20 8187 7040

grain-sustainability.com

I’m a brand strategist with over 20 years’ experience. I began my career at Interbrand, where I led the brand valuation offer and have subsequently spearheaded the consultancy teams at Clear M&C Saatchi, Dragon Rouge and The Clearing. I’ve worked for an alphabet of some of the world’s most loved and respected brands, from Amex and Barclays to Prada, Twinings, the V&A and Wimbledon. I’m a member of the UK Superbrands Council, as well as a regular conference speaker, contributor to marketing publications and author of three books on business, branding and sustainability.

Nick Liddell Brand Strategist

nick@baronsauvage.com

+44 (0) 7803 001 532

Twitter: @baronsauvage

Instagram: @baronsauvage

www.baronsauvage.com

As CEO and Founder of global thought leadership consultancy Man Bites Dog, Claire develops future thinking for intelligent business brands to position them as leaders in the next economy. With twenty five years’ experience leading global strategic marcomms programmes, Claire has created global thought leadership campaigns on subjects from global water resilience and the adaptation economy, to financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Zeronomics (the economics of net zero transition). Winner of B2B Marketing’s Specialist Consultancy of the Year 2022, Man Bites Dog has won ninety global awards for B2B ESG marketing.

Claire Mason Founder and CEO

claire.mason@manbitesdog.com

+44 (0) 1273 716 820

manbitesdog.com

Our partners

Ranked as the world’s 6th largest law firm, CMS combines 4800 lawyers, 43 countries, 75 offices worldwide. That means we can help service your business in almost any territory.

Size doesn’t necessarily mean expense though. CMS offers business-focused, value-driven advice tailored to our clients’ needs, whether they are start-ups or the very biggest global brands.

The diversity and spread of our team means we have genuine expertise in almost all sectors and specialisms. Our UK firm is a full service firm, and houses one of the largest intellectual property, brand protection and advertising law teams in London.

Whatever your legal needs, we can help.

Stuart Helmer Of Counsel, UK Head of Advertising & Marketing

stuart.helmer@cms-cmno.com

T +44 20 7367 2687

M +44 7738 569874

cms.law

cms-lawnow.com

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