Surely you have noticed the increasing number of ads talking about sustainability. You might be asking yourself: are these companies really committed or is it just another marketing ploy?
Consciously or not, deep inside you know that at some point you simply can not miss out communicating about sustainability. Our planet’s future is in our hands. Are you ready?
Today, no company can afford to ignore the social and environmental issues our world is facing. Organic products, fair-trade sourcing, sustainable packaging, recycled coffee cups, plastic free shampoo, poverty supporter campaigns, Earth saving actions are just some of the many options a company can commit to. Regardless of being a small or a big organization, the power is in your hands - and having “FOMO” in this situation is totally understandable.
Is it important to connect sustainability with your brand?
While sometimes it is very obvious how to help humanity simply by changing your product a little, in many cases it is hard to connect your brand to any sustainable actions. However, even if you are one of those amazing companies whose products do not harm the environment at all, there is still a lot to do. Communicating sustainability related topics even just at the end of your ad can strengthen your ad’s overall performance. Do not be afraid of stealing the spotlight from your brand! When your target audience connects your product with something great, that will definitely benefit you when it comes to purchasing decisions.
Is your market ready for these values?
Every country concentrates on different issues: in some places the lack of drinking water, high levels of poverty or air pollution are perceived the most pressing. Other markets care more about animals or reducing waste. Thus, simply adapting your creative from another market and communicating about the same issues in every country might not have the same effect.
Regardless of the regional differences, price sensitivity is a big issue everywhere: consumers still prefer to buy cheaper products rather than being sustainable, although many of them already made some conscious purchasing decisions. During the pandemic consumers have become even more worried about their finances. Still, they would love to help and would love to take small steps, thus communicating small and easily accessible opportunities to make a change can activate them.
““Showing culturally familiar moments in your ad and encouraging your target group to take small, simple steps can activate them more, while balancing discomfort with hope is the best recipe to remain memorable and to break through indifference””
Sustainability and advertisement
Let’s say you have a serious commitment and real initiatives to better our world. It’s time to communicate then: adding your sustainability activities to your advertisement is an important step. But how to communicate it the right way?
When it comes to ad creation, many questions might pop up in your mind: how much time should you spend with sustainability communication? Should you scare viewers, give hope, stay emotional or tell simple facts? Which one works better: showing heartwarming or strongly emotional visuals? Should you strongly connect the brand with your activities?
There is no categorical answer to these questions, however, there are some tricks that can lead you to a more successful advertisement.
Introducing Synetiq’s sustainability insight package
Synetiq has tested and analysed more than 50+ sustainability ads from more than 5 sectors, searching for answers for the followings questions:
How to move emotions with your sustainability communication? What is better: staying positive or talking in a negative way?
How to combine humour and sustainability?
How to stay authentic with your brand and your communication?
How to connect your brand image with sustainability?
How cultural proximity influences the emotional reception of your communication? Stay local or be global?
How to communicate complex topics in an understandable way? How to show innovations, futuristic solutions?
How to activate your target group?
Should you connect your activities with celebrities, brand ambassadors?
What are the hot topics and how do they work?
Sectorial overview: which topics and ads worked well in the last 2 years?
In this insight package you find answers to the questions above, visual heatmaps, biometric insights, conscious reactions and many more.
If you would like to learn more about how to communicate sustainability in a successful way, do not hesitate to contact us!
written by Petra Varhelyi
