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Tuesday, 10 July 2018
Going Beyond "Purpose" to Build Brighter Brands and Better Businesses
thinkPARALLAX
We're a branding and communications agency on a mission to better the world by articulating and amplifying our clients' impact. As a team of values-driven strategists, designers, and storytellers, we give meaning and voice to brands' sustainability, social impact, and citizenship initiatives. Through strategic storytelling, we harness the support of stakeholders to drive systemic change and long-term success.
How to Communicate Diversity and Inclusion When You Aren't Quite There Yet
2 months ago - While sustainability and citizenship mean different things to different people, these terms are most commonly associated with a company’s impact on the external world, focusing heavily on social and environmental initiatives. However, businesses can do a lot of good (for the world and their bottom line) by equally focusing internally, on such things as their diversity and inclusion practices.
Introducing: The Bright Side of the Brand
6 months ago - The “brand purpose” bandwagon has become awfully crowded. And as more and more brands seek to capitalize on the opportunity to cast themselves in a more authentic, meaningful light, the language of “brand purpose” has become weak, watered down and increasingly meaningless. Marketing purpose is easy; embedding purpose is hard work. And while a number of pioneers and purists remain committed to embedding purpose at the organizational level, the temptation to cut corners and to exploit purpose for marketing “quick wins” — rather than to embed it in more meaningful, transformative ways — has become too great to resist. The phenomenon of “purpose-washing” is real.
3 Approaches to Building Customer Trust Through Transparency
9 months ago - In February, KFC in the United Kingdom had a bit of an issue — it ran out of chicken. While the irony is almost comical, fried chicken lovers in Britain were outraged, and the internal stress KFC must have experienced was definitely not a laughing matter. But KFC owned up to it: It ran ads and built a site that admitted the FCK-up. It was honest about why and how it happened. While I’m sure the family that was looking to bring home a $20 extra crispy bucket for dinner was disappointed, the relatable messaging and transparency made it easier to forgive.
Purpose-Driven Employees Are Your Strongest Brand Ambassadors
10 months ago - You’ve probably read the proliferation of literature about the benefits of hiring purpose-driven employees, which can result in increased productivity, higher retention rates, and more effective collaboration, just to name a few. But have you ever wondered how purpose-driven employees impact your organization’s branding and marketing?
4 Steps to Creating Social Impact Programs That Benefit Communities and Business
1 year ago - Not so long ago, there was a large disconnect between doing good and good business. While the idea of corporate social responsibility has been around since the 1960s, businesses have historically approached CSR and sustainability as a “feel good” silo or regulatory requirement — a means to improve public image reputation and mitigate risk, but not much else. It wasn't until recent years that companies discovered that social impact programs could benefit a company in more remunerative ways — increasing revenue, creating new markets, driving innovation, retaining talent, and opening the doors to new business opportunities. As such, it was rare for CEOs and CFOs to even nod their heads towards citizenship and sustainability, much less make it a priority.
The 2 Most Important Pages of Your Sustainability Report
1 year ago - We’ve done a lot of thinking, and writing, over the years about the broad topic of corporate sustainability and citizenship reporting (see here and here for examples). But for this post, I’m going to narrow the focus to what I believe are the two most important pages of your report: the CEO Letter. Why? Simply put: It’s concise, it comes from the top, and (if properly constructed) it provides readers with critical insight into your citizenship approach — all in the span of one or two (hopefully not three) pages.
The Art of Modern Sustainability Communications: How to Embrace an Audience-First Approach
1 year ago - Recent research clearly indicates that today’s stakeholders expect more from companies — they want to purchase from and work for companies that champion sustainability. This shift in attitude is dramatically altering the way that companies conduct (and even think about) their businesses.
Measuring True Impact: Why Science Is Redefining Our Definition of a Sustainable Company
1 year ago - Big changes for better outcomes Businesses today are realizing that to truly address the environmental and social challenges that affect our world, a major shift is required in the way they produce and market products and services.
Why There Is No Role for Storytelling in Your Sustainability Report
1 year ago - We recently presented on “The Role of Storytelling in Corporate Reporting” — a subject that many organizations struggle to address properly. Our view on the subject is straightforward: A report is not for storytelling. Very few stakeholders spend time reading dense, formal corporate reports, and those that do want two things:
Stealing Plays: Why Sustainability Communicators Should Be More Like Bill Belichick
2 years ago - Sustainability can be incredibly engaging. The pressing issues of our day demand that humans find new ways of existing – and quickly. Happily, society’s attitudes about sustainability are heading in a positive direction. In recent years, consumers have begun to demonstrate a preference for sustainable products and services, while many businesses have embraced sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of the way they operate. As sustainability practitioners and communicators, the world is primed to listen to our message.
VIDEO: Guilt-Free Fashion and Coffee with the CEO and Founder of MUD Jeans
2 years ago - How do you challenge entrenched patterns of consumption and disposal while growing a fashion business at the same time? Join thinkPARALLAX for a conversation with the founder of MUD Jeans, the upstart Dutch “circular denim” brand that is tearing down the idea that sustainability or the circular economy can’t be fashionable.
Addressing the Confusion Around Materiality and Reporting
2 years ago - Both the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Regulation S-K concept release in April of 2016 and the new GRI G4 guidelines that came into full effect in January 2016 are causing sustainability practitioners to take a long, hard look at the topic of materiality.
Discerning Taste: Sustainability Reporting for Evolving Audiences
2 years ago - Corporate sustainability is no longer a niche subject important only in the minds of a handful of regulators and environmentalists. As our collective understanding of the value of sustainability has grown, new audiences have joined the conversation. For sustainability professionals, catering to this growing and diverse audience can be challenging.
Why Social Media and Sustainability Should Go Hand in Hand
2 years ago - Over the last decade, we have seen social media and sustainability play an increasingly important role in the way that businesses conduct and talk about themselves. Together they’ve helped push corporations to new levels of transparency, opened up avenues for greater engagement, forced organizations to rethink their role in society, and aligned individuals, businesses and communities around shared purpose.
Building an Engaged Work Culture: Culture Starts with a Purpose
2 years ago - Over the course of history, factors like politics, geography and economics have shaped the personalities of regions throughout the world – leaving each one with its own distinct and unmistakable flavor. Germans, for example, are systematic, organized and efficient – whereas the neighboring Italians, just two countries over, are famous for passion, love of life and general la dolce vida-ness.
Powered by Purpose: What Tesla’s Model 3 says about the future of sustainability
2 years ago - Elon Musk finally rolled out his highly-anticipated electric vehicle for the masses – the Tesla Model 3.