Our lives are shaped by a variety of narratives. As early as childhood,
storytelling is used to spark our imagination while simultaneously teaching us
both lessons from the past and possible options for our future. In today’s
society, we find a mix of narratives influencing our culture — where
inspirational leadership is needed to unite the masses; this is where brands can
step in.
Marketers are not just guardians of a brand, they’re the co-creators of our
societal narrative; and a brand’s messaging has the ability to drive culture
change. Brands are storytellers, helping move culture and consumers forward on
the journey towards sustainable living. Never before has the power of the
stories we tell held such importance or latent opportunity.
Evaluating the impact of a story can be a subjective practice, unless there is
the ability to measure its effectiveness. The marketing industry has many tools
to measure all kinds of brand lift and sales potential from advertisements; but
until now, there has been no shared industry tool to measure whether an ad can
get people to take action on purpose-driven initiatives, or how that
communication may benefit the brand itself.
Sustainable Brands™, in collaboration with the Corporate Partners of
the SB Brands for Good initiative — including
Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Visa and Nestlé — has developed a
tool to answer this need, which is available for all brands across all
industries to use. The Ad Sustainability Awareness
Platform
(ASAP) measures an ad’s ability to drive consumer action against the Nine Most
Impactful Sustainable
Behaviors, as well
as its impact on overall brand favorability. Through proprietary research, these
nine specific behaviors have been identified as the most impactful behaviors
that brands and consumers can take together to create positive change and drive
a culture of sustainable living.
Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
Join us Thursday, December 5, at 1pm ET for a free webinar on making circular behaviors the easy choice! Nudge & behavioral design expert Sille Krukow will explore the power of Consumer Behavior Design to drive circular decision-making and encourage behaviors including recycling and using take-back services. She will share key insights on consumer psychology, behavior design related to in-store and on-pack experiences, and how small changes in the environment can help make it easy for consumers to choose circularity.
Learnings from the ASAP tool, paired with top
tips
from renowned brand and creative leaders, reveal how effective storytelling can
be created through video ad messaging in a way that communicates with
authenticity, credibility and relevance — allowing brands to drive positive
behavior change while increasing brand favorability.
It is time for brands to move beyond simply trying to change people’s attitudes
and instead focus on enabling sustainable changes in their behavior. SB Brands
for Good
research
shows that one of the primary hurdles to living a more sustainable life is
simply not knowing where to start. This is a huge opportunity for brands to
become leaders in this space through inspiration and education on ways people
can come together and take action.
For example, when creating any communication, whether a one-off ad or a fully
integrated campaign, including a strong call to
action
(CTA) is the best way to move from a place of advocacy to driving consumer
action. Ads tested through the ASAP tool show that even ads with a weak CTA
outperform those with none. These same ads consistently scored above the norm on
the ‘Brand Favorability’ metric, as well. This suggests that consumers are
receptive to learning and ultimately adopting new behaviors, and they favor the
brands that are taking the lead in showing them
how.
Society is led by the public narratives that move us. Brands that lead the way
and offer tangible ways for consumers to live more
sustainably
win a competitive advantage; and research shows that consumers are more eager
than ever to learn about brands’ sustainability initiatives and support the
brands that are doing the most good for people and the planet. Together, brands
can create a collective impact that drives society toward a sustainable future
by developing impactful video ad messaging.
Excellence in Execution series
The SB Brands for Good Excellence in Execution series is a collection of
playbooks for creating breakthrough creative work across a range of marketing
areas, including a list of best practices and a library of inspirational
examples that drive action on the Nine Sustainable Behaviors. These guides have
been co-created by the Corporate Partners of the SB Brands for Good initiative
who share their best-in-class case studies and thoughtful insight on what they
have found to be optimal creative solutions for their marketing strategies.
Visit
sbbrandsforgood.com/excellence-in-execution
to learn more about this playbook series; or contact Brands for
Good to learn more about joining the world’s
leading brands unleashing the power of their brand influence to drive consumer
behavior change at scale.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Published Mar 16, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET