Brand Grab: Green is not about green

Recently released is the latest piece of green research by Ogilvy out of the US which has had a look at the gap between what people say about Green and what they actually do when it comes to buying green.

http://assets.ogilvy.com/truffles_email/ogilvyearth/Mainstream_Green.pdf

The top line findings are that shock, horror brands have been getting the communication of sustainability all wrong! That we need to make sustainability normal, more affordable and lose the cliched references to green and eco.

Fundamentally the study reveals the simple truth that people are motivated by things they enjoy doing, like having fun, so rather than making sustainability choices seem like a righteous thing to do, wise brands are tapping into enjoyment over altruism and seeking to hit the consumer’s “G-spot.”

As a piece of research it is useful for us because it demonstrates that the market for sustainable business and sustainable living is growing by the day. Increasingly brands are building sustainability into everything they do. Yet they and their mainstream communication agencies are still struggling to articulate and communicate it effectively.

On the other hand this piece of research points out the bleedin obvious. When we started Republic of Everyone we identified three problems with the way sustainability was being communicated. It was dull, it was complicated, and it was often a bit scary! We set out to change all that by making it exciting, engaging and mainstream.

Over the last few years whilst most agencies have steered clear of the subject, because they could not make money out of it, clients have  continued to invest and develop their sustainability strategies and credentials.

Yet, whilst around the world brands are embracing the power that sustainability has when it comes to engaging stakeholders and customers, here in Australia we are dragging our feet on getting the more interesting and creative sustainability initiatives out in front of the public.

Slightly frustrated at this lack of action here at home, we teamed up with Darryl Nichols and Andrew Valder (Rodriguez & Co) to show how sustainability, delivered with a dash of style and a pinch of fun, could genuinely engage Australia.

The result was Garage Sale Trail which you can find at www.garagesaletrail.com.au or at www.facebook.com/GarageSaleTrail.

What could be more Australian and mainstream than the good old fashioned Garage Sale? It all started off in Bondi last year with 126 Garage Sales over a weekend which seemed to go so well that we decided to roll it out nationally.

On April 10th this year we turned up the volume a bit by hosting over 1600 garage sale on one day across the country. It generated 1566 Facebook Friends, thousands of column inches in national and regional newspapers and magazines, coverage on national TV, squillions of tweets, ‘Likes’ and posts.

On top of that we recycled tonnes of stuff that was destined for landfill (or a lifetime stuck at the back of a cupboard). One fantastic people benefit was that Garage Sale Trail encouraged thousands of neighbours to stop and talk to each other, sometimes for the first time.

And what does this have to do with brands? Well it was sponsored by Vodafone, News Ltd, City of Sydney, Sustainability Victoria, Stockland, Channel Ten and LJHooker. They saw that by mainstream sustainability, making it fun and exciting, and attaching a brand to it, the brand itself benefits. Sustainability, delivered in this way, creates a platform for employee engagement, community connections, brand reputation and appeal.

From my perspective the time for research and studies to prove that sustainability has a role to play in building the brands of the future is over. It's time now for more brands to start taking some action.