Advertising for Good

I came across the Goodvertising awards a month or so ago and was amazed by some of the campaigns and projects that were highlighted. At uni I studied political science and economics and I was going to save the world (not sure from what but I was on a path). After I graduated and still had no real plan, I decided to do a master's in business which led me to marketing. However; I firmly believe that a profitable business model can also do good for society and the environment; which is why this resonated with me.

 The Goodvertising Awards are championed by Thomas Kolster who has written two books on the subject (which are now on the reading list!). These awards highlight 10 of the best campaigns that have served as a force for good, be it socially, environmentally, or otherwise.

Of the 10, I had only seen one, and that was the Burger King one last year with the headline "Order from McDonald's". I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen it too; I lost count of how many times I saw it reposted on LinkedIn for example. If you look past the attention-grabbing headline, which could be reminiscent of some of the funnier Twitter banter these fast food giants enjoy, what you'll find is a genuine call for support and a stark reminder of the dire situation the restaurant and wider hospitality business is in. 

I would suggest you check out all of them as they are genuinely innovative campaigns, services, or products. But I'll highlight here the two that really stood out for me. Which were the Lenovo business project and the Tampon Book Campaign.

Lenovo started a program where they offer an option for business clients to offset their IT systems when they purchase. The offset is based on the calculation of the carbon footprint of each individual machine bought (both from manufacturing through to an estimate of typical 5-year usage). I think it is a great example of a company trying to tackle their impact as well as offering their customers an option too. Of course, you can question how accurate the calculations might be or if how efficient it will be at tackling climate change. But I think the fact that they have tried it, that customers are taking them up on it and that they are rolling out further is a great step. And I hope more companies look at how they can do something similar. Increasingly customers will expect brands to show how they are tackling their environmental impact, and initiatives like these will be a piece of the puzzle. 

The next one that I thought was brilliant was the Tampon Book. I knew this was the case in the UK (or just England) but I didn't know it was actually more widespread than that, but tampons are taxed like luxury items. This campaign is from Germany where these items are taxed on the higher bracket, whereas books for example are in the lower bracket. So what they did is fill books with tampons! Not only did they sell them (under the lower tax bracket) but they also sent them to various politicians and campaigned to lower the tax. Which finally happened in Germany in November 2019. On a side note, taxation in the UK has also changed - though I know this has been a discussion going on for years (was when I first moved here) and wouldn't be surprised if it has finally happened because of Scotland's announcement that they would be free in schools. (or am I being too cynical here :-)? In any case, the Tampon Book campaign was a genius mix of creative marketing and political campaigning. Love it.

The seven other initiatives are also worth looking into, so please do. Between the Loop refillable delivery concept, the regenerative farming vodka, or the Pay It Forward campaign, I'm sure you'll find something that will speak to you. 

I just love these kinds of initiatives, but even more so the companies that integrate their social or environmental purpose in everything that they do. As I think Kolster's latest book probably speaks to (I'll let you know once I get my hands on a copy), it's not about greenwashing or one-off marketing campaigns; for this to work and really have an impact it has to be built into the company's mission.

Sources:

The Goodvertising Awards: https://goodvertising.site/2020-goodvertsing-awards/

The Lenovo roll-out: https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-co2-offset-services-offsets-26000-metric-tonnes/