Transparency and the multifaceted consumer
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009By: Allen Adamson
One of the best things about my job is not only helping companies improve their business operations through branding, but simply having thought provoking conversations with professionals about the latest trends and challenges of the business. Saurabh Sharma, Strategic Planning Director at Ogilvy & Mather in Beijing, recently raised a great question about the role of transparency when communicating to a multifaceted consumer, and I thought it was worthwhile to share with you.
Question:
In BrandDigital, you have mentioned the need for brands to be honest and transparent. Last year, Timberland CEO, Jeff Swartz said in an interview with Fast Company that his company had to discontinue its sourcing from China because of what he called “violations to human dignity” that underscored the business model of the supplier called Kingmaker. This had an adverse effect, as prices went up and the timing of this event was really bad. Needless to say that this would have contributed to the subsequent decline in Timberland’s sales. How do you think the brand can reconcile the need for transparency and ethics when consumers are not at all obliged to return the favor? Customer is absolutely the king, but how can brands manage consumer hypocrisy when they demonstrate one set of standards as citizens and dwellers of this planet and another set of standards as consumers of products and services.
Answer:
One of the most challenging dimensions of marketing is, and always has been, the ability to separate what consumers say they will do and what they actually do when they get to the shopping aisles. While there have been many advances in research methods relative to how consumers will behave when it’s time for them to reach for their wallets, this question still stands as one of the biggest leaps of faith a marketer must make. In fact, there are very few consumers today who would not give the “socially acceptable” answer to questions concerning their intent to buy goods that save the planet, or from brands that stand for social responsibility. That said, marketers must look at “doing good” as a long-term business objective, not a short-term promotional effort, if they want to change the way consumers perceive their brands and become loyal to these brands. If the purpose of the company is built upon, and operationally driven, by doing good, it must be willing to live with two or three quarters of less than great sales as it builds this image in the minds of consumers.

Image via timberland.com




“A paradox, a paradox, how quaint the ways of paradox,” to paraphrase a Gilbert and Sullivan tune. Well, not quaint the ways of this paradox: Bottled water, that is. This booming business, this signal of healthy living is not healthy for the environment. Recent news reports tell us that all those plastic bottles are rapidly adding to the industrial emissions heating up our planet. Bottled water brands can stick their heads in the blazing sand and hope this green issue will go away, but it won’t. According to the recent Landor ImagePower® survey it’s picking up steam which could affect the bottled water business in a booming negative way. That’s why it’s not too hard to imagine that the first of these brands to develop a functional and stylish bottle that can be refilled or, at the very least, is manufactured to be environmentally harmless could be in a very advantageous category position. This proactive brand will endear itself to the growing number of consumers who carry their plastic bottles as a symbol of healthy living and even allow them to signal that their health-conscious attitude applies to the world, at large. As I think about it even more, it shouldn’t take too long for major cities to capitalize on this effort. The first city to officially brand its refreshing tap water and figure out an innovative way for its citizens to tote it around would find itself in a very advantageous position, as well. From a branding perspective, it’s no paradox that sometimes the best answers are right under your nose. Mayor Bloomberg, make some stylish NYC reusable water bottles, brand them “Bloomberg’s Best” and watch them help you turn NYC into the Greenest city in America!!
Now that the thermometer has returned to normal winter levels in many parts of the country and snow continues to bury poor 