Hard talk

Watching BBC's Hard Talk last night I was confronted with some alarming stats. The person in the chair being interviewed was some UN advisor or other on climate change. (apologies for my vagueness) The discussion was all about how climate change will eventually force the displacement of people and what kind of challenges this might bring. Indeed, they talked very briefly about Dafur and whether what we're seening their is actually the world's first 'climate change war'. (I also read a book called The Long Emergency recently that suggested that we have already entered a long and protracted period global war and that Irak could be seen as part of the opening scene if you like, but that's another issue.)

Anyway, basically it was a pretty grim picture they managed to paint. It is estimated that within the next fifty years seven billion people will be 'on the move' due to changing climate conditions. That's one in seven!

With such enormous challenges facing us all in the not too distant future, how do we prepare? And what can we do about it in our industry? Does marketing of brands have a role to play in the way develop? Of course it does.

I was reading The Eightfold's blog yesterday. They had this to say on the subject, which I think is very well written. I hope it's okay I use it here.

"A Vision for the Future:

To make real change, society, government and companies must become acutely aware of the delicate symbiosis at work. We are all intricately intertwined, and our decisions and behaviours have an impact larger than ourselves.

Solutions need to therefore be bigger than mere compromises. If we are all to reach mutually beneficial rewards, we need to collectively envision the world we want to live in and fully use the strengths of everyone involved to make it a reality.

This means we need to stop talking to ourselves and start activating everyone we affect. It means our good deeds cannot simply be tactics – they need to draw from a place of inspiration, emotion and purpose. It means we are not the sole owners of our actions – we share our work with all of our stakeholders (suppliers, partners and customers). It means our progress does not exist in a vacuum – it’s also measured by the betterment of society, the environment and humanity.

It’s time for a revolution where we stop apologizing for the past and start winning back the trust necessary to build a better future."

Comments

[hvgill]

Hey Andrew --

Thanks for the mention.If we take the license to think big and be wildly creative, marketing really does have a place to be less about "reputation management" and more about cultural and social change.

I think events like the Homeless World Cup which the Aid Agency is working on is a great example of this.

If you are ever interested in exploring the dialog, give us a shout.