Good Stuff

Deeper luxury

I found this report very interesting reading. Deeper Luxury takes an in-depth look at the luxury brands market and some of the challenges and opportunities the issue of sustainability raises in this sector.

"We observe shifts in the luxury paradigm, emerging from major changes in social dynamics. In the future the highest quality product or service will be the one that generates the most benefit to all involved in it's production and trade. Consumers' knowledge of that benefit will be essential to their elite experience, and the prestige ascribed to them by their peers. In future, luxury brands could represent the greatest positive contribution any product or service could make to people and planet: they would identify the luxury consumer as a person who has both the means and the motivation to ensure that others do not suffer. The deeper and more authentic approach to luxury would require truly excellent social and environmental performance; consumers expect excellence in this, because they expect it in all aspects of a luxury brand."

I love the fact that they've chosen focus on topics such as celebrity endorsement, dedicating specific guidelines to this area. There are so many examples of celebrities making ill-advised decisions that are totally out of touch with shifting consumer opinion. I cringe every time I flick through the glossy magazines and see the face of some sports personality hawking sunglasses or perfume. It's just seems so shallow. I also love the fact that they've chosen not to overlook the importance of emerging luxury markets too. Factoring these issues in makes it a much richer document.

Download DeeperluxuryReport.pdf

Ethical Consumerism Report

Every year UK based Co-operative bank publish The Ethical Consumerism Report. It' is probably the most comprehensive look at the ethical consumer sector in the UK. It's packed full of interesting data which is beautifully presented.

It's a great piece of branding for the Co-operative Bank, underlining their credentials as an ethical bank, which made me wonder why no-one is doing something similar here in Scandinavia? (not that I know of anyway)

Does anyone know of such an initiative?

You can get your copy here.

How to get talked about

Thanks to Greenway Communique for pointing out these interesting stats. We all knew that green business issues were getting talked about more these days but...woah, I didn't realise how much!

Heres the original post

yes!

Don't you just love it when someone has a good idea. I love the way this company has re-thought food retail. I guess in a market where food retailers are much of a muchness, this concept could do really well here in Denmark.

What I really love about it is the way it's been put together. (without having been into a store) You know that feeling you get when you hover outside a health food shop and wonder whether you belong in their or not? I really get the feeling this place is for me. Their site is stylish and inclusive. I would imagine their stores are too. I wish them all the success in the world and hopefully we'll see one opening in Copenhagen soon.

Thanks to John Grant for pointing it out.

The roar of concious consumerism and green marketing

Triple Pundit point to this new marketing study which looks at concious consumer attitiudes in the US.

"A new marketing study reveals that conscious consumers expect accountability and transparency from companies that claim to be “green.” Companies that fail to do so put themselves at risk of a consumer backlash.

Who are these “conscious consumers”? According to the inaugural BBMG Conscious Consumer Report, almost 90% of Americans say this term describes them well. When shopping for products that are of equal value and price, these consumers would choose items that are energy-efficient, promote health and safety benefits, support fair labor and fair trade, and are made according to environmentally-friendly standards.

Some of the most interesting findings of this study include:

• Health and wellness are most important: Conscious consumers expect the products they buy to have a positive personal and direct impact.
• “Conscious consumer” is the preferred term: Americans prefer to call themselves “conscious” or “socially/environmentally responsible” over “green.”
• Price and quality are still #1, but locally-produced, healthy, and energy-efficient qualities are increasingly important to consumers.

The study also reveals that consumers are savvy when it comes to detecting “greenwashing” marketing attempts. “In a world of green clutter, conscious consumers expect companies to do more than make eco-friendly claims. They demand transparency and accountability across every level of business practice. Avoiding the green trap means authentically backing your words with socially responsible actions.” says Raphael Bemporad, founding partner of BBMG.

Consumers value honesty and are paying more attention to how their purchases impact the world beyond the supermarket. Producing conscious goods and services, and successfully communicating their authenticity, is the way to capitalize on this new consumer trend."

MyC4

I've just been over to see Tim Vang at MyC4.

He's a really charismatic guy who I met at a seminar on CSR inspired innovation a week or two ago. He had a whole lot of interesting and inspiring stuff to tell me about their organisation.

We had a long and interesting chat.

At The Aid Agency we talk to businesses a lot about having a purpose beyond profit. A 'point' if you like. MyC4 is the perfect example of this. They're driven people. They know were they are going and they know why they are going there.

Anyway, more about MyC4 the brand another time. Hopefully we're going to do something together. (are you kidding, I'm going to make it my personal mission to work with these guys)

This post is actually a call to action.

Their aim is to eradicate poverty through business before 2015 and they're going to do that with you investing your money in developing world businesses. Significantly, they're not asking you for a 'free' loan. In fact, you can't 'donate' a loan. There's a minimum return rate of 2%, which has sparked a lively debate within the MyC4 community.

Another exciting aspect to this is the possibilities which arise when the community start to discuss stuff that crops up. Tim told me really inspiring story about a restaurant business. The owner appealed to the community for suggestions for names. What she got back wasn't just the name but logo suggestions and all kinds of related feedback. I find this fascinating. The potential for the investment of resources in this manner seems limitless.

Anyway, back to the job in hand. I urge you to take a look around. (it's still in beta right now) and maybe you could become a 'builder' too.

To paraphrase Sir Bob at Live Aid. 'Give them your f******g money' or maybe that should be 'Give yourself some f******g money (whilst doing some good)' Doesn't have the same headline-grabbing ring to it but it makes more sense.

CSR inspired innovation

On Wednesday I was invited to talk at a conference here in Denmark for the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency, the theme being CSR inspired innovation.

I knew that some of the other speakers would be presenting very analytical information so what I tried to do was give as many tangible examples as possible were companies have used this kind of innovation in practice.

An observation one could make is that although the speakers were from very different backgrounds, there were some recurring themes:

Companies who see CSR as an opportunity rather than a responsibility seem to be benefiting from it. Companies that are ahead of the game and have managed to be assertive in this area instead of waiting for legislation or market forces change the way they do business seem to have an advantage.

Their seem to be an ocean of companies who have given CSR some very serious thought but not many of them manage to translate this into something they can use proactively.

Actually, I think we're seeing a shift. The way a company behaves in relation to it's stakeholders has become much more central part of brand communication. In many compaines and organisations the CSR department and the marketing department seem to be converging. It makes perfect sense.

As I've mentioned before here, we are seeing the emergency of a new expression which popped up again several times. Corporate Social Opportunity. I like it. Not because it's the latest buzz-word, which it undoubtably is but because it points to the fact that there's something more significant happening here.

Anyway, it's evocative and I'm going to use it whenever I can. (the more observant readers among you will notice it's appearance on my catagories list)

Long-live the CSO.

CSR 2.0

An interesting take on how the new social infrastructure of web 2.0 is influencing the way we think about CSR. Just managed to skim the paper they're reffering to. Can't wait to read it properly.

Via Actics.