Unilever, Sketches and 10 Sustainable Branding Best Practices

Consumers are engaged in a search for authenticity that is challenging the sales sustainability of existing brands. According to a Harris Interactive survey, 44 percent of Americans have a “poor” or “terrible” opinion of corporate America. Less than a third of Americans view corporate America as “very good” or “good.” Havas Media's research found that only 9 percent of U.S. consumers believe brands improve their lives. Ninety-three percent of Americans would not care if brands disappeared!

Ten dimensions of a great brand

Twentieth century brand success was based upon offering customers "more, bigger, cheaper” and delivering these benefits “now!” The 21st century consumer, enabled through mobile and social digital technologies, are redefining what a brand must offer to attract them and win them as customers. The American consumer is actively searching for brands that align value with values. The following ten brand best practices are proven to engage customers on their issues of value and values:

Value

Price competitiveness. It starts here for most consumers in today’s economy. The price tag is the key qualifier on how interested a consumer will be in your product.

Delivering value. Value is the size of the bill or cash register receipt. For example, the electric utility industry is now confronting a competitive threat from companies that sell energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies because these companies can deliver lower electric bills. The focus on the customer's receipt size is a business success formula proven by Amazon, Walmart and The Home Depot.

Service. Today’s consumer has replaced “now” with “service.” The lower the service, the more the company and product is categorized by the customer as a commodity that should be shopped based upon lowest price.

Reliability. Whether a product actually works to the customer’s satisfaction is critical to brand authenticity. The 20th century has taught consumers that cheap does not equate to value if the product fails to perform. Twenty-first century weather, social and health crises are teaching customers that the price sticker does not include key externality-cost impacts upon their lives.

Safety. What would you pay for an unsafe product? Obviously, zero because it is of no value. Safety is a killing dimension for a brand. Think “pink slime.”

Values

Honesty. It begins here in terms of values. Is your company’s brand representative of the customer’s best interest? Or is your brand a representation of what you think your customer wants to hear? The ramification of being dishonest is to forever lose a customer.

Healthy. Moving past safe, is your product good for the consumer? This is a mega-issue for moms concerned over the wellness of their loved ones. Women have $10 trillion of annual U.S. buying power and the issue of wellness strongly competes with their budget management as their top driver in deciding what to buy.

Social responsibility. How your company treats others is rapidly growing as a brand shaping factor in our diverse and connected global economy. Paying a worker a dollar per hour to work in an unsafe environment is being challenged by consumers no matter how low the product’s price tag. Corporate social responsibility is maturing from an island of “do-good” within a corporation. It is now a supply chain risk management best practice that at the very least protects brand equity with the potential of winning influencer-leader customers attuned to social responsibility issues.

Environmental integrity. A company must have environmental integrity if it wishes to sell to the Millennial Generation, and their concerned moms. The millennial generation was born into climate change. They see environmental consequences threatening their futures. “Cool with a purpose” is the TOMS Shoe logo that captures the Millennial generation’s imagination and dollars.

Emotional connection. How do Apple and Patagonia continue to succeed in the face of lower-priced competitors? They make an emotional connection with a customer. “Well loved” and “authentic” are emotional connections that are hard to win but easy to lose if a brand fails to fulfill the above nine dimensions. Building an emotional connection is the competitive advantage available to local businesses. It is the ultimate challenge for large corporations.

Sketches: An exclusive interview with Christine Cea, Unilever Senior Director Marketing Communications

There is an art to converting the above ten brand dimensions into brand equity. One of the best examples on how to do so is a YouTube video called Sketches posted by Dove, a Unilever corporation brand. This video is the most watched branded video on YouTube with almost 56 million views! At the Sustainable Brands 2013 conference, I had the opportunity to talk with Christine Cea, Unilever Senior Director Marketing Communications about the Sketches video. In the following video, Christine explains best practices for crafting a brand story like Sketches to achieve a values-based emotional connection with a customer: Bill Roth is an economist and the Founder of Earth 2017. He coaches business owners and leaders on proven best practices in pricing, marketing and operations that make money and create a positive difference. His book, The Secret Green Sauce, profiles business case studies of pioneering best practices that are proven to win customers and grow product revenues. Follow him on Twitter: @earth2017