Actions speak louder than words.. but you can still talk

I spotted a Dilbert cartoon in the press the other day, where Dilbert was asking his boss if switching from Styrofoam to paper coffee cups was really better for the environment. His boss said he didn’t know but the important thing was that they looked like the kind of company who would care about those things.

Funny, cynical and often true: but I’m not against companies’ efforts at sustainability being promoted. We are talking about sustainable marketing after all. I do believe that sustainability makes good business sense – and if it confers a point of differentiation so much the better. Shout about it and others will try to follow… self-interest is a powerful driver.

The important point is to take sound sustainable actions first – then by all means communicate it.

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The four ‘P’s and the three ‘E’s

Bear with me folks, this blog is just beginning… we all know about the four ‘P’s (although last list I saw was up to nine!), but for me what sustainable marketing is about is adding the three ‘E’s… Economics, Ecology and Ethnology. Keep it simple and focus on those dimensions and you are well on the way to a sustainable marketing strategy.

My interest (which turned into a passion) was kick-started a few years ago when involved with a major event for a UK Government department, and part of the brief was it must be a sustainable event. I began a search for consultants to help me… they were thin on the ground. Eventually I did find some help from the most unlikely location, the USA.  But working on that project I realised the same principles could be applied to any marketing strategy or project… and now it has become a passion. You can be a good marketer, help generate substantial profits, create real brand differentiation… and be responsible for the sustainable protection and development of resources.

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