Audience Q&A's

Audience Q&A's

21st February 2024

  • The best place to start any journey is with an assessment of where you are right now. Seek out your Sustainability team, if you haven't already, and find out about your company’s strategy, plan and progress. They'll have information about the lifecycle of your products too. And reflect on what you know and where gaps exist. Once you've done this, you can consider the contribution you and your fellow marketers can make.

    We can help at all stages, as we outlined in the session.

    • We can use Meaningful Brands (and other sources) to explore people's expectations of your brands and brands in your category.

    • We can draw on our expertise in Havas Genus to help you understand and support the delivery of the changes needed inside your organisations on the pathway to a more sustainable future.

    • We can integrate these two worlds through communications strategy, planning and execution that aligns your product lifecycles with consumer decision journeys.

    Our Be-Do-Say framework brings these points together in a simple and coherent way.

  • There are two paths to consider here, both of which require a growth mindset and an ambition for change as a starting point.

    1. Learn from observing. Seek out case studies, stories and reports that showcase the performance of other brands. A lot of information is publicly available or made accessible through memberships of organisations and fostering relationships with other parties.

    2. Learn by doing. Minimise risk by experimenting with different approaches within agreed boundaries and clearly defined expectations. These experiments might be wholly owned and managed by companies or developed in partnership with other companies or organisations.

  • Partnering with existing platforms can bring benefits, for example speed to market, reduced costs, and risk mitigation. However, entering into a partnership will also likely mean forgoing control of the customer experience and forgoing the aggregation of first-party data. Risks and rewards of both approaches need to be reviewed subject to the context a retailer finds themselves in.

  • Incentives may vary depending on location, but there is huge opportunity through inbound regulation (e.g. CSRD) that provides guidance on how organisations can get ahead on circularity.

    There is more information on incentives available within the UK and the EU, at these links:

    • https://www.gov.uk/green-taxes-and-reliefs

    • https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

  • It depends on the business, but typically subscription and rental models are popular as they provide regular revenue and create stickiness and loyalty through a sustained customer relationship. However, continued effort is required to ensure business investment is met with consumer demand.

  • During the panel discussion, Marta Vilella, Consumer Behaviours Expert at Foresight Factory, highlighted some great points – more information on key trends and predictions is available in Foresight Factory's Trending 2024 report.

  • Several factors may hold back businesses. One of the first things an organisation must do is align on embedding a purposeful mindset, from leadership through to all operational areas of the business.

    Other key factors include experimentation with reinvented products and services, addressing supply chain processes, understanding the role of marketers in shifting customer behaviours, and influencing and lobbying the industry to change the system.

  • When done well, circularity should reduce costs in the long run. Starting small and experimenting is a good place to start. Two things to explore first would be streamlining the supply chain for greater efficiency, or exploring alternative business models in parallel, for example rental or repair. From a marketing perspective, collaborating with the industry to drive consumer demand will be key.

  • In our view, there is never enough collaboration!

  • It depends significantly on where the business is in its journey. Greenwashing is a key area of concern and holding back many businesses from communicating their efforts.

  • People claim to want more sustainable solutions from retailers, as our Meaningful Brands report illustrates. And there are significant opportunities for retailers to leverage this intent and accelerate uptake and trial of new services. However, that's the flip side of the coin – at present there are still only limited circular options for people to choose from. So in short, we're still seeing a significant intention-action gap across the 5 Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle). The Ellen Macarthur Foundation website contains excellent reports and articles on this topic.

  • Change is imperative. And different types of forces will dictate when companies, teams, and individuals will need to act. These might be ethical, moral, financial or indeed legal. All of these types of forces, and others, are present now.

    There is nothing to stop people from starting to "lean into sustainability" now. Problems around greenwashing and backlash only come when there is a dissonance between what a company does and what it says, which manifests itself through misleading claims. There is no need for this to happen though. And this can be avoided in two simple ways.

    1. Follow our Be-Do-Say framework which directs work inwardly first before it finds outward expression.

    2. Learn more about greenwashing and how it might show up in a specific category to give your team confidence in their Green Claims.

  • Finding a consultant with experience/expertise in your sector is a huge benefit. They will be able to help you set the right level of ambition based on the reduction levers available to your business. Havas Genus has experts across multiple sectors and is helping clients with exactly this. Feel free to contact sukh.plaha@gateoneconsulting.com to set up a meeting. Item description

  • To communicate with confidence, brands should align their 'Be-Do-Say'. Specifically, brands should ensure that their communications are consistent with the actions that the brand is taking, which rolls up into a purposeful strategy.

    Interestingly for brands and marketeers, the latest disclosure frameworks provide detailed guidance on the expectations of how to communicate and engage consumers and supply chains. Confidence can be sought from aligning to frameworks and legislation, as these seek to bring rigour and consistency to the sustainability activity of organisations.

  • While Patagonia is a great example, many other brands in fashion and apparel are embracing circularity in interesting ways. There are lots of great case studies and playbooks available on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation fashion page.

  • There are some examples of cross-industry collaboration with FMCG, for example, the Ellen MacArthur Foundations' New Plastics Economy Initiative, and Loop by TerraCycle. However this has not been as widespread as it needs to be. Internal pressure to use circular investment to drive competitive advantage is certainly a plausible explanation.

  • Implementing sustainability within a large retailer when senior stakeholders are not strong advocates, viewing it as potentially reducing profits, requires a strategic approach. This involves fostering a culture that values sustainability, effective stakeholder management, and reframing sustainability as an investment rather than a cost compliance exercise. Comprehensive internal communication efforts are vital to educate and engage employees, align sustainability objectives with broader business goals, and demonstrate their potential for positive impact on profitability, resilience, and brand reputation.

  • Exploring the supply chain is always a good place to start, focusing on streamlining processes to reduce environmental impact. Adopting Circular principles will also be key, experimenting with taking recycling into your own hands, or exploring other business models such as rental or repair. Collaboration reduces the risk and spreads costs, so look for partners to test and learn with.

13th September 2023

  • The Meaningful Brand survey covers a lot of metrics – a wide range of different outcomes and the pillar performance scores (for Functional, Personal and Collective). We also have a one number metric of Meaningfulness called the Meaningful Brand Index (MBI). 50% of this MBI score is made up of performance on the pillar attributes (Functional, Personal and Collective) and the other 50% of the score is made up of performance against three key brand equity KPIs (overall impression, purchase intent & advocacy). A lot of the work we do with MB is to subsequently diagnose why brands & categories achieve the scores they do on the Meaningful Brand Index by breaking it down into its constituent parts.

  • We think it has to do with the frequency of interaction and also the ubiquitous nature of grocery brands. We also found that grocery brands did particularly well in our 2020 fieldwork, where supermarkets became the ‘hero’ of the COVID-19 period in terms of supporting consumers functional and personal needs and there may be a legacy effect of this. Based on the prior two points, brands in the grocery category score well on both Pillar performance and brand equity which explains why they score so well on overall meaningfulness.

    With food inflation having been so high recently it will be interesting to see whether this impacts on meaningfulness of this category going forward.

  • Potentially, yes! Not agreeing with a brands ethics or practices could certainly be a barrier to purchase, especially given that we know people are holding brands to account more nowadays. Going back to the hierarchy of needs type model – it makes sense that brands will be purchased primarily because they deliver on the basic functional needs of product and service, so Collective will always be a lesser driver of a metric such as equity. But interestingly, we do find that, as with Personal, Collective is also a relatively strong driver of price premium suggesting that while it might not be the primary reason why people choose a brand to begin with, it does mean they are prepared to pay more for it if they are aligned with the brand’s principles.

    The deck we presented also focused on the total adult population and as we mentioned there are some nuances by audience. We know sustainability is more important to younger audiences and also higher income audiences who may have the luxury of making more measured purchase decisions.

  • There are some nuances in the results by age group, depending on the category. In the example of apparel, at a topline level, this category does have slightly higher meaning among 18-34s vs. all adults, which could be put down to greater category engagement. But in reality, the difference isn’t huge, as the MBi score is only 2% higher among 18-34s. There’s a bigger uplift in Apparel scores for positive contribution to Quality of Life among 18-34s, where scores are 17% higher among the younger demographic vs. all adults. This can be attributed to the Apparel category delivering more strongly on personal benefits specifically for the younger audience (+10%).

6th July 2023

  • The opportunity to test content creation for ecommerce sales is valuable from a social commerce perspective. Brands on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Twitter have adapted their creative and communication strategies to cater to the unique differences of these platforms. This results in a more conversational and engaging experience for consumers, making the journey to sales more natural. This approach has allowed brands to adapt their creative and communication strategies to better engage with consumers and drive sales.

  • To optimize your business, follow data to understand where your money and lifetime value come from. CDPs and CRM data can help answer this question, as it helps identify customers who spend in both physical retail experiences and those who spend less but more frequently. Comparing these groups can help you make informed decisions and create a strategy based on the data. This approach aligns with the original point about focus, allowing you to make informed decisions and create a strategy based on the data.

  • The Gymshark example highlights the importance of using data to inform decisions, rather than blindly following it. Grounding inspiration is crucial in achieving this goal. For instance, a furniture retailer tried to close physical stores due to the data suggesting that online purchases were more popular. They closed a few stores in southeast England, leading to a drop in online sales. This shift in purchasing behavior was influenced by the fact that people were no longer buying online.

    Instead of relying solely on retail data, supply data and customer data, the retailer delved deeper into customer experiences and realized that customers enjoyed visiting the store, experiencing the store, and making purchases online. This approach allowed the retailer to better understand and cater to their customers' preferences and preferences.

  • Build your experience around driving to the store. Customer service and UX on your website become crucial components of the customer journey. What does your website need to look like to convince a customer to speak to someone, whether that is online through a chat window or by booking an appointment virtually for an in-store visit? Once someone has booked an in-store visit, does a sales associate give them a courtesy phone call or send through a questionnaire so that when they get to the store, they have the best possible interactions with someone who already knows who they are and what they are looking for? Imagine walking into a shop where the person knows your name and what you’re interested in purchasing without you having to explain in detail. They have a number of items prepared for you to look at and try on that fit exactly as they have found the right size prior to your arrival.

  • While it is true that the rise of e-commerce has presented significant challenges to traditional brick-and-mortar stores, it may be premature to declare the death of the high street. The true narrative is about evolution, not extinction. Digital platforms offer convenience and a vast selection, but they cannot replace the tactile and immersive experience offered by retail locations. Brands that can effectively combine the digital and physical worlds will be the most successful. Consider Warby Parker, an eyewear brand that originated online but has since expanded into brick-and-mortar retail, recognising the significance of providing customers with a place to try on their glasses in person. It is not a reversal of the decline of the high street, but rather a reinvention of what it can be.

  • Brands have found ways to adapt to the changing needs of their customers post-COVID. By understanding their customers and tailoring their shopping experiences, retailers can create a more immersive and enjoyable shopping experience.

    Many brands have adapted to provide multisensory experiences in their stores. Balenciaga stores often feature fur and smooth surfaces, which helps customers understand why they want to be next to a product. This approach allows potential customers to feel like they are experiencing the products and not just the store itself.

    The COVID pandemic also exposed insights about the need for a more immersive shopping experience. Korea realised that some customers preferred shopping when there was no noise, so they created an experience between the hours of 1pm and 3pm where people could shop in silence.

  • There has been a surge in unique products, such as Rosemary oil, which have become more common. This has led to a surge in product bundling, where creators and the community discuss the best combinations of products. This has been an effective way for sellers to increase their GMV (gross merchandise volume) on social platforms. The increase in unique products and the combination of products has led to a more diverse and original product experience for users.

  • Both content and proposed benefits are significant from an e-commerce standpoint and serve distinct functions. The narrative and context of a product are shaped by its surrounding content. It contributes to the development of the brand persona and creates a distinct value proposition for the product. However, the proposed benefits of a product are frequently what influences consumers' purchasing decisions. They want to know how the product will address their problems, improve their lives, or simply bring them pleasure. Apple is a brand that combines these two characteristics superbly. Apple's focus on innovative features and user-friendly interfaces ensures that its products are relevant and appealing to consumers, while its spectacular product visuals and engaging narrative content establish a strong brand persona.

  • Gen AI has the potential to revolutionise the retail industry. Utilising artificial intelligence to provide highly personalised purchasing experiences. Using data analytics, AI can assist in predicting individual customer behaviour, enabling retailers to curate and provide precisely what each consumer desires. This level of customization has numerous benefits for retailers, including increased customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and sales. Netflix is a great example of AI's function in personalised retail. Their AI-powered recommendation engine has become a pillar of their success, as it provides users with personalised content recommendations, thereby boosting user engagement and satisfaction.

    In addition, Gen AI will revolutionise how brands operate by introducing new methods for stock forecasting, enhancing analytic insights, and introducing numerous other innovations currently under development.

  • The market for a blended retail experience is expected to grow, as consumers increasingly seek physical, touchable, and personal experiences. However, consumer tolerance for friction, lack of relevance, and personalization is decreasing. Bridging the physical and online experience, both from a messaging and purchasing perspective is a permanent shift. It is crucial to drive brand equity and understand how people feel about a brand. Purchase decisions are often rational but also emotional, and meaningful brands connect with consumers through meaningful content. Understanding the blended experience is essential, but the marketing team must maintain the brand top of mind.

  • Product sampling is a classic marketing tactic, but measuring its efficacy can be difficult. Historically, marketers may have focused solely on whether product sampling directly leads to a sale. However, in the interconnected world of today, this approach is inadequate. Instead, product sampling should be viewed as a long-term investment. Metrics such as customer engagement, customer feedback, social media mentions, and repeat purchase rates can provide a more comprehensive view of product sampling's efficacy. Consider Birchbox's subscription-based sampling model, which has effectively created a strong client base and brand loyalty. Sampling is about more than just immediate sales conversion; it is also about developing long-lasting customer relationships, enhancing brand image, and gathering consumer insights.