directions supplement may_07

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DIRECTIONSMONTHLYSUPPLEMENT

MAY 07

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE WORLD OF CORPORATE REPORTING

CORPORATERESPONSIBILITY ANDBRANDS – A COAT OFFRESH GREEN PAINTOR THE NEW STRATEGICBATTLEFIELD?

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Corporate responsibility in advertising

With just about every brand now rushing to promote its environmental,ethical and responsibility credentials, we thought it was time to assesshow much substance there really is to it all.

In this specially extended edition of Directions Monthly we take a look at how deep CR really does go in these organisations and we try to identify what is strategic, and therefore likely to be sustainable, versus what isjust opportunistic greenwash. To do this we have taken a (admittedlyunscientific and subjective) look at advertising campaigns from aroundthe world. These are our views as practitioners in the field of CR. But wedon’t have to produce advertising for these companies, so we’ve also gotan expert’s view. We have invited Cilla Snowball, Chairman of AMV.BBDO,to give us an insight into how two of her agency’s clients haveapproached the integration of aspects of CR into their consumerpropositions – and it’s interesting stuff.

Nigel Salter Lucie Harrild

Directions Monthly May 2007 Issue 12

A MORI poll in January2005 reported that only5% of the UK populationsaid the environment was‘the most important issuefacing Britain’. In January2007, this had nearlyquadrupled to 19%.

Mass market campaigns now featuremessages from the full range of CR issues:ethics, environment, social responsibility,climate change, and values are all being usedto help market products. And there are someobvious reasons why this new wave of ethicaladverts are being produced. A MORI poll inJanuary 2005 reported that only 5% of theUK population said the environment was ‘themost important issue facing Britain’. InJanuary 2007, this had nearly quadrupled to19%. And a new WPP study shows that climatechange is now the number one issue that UKconsumers are hearing about – with 85%hearing about it. A recent report bymanagement consultancy Arthur D Little alsoexplained how it saw leading companies andinnovators moving beyond the originalparameters of corporate responsibility. Thereport argues that real innovators are nowfocusing on what it terms the corporateresponsibility opportunity or CRO. Theirinsight is accurate although their terminologyis pure jargon.

This all points to the fact that CR now has fullyfledged commercial wings and it’s not rocketscience to work out why. We think the realchallenge is to identify what actually worksand how to tell the difference between hot airand hot ideas...

Nigel SalterDirector, salterbaxter

With corporate responsibility now playing a key role in mainstreamconsumer advertising there can no longer be any doubt about itscontribution to a company or a brand’s reputation and success.


An overview from salterbaxter…(A selection of campaigns reviewed and dissected)

continued >

1 DoveThe campaign for real beauty(www.campaignforrealbeauty.co.uk)

What I like about this campaign is that itisn’t a defensive response to an awkwardsubject. It’s true there was an issue for allfashion and cosmetics brands to thinkabout – but this wasn’t an obvious response.This is a good contrast to the effective butslightly defensive response of oil firmstalking about future energy sources.

Dove’s campaign features real women (notmodels) and celebrates each one’s uniquebeauty. This taps into the very real debateabout how female models are too thin andhow the world’s preoccupation with skinnywaifs has contributed to underminingfemale self-esteem. Dove’s ads have alsobeen adapted in clever ways to suitdifferent markets and challenge localstereotypes. In Japan the campaignbroached the subject of eyelid surgery and in Brazil they featured a woman withsmall breasts.

Dove has also now launched a fund to helporganisations which address eating andself-esteem issues.

To me this campaign is genuinely strategicas it has completely re-directed the way inwhich this brand is talking to its customers.It’s got substance. It’s focused on welldefined issues which are relevant. It’sgroundbreaking and it has got properfollow through outside the purelymarketing aspects. This one works – and I’dgo further. This is one of the best examplesof the social and commercial combining tomake a brand story more effective.

2 PeugeotThe Peugeot 206 HDi – ‘Le Mouton’(www.peugeot.fr)

Run in France, this campaign shows a carparked in the countryside. It gets sprayed inmud and is then approached by a sheep.The sheep looks at the mud then wipes

itself along the side of the car to clean it alloff. The ad finishes with a focus on the line‘Peugeot 206 HDi – Clean technology.Nature will remember’.

This is a classic case of a company simplytrying to paint on some environmentalcredentials. There may have been someimprovements to the car’s technology butin essence it’s the same product that hasbeen marketed without the environmentalcredentials for years. This is the sort ofopportunistic adoption of a topical subjectthat most consumers see straight through.Not strategic and not particularlyimaginative.

3 ChevronWill you join us (www.willyoujoinus.com)

This campaign has been run across mostmedia but it all ties in to a website whereChevron state ‘To deliver the world’senergy, we need yours first’. The site alsofeatures a brilliant counter device whichshows how much oil and gas has beenconsumed globally during your visit to thesite. The site is then basically a debateforum which airs views and analyses all theissues relating to the subject of the world’senergy needs.

As mentioned earlier, whatever the oilcompanies do has a hint of the defensivebecause of the nature of this debate, socynics could just brush this campaign asideas ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’. Butthere is real substance here and the open-ended debate approach could be argued tobe less arrogant than BP’s ‘beyondpetroleum’ positioning.

This campaign is thoughtful, it has seriouscontributions from academic and othersources and it doesn’t shirk some of thedifficult points. A good reference point forany company seeking to engage in a debaterather than just pontificate.

salterbaxter green rating guide

Bleeds green Deep green

Wishy-washy green Puke green

salterbaxter green rating guide

Bleeds green Deep green

Wishy-washy green Puke green

An overview from salterbaxtercontinued

6 HSBCHSBC Green Sale

This was a special campaign run fromDecember 2006 to January 2007featuring a green paw print and explainingthat for every product bought through thegreen sale a sum of money would bedonated to nominated charities. I wasrather surprised by this campaign as HSBChave taken a generally sensible position inthe CR debate.

As far as I can see, this campaign is justopportunistic – a poor attempt to sell moreproducts on the back of donations tocharity. This isn’t innovative and I’d be verysurprised if it worked (happy to be toldotherwise though). Surely most people justsee through this type of approach.

The campaign was also confusing as itdidn’t really make clear which products it related to anyway.

All in all I think this is pretty disappointingand it certainly doesn’t communicate aclear-sighted, planned strategy from thebank. Surprising, as much of the workthey’ve done in the CR field is based ongood substance.

7 DieselDiesel Climate change ready (www.diesel.com/#/globalwarming)

I’d also like to make a special mentionof the new Diesel ‘Climate change ready’campaign. Featuring it’s range of skimpyand cut back summer clothing this campaignshould stand as the best reminder to all ofus not to take ourselves seriously – andthat irony and humour are rarely out ofplace. Top marks.

4 GEGE ecomagination(www.ge.com/ecomagination)

GE made a big noise about its investmentinto R&D for green technologies and this isthe campaign that backs it all up.

From water desalination to energy efficientlighting GE is now pouring millions ofdollars into new products that help totackle environmental/sustainability issues.So this is grounded in real change and ispossibly the most impressive commercialresponse from any major industrialcompany to this issue. There is obviouslyhuge financial potential in getting thisright too, so the advertising is crucial.

And the campaign doesn’t disappoint.There are numerous different ads and theyall paint an exciting picture of howtechnology can be applied to solve somebig environmental challenges. There’s areal spirit of adventure to the campaignand it shows that green issues andtechnology don’t have to be boring.

This is again a perfect example of acompany working on the CR opportunity,bringing commercial thinking to bear onsome serious CR issues. I was just slightlyconcerned that some of the reality of whatwas being done wasn’t matching the hype – but I don’t want to be too cynical. This isfirmly rooted in business strategy and is apowerful commercial proposition.

5 FordFord Escape Hybrid (www.ford.com)

A US ad for the hybrid mini 4x4. I don’twant to pick on the car industry but this isan appalling example of some green glossbeing applied. Yes the car is more fuelefficient but the ad actually featuresKermit the frog (for no other reason thanhe’s green) and then at the end of the adthe blue Ford logo turns green before youreyes! To my mind this ad actually does acomplete disservice to the technologythat’s been applied to the car. This isalmost a caricature of the stereotypedview of environmental issues – unless it’sbeing ironic? Possibly the best exampleI’ve seen of how not to address theCR/environmental agenda in marketing.


So where’s this all taking us?Things appear to be moving very fast. I thinkthat even 12 months ago the picture for thistesting of the temperature would have given aremarkably cold reading. But there is no doubtthat the full range of social and environmentalissues are now factored into mainstreamadvertising and brand campaigns – andincreasingly as the fundamental strategy. TheDiesel campaign also shows it’s already beingparodied, a sure sign it’s in the mainstream.

The big public issue of our times is climatechange and this will undoubtedly register as a big area of focus in the coming years. Butdoes this usher in an era where companies willbe competing on climate friendly credentials?

I think it probably does.

There appears to be a genuine transformationof the landscape taking place. The key in allthis though is that consumers will see throughthe companies that are simply applying a lightgreen wash to help re-package existingproducts. The test is whether or not theproduct is being dressed up or whether theapproach has deeper strategic roots. Dove’sapproach was a full re-appraisal and re-definition of the brand’s proposition.HSBC’s green sale was just opportunistic .

I think responsible and ethical credentials are becoming the most important brandbattleground for the coming years. Butresponsibility is becoming an essential thoughnot sufficient ingredient for a successfulbrand. Innovators will see this and really getto grips with the massive opportunitypresented. The followers will be found out.

Miss out on this transformation,underestimate it or get it wrong at your peril.

The view from the practitioner…


Cilla SnowballChairman, AMV.BBDO

We’ve been working on CR programmes withour clients for several years now. It’s not a new phenomenon. Responsibility goes right to the heart of brand strategy and recognisesthe crucial role of business in making adifference in society. The ‘win-win’ is mutualand multiple.

Consumers are driving this and increasinglymaking ethical considerations in buyingdecisions. And they do so with conviction and enthusiasm – worthwhile doesn’t have to be worthy.

Active Kids for Sainsbury’s shows what canhappen when an organisation gives itsthousands of colleagues and millions ofcustomers the tools to make the difference. It is fun, worthwhile and it works at anindividual and brand level, in schools and inthe business.

The Diageo Responsible Drinking initiative,whilst different in tone and message alsorecognises a commitment and ambition toaddress a major societal issue with compellingand relevant communication.

We’re working on more and more CRcampaigns with our clients and CR isdefinitely moving from corporate affairs silo to mainstream consumer and marketing priority.

Case study 1

Sainsbury’s Active Kids

We are a society obsessed by the food weeat and the health consequences of thewrong decisions. Many brands have beencaught in the storm around unhealthy food and its particular consequen ces forour children.

Media coverage is overwhelmingly aboutunhealthy food, but research showed thatpeople were consuming fewer caloriesthan in the past – the issue was they wereexercising much less. Sainsbury’s believedthat to compete in the future, retailerswould have to get serious about health by focusing both on food and activity.

A great cause-related idea would have two elements:

1 a scheme with genuine benefits to the cause; and

2 the involvement of Sainsbury’s shoppers to enable Sainsbury’s both to fund and profit from the scheme (a genuine win-win).

We created a scheme dedicated to thecause of kids activity (not just sport),administered through schools –Sainsbury’s Active Kids.

The more you spent in-store, the morevouchers you got. Customers decidedwhich schools receive vouchers and hencewhich benefit most. Schools decided whatto spend the vouchers on, ‘buying’ goodsfrom a catalogue administered by a thirdparty supplier.

continued >

We’re working on more and more CR campaigns with our clients and CR is definitely moving from corporate affairs siloto mainstream consumer and marketing priority.


64% of primary schoolteachers and 39% ofsecondary schoolteachers report thatkids have become moreinterested in healthyeating as a result of the scheme.

Sainsbury’s Active Kidscontinued

Each Sainsbury’s store had an Active Kids‘champion’ – a colleague responsible forco-ordinating store activities, and reaching out into the community served by the store and working with localschools. Active Kids was communicated toSainsbury’s customers in advertising andcommunication featuring Kelly Holmes.Active Kids was at the centre of theSainsbury’s brand during the campaignperiod, advertised on TV and promoted in-store.

Success for the cause80% of UK schools are registered and27,000 schools have placed 31,000 ordersfor equipment from the Active Kidscatalogue.

Active Kids has increased activity rates inschools, not only in primary schools, butalso in the much tougher secondary schoolenvironment. Teachers have reportedimprovements in both these areas. 56% of primary school teachers and 34% ofsecondary school teachers report that kidshave become more positive about physicalactivity. 64% of primary school teachersand 39% of secondary school teachersreport that kids have become moreinterested in healthy eating as a result ofthe scheme.

The simplest effect of the scheme hasbeen to make physical activity moreenjoyable for kids – 71% of primary schoolteachers report that this has been the case(it’s a tougher task in secondary schools,but 46% of teachers there reportimprovements).

Success for the businessThe scheme has generated an increase in fruit and veg sales, up 10% during theweeks of the campaign in response to the double points offer on these items.This was a unique part of the Sainsbury’sscheme and reflected a balancedcommitment to healthy food and activity in tandem. The more Sainsbury’scustomers have spent, the more vouchersthey have been able to donate to localschools, building strong links between thestore and the community.

In 2007, the scheme will develop further,with the Active Kids catalogue available toScout and Guide groups and now includingcooking equipment to help promote theeducation of healthy eating.

The long-term implications of Sainsbury’sinvolvement could be dramatic. Active Kidscould be seen in the future as a turningpoint in the health of Britain’s kids as thecreativity and scale of Sainsbury’s wereapplied to the problem to the mutualbenefit of brand, business and cause.


The work ran as a pilot test in London,Manchester and Nottingham last year fortwo months and is planned to runthroughout the UK from 1 May 2007 onterrestrial and satellite channels.

Work that worksEvaluation of the 2006 pilot revealed thatcommunicating responsible drinkingmessages through advertising can be aneffective way of raising awareness andchanging individuals’ attitudes to alcoholconsumption.

The evaluation found that after watchingthe two executions:

•57% of people said they wouldreconsider how they drink as a result of the campaign

•75% said the campaign made themquestion their drinking habits

•93% thought it was important toconsume alcohol beverages within sensible limits.

The adverts have been recognised acrossthe industry for their role in promotingresponsible drinking, with ‘Mirror’ beingawarded the 2006 Drinks Business Awardfor Responsible Drinking Message.

The evaluation also demonstrated thatconsumers are eager for the drinksindustry to play a role in promotingresponsible drinking – in fact 92% ofpeople surveyed thought it was good tosee an alcohol beverage companyadvertising responsible drinking messages.

Case study 2

Diageo Responsible Drinking

The ambition: Treated responsibly, alcoholis associated with enjoyment andcelebration, but it is common knowledgethat excessive or inappropriateconsumption can cause health and socialproblems for individuals and society. Asthe world’s leading premium drinksbusiness, Diageo wants to be at theforefront of industry efforts to promoteresponsible drinking. Their approach isbased on the following key principles:

• set world-class standards for responsiblemarketing and innovation

• combat alcohol misuse, working withothers on initiatives to reduce alcohol-related harm

• seek to promote a shared understandingof what it means to drink responsibly.

AMV.BBDO work with Diageo to deliverintegrated pan-European communicationcampaigns to fulfil the last of theseprinciples.

The idea ‘Mirror’ shows a young woman observingherself at a house party. At first she ishaving fun, but then she becomesashamed by her behaviour, this iscompleted with the strapline ‘Make sureyou like what you see’. A male execution‘Many Me’ was also developed by the Irishagency Language. The two adverts weredesigned to reflect alcohol consumptionboth in the on and off trade.

The evaluation alsodemonstrated thatconsumers are eagerfor the drinks industryto play a role inpromoting responsibledrinking.

ABOUT USSALTERBAXTER ADVISECOMPANIES ON STRATEGY,BRANDING, CORPORATECOMMUNICATIONS AND DESIGN.

Our clients are extremely varied and include FTSE 100 companies; someof the world’s most exclusive brands; independent, entrepreneurialbusinesses; world leading educational establishments; law firms; privateequity firms and media companies.

We name companies, re-invent companies, and re-position companies.We help companies communicate with shareholders and advise them onhow to address corporate responsibility. We launch, brand and re-brand.

A key area of our expertise is corporate reporting and we advise leadingUK and European organisations on strategy and design for theirfinancial and CR communications programmes. We currently work with12 of the UK FTSE 100.

Our offer to clients is a balance of genuine expertise in reporting and CR issues with a commitment to producing outstanding creative design.

This has been recognised with our work receiving numerous awardsincluding the ACCA award for innovation in sustainability reporting forour work with O2.

Contact:Nigel Salter Lucie [email protected] [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7229 5720 Tel: +44 (0)20 7229 5720

Directions Monthly supplements our main Directions report. This report is published eachyear and is now regarded as the UK’s most comprehensive analysis of the trends andissues in CR communications. If you want a copy of the full Directions Annual Survey andReport, call us on the number below or email [email protected]

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