I recently joined a group called the Marketing and Sustainability Steering Committee, which is trying to come up with standards for green marketing in the UK. The UK Marketing Society asked me to me their delegate, which was nice.
On Friday, I met everyone else for the first time (kind of an eclectic mix of non-profits, academics, and agency people — surprisingly I was the only one from the brand side). Someone in the group was talking about company transparency, and how reluctant many companies are to reveal their inner workings. The traditional approach is to concoct a persona via advertising and point to that instead.
Yet, more and more consumers seem to be looking for the company behind the curtain. They’re no longer as swayed by the concocted brand image of advertising. Instead, they want to know who’s behind the products they buy.
I found myself scribbling cartoons of Dorothy and Toto in the margins of my notes. I’m sure the guy next to me was wondering what was wrong with me. I hope I get asked back.
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