At last. The work the food industry has made on sustainability – from curbing carbon emissions and reducing waste to responsible sourcing and nutrition – should, even to its harshest critics, should be recognised. However, the time has come for the largest manufacturers and retailers – those with the marketing muscle – to start talking directly to consumers. And Unilever, the world’s second-largest FMCG advertiser, has started to do just that.
That is not to say it hasn’t been done. Marks and Spencer’s Plan A Shwopping scheme, encouraging consumers to return unwanted clothes for them to be recycled, was innovative and secured the attention of at least consumers.
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However, in the food sector, not a lot has been done. Sure, Fairtrade sales continue to grow, in part as major brands like Cadbury and Tate & Lyle have come on board, but also because consumer interest in the issue has grown (one could infer the likes of Cadbury and Kit Kat getting on board was because the brands knew Fairtrade had resonated with consumers beyond sustainability evangelists). But, in our sector, consumer-facing programmes or campaigns have been low key at the very least.
Of course, the industry first had to work behind the scenes and make some progress on all kinds of sustainability issues. No point trying to convince consumers to think differently if they were not showing they were walking the walk, too. And changes made further back down the supply chain can lead to quiet changes to products that, in the end, have a sustainability benefit without consumers even knowing.
But, in order to create real changes in behaviour, consumer goods companies will have to, as well as continuing that work, engage with people that interact with them and their products week in, week out.
Perhaps it is telling it has fallen to Unilever to develop a consumer-facing marketing campaign. The company, with its Sustainable Living Plan, has been at the forefront of efforts on all kinds of issues and, even if in some areas the company’s response could be argued to have been lacking (think the UK agreement on front-of-pack nutrition labels this summer), the Ben & Jerry’s and Knorr owner deserves credit for its work.
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By GlobalDataKeith Weed, Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer, said the company’s Project Sunlight campaign wanted to “galvanise and build momentum behind a movement that is already happening”. However, companies, he said, needed to communicate new consumer habits that were convenient.
“We know people all over the world want to adopt more sustainable behaviours, but need these to be easy and to fit with the way they live their lives. As a global consumer goods company, we have the means to help people realise this ambition,” Weed said.
The company’s decision to launch the campaign today (20 November) on Universal Children Day’s is an attempt to tap in, it said, to how consumers’ mindsets change when they become parents.
“We have extensive experience and research into what drives – and what limits – mass behaviour change. From this experience, we know that parenthood creates a profound shift in people’s view of the world and what the anticipated future will mean for the lives of their children.”
Unilever has commissioned a video, available on YouTube, for the campaign, which has been launched Brazil, India, Indonesia, the UK and the US. That Unilever has decided to launch the campaign in three emerging markets indicates there is an interest in sustainability issues in developing economies, as well as in the West.
Of course, Unilever, like its peers in the industry, has a lot of work to do in all sorts of areas linked to sustainability. But its campaign deserves to be noted. Now it is up to others to think of ways to connect with the consumer.
