SET YOUR SIGHTS ON INTERNAL COMMS
The rise of sustainability means marketing is no longer just about the customer but also a wide range of other external and internal stakeholders. Today’s marketers have to balance the needs of those different stakeholders.
The old doctrine of shareholder primacy no longer applies. In its place is a new, multi-stakeholder model. This calls for closer collaboration — and even integration — between marketing and sustainability roles, as well as broader corporate strategy. These functions cannot pull in different directions; they must be aligned around a common set of goals.
MARKETERS MUST COLLABORATE MORE CLOSELY WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS
Relationships with PR, communications, public affairs and sustainability teams will help to present a coherent picture to audiences and manage messages across a diverse range of stakeholders.
“Sustainability is everybody’s business inside a company,” says Dr. Arlo Brady, CEO of Freuds. “Chief sustainability officers or chief marketing officers don’t have the monopoly on the knowledge or the skills to deal with the issue. To make progress, you’ve got to work together with other people inside the organisation.”
“A good CSO [chief sustainability officer] is somebody who can join the dots across the organisation and help to weave all of this together.”
Dr. Arlo Brady Chief executive officer, Freuds
A COMPANY’S SUSTAINABILITY STORY IS NOW A VITAL PART OF AN EMPLOYER BRAND
In a recent Porter Novelli study, 78% of respondents said they would prefer to work for a purpose-driven company. 9
“The role of brand communications can often be as internally focused as it is externally focused,” says Peter Field, an independent marketing and advertising professional. “It’s about sending signals to your staff that this is the direction you are moving in. That shouldn’t be understated.”
This is particularly true in a tight labour market, when potential employees have more choice of employer.
“People will choose companies that share their values and where they feel proud to work,” says Stephen Woodford, chief executive officer of the Advertising Association.
“When employees see their company taking action, it creates a massive increase in their own sense of self-worth and job satisfaction.”
Stephen Woodford Chief executive officer, the Advertising Association