Since the Paris Climate Agreement, there’s been an upswell of companies actively taking charge to reduce emissions and prepare for climate impacts.

Groups like the We Mean Business Coalition, RE100, and EV100 help businesses monitor emissions, set goals, and take action.

It’s exciting and inspirational to see brands around the world increasing efficiency, cleaning up supply chains, and innovating around climate action to collaboratively build a low carbon future.

The CDP, a climate change reporting and analysis organization, recently released the second annual Picking Up The Pace study to showcase corporate climate progress. 1073 companies voluntarily submitted emissions data, 68 percent have set climate targets for 2020 and 20 percent set targets for 2030 or later, which is a substantial increase from the 2016 report. The increasingly common long-term perspective is a sign that businesses are stepping up to the challenge to reduce climate change, rather than playing lip service to the cause.

What’s more, there’s been a 61 percent increase in the adoption of science-based emissions targets since last year. Science-based targets are vital to reducing global emissions below the dangerous 2 degree celsius threshold. The authors note that the commitments presented in the report would get the sample companies 31 percent of the way to meeting the 2 degree target by 2030, which closed the gap by 6 percent since the last report.

Although there’s still a long way to go before the private sector reaches sustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions, more than 95 percent of surveyed companies say they are weaving climate change into business strategy, have business leaders directly involved in climate change projects, and are working with policymakers to mitigate emissions and adapt to impacts.

Ultimately, climate action is fast becoming an integral part of doing business in today’s world. Brands that lead the way not only help build a better world, but also distinguish themselves as purpose driven leaders paving the road towards sustainability.

Here are a few lessons from some of the report’s top performing companies on how to tackle climate change within your organization:

Implement an internal price on carbon:

One of the biggest challenges that climate policy advocates face is putting a price on carbon. In brief, carbon pricing would internalize the negative externalities associated with greenhouse gas emissions, effectively requiring emitters to pay for their fair share to clean up our atmosphere.

While there are regional markets such as RGGI and the California Cap and Trade have instigated localized action, there is yet to be a U.S. national, let alone global, price on carbon.  Pricing carbon emissions is essential to accurately assessing the cost of reducing emissions and combining internal emissions targets with science-based goals.

An example of a company leading the way in climate action with a voluntary internal carbon pricing is AkzoNobel.  The Netherland’s chemical manufacturing behemoth is utilizing carbon pricing to influence investment decisions and supplier inputs.

The brand incorporates an internal price on carbon into IRR assessments for new investments, which influence decisions such as incorporating afterburners into new coating plants.

AkzoNobel also uses shadow carbon pricing when sourcing materials and electricity from suppliers. The cost of carbon is incorporated into the overall cost and the chemical company will make purchasing decisions based on the lowest cost to their business and society.

As AkzoNobel’s Director of Sustainability, André Veneman, said, “sustainability is not an abstract concept to be considered in isolation, It’s about the transition to sustainable business, focused on longer-term value creation.”

Ultimately, using an internal price on carbon intertwines your finances with your emissions.

Collaborate with competitors:

While it may seem counterintuitive, collaborating with competitors working towards the same goal can accelerate innovation and reduce R&D costs.

We are seeing some great collaboration in the automobile industry around electric vehicles.

For example, Nissan is partnering with Renault and Mitsubishi to compile battery design strategy, logistics, and shared platforms. Nissan believes The Alliance will cut the costs of manufacturing, transportation and advance the market.

The automaker is also partnering with BMW, Volkswagen and the Trans-European Transportation Network to deploy battery charging stations throughout europe.

“The aim of the project is to accelerate the growth of EV charging infrastructure, seen as a key enabler towards making zero-emission mobility a market reality,” a Nissan represented told CDP.

Essentially, partnering with other companies working towards a similar goal can scale your progress and cut costs in the long run.

Incorporate climate risk into decision-making:

While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to maintaining a livable planet and fertile business environment, minimizing the risk that climate-related shocks and pressures can have on your business is also important.

Corporate resiliency ensures that key inputs to your supply chain are prepared for fluctuations in climate. Already, extreme heat threatens to reduce working hours for companies that rely on outdoor physical labor.

A brand doing a great job of considering climate risk in business operations is Aviva. The insurance company assess doom scenarios from 4 to 6 degrees warming that would disrupt the company’s ability to cover loses and works with companies to monitor risk.

To help increase climate risk transparency, Aviva’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Steve Waygood serves as a board member on the Task Force for Climate-Related Disclosure (TCRD). His goal is to get more companies and governments to use the TCRD’s criteria to assess climate risk, which will then inform investors and operators.

Ultimately, it’s important to know how your company is vulnerable to climate impacts and build resiliency into supply chains.

Conscious corporate leaders are making a stand to advance climate action. This means setting long-term science-based climate targets, pricing carbon into decision- making, collaborating with others to advance innovation and reducing climate risk exposure in investments and supply chains.

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become widespread throughout the global business community. In fact, over 80 percent of S&P 500 companies publicly share their brand-driven impact via a CSR report, a 400 percent increase since 2011.

While it’s imperative that individual businesses leverage their expertise, financial clout and supply chains to build a better world, isolated actions are not enough to meet the challenges we face such a climate change, with equal force. Now is the time for corporations to serve as a third pillar of social change and join nonprofits and governments in a trifecta of purpose that builds a more sustainable and equitable world. In short, collaboration is essential to progress in improving the future for all.

A powerful example of such collaboration is Procter and Gamble and its Head & Shoulders Beach Plastic Bottle project, announced at the 2017 World Economic Forum. The Head & Shoulders Beach Plastic Bottle is the first recyclable shampoo bottle in the world to be constructed with recycled beach plastics. It contains up to 25 percent of the recycled material. The company launched a limited-edition batch in the French market this summer and will launch it into Germany in mid-December.  Moreover, P&G plans to produce over half a billion shampoo bottles of flagship brands Head & Shoulders, Pantene and Aussie with up to 25% post-consumer recycled plastic by the end of 2018 in Europe.

The consumer goods conglomerate collaborated with numerous experts and organizations to innovate on sustainable packaging. Key partners included TerraCycle and SUEZ and together they were awarded the United Nations ‘Momentum for Change’ Climate Solutions award during COP23, in Bonn earlier this year.

As Head & Shoulders’ Global VP, Lisa Jennings reflected, this innovation “shines a light on scalable solutions to diverting waste from landfill and beaches. We are confident this project will continue inspiring other brands and industries to find solutions to the issue of plastic waste.”

The collaboration around this innovative project was fueled by a shared vision to catalyze real change in the way we produce, consume and dispose of plastics. Other impactful partnerships Adidas and Parley whose shared mission is to learn, evolve and reconfigure the way we think about pollution in the world’s oceans, while Corona has pledged to protect 100 islands from marine plastic pollution by 2020 in partnership with Parley. Ultimately, without such purposeful partnerships, it would be more difficult if not impossible to mobilize true sustainable progress on a scale that will improve all lives.

Here’s why partnerships are vital to innovation and impact:

1. They enhance business insights: Before launching a new product, service or initiative, it’s essential know your market. Globally, we produce more than 20 million tons of trash is discarded outside of landfills, in nature each year; 8 million tons of which runs off into the ocean wanted to use its supply chain to contribute to solving the problem of ocean plastics. But before diving in, the company needed to better understand consumer behavior and awareness.

Head & Shoulders collaborated with the research specialist Harris Interactive to assess how French consumers dispose of plastic waste in the bathroom. A study of 1000 French people revealed that although 71 percent of disposable plastics utilized in the kitchen are recycled, just 44 percent of bathroom plastics follow the same lifecycle.

P&G saw this as an opportunity to leverage its #1 shampoo brand Head & Shoulders to increase awareness about ocean plastic pollution and change consumer behavior towards more sustainable practices. Ultimately, partnerships can help you understand your target audience and provide strategy insight for purposeful and profitable innovation.

2. They scale your network: Collaboration is crucial to building community. Brands that foster strong relationships with external networks can not only strengthen ties with consumers, but also receive valuable assistance that can help them meet CSR and financial goals.

P&G’s partnership with TerraCycle is a great example of how companies can expand their networks to awaken measurable actions that build their brand and a better world. TerraCycle was instrumental in supplying the recyclable beach plastics guard in Head & Shoulders bottles. The organization not only coordinated with over 100 nonprofits and 1000 individuals to receive beach plastics, but also sorted through the collected plastics to separate high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This is an essential step in the process of producing the bottles because HDPE can be repurposed and recycled again.

The partnership between P&G and TerraCycle gave Head & Shoulders the materials it needed and provided TerraCycle with an outlet for reclaimed HDPE. Essentially, collaboration can scale your network and open windows of opportunity.

3. They speed up R&D: Successful business leaders know how to leverage R&D in house capabilities and collaborate with outside expertise to drive innovation. P&G partnered with SUEZ to transform the raw beach plastics into usable inputs for Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles. The plastics undergo a multi-step process in which SUEZ washes the beach plastics, crushes them down and reforms them into plastic pellets.

By working with SUEZ, P&G could take advantage of their partners recycling expertise and facilities. Ultimately, working with partners can save you the headache – not to mention time and money –  of having to reinventing the wheel.

4. They open doors for distribution: While direct to consumer sales channels are becoming increasingly popular, many companies rely on third party distributors to facilitate B2C transactions. Collaborating with select distributors around purpose-driven product launches is an excellent way to test products, run duel promotions and scale sales channels.

To distribute Head & Shoulders’ first batch of beach plastic bottles, P&G formed an exclusive partnership with Carrefour in France and with Rewe in Germany. The retailers will also help drive awareness about plastic pollution and recycling in its myriad stores where the Head & Shoulders products will be sold. The lesson here is that partnerships can make it easier to position your brand in front of consumers and generate sales.

The key takeaways are that collaboration provides nuanced insights, expands your network, reduces R&D time and expenditure and scales distribution channels.

What’s more, it’s essential that businesses seek to partner with public sector institutions, nonprofits, as well as other for profit companies to make the changes that will lead to a profitable circular economy and sustainable future for generations to come.

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Today’s increasingly savvy consumers expect brands to do more than make quality goods and services. People want to support companies that actively work towards building a better world.

In fact, nearly 90 percent of consumers say they would rather purchase a good or service that gives back to society than a comparable product that doesn’t have a social impact.

What’s more, technology is changing communication pathways between brands and consumers. Because of the internet and social media. What used to be a monologue is now a dialogue.

In other words, companies now actively engage with fans and followers on social media. The increased level of engagement has also lead to an increased level of criticism.  While consumers are increasingly interested in supporting companies that support things they believe in, savvy shoppers are also prepared to boycott brands that rub them the wrong way. Companies are forced to be more transparent and more accountable. In this way, technology is making us human again.

In response, innovative brands like Patagonia, Tesla and Ben & Jerry’s are working to build social capital by taking leading roles in cultural movements.  While growing brand activism is helping improve the planet, it’s also generating consumer goodwill, loyalty and profits for socially conscious companies.

Corporate social responsibility is no longer limited to start ups and social enterprises, it is now an integral component of many of world’s largest companies including IBM, FedEx and Walmart.

Recent changes in Facebook’s algorithm give companies ever more reason to foster social capital.

Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said , “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.” Consequently, people can expect to see less content from brands and media outlets and more posts from friends, family, groups and influencers.

These changes will alter the way brands connect with consumers on the internet. It will be increasingly important to build an audience and community, rather than seek one off sales and viral video views.

Zuckerberg’s call for meaning also comes in lieu of complaints about fake news and too much advertising on the platform. Facebook also has to maintain consumer and user goodwill to keep their own relationships in order to survive.

Ultimately, the combination of technological innovation, access to information and consumer demand for purposeful companies is making it increasingly important to do good and build social capital.

Here’s why social capital is key to long term financial success:

Millennials and generation Z want to work with brands to shape content: The beauty of the internet and social media is that people can connect with each other all around the world in new ways and at record speeds. The nature of social media is that information spreads from one to one to many.

The ability to spread communications between personal networks is a powerful tool that brands should tap into to build their reputation.  

Millennials and Gen Z are especially eager to share content that they think is important and feel they have an actively role in influencing brands and culture.

70 percent of millennials say they will participate in activities to have content to share on social media and 86 percent say that, as fans, they have some ownership of what they are fans of.

Companies that are able to inspire consumers to post about brand-related initiatives can scale the organic reach of their marketing initiatives, strengthen connections with consumers, generate word of mouth advertising and benefit from crowdsourced user generated content (UGC); ultimately, saving them money.

REI’s #OptOutside initiative is an excellent example of a successful user generated content campaign.

UGC gets highest engagement and influences purchase decisions: Not only can user generated content get your brand in front of more eyeballs, it’s also a proven way to influence purchasing decisions.

In fact, UGC gets an average of 4 times more engagement at half the cost per click of agency or brand created content. Additionally, millennials say that UGC increases trust, memorability and purchasing habits compared with ad content.

Essentially, companies should strive to strengthen their community of fans and followers, who can then help build their brand for them. UGC is also an excellent way to take advantage of the recent Facebook algorithm changes.

People seek meaningful connections: Fostering a sense of purpose in your customers, fans and followers is not only a proven way to increase engagement and purchases, it’s also a powerful means to build relationships with consumers overtime.

A recent study on how consumers define “The Good Life”, found that meaningful connections were one of the most important characteristics of a “good life.”

Therefore, utilizing your purpose-driven initiatives – whether they focus on helping the homeless or tackling climate change – to connect consumers with causes they care about is a meaningful way to position your brand as a connecting link between consumers and the things they feel strongly about.

TOMS has done an excellent job branding itself as a force for good and resource for contributory consumption.

In other words, people want to buy TOMS shoes because it makes them feel like they are contributing to building a better world. This gives consumers increased incentive to purchase TOMS products.

From a business standpoint, creating meaningful connections increases the likelihood of winning repeat customers and on average repeat customers purchase more.

Here are some ways your brand can build social capital:

Encourage leadership to publicly engage with consumers: It is a more personal experience to purchase a product from a person than a big corporation. Even if you run a big corporation, helping consumers put a face to the name not only humanizes your brand, but can also help you strengthen your online presence, especially with the recent Facebook changes.

Corporate leaders like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates actively represent their companies in the public sphere and shape cultural discourse. Leadership today must step out from behind the corporate veil, into the public light to strengthen consumer trust and build social capital.

Make meaningful content: People aren’t likely to celebrate your brand because of an awesome product listing or storefront. On the other hand, if you can help people connect with issues they care about, you can build a reputation as a force for good a strengthen bonds with your core demographics.

Patagonia’s work protecting public lands is an outstanding example of corporate activism that is shaping culture, generating earned media and strengthening consumer goodwill.

Invite consumers to build your brand: As demonstrated, user generated content is a powerful way to connect with consumers on a deeper level than transactions for profits sake. With Millennials and Gen Z ready to participate in social media campaigns and shape the companies they love, UGC can also scale brand communications, increase trust and make your digital marketing strategies more robust

The key takeaway is that social capital is built through meaningful actions that go beyond making quality widgets. To foster a sense of community and advocacy in consumers for your brand you must build your business around a higher purpose. By inspiring consumers to become brand advocates you will gain both word of mouth advertising, earned media and repeat customers. In short, purpose-driven social capital builds both a better world, boosts the organic reach of your marketing initiatives and your bottom line.

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In light of unwanted media attention stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data breach and a recently leaked memo which showcased the company’s aggressive growth strategies, Facebook has been working hard maintain stakeholder trust. Unhappy users have been spreading the #DeleteFacebook hashtag and shareholder trust has faltered, as has Facebook’s stock price.

At the core of Facebook’s challenges are questions about transparency and control. Companies, just like individuals, must build people’s trust by being upfront about their intentions and practices. When it comes to consumer privacy, brands must balance digital marketing strategies with respect for consumers’ personal lives and growing regulations.

As a general rule, leading with a clear purpose that benefits both your business and humanity is a powerful tool that can help navigate difficult business decisions. While the world’s largest social network is in the midst of a PR crisis, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg made made purposeful changes that include its new mission statement, alterations to its algorithm and a policy change that stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica controversy, which restricts advertisers from coupling third-party data with Facebook data when targeting consumers. That said, Facebook’s struggles with privacy and consumer trust offer valuable lessons for all brands in the digital age.

Here’s how to build consumer trust and address consumer privacy

• Practice transparency:

In the age of programmatic advertising and targeted marketing, consumers aren’t surprised to seeing ads popping up based on previous interests they have shared. That’s not to say that people like corporations using their data to aggressively sell them products. In fact, a recent study showed that three quarters of consumers found personalized adverts to be “creepy.”

At this point, consumers are used to companies collecting and using their information; however, people feel invaded when they don’t know what information is being collected and how it’s being used. In the case of Facebook, consumer’s weren’t aware of how their information was being used or the manipulative attempt to influence their political decisions.  

Since the data breach, Facebook claimed to have changed its policies to give consumers more control over the information by adding downloadable options and making privacy setting more explicit. The company is also changing its policies to make it harder for companies like Cambridge Analytica to use data in ways that contradict Facebook’s privacy rules. Stakeholder trust, however, is still low.

The key takeaway here is that it is better to be upfront about all the ways you are using people’s information and make it easy for them to control what they share, rather than backtrack and try to give people more control later.

• Maintain constant internal and external messaging:

Communication is a critical component of building your brand. It’s vital that your brand story is consistent no matter who you’re speaking to. While you may use a different voice when talking with shareholders than you would with customers, the meaning behind what you are saying should be the same. When messaging is inconsistent, you risk tarnishing your reputation and diminishing stakeholder trust.  

Purpose acts as a compass for high level communication strategies that define the language used throughout your entire value chain, all the way from your code of conduct to employee engagement to marketing. The recently leaked 2016 memo alluded that Facebook was dedicated to connecting people no matter the cost, even if it had negative effects. While Zuckerberg has since changed the company’s mission statement from focusing on connecting people to “bring the world closer together,” the leaked memo is a pressing reminder of how important it is to be consistent with your intentions and messaging, both internally and externally.

• Align financial goals with brand purpose

To gain and maintain consumer trust and goodwill you must connect the success of your business with what’s best for your customers, your bottom line, and your purpose-driven mission. This is not the first time Facebook has struggled with privacy issues. The social media behemoth has been apologizing for how it utilizes consumer data for over a decade. Although Facebook responded to the Cambridge Analytica scandal with policy changes, the General Data Protection Regulation, an EU law that gives consumers the “Right to be Forgotten” and the “Right to Access,” is essentially forcing Facebook to give consumers more control over their data, which could hurt the company’s bottom line.

While Facebook has been making clear efforts to redefine its purpose, not only with it’s new mission statement, but also alterations to its algorithm that prioritize friends over ads, the company is juggling what’s best for its users and what’s best for the short term gain of its shareholders. At the end of the day, consumer adoption is key to the financial success of every company. While the social media platform has over 2 billion members, Facebook saw a reduction in daily active users in Q4 of 2017. It’s timely reminder that what’s best for consumers is best for your bottomline and the long term success of your business.

The key learning here is that accountability, transparency and consistency are paramount to building consumer trust. By crafting your corporate strategy around a higher purpose, you can guide product design, internal operations and marketing initiatives with clarity. Consequentially, instead of your brand success coming at a personal cost to consumers, purposeful leadership can inspire them to build your business with you.

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Companies continue to follow the expanding trend towards purposeful branding. With the overwhelming amount of content – be it online, on television, print or out of home media – today’s consumers are bombarded with advertisements. By leveraging your brand to make a measurable social impact, combined with meaningful storytelling you can build consumer trust and goodwill.

While purpose is paramount for brands to stay relevant, it is increasingly difficult to stand out among other brands who are also investing in their impact and image.

This year’s Cannes Lions The Glass: Lion For Change Shortlist finalists demonstrate innovative and unique ways of addressing sensitive and pertinent social issues while building their brand.

Here are 7 lessons on standing out when competing on purpose

1. Utilize data to join cultural conversations: Data is critical to making informed decisions, be it business strategy, marketing angles, or purposeful branded social impact. Combining analytics with emotionally resonate storytelling is an excellent way to touch on relevant cultural issues.

Axe, in partnership with nonprofit Promundo, did a great job marrying data driven insights with emotionally resonance in the #IsItOkForGuys campaign. In these spots, Axe addressed frequently searched for questions that start with “is it ok for guys.” Many men are conditioned to accept characteristics that define “how a real man should behave.” This spot verifies that it is perfectly acceptable for men to be comfortable with vulnerability, emotions and femininity. By addressing real consumer concerns, Axe is able to join the conversation about breaking cultural stereotypes. Axe’s social commentary caught consumer attention, with the spot gaining “1.3 billion media impressions in the first 2 weeks.”.    

Ultimately, consumer data can shed light on what people care about and can pave the way for meaningful storytelling.

1. Leverage technology to shift consumer behavior: Habits are formed because of convenience and comfort. By increasing awareness about pressing cultural issues, while simultaneously equipping consumers with the tools they need to make change convenient, you can distinguish your brand as a social innovator.

An excellent example of an initiative that uses technology to increase awareness and shift behavior is the SheBoard – Raised by words project. The spot points out how words influence the way we form and shape our thoughts and beliefs. Therefore, by adopting a new vocabulary, we can change our habits. The SheBoard is a predictive keyboard that provides word suggestions focused on celebrating female leadership, independence and creativity. It’s “a keyboard that boosts girls’ confidence.” The spot touches upon the fact that we speak to and about girls differently than we speak about boys. The SheBoard gives consumers the technological tools they need to separate from the lexicon that forms gender stereotypes.   

By utilizing innovative technology to make it easier for people to have ideas that support a more inclusive and supportive world, you can display your unique approach to problem solving and join a cultural movement in a meaningful way.

1. Embrace human storytelling to deepen emotional resonance: While what you say is important, when it comes to making a memorable impression in a short amount of time, how you say it is equally critical. Personal storytelling is a powerful way to bring consumers up close and personal to hard to talk about issues that.

UNICEF did an excellent job portraying the atrocities associated with child marriage in “The Worst Soap Opera” campaign. In this heart wrenching commercial series, a 14 year old girl is given up to a man in his 50s in an arranged marriage. Without consent, the girl is forced to serve the older man, who eventually kicks her out for not cleaning his shirt the way he likes it. The girl returns to her mother, only to be turned away for not serving the man well enough. Each spot includes a stat on how child marriage increases, not decreases, poverty and tears apart lives.

The lesson here is that human scale storytelling is vital to building empathy in consumers, especially when it relates to connecting people with a difficult to talk about issue.

1. Utilize media outlets for social messaging: If your brand is in the media spotlight, you can amplify the reach of earned media by highlighting pressing social issues and how they relate to your brand ethos. What’s more, you can generate media exposure by focusing your brand on social impact.

An excellent example of a group amplifying social impact messaging via a preexisting media focusing event happened during the Latina Television Miss Peru beauty pageant. Instead of stating the physical measurements of their bust and waist size, models presented statistics about physical, sexual and emotional abuse against women in their country. By utilizing the media attention already present during the beauty pagent, Latina Television and the models were able to scale the reach of messaging about difficult yet pertinent issues impacting Peru.

The key takeaway is that if you find yourself in the media spotlight, think about it as an opportunity to promote your social impact agenda, which can also award you with more earned media.

1. Combine real world initiatives with marketing strategy: While heartwarming story telling about social issues can attract consumer goodwill, brands must take measurable action to develop authenticity and build consumer trust.

An example of a brand that connected its product messaging with its social impact is StayFree (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary). The brand’s Indian segment asked women if how they felt about their period and most said it was inconvenient. They then asked sex workers, who said that they enjoyed their periods because it gave them welcome time off. Via the Project Free Period, StayFree created a program to provide women with skills such as beautification, candle making and other crafts. This program celebrated periods and focused on providing sex workers with alternative livelihoods.

Essentially, uniting your product with a social issue then taking it a step further by getting involved in social action on the ground is an excellent way to walk your talk and stand out from the competition.

1. Develop social experiments: Social experiments are excellent ways to shed light on relevant social issues while positioning your brand as a critical contributor to cultural conversations.

A great example of a campaign that combined a social experiment with brand communications and a social issue is Schweppes’ The Dress For Respect initiative. To highlight the harassment against women and increase awareness about this global problem, Schweppes (a Coca-Cola brand) created 3 dresses with digital sensors that lit up every time the person wearing it was touched. The dresses provided real time data on when women received unwanted touch while they were out at dance clubs. This initiative is an innovative approach to tell the story of women’s harassment and positions the Schweppes brand as part of the larger cultural conversation.

The key takeaway is that conducting social experiments that add to cultural dialogue about national or local issues is an excellent way to be relevant and contribute to the larger discourse.

1. Champion political activism: While taking a political stand can pose the risk of alienating some consumers, if done right it can give your brand a rallying cry and present purposeful storytelling potential.

An example of a brand that combined political activism with on brand purpose-driven messaging is Tesco Tampons. The feminine product line’s Tampons Tax Off campaign focuses on removing the 5% tampon tax imposed on British shoppers.“Women have to buy sanitary products, but they shouldn’t have to pay the 5% Tampon Tax,” Tesco argues. To back up their claim, Tesco knocked off 5 percent from the price of tampons and is supporting policy reform.       

The lesson is that pairing your product and branded storytelling with a relevant political issue is an effective way of building momentum around a brand-fueled movement and standing out from the competition.

Purpose is becoming an increasingly competitive and crowded space for brands as more companies apply their values to pressing cultural issues. Brands must develop innovative, relevant and impactful social good campaigns to distinguish themselves from the competition. To stand out and have a real impact it’s essential to make partnerships that can authenticate your cause marketing initiatives and scale the impact of your brand. Additionally, it’s paramount to lead meaningful cultural conversations, to make measurable contributions, and to be part of social movements that go beyond your brand or industry.

The post 7 Lessons From Cannes Lions 2018 on How Brands Stand Out With Purpose appeared first on SIMON MAINWARING.

Reading Time: 4 minutesHaving a clearly defined purpose that goes beyond generating shareholder profits is essential to thriving in today’s market. Consumers actively support brands that share their beliefs. Plus, purpose provides an insightful compass to navigate brand strategy and business decisions.  Companies that lead with purpose are better prepared for changing market conditions and build their brand while distinguishing themselves from the competition.

An excellent example of a brand that leverages purpose to define corporate strategy is VSP Global. The optical health company’s vision is to “provide access to affordable, high-quality eye care and eyewear to the world.” This purpose-driven goal guides business development, branding, product innovation and other integral operations.

Adherent to VSP Global’s mission, the doctor-governed organization is divided into 5 businesses: “ eye care insurance, high-quality eyewear, lens and lens enhancements, ophthalmic technology, and connected experiences to strengthen the relationship between patients and their eye doctors.”

VSP Global also utilizes its expertise for charitable giving via its Eyes of Hope charitable platform, which has provided no-cost eyewear and eye care for individuals in need by partnering with their network of eye doctors across the country. VSP Global’s mission-based business decision making offers valuable insights for brands looking to lead with purpose.

Here’s how VSP Global weaves purpose into business strategy

Marry purpose with business growth:

One of VSP Global’s subsidiaries is VSP Vision Care, the only national not-for-profit company that delivers value to their customers through access to quality eye care and affordable eyewear. The social enterprise reinvests profits into products, programs and services that increase the value of vision benefits, extends access to care and strengthens the connection between patients and their eye doctor.

In a recent development, VSP Vision Care augmented its VSP EasyOptions feature, which will now be available to smaller companies of 50 or more team members. VSP EasyOptions allows flexibility for members—and their family members—to personalize their eye care coverage on the spot after receiving a comprehensive exam from their eye care provider. By expanding the offering, which was previously reserved for larger corporations, VSP will now provide more personalized access to a larger number of people, advancing both its mission and bottom line.

Ultimately, by using your purposeful mission to guide business goals you can gain clarity, expand your network and grow your business.

Purposeful product innovation: VSP Global utilizes its mission to provide “high quality eye care and eyewear to the world” to inspire new products and services that meet consumer needs and progress patient health.

A recent noteworthy product that combines technology with social impact is VSP Global’s Level smart glasses. In these stylish frames, VSP Global has incorporated sensors that track physical activity such as steps walked, calories burned and distance traveled. What’s more, users are awarded points for meeting daily activity goals, which can be used to trigger a charitable donation from VSP Global on their behalf.

Essentially, the eyewear company is incentivizing people to get more exercise by motivating them with the possibility of making a positive contribution.  By putting consumers at the center of your social impact initiatives, you strengthen emotional connections with your customer base.

Apply expertise to impact: Eye care and eyewear can be prohibitively expensive. VSP Global’s mission is to ensure everyone in the world has the gift of clear eyesight, not only those who can pay for it. Through Eyes of Hope, VSP Global is able to enrich the lives of millions of people who wouldn’t be able to afford eye care.

In collaboration with 8,500 in-network doctors, as well as partner organizations, Eyes of Hope has assisted over two million individuals in gaining access to eye exams and glasses and has recently committed to aiding one million more people by 2020.

Eyes of Hope also helps those disadvantaged by income, distance or disaster, through mobile eye clinics, eyewear donations, gift certificates, scholarships for aspiring optometrists and more.

An example of an Eyes of Hope initiative was the We See, A Child Eye Health Project in Soweto, South Africa.  Eyes of Hope partnered with the Brien Holden Vision Institute and local government agencies to create a program aimed to integrate child eye health into the school health and education policies, including the creation of an optical health clinic within the Nike Football Training Centre.  The results: over a three-year period, 95,000 local children received eye screenings, nearly 2,500 prescription glasses were allocated yielding transformative results and the program was successfully integrated into an existing health care infrastructure run by the Gauteng Department of Health — ensuring sustainability.

Ultimately, by leveraging your core capabilities to fulfill your social mission, you can scale your impact, create partnerships, gain earned media and expand the reach of your brand.

Strategic partnerships: Partnerships are critical to scaling your business, impact and staying ahead of the curve. In 2017, VSP Global made a strategic investment in RightEye, an eye-tracking technology that uses game-based vision tests to reveal details on visual speed and accuracy, processing depth perception, and even dry eye. For optometry, RightEye can then further strengthen the relationship between patients and their eye doctors by underscoring the links between vision and overall brain health and even sports performance.  Ultimately, VSP Global’s mission drives partnership decisions that can expand their capability to provide stellar eye care to everyone in the world.

The key takeaway is that clarifying your purpose-driven mission will give you clarity on all aspects of business decision making.  In other words, be a mission with a company, not a company with a mission. Not only will you expand partnership opportunities, gain consumer goodwill and earned media, but you will also increase your bottom line in the long run and be an integral part of building a better world.

The post How VSP Global Drives Growth and Impact Through Purpose appeared first on SIMON MAINWARING.

Much of the country looks to the Super Bowl each year not just as the pinnacle of the football season, but also as the high point in advertising. Given the costs associated with buying a Super Bowl ad, a tradition has been long established where brands apply their top creativity and resources to create an ad that will resonate with the millions of viewers. This year’s ads, however, were comparatively underwhelming and for one good reason: most of the advertisers made the mistake of positioning their companies as the focal point or “celebrity” of their ads, rather than the “chief celebrant” of their brand community.

In today’s commercial marketplace, social media is an active and tireless dialogue between brands and consumers, and companies have been forced to recognize that they can no longer tell consumers want to think, do, or buy. Instead, they need to ensure they are relevant and meaningful to consumers’ lives by positioning their company and products as representing the values they share. As such, marketing has shifted away from advertising in the traditional sense to advocacy and activism, with many tops brands playing leading roles in movements that address pressing cultural issues. We recently saw this play out clearly with Nike’s anniversary spot featuring Colin Kaepernick and also, as a cautionary tale, with Gillette’s recent spot that took on the cultural issue of toxic masculinity.

Despite the deep body of evidence to support this shift that has played out across social media in the last several years, the majority of advertisers in this year’s Super Bowl chose to talk about their company or their products exclusively. That is not to diminish the relevance or value of their products to consumers’ lives, but it establishes a largely self-serving and transactional dynamic with consumers that left many responding to this year’s ads with a resounding, “Meh.” One might argue that these companies feared a potential backlash to taking a stand on a controversial issue given the furor around the recent Gillette ad and many of the ads in last year’s Super Bowl, but playing it safe came at the cost of a deeper emotional connection with consumers who would then drive earned media for brands by sharing the ads across their social media. In contrast, all of these brands had the opportunity to communicate what they stood for and their role in the world and to position their companies and products as social proof of those commitments. It’s this values alignment that ensures today’s brands command the attention, loyalty and purchases of consumers that then celebrate those same brands.

The notable exceptions to this shortcoming were the ads by the NFL itself, Kia, Google, Yellow Tail, Microsoft and Verizon — all of whom showed their brand playing a meaningful role by celebrating some aspect of the lives of others. Importantly, this does not mean a brand needs to be sanctimonious or idealistic in its marketing, and there is no doubt great entertainment appeal and awareness generated by the pervasive presence of BUD Light that showcased a powerful collaboration with cultural touchstone Game of Thrones. But the majority of ads left viewers unmoved or unimpressed by the sales pitches and celebrity sightings at a time when viewership of the event itself has reached a ten year low.

At the heart of this issue is the way in which companies approach their marketing during the Super Bowl and beyond. To succeed in today’s marketplace, a company must first define its purpose, or why it exists, so that it can inform all communications across all marketing touchpoints. Second, it must reframe its messaging from being self-directed to community-focused so that brands engage their consumers and co-create marketing with them to ensure they not only capture the attention of consumers, but also inspire them to share it with others. Finally, a brand must do more than limit its effort to advertising alone. When speaking to the role the company seeks to play in the world, it must put skin in the game and demonstrate the authenticity of that commitment through the real world efforts it makes to justify and support its stated claims. A great example of this was the Kia brand, which not only aired a spot celebrating the “Great Unknowns” in contrast to the celebrity synonymous with the Super Bowl, but also made sixteen grants of $5000 each over 4 years in the education of students because that is where the money of the brand is best spent.

Tentpole events in the national calendar such as the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Golden Globes are already struggling to maintain viewership and engage the next generation of viewers. If the Super Bowl and its advertisers are to reverse the current viewership, marketers must celebrate their customers and demonstrate the positive role their brand is playing in people’s lives, rather than their company or products alone. Brands may yet be afraid to take such a risk, but they will hate being irrelevant even more. For today’s consumers and the younger demographics that will determine which brands succeed see themselves as partners, collaborators and co-creators of movements that improve lives and our future. When companies embrace this strategy, they will not only command the attention of viewers but reap the benefits of building a movement that scales both business growth and impact.

The post Why This Year’s Super Bowl Ads Were Nothing to Celebrate appeared first on SIMON MAINWARING.

Elon Musk is on a mission to bring sustainable transportation to the masses. In 2006, the visionary outlined his goal and how he’d get there. He planned to launch an electric luxury automobile brand, then use the funds from car sales to make a lower priced model. He then planned on doing it again to make an even less expensive vehicle. Thirteen years later, Tesla has released the $35,000 Model 3.

The Model 3 standard edition comes with a range of 220 miles per charge. Range extensions and more luxurious interiors are also available in premium versions. The $35,000 price point is a landmark for Tesla. Its previous models were prohibitively expensive for the American middle class. The more affordable price is critical to Musk’s mission to scale adoption of electric personalized transit across the globe.

Musk’s latest accomplishment comes at a cost. To meet the lower price point, Tesla is shifting its sales strategy. The company is transitioning to purely online sales. In turn, Tesla is closing most of its storefronts and laying off sales representatives. Musk also refused to comment on profit margins from the Model 3. While Tesla is experiencing growing pains, the long term prospects are strong. Musk’s purposeful leadership has inspired stakeholders from all walks of life.

When Tesla announced the Model 3 in 2016 over 275,000 people reserved cars without even seeing the physical automobile. What’s more, Tesla’s won the trust of investors, who’ve consistently been trading the stock with a Price to Earnings ratio of 0 since 2009. Tesla has also sparked the competition to invest in affordable long range electric vehicles. While competition may put pressure on the company now, it builds market demand. Tesla has carved out a competitive advantage by being the first mover in the space.

Here are the top lessons from Tesla on how to use your brand to build a better world

Plan with purpose:

As Dave Ramsey said, “a goal without a plan is just a dream.” To marry purpose with profit you must combine your mission with your business plans. Tesla started with its mission first. Now the company is leveraging its core business to create a sustainable transportation network. The plan that Musk outlined years ago has not only guided the company’s business strategy, but also led its purposeful actions.

Tesla needed partnerships to fulfill its mission to democratize sustainable transportation. Tesla has deployed over 12,000 charging stations throughout the country. This step is critical to scaling both business growth and impact. The plethora of charging stations reduces consumer range anxiety. It’s also building an infrastructure for widespread electric vehicle adoption.

Another example of purposeful planning is Musk’s partnership with Panasonic, the tech company that makes Tesla’s batteries. By planning for mass energy storage, Tesla is able to improve battery technology and reduce production costs. Not only do these advancements contribute to Tesla’s core business, they also support its long term mission.

Build a movement:

Brands that build movements gain earned media, consumer advocacy and amplify brand image. More importantly, brand fueled movements push society towards purposeful development. Governments and nonprofits often don’t have the agility or resources to tackle today’s most pressing problems. The world needs corporations to invest in purpose. By utilizing your company to tackle global challenges you can connect with networks that span beyond your brand and industry.

Elon Musk has effectively built a movement around Tesla. A key component of movement building is inspiring others to work with you towards a common goal. You must invite stakeholders from the public, nonprofit and private sector to help move your mission forward. In the interest of the movement, Tesla liberalized its patents. “Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla electric cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day,” Musk wrote.  Musk is welcoming competitors to join his movement. In turn, Tesla is demonstrating leadership in championing sustainable transportation.

Inspire consumer advocacy:

Conscious consumers want to support brands that align with their beliefs. The message of the movement resonates with people and they want to be part of the change. Tesla uses the business as a tool to tackle climate change via transformative technology and futuristic cars. In accordance to Musk’s plan, Tesla established itself as a luxury, zero emissions self driving vehicle with a positive impact.

Wealthy individuals and celebrities proudly showed off their Model S and Model X online and in real life. Media outlets covered Elon Musk’s innovative leadership and Tesla’s groundbreaking milestones. What’s more, consumers that couldn’t afford the original models were inspired by Musk’s vision. Many have dreamed of owning one of the sleek vehicles on the cutting edge of the automobile industry. Tesla’s earned media and word of mouth advertising gained the brand over 5 million social media followers from around the world.  In turn, Tesla has deliberately avoided paid media. Not only has the brand inspired consumer advocacy, it has also saved millions of dollars in marketing.

Elon Musk’s purpose driven plan has grown into a movement that has transformed the auto industry. Tesla has gained earned media, consumer goodwill, shareholder confidence and purchases. In turn, stakeholder trust and passion opens doors for Tesla to push boundaries. The Tesla Model 3 is more than a car, it’s a step on the road to democratizing sustainable transportation.

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For this article I spoke with Chris Reilly, Head of Workforce Development & Education at Tesla.

The post Purpose At Work: How Tesla Leverages Purpose to Build Its Workforce and Business appeared first on Simon Mainwaring.

This is the eighth post in a series of conversations with business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world. The conversations were held around the Social Innovation Summit in Los Angeles. At the Summit, entrepreneurs, business people, philanthropists and individuals convened to discuss the present and future of purpose and business. […]

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