Many businesses are beginning to take a stand against the damage extreme consumerism has wrought upon the globe. We are now entering a new era where everyone must do their part to ensure resources and a sustainable ecosystem are available for future generations.
For many organizations, the part they play will involve a new approach to marketing that has steadily been gaining attention around the world. This new, ethical approach to marketing is often called conscious marketing. What is conscious marketing, and how are companies around the world using socially responsible marketing strategies to reach customers and improve their brand image?
What is Conscious Marketing?
Conscious marketing is a new paradigm whereby companies tailor a solution and marketing message that is socially and environmentally responsible and provides a benefit to the customers. The benefit is a real need, not a superficial want created using the many manipulative tactics available to marketers.
The following companies are leading examples of how socially conscious marketing can make a real difference in more people’s lives than just the customers.
The Body Shop
The Body Shop has the goal of empowering all women around the world. The company sells a range of environmentally sustainable skincare products in retail outlets all over the globe.
The Body Shop uses a variety of marketing channels such as social media, content marketing, video content, and newsletter signups to deliver its message. The Facebook page regularly engages The Body Shop customers with tips and tricks but is also used to bring attention to global crises currently happening around the world, such as the bushfires in Australia. Visitors are encouraged to get involved, rather than just sit on the sidelines.
Their YouTube channel presents the visitor with a full range of skincare routines from different women of varying skin types, but there are also many videos highlighting the benefits and opportunities the company creates for remote communities around the globe.
The Body Shop effectively uses content marketing by regularly publishing articles that communicate the company’s passion for environmental protection, animal rights, and human rights, as well as educational information on how to best use their products.
Trade Not Aid is The Body Shop’s drive towards creating sustainable products by sourcing ingredients from communities all around the world, such as northern Ghana and Nepal. The company gives back by providing scholarship programs and fair, equal employment for the women in these communities.
Starbucks
Starbucks coffee began in 1971. This coffee company focused on conscious marketing long before it became a buzzword. The Starbucks website delivers quite a lot of educational material about their products, but it’s also a cornucopia of messages of hope and goodwill.
One story focuses on a store manager who is committed to the fight against AIDS. The company also provides support by partnering with RED, a charity dedicated to funding treatment for HIV for millions of people who have AIDS around the globe.
You will also see examples of how Starbucks uses conscious marketing to good effect on the site. Visitors will learn how the company is enriching the lives of people in coffee-growing communities such as the Congo, and how these communities are benefiting from clean water supply solutions, fairer pay, and better working conditions.
Starbucks maintains active social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The coffee supply chain has also managed to garner a large following on Pinterest and uses attractively designed pins to boost its website traffic with festive ideas, coffee recipes, and humorous quotes.
The above two examples are just a couple of the thousands of organizations, both small and large, joining the ranks of the conscious marketing effort. By using more socially conscious marketing strategies, these companies are choosing to give back to communities around the globe, empowering lives in the process, and encouraging others to get involved. Next up, explore these environmentally friendly stock photos for your creative projects, or discover the digital marketing trends for 2020. If you want more photos like the ones in this article, try searching on our library of content.