Brands need to be bold on ethics
By Simon Fuller. Brands are increasingly aiming to ‘do good’, whether that’s by saving the planet, by being green, or by helping communities in Africa. And market research firm Thinktank International has been busy listening to social media chat around ethical brands, turning the spotlight on the World Cup and the efforts of the likes of adidas, Coca-Cola and Puma.
At last week’s brand-e Buzz about social media buzz event in London, Thinktank partner Claire Ralphson-Cook delivered some of the findings, and examined what brands need to do in this space.
“We looked alongside the World Cup and also at brands sponsoring the Cup, [and asked] ‘what buzz does ethics generate’?” she said. “The social media buzz was generally positive around ethical issues, but when we looked at the UK only… with time, the UK became more cynical and critical about brand initiatives.
“We looked at what was tweeted. But there were no substantial conversations around ethical issues – it was generally stuff to the side of issues, half-thoughts. The political voices, unsurprisingly, were the ones which shouted the loudest, given the brands involved.”
Thinktank didn’t stop at keeping tabs on the social media buzz though, engaging in additional qual research to find out why people weren’t talking so much about brands in relation to ethical issues.
“In the UK, the same cynicism quickly appeared in qualitative as online [research],” Ralphson-Cook said. “With Puma and adidas, consumers were cynical going in [to the qualitative research] as sportswear brands have a bad reputation, [owing to] things like sweatshops. But as we showed them brand work, for example, Puma’s [football] camps in Africa, more positive consumer reactions began… brand perceptions shifted.”
So there’s clearly opportunity to better inform the public of these kinds of activities.
“Consumers felt the initiatives were separate from the brands,” said Ralphson-Cook. “Consumers want to know about [these initiatives], they want to understand more. Mainstream consumers think ethics matter and they like it when brands show them that they’re human too.
“It seems to us that we’re in transition. Consumers hunger for what brands are up to, it engages them. Brands are not coming forward as much as they should do – brands are timid. It’s hard [for a brand] to put its head over the parapet on ethics but consumers are ready to hear it… it’s a real opportunity for social media.”
