Conscious creativity can help agencies play a part in sustainable transformation

No small ask, but one that creativity surely can solve with an industry-wide commitment.

We can be certain the next ten years will be a time of exponential change and extraordinary inventiveness. This new frontier requires new outlooks, new approaches, and new partnerships. This may take many forms, but one exciting possibility is a shift in how we manage people, planet, and profit by collectively embracing conscious creativity.

Conscious creativity

Conscious creativity is being aware of issues, both environmental and social, and then proactively using that knowledge in how we respond to the briefs we receive from our clients. At the core of conscious creativity are three themes that help drive progress, while also enabling a sustainable, profitable marketing services business.

Firstly, know the issues. We can resolve the tension between marketing, which exists to drive consumption, and doing what’s right for the planet, by shifting our mindset to helping consumers to buy differently. Human consumption won’t disappear, but neither is it necessarily the opposite of sustainability. Indeed, I would argue that communications will be key to changing consumer behavior.

This will only be possible if we start by understanding the issues, and the role brands play in how consumer behavior evolves. As agencies we can, and should, help our marketing clients evolve by showing the benefit to both their businesses and the world, in partnership with sustainability experts.

Next, limit your impacts. We must measure our own impacts and start to address them. We need to be transparent about where we stand and commit aggressively to improving. By doing so, we not only drive progress but also better understand our clients’ challenges, making us better placed to help them along their journeys.

Push where you can

We can also use our creative energies and firepower to shift the agenda and drive change. It might start small, but every step in the right direction changes the narrative and builds momentum. Here are three recent examples.

How can a creative idea influence global thinking? M&C Saatchi Group worked with our client the Minderoo Foundation to influence the UN’s Plastic Treaty negotiations with a campaign called The Plastic Forecast. We quantified the amount of plastic that was literally falling from the sky in rain, and French broadcasters agreed to make this daily part of their weather forecast in the week of the Paris conference. The campaign brought the severity of the problem home at this crucial moment, sensitizing public opinion, and helping to strengthen the resolve of the international community to commit to a plastic reduction treaty.

How can we shift consumption to more sustainable alternatives? 300,000 tonnes of clothes end up in landfills in the UK every year and many of the items have only been worn a few times. The textile industry is responsible for 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. ITV brought eBay and Love Island together in an incredible display of creativity and lateral thinking. The campaign injected the concept of ‘pre-loved’ clothes with a sense of normalcy and, more importantly, a sense of desire and aspiration, with positive results.

How can a brand use its power to drive systemic change? Budweiser learned that many of the small and independent pubs and bars they serve were struggling to switch to renewable energy due to the incremental cost. Their solution was to buy renewable energy in bulk and sell it to the bars at an affordable price. The Budweiser Energy Collective, developed by Revolt, was not only a brilliant way of deepening relationships with on-trade customers, it became a consumer marketing campaign celebrating their role in “ensuring the places you love are 100% powered by renewable electricity”, thus reflecting positively on the brand.

None of us can do this alone. The time has arrived for all of us in the industry to work together to drive change. It won’t happen overnight, but together we can make a difference.