A few weeks ago I was interviewed by a charismatic, passionate sustainability advocate – Sara Bell in Sydney. Here’s a link to the article: https://www.amplifybyample.com/articles/kevin-roberts-former-ceo-saatchi. And I asked her if she would reciprocate by writing a blog for us. Here it is. Thanks Sara.
KR
Do we need to sell the idea of solving climate change better? To traditional environmentalists this seems like an outrageous question. Seeing the evidence, it’s obvious we need to act. But this presupposes that human beings are rational, altruistic beings. Actually, we are much more complicated than that which is what makes us so annoying, frustrating, interesting and inspiring. All at the same time. If we are going to successfully unleash the power of seven and a half billion people, our starting point has to be real. Previous efforts in this field have concentrated on a combination of terrorising us and selling us a lifestyle that is less. These methods don’t work. Hope is energising, terror is not. The trick to selling more through different.
So, what does a lifestyle where we are not screwing up the planet look like? The pace is slower. COVID-19 has shown that lots of the work travel many of us have been doing has been unnecessary. But this lifestyle is slower – but that means more time to develop deeper relationships. Women turn themselves on by getting dressed up. It’s an important part of female sexuality. This is why selling the idea of wearing hemp sacks has failed so miserably. The reality is we can no longer afford fast fashion but who said this meant we had to give up some of the vital components of desire?
Consumers are now looking at each other and their favourite personalities who have large number of followers on different social media platforms.
This relationship between intended and realised brand associations is a central concept for me.
Symbolic benefits are often related to different needs for social approval or personal expression (Keller, 1993). They often relate to non-product related attributes and are often connected to status, prestige and exclusivity (Keller, 1993).
One cannot directly observe others’ beliefs, experiences and their opinions, however, one can rely on signals such as facial expressions, statements they make on their online profiles, and consumption patterns in order to interpret these qualities.
Sara Bell
