Business Briefing for Johannesburg World Summit- The marketing and communication sector

Article13, the leading corporate social responsibility experts, have released a series of reports on what business can take away from the World Summit on their website at www.article13.com A summary of the report follows.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development was held between 24th August and 4th September 2002 in Johannesburg. The main outputs of the event were the plan of implementation, signed by the negotiators of 191 countries, and over 300 partnerships forged between governments, business and NGOs.

Out of all the issues that the plan recommended action on, or made a commitment to, there are two that will be particularly relevant to the marketing sector:
1. Call for a ten year framework to promote sustainable consumption and production
2. Focus on inclusion of marginalised people
1. Sustainable consumption
This is a real tussle for the marketing industry as surely its raison dêtre is to encourage us all to consume more. Or is it? Marketing is about finding customers for products and services or vice versa... so can marketing have a role to play in developing a more sustainable society?

As providers of knowledge for a new business paradigm, marketing departments can reposition themselves as being absolutely integral to the boards strategic planning. In a society moving towards sustainability, market information is vitally important for:
 New product development (how can we develop the local community to buy our products and provide strategic human resources? how can we develop information and technology rich global communities?)
 New market development (where are the opportunities for micro-business in the developing world?)
 Management of risk and uncertainty (the biggest risk being not knowing what the risk is or where it may affect business value)

You need to be aware of a 'new language of ethics and sustainable development that is revolutionising advertising (think of the recent Shell adverts). But be careful -- agencies themselves are being examined over their integrity in communicating clients positions.

The international marketing industry is also being called upon to communicate the relevance of sustainability to peoples everyday lives through 'Engaging the advertising industry to help communicate sustainability around the world (World Summit partnership with J Walter Thompson, UNESCO, Government of Canada).
2. Inclusion
The overall focus of the Summit was on marginalised people and how they can be empowered and granted access to basic rights, and business could have a role to play in inclusive marketing.
What are the challenges?
While geographically the ethnic market tends to be easier to reach, concentrated as it is in urban areas (e.g. London, Birmingham, Manchester etc.), the market is more diverse and less assimilated into the population. Ethnic marketing is also a very sensitive issue, to do it properly you need to understand the culture and the language of your target audience, as a minimum.
... the opportunities?
The ethnic market is huge, comprising 5.5 % of UK population and is expected to grow at 2.5% annually. The sector is better educated and younger than the mainstream population and has an annual spending power of 15 billion annually. Your budgets will please the Financial Director as sectoral advertising tends to cost less (e.g. its cheaper to place an ad on Black Variety TV than on Channel 4). In addition, companies can create brand awareness that can attract talented employees from this sector of the population and so encourage diversity.
And which industries?
Industries that can particularly benefit are food (one of most important part of ones culture), finance and insurance (decision-making also sensitive to culture) and those targeting a young market such as mobile phone providers, tourism, retail and education.
In conclusion
For marketing to contribute to a more sustainable society there needs to be a sea change in societys attitudes to consumption. However, marketing has a huge role to play in creating the market. This new business paradigm presents huge opportunities for marketers to positions themselves at the forefront of any sustainable or inclusive strategies.

Ends

Article 13 work to deliver the new way of doing business. As well as bespoke risk identification, planning and consultancy, Article 13 work in a number of ongoing business processes that range from visioning, responsible sourcing and supply chain, business-to-business ethics, ethics in the workplace through to making your approach tangible creatively.

Article 13s co-directors, Neela Bettridge and Jane Fiona Cumming, have extensive experience in a number of critical fields: commerce and communications, social and environmental arenas, legal and business strategy. Article 13 also draws on the wisdom of distinguished advisors: Dr Paul Toyne, Professor Chris Baines, Chris Hoare, Professor Colin Gilligan, Susan Clayton, Neill Irwin, Professor Dave Owen and Andrew Acland. This panel, in turn, is complemented by a network of specialists drawn from the social, environmental, economic, ethical and business worlds.