Come in Nestle... your time is up.

Watching the Nestle Social Media debacle unfold earlier in the week, once more made me feel how completely inevitable major corporate change is in the face of co-ordianted, amplified consumer action through Social Media.

Whilst there was an appreciable drop in Nestle's share price on Monday the 22nd March, substantial long term impact from the brilliantly co-ordinated GreenPeace campaign still seems a little way off.

What's is beyond doubt now is these campaigns increasingly generate and leverage major global news coverage, driven by word of mouth connectors & influencers.

The frequency and reach of campaigns is expanding rapidly as people understand the impact collective engagement around a cause can have and this process is only going to accelerate with the growth of technology and connectivity.

Future campaigns will inevtably generate greater momentum that will start to counteract marketing efforts, impact on sales and a brand's market share and profit and Nestle cannot ignore this potential.

It's frequently said in my day job that corporates who do not monitor their social media presence will be seen as negligent in coming years. People have an appetite for transparency and no amount of Corporate Social Responsibility handwringing/greenwash will cover up or deflect those seeking and communicating the truth through Social Media.

Yet the harsh free market economic realities of modern globalised business mean a large scale controversy free supply chain is an extremely challenging goal for most brands. The fact is there is practically no purchase in the present unsustainable energy and profit hungry system we create wealth through in the west, that is guilt free.

In the present system Nestle management cannot simply switch off the supply of a key component of many of their products, even if it is un-ethically and destructively sourced at present.

They need to understand that they cannot continue to produce raw materials wrecklessly and un-sustainably - I'm sure (privately) they already realise this. But maybe there also needs to be a mentality shift in the just world of green and environmental activism from destroyers of corporate reputations – to rewarders of “do-good” busines?

In an eco-fued, it's easy for both parties to sit in their righteous bunkers (shareholders v activists) and remain entrenched in their comfy postions. It's much harder for both parties to recognise that both have a huge role to play in positive change... together.

It's a very big ask for Greenpeace to have resisted beating up Nestle so visibly when they have a just cause and a dynamic, hugley influential network network to broadcast the message, but I wonder whether amplifying a direct and prominent competitor brand alongside a more considered and rational critique of Nestle's alliances with rainforest vandals would have had a more virtouos long term effect?

This campaign leaves me with the usual bad taste about Nestle products, but Greeenpeace could spell out some alternatives for people? Do we buy Cadburys (Kraft) chocolate instead? Maybe they cant align themselves overtly with commerce (?) but overt positive engagement with a competitor, helping to change consumer buying habits and apply economic pressure to Nestle is surely a viable strategy too?

Brands need to understand the paradigm shift going on through social media and rapidly prepare for a very different relationship with their customers in the future, but activists should also see the opportunity for rewarding genuine attempts to make positive change in corporations, because it too will bring about positive change.

Real, lasting, sustainable, profitable change.

Doing a world of good?

I am ashamed to say I didn't really know about World Of Good until this morning, and it makes me wonder what on earth have I been doing for the past 5 years to remain ignorant of a business like this? (another post - another blog)

A totally inspiring story of social responsibility combined with entrepreneurialism and (presumably) a great education, took founder Priya Haji on a 6 year journey to connect developing world producers with mainstream business markets in the west.

Selling the World Of Good brand to eBay, to me makes perfect sense and the potential of expanding her Fair Trade empire to a mainstream audience is really exciting.

The more seamless the connection between mainstream consumerism and good quality, sustainable, ethical brands and businesses the quicker those businesses and critically their brand values become the mainstream.

Just keeping "do good" business as a private club that's the sole preserve of ethical and environmental purists is completely detrimental to the bigger picture.

In the UK's current (consciously miseducated) consumer economy, I don't expect mainstream shoppers to suddenly see the "sustainable" light and convert to consciously buying good overnight. But invisibly making the sustainable purchase the mainstream option pays the ethical producer a much bigger dividend and re-enforces the fact that "good" can be (is) profitable. Very profitable.

It's only this scale of change that will make sustainability an inevitability rather than a "fingers crossed behind the back" pipe dream.

Great move Priya. Now eBay, get busy doing your economies of scale "thing" and make World Of Good an immensely profitable part of your business, driving growth and dividends for your shareholders and "the market" (whatever that really is).

Whilst you are at it - let the values of World Of Good infect the rest of your business. Welcoming this change will equip you for the future where the relationship between business and consumers is radically different, where corporate values are the only effective marketing strategy and transparency is something businesses welcome.

The sweet taste of change

During today's lunchtime trip to the local market I stopped to do a scrape of the local sweet shop shelves for sustainence to keep my work mates mid-week PM ticking along.

Having grabbed my now standard bar of Fair Trade Cadbury's Dairy Milk I spotted my first bar of Rainforest Alliance certified Galaxy chocolate. Cue small tingle of excitement and a big smile.

I've always adored Green & Blacks for their balance of quality and ethics and they along with other specialist brands should be congratulated for setting in train what is seemingly becoming accepted best practice for parts of this industry now.

But to me these two big brands slugging it out for ethical hearts & minds takes the game to truly meaningful and significant levels. The simplicity and (comparative) perfection of the change to favour socially responsible alliances is quite breathtaking and it's all down to future economics.

I'm less familiar with The Rainforest Alliance than I am with FairTrade, but the organisations credentials seems wholesome enough. The effective stewardship of the planet's precious natural resources through commericial neccesity is wholly sound, as is the process of fair payment to sustainable cocoa bean growers.

The benefits of these commercial engagements will impact on local and ultimately national economies, working towards a futue built through responsible trade not aid.

The world is the way it is because of what we buy, whether we think about it that way or don't. The coup for these mainstream brands maybe short term PR, but I am convinced that further cultural change in big organisations becomes inevitable once the benefits of "doing good" profitably & sustainably are seen on the bottom line.

It's good for business and good for us all... now to do Fairtrade with the environment in mind?

(More) work to do...