Guest Post: What conscious consumers mean for your nonprofit
- Tue, June 21 2011
- Filed under: Cause-related marketing
This guest post is by Mirm Kriegel of BBMG. I blogged about her firm’s wonderful report Unleased here. This is an update:
Recently, our firm released insights and takeaways in our latest report, UNLEASHED: How New Consumers will Revolutionize Brands and Scale Sustainability.
As the title suggests, the primary audience for this study is marketers intent on scaling sustainability and mainstreaming green. And yet, I’m reminded with almost every tweet and blog post I’ve come across over the past several weeks – around transparency, participation, and authenticity — how deeply relevant this report is to the philanthropic sector.
It’s no surprise, really – the new consumer is everywhere. And their influence extends well beyond the grocery aisles. They’re youthful, wired, educated and mostly female, and they’re 30% of the US population (that’s 70 million adults). They’re not just purchasing products, they’re signing petitions, making donations, asking tough questions and shaping conversations. The brands that will win big in this economy are those that understand, engage and empower these new consumers. They are, after all, your next donors.
In our three years of research, consumers have told us: We love to show up for brands. And we want to have a voice in how brands live in the world. Whether they’re causes or companies, programs or products, new consumers want brands that give them value and match their values. Which means that how brands operate across business – whether it’s through their supply chain or their funding and allocations process – matters as much as what they offer. If scaling sustainability is the great aspiration in the corporate arena, scaling impact is what matters for the nonprofit sector. And delivering big impact starts with cultivating big champions. Ultimately, it’s about turning your cause into a movement.
On Tuesday at 1 PM, BBMG will offer an exclusive webinar with our Nonprofit 911 community on the five key takeaways from their report, with insights and best practices tailored specifically for the social sector. Join us (it’s free).