Corporate Reputation: Aligning ESG Efforts with Brand Positioning
Background:
A manufacturing client had been focused on ESG efforts for years and had strong product innovation as a proof point. But their brand image was stuck in the past, and they weren’t getting credit for the work they had done in the space. Legacy customers were also wary of ESG efforts, holding the belief that a focus on ESG could lead to compromises in product quality.
Objectives:
Understand how different stakeholders (potential employees, current customers, future customers) view the brand today, what they want from an ESG leader in the category and benchmark the brand against other ESG leaders. Determine the brand attributes they need to retain, and the positioning they need to push into to ensure future success.
Approach:
We knew a tracker to measure progress over time would be the best approach. However, the client had over 30 brand attributes they wanted to measure. Pre-tracker surveys with driver analyses were conducted to narrow the list down, and capture both the legacy and innovative attributes that matter most to stakeholders. A workshop was held with the clients to align on the final list.
With the streamlined attribute list, an evergreen reputation tracker was designed to measure:
Brand Metrics, with a focus on trust and favorability
Brand Attributes that are most likely to drive trust
Performance vs. other brands (within category and outside category ESG leaders)
Similarities and differences in brand reputation across multiple target audiences
Deep dive on what ESG means for each audience via closed and open-ended questions
My Role:
I worked with the main client contact to align on the approach, and provided education to her internal stakeholders on why a streamlined attribute list was needed for the final tracker. I coached my team on survey design, and worked with them to develop the presentation using storytelling best practices. I worked with multiple stakeholders at the client to ensure different needs and perspectives were addressed in the final deliverables. I led the presentation to the senior level clients, and shared slides with mid-level team members to give them an opportunity to present.
Outcomes:
The most senior client was not originally onboard with the project, and did not believe they would learn anything new. She attended the final presentation, and told us afterwards that it was the best money she had spent all year and she was very happy the work had moved forward. We prioritized balancing a robust presentation with a tight set of insights and key next steps, making it easy for her to understand the value of the work.
Following the completion of the project, additional work was contracted to conduct an ongoing ad tracking study. The results of the initial tracker showed that a specific combination of legacy and ESG-focused attributes are needed to move the needle for the brand. Ads were continually tested against these metrics and data showed that the ads that most successfully communicated these attributes also performed the best for recall and purchase consideration.