by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) We live in a country with a myriad of opportunities for brands to build societal value beyond their businesses. Will this be reflected in this year’s Loeries?
Lion’s lexicon
Wihile Cannes Lions has come and gone for another year, our local industry is just getting started as it gears up for the local equivalent, the Loeries, at the end of this week. This year’s Lions lexicon was heavy with words such as authenticity, transparency and creativity with a purpose, all driven by data and enabled by technology.
Not exactly new news; recent years have seen an increasing number of Cannes Lions awarding creativity that builds value for brands by simultaneously tackling social issues, and 2015 was no exception.
In addition to the Grand Prix for Good (hands up if you did the ice bucket challenge), there were six further Grands Prix — almost a third of the total awarded — that contained an element of social or cultural relevance, thereby creating value for both brand and society.
Volvo’s LifePaint:
Always #LikeAGirl:
Vodafone’s Red Light Application:
Lucky Iron Fish’s Shape of Health:
What3words:
Soundcloud’s The Berlin Wall of Sound:
Furthermore, P&G Whisper was awarded the inaugural Glass Lion for 2015, introduced to promote gender equality, by successfully busting menstruation myths in India with its Touch the Pickle campaign.
While critics and naysayers may make a moot point as to brands shoe-horning consumerism into an empowerment message, no one can deny that tampon advertising has come a long way from the skimpily clad girl in white briefs that hopped, skipped and cartwheeled her way across our TV screens in the mid ’90s.
Getting back to the Loeries, the Loeries Ubuntu award sponsored by Unilever recognises brands that are “doing good while doing good business” and also happens to be the fastest-growing category in terms of entries.
“Recognised as vital”
“The Ubuntu Category, for sustainable marketing, grew by 180% to 42 entries,” said Loeries CEO Andrew Human in a press release. “This was the strongest percentage growth across all categories, a good indicator that purpose-driven marketing is being recognised as vital for the continued success of brands.”
2014 saw Exclusive Books scoop the Gold Ubuntu Award for its S.E.E.D Library but, as with Cannes, there were numerous winners in other categories that also demonstrated societal benefit. M&C Saatchi’s Street Store for the Haven and Native VML’s The Exchange for the Organ Donor Foundation are great examples of how creative led thinking may find new solutions to old problems.
And while brands are not always involved, they could be.
Behaviourial insights
Y&R’s Licence to Live for Chevron/Caltex won Gold for Outdoor in 2014, using behavioural insights to address South Africa’s big road safety issue one driver at a time — and doing this where it matters most: inside the vehicle.
SA is known for its diverse and vibrant creative community. The entries are in. Here’s to more awards with far-reaching rewards.
Strategic consultant Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) brings a global perspective to the issue of sustainability, having lived and worked in London, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Cape Town. She contributes the monthly “Green Sky Thinking” column on sustainability issues to MarkLives.
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