After months of targeted research, Nielsen will soon release its independent Brand Sustainability Report, which will give brands and advertisers the insights they need to ensure their approach to sustainability communication is effective and actively increasing consumer purchase consideration and intent.
With support from Dentsu, Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA, and Edge Environment, Nielsen’s Sustainability report will deliver an industry-recognised assessment standard to evaluate a brand’s sustainability communication efforts.
This first-of-its-kind assessment system will weigh consumer sentiment against a brand’s sustainability communication, allowing marketers and advertisers to effectively communicate their sustainability intentions with the expectations of their customer base.
Recent Nielsen data shows that more than half of Australian consumers are making a conscious effort to support sustainable brands. However, most consumers are unaware of how, if, or why, their favourite brands are working towards more sustainable products and practices, resulting in sustainability communication going unrecognised at the checkout.
Andrew Palmer, Nielsen head of media analytics Australia, said, “Sustainability is now an integral part of a brand’s business strategy. At Nielsen, we want to help the industry to have a deeper understanding of how consumers are perceiving their sustainability communication and the best way to reach and engage with them. We want to help agencies heed those numbers and implement the right media activation strategy to close the sustainability promise gap”.
Monique Perry, Nielsen pacific managing director said, “We really care about providing long term brand sustainability communication measures that support the media industry. Our research shows that 60% of Australians believe retailers are responsible for their environmental practices and we want to help brands leverage the power of the media to tell their sustainability progress”.
Highlighting the importance of an industry-wide measure for sustainability, AANA CEO, Julie Flynn said, “AANA is very excited to partner with Nielsen on the first-ever Australian brand sustainability report. The research will inform what is one of AANA’s top priorities. AANA was proud to recently join the World Federation of Advertisers’ Planet Pledge, which lays out practical ways CMOs can drive sustainability within their own organisation, and we look forward to working with our members and the industry on this research”.
Angela Tangas, CEO of dentsu ANZ commented, “Consumer sentiment towards, and expectations of, brands has shifted. People are increasingly wanting to know more about where their products come from and how they’re made, and are choosing brands that can provide this level of transparency. At dentsu, we have committed to helping 1 billion people worldwide make better, more sustainable choices over the next decade. As an agency partner, this means using our influence to help our clients become better corporate citizens and support them in finding meaningful ways to grow their business. We’re looking forward to working alongside a diverse group of organisations on a study aimed at measuring the gap between a brand’s sustainability efforts and consumer awareness, and uncover insights that will facilitate change with Australian advertisers”.
Hannah Turner, Edge Environment, principal consultant, sustainability leadership and communications said, “We know sustainable practices and effective communication of brands’ progress increase consumers purchase intent, however to effect large-scale change we need more brands to understand the value of these messages and how to credibly and authentically communicate their sustainability commitments and goals”.
