Today, many customers demand brands take a stance on social and environmental issues and be upfront about their sustainability actions. Agencies that work with fossil fuel companies, for instance, are coming increasingly under fire. That’s where Oliver Pelling comes in, who is committed to “fixing the future”. B&T asked him about how Adlanders can support organisations working for good.
Before founding his Melbourne-based comms agency Good&Proper, Pelling spent years as a freelance writer, writing features for the likes of Rolling Stone Australia, The Guardian and the ABC and copywriting for ad agencies.
B&T: How can adlanders support organisations working on environmental and social issues when their accountants might rather they don’t?
Oliver Pelling: If advertising folk really want to support organisations working on environmental and social issues, they can simply start doing it. Start by understanding the work these incredible organisations do and what levers need to be pulled to help them do more of it. Start by listening to the day-to-day needs of those organisations. Start by figuring out where the biggest gaps in their comms resourcing are and help them fill those gaps.
Budgets will often, though not always, be smaller, so it’s about being resourceful and figuring out where you can be of most use. Sometimes the most useful thing you can do won’t be very PR-able or award-worthy, and that’s OK. It’s much more rewarding to know you’re actually helping real people drive real impact in the real world.
And if agencies are put off working with environmental and social NGOs due to a lack of financial incentive, they could carve off a percentage of their profits to fund the resourcing of the work. If Good&Proper can do it with the limited resources we have, there’s a massive opportunity for bigger agencies to have a positive impact too.
Good&Proper only works with NGOs, B Corps, or otherwise climate- or community-aligned organisations. We’ve even turned work away from ‘neutral’ organisations – like a cookie dough company, for example. We have nothing against cookie dough. But we’ve all agreed we’d rather spend our time working with companies that are set up with the express intention of having a positive impact.
B Corp certification keeps companies accountable. I also think the PR headache of losing certification helps incentivise companies to put their money where their mouth is and keep stepping up.
There’s nothing wrong with making money or being profitable. But it’s the companies that are using their money or resources for good that really excite me, and should excite anyone who cares about the future we’re creating together.
B&T: Do you think agencies should be boycotted for working with companies that some find objectionable? Or are markers like a loss of B-Corp certification enough PR on their own?
OP: The idea of boycotting agencies that work with fossil fuel companies gets a lot of press, but I’m more interested in where we collectively decide to draw the line. Fossil fuels aren’t burned for shits and giggles – they power our global economy and consumer lifestyles.
While some of the goods and services powered by fossil fuels are essential, much of what we consume on a daily basis isn’t. Overconsumption, the global obsession with GDP, and growth-at-all-costs business models are the problem, and the climate crisis is downstream of those things.
Advertising agencies are the engine room of driving consumption. And we know that an enormous percentage of our consumption is unsustainable. So yes, the hand-wringing over agencies that work with fossil fuels is warranted, but I think we need to get real with ourselves and begin going beyond that. Not working with fossil fuels is the bare minimum an agency can do – we need more folks being an active part of the solution.
B&T: Is it becoming more important for agencies to align with the ‘right’ brands? Are we seeing customers demanding more than ever before?
OP: Yes, it’s important for advertising agencies to start supporting those doing the real work, and to stop working with organisations that are adding to the problems. But that needs to be a wholesale commitment – you can’t half-arse it. You can’t work with an environmental NGO over here and a fast fashion label or a fossil-fuel-lending bank over there. You’re either committed to the solutions, and to changing how you do business for the better, or you’re maintaining the status quo.
B&T: Can you tell me about the campaign you worked on for WorkforClimate back in 2024?
OP: WorkforClimate has a very niche goal – to encourage employees to take climate action in their current roles. It’s a brilliant comms challenge for us, and up to now we’ve focused on simple messaging that helps employees realise the enormous potential they have to influence change from within their organisations.
People aren’t motivated by fear and anxiety. People want to help, they want to be useful – they most often just don’t know how. WorkforClimate addresses this by connecting people to their agency and its potential to make a difference.
B&T: What is Good&Proper looking to do this year and how does it plan to keep growing to achieve its goals?
OP: We’re not about chasing growth for the sake of it. We have no growth KPIs or targets to hit, and we build our team very carefully around long-term relationships with our partners. Our only organisational goal is to help our purpose-driven partners make good on their missions by supporting them with impactful and creative communication strategies. So we have no growth goals as such – but we’re happy to grow if it makes sense, the work feels good, and opportunities to work with aligned partners keep coming up.
Marketers might want to take note of Pelling’s approach to encouraging climate action – by creating relatable and encouraging messaging, consumers are more likely to feel empowered to take action, thus helping the planet and the organisation’s goals.
“We need to highlight the habits and behaviours we need to move past, no question. But we need to bring the solutions and the hope to people too – it’s so much more empowering,” Pelling added.
