Marketing communications experts have argued that the most sophisticated marketing campaigns can falter if a company lacks genuine consideration for environmental and social concerns.

Speaking at the 5th edition of the Industry Summit and Award with the theme, ‘Sustainable Marketing for Growth’, they noted that sustainable marketing is becoming increasingly important as consumers are becoming more conscious of their environmental footprint and seeking brands that align with their values.

Delivering the keynote speech at the summit, the Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Oriakhi, represented by Samson Oloche, stated that sustainable marketing brings forth a fresh visual language.

He added trends have shown that sustainability and diversity have become pivotal selling points in today’s market.

According to Oriakhi, sustainable marketing started because most businesses were not contemplating the long-term effect on the society.

“To change this, some businesses started considering the eco-friendliness of their brand values, products, services and initiating sustainable practices.”

Oriakhi said that sustainable marketing strategy not only results in added value to customer, but also build long term relationships with consumers and customers, which are not only beneficial for businesses, but also for society.

“Therefore, the concept of 4C’s of sustainable marketing are mirrored after the traditional 4P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion), given by McCarthy. The 4P’s are converted to 4C’s to include sustainability criteria into marketing strategy.”

“The 4C’s include, consumer solution, consumer price, convenience, and communication.”

He said that businesses practising sustainable marketing uphold integrity in their communications, ensuring that all product claims are substantiated by rigorous research and made transparent to their customers.

“This commitment builds trust and confidence in brands, empowering consumers to make informed choices that aligned with their values.”

Oriakhi also highlighted key principles in sustainable marketing, which businesses must prioritise, as consumer-oriented marketing, customer-value marketing, innovative marketing as well as sense-of-mission marketing.

“All of these are forms of marketing that are driven as a response to the sustainability-driven needs of customers and the society at large.”

Also sharing her thought at the programme, Head of Sustainability, Access Holdings, Mrs. Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan attested that sustainable marketing is becoming increasingly important, as consumers are more conscious of their environmental footprint and seeking out brands that align with their values.

“You don’t have to run a large business or sell products to implement sustainable marketing,” she noted.

“To implement sustainable marketing effectively, authenticity and consistency, among others are paramount, as lack of genuine practices risks losing stakeholders’ trust.

“In today’s ever-evolving world, debating whether to incorporate sustainability into business strategy is no longer an option. Considering value-driven approach when developing business strategies can be vital to long-term success,” she said.

Similarly, Brand, Strategy and Communications at Stanbic IBTC, Rita Akao, also spoke in line with other speakers toeing their line of thought.

To elucidate on the presentations were panel sessions with contemporary professionals providing perspectives and insights.

In summary, participants at the summit posited that among other things innovative marketing requires that a company continuously identify better ways to develop and market products and services.

In his welcome address, the Convener, Goddie Offose, stated the summit was his way of giving back to the industry that has given so much knowledge of marketing communication to him.

He further said that the topic was born out of a recent research by Accenture on responsible leadership and companies with high ratings for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

“Alongside margin, the best ESG performers see faster growth and are reported to have at least 10 per cent higher company valuations. However, only 24 per cent of companies see sustainability as a competitive advantage.
Marketing your sustainability strategy in your own internal communications is vital to the retention and recruitment of top talent.

Commenting on the impact of the summit five years on, Offose said: “We have made positive impact particularly in advertising. When we started, we were talking about the power of advertising; that was before the COVID-19. Then, every organisation was talking about cutting advertising budget but by the time we finished that event and raised a communiqué, organisations saw reasons they should not touch advertising budget, even at their lowest time.

“Thereafter, we talked about banking the unbanked in 2022. Today, we have seen the evolution of PoS, O-Pay and the rest. These are issues that were highlighted and we reported it. So, those are our impact.”