In Madison Avenue's latest push to foster a "sustainable" media marketplace, Publicis
Media's Starcom unit this morning launched a microsite to report on "Future Tensions in Sustainable Advertising."
The site's content "aims to address the marketing tensions in the room,"
Starcom stated in this morning's announcement, adding that it will cover "lots of questions around [marketers] advertising and how to make their media plans more sustainable," including three key
challenges:
- Advertising that focuses on sustainability measures faces increased scrutiny from consumers, regulators and activists (e.g. brands want to avoid greenwashing).
- Advertising itself has a significant carbon cost which can diminish the power of sustainability messaging (we need to be planning with our carbon calculators).
- The
planet requires us to shift our mentality around consumption towards sustainable growth
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While the site does't offer explicit answers, Starcom says it "identifies three ways we can
practically overcome those challenges through media planning and buying:"
- Ethics vs. measurement: Sustainable initiatives require ambitious, ethical goals, as well as detailed
measurement. Precision is everything. Hyper specific placement and attention to carbon detail, will ensure emotive messaging lands with a punch.
- Local vs. Global: When
advertisers think about the granular wins as well as the big picture, we can significantly reduce and offset our emissions. So innovate now, speed up change around the world, don’t wait for your
competition to move first when it comes to sustainability.
- Past vs. Future: Dare to challenge what ‘success’ looks like. Measure, challenge and embrace pioneers
who will ensure that every campaign you produce makes a difference. By re-evaluating the rules of business, marketers can innovate to achieve sustainable growth for the next century and beyond.
The site is part of an ongoing Starcom "Future Tensions" series, following a report it published on the
metaverse in January.