feelings. The difference with conscious
branding is that it’s based on authen-
To offer more transparency for its products
and process, Patagonia developed the
“Footprint Chronicles.”
tic, shared feelings: hopes, desires,
concerns, joys, vulnerabilities, etc. It allows consumers to get to know the
heart and soul of who you are as a
company.
Give Customers an Active Role.
While conventional branding seeks to
persuade you to
buy something,
conscious brand-
ing seeks to “invite
you to participate.”
Through your
brand, you give
consumers a
chance make a dif-
ference in the
world by purchas-
ing your products.
Organic Valley’s
Theresa Marquez
frames this perfectly.
“We call those who buy our products ‘citizen participants,’” she says.
“Once you invite them to be a part of
the solution through purchasing your
product, there must be actions on your
company’s part to continue these participations. Give them a chance to de-
velop and deepen their sense of being
‘part of the team.’”
Conscious Branding Tactics
Here are strategies and tactics employed by some of your peers that contribute to creating evangelical brand
partners, i.e., citizen participants.
Use Positive Reinforcement.
Reminders of positive behaviors reinforce
a consumer’s belief that they are facilitating change in the world, effectively
elevating their self-perception and affiliation to the brand.
This fall, Organic Valley will launch
one of the most innovative means of
achieving this goal, using what’s called
the Calculator, an online interactive
tool that allows consumers to view the
level of synthetic chemicals they have
kept out of the food system with each
Organic Valley product they buy. The
Calculator also can track the full
amount of chemicals retained
