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Sustainability Archives - NVISION, A BradyPLUS Company

Going Green: Four Ways to Embrace Sustainability to Your Marketing

hands holding soil and baby plants

From the organic vegetable isles and free-ranged meat to vegan cosmetics, consumers these days, especially Millennials, are driving sustainability movement into a much more personal level into their lifestyle.

As “going green” efforts grow in popularity, it presents the opportunity for brands to boost sales by appealing to modern consumers who are driven towards activism.

According to Kate Harrison in her Forbes article, “Fully 92% of consumers have a more positive image of a company when that company supports environmental causes.”

In order to capitalize on eco-friendly trends, help combat climate change, and reach more customers, brands must focus on sustainability. It’s a win-win!

sustainability-eco-friendly packaging

Show Off Your Eco-Friendly Packaging

Studies indicate that the majority of Millennials and Generation Z’ers are willing to pay more for a product that has sustainable packaging. In order to do so, brands should use recycled or biodegradable materials.

Using recycled materials, such as aluminum, conserves energy, and reduces waste. And opting for biodegradable versions of packaging materials, such as PCW recycled paper and cardboard, cornstarch, bubble wrap, and plastic, accomplishes the same. When consumers see your efforts to make a positive impact through sustainability, they will be more attracted to your brand.

This is a powerful branding move that can also cut costs for marketing teams.

commercial print-sustainability

Invest in Sustainable Print Materials

Every brand recognizes the importance of showcasing a positive brand identity using print materials such as business cards and brochures. But, unlike popular belief, using print materials doesn’t have to equate to damaging the environment.

To reduce your environmental impact, invest in sustainable print materials. Use recycled print materials, waterless printing, plantable seed business cards, recycled cotton, and PCW paper to deliver an extremely professional, polished product that also protects Mother Earth.

By doing so, you’ll be doing your part to save the world, while simultaneously increasing brand appeal and boosting profits.

Sustainability Applies to Digital Too

Brands can save significant energy by implementing an eco-friendly web design. When you choose a green web host, you can help ensure (and advertise the fact) that your site is not contributing to global warming.

As Harrison explains, “Some of these [green web host] companies purchase carbon offsets to make up for the energy they use, while others tap into renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to power their servers.” These “lighter” websites even load faster, which gives you an upper hand against your competitors. Your site will have lower abandonment rates as a result of the quick loading time.

sustainability-industrial

Myths Busted

The biggest mistake brands make when it comes to sustainability is believing the common myths surrounding it. The most prevalent of these myths is that sustainable printing is more expensive than the alternative, and has a lower quality than traditional printing.

The fact is that sustainable printing supplies and processes have improved dramatically in recent years. So much so that print marketing materials created with eco-friendly methods are indistinguishable from those made with conventional methods. The quality is the same, if not better. And, with the growing prevalence of eco-friendly print materials, the cost has decreased, making it a realistic and competitive alternative to traditional printing.

This enables your brand to do its part without sacrificing marketing impact.

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As the environmental crisis worsens, it’s more important than ever for brands to implement eco-friendly practices. By doing so, not only will you be helping Mother Earth, but your brand will also be more appealing to those who stand by sustainability.

By using eco-friendly packaging, investing in sustainable print materials, using environmentally-friendly web design, and re-thinking the myths regarding sustainable printing methods, you can help save the world AND improve sales and profitability for your brand.

And by working with a trusted partner who can help you capitalize on sustainable printing opportunities, your brand can compete on the quality and effectiveness of your marketing materials.

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Why NVISION?

For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

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2019 Retail Trends: Transactional to Relational

female using interactive screen to customize shopping

As the world changes, so does customer behavior. And as customer behavior changes, the ways they want to shop do, too. And perhaps no industry needs to remain more on top of shifting customer trends and behaviors than retail.

Retail, which has already been turned upside-down by the advent of e-commerce, now must adapt to whatever 2019 has in store. With U.S. retail sales up 5.9% in 2018 from a record mark of $5.7 trillion in 2017, retail brands will need to stay sharp to keep growing. According to Daphne Leprince-Ringuet of WIRED, here are some key trends retailers should consider when looking towards the future.

Sustainability Will Be Important to Shoppers

From “hippies” to countercultural “hipsters,” environmental responsibility and sustainability have always been important to certain shopping demographics in society. But in 2019, ecological sustainability will become a major selling point for brands and retailers looking to see a little more “green” themselves. Leprince-Ringuet cites the example of British luxury fashion brand Elvis & Kresse, which reclaims thousands of tons of out-of-service fire hoses in London each year, repurposing and recycling the hose leather to create new premium goods.

“We live in the age of the circular economy, recycling materials instead of letting them go to waste at the end of their life,” Leprince-Ringuet says. “It’s [already] an upcoming trend in retail.” Brands that can position themselves as environmentally sustainable could bolster their profits, too.

shop with digital network graphics - retail continuity

Removing Friction with Strategic Partnerships

With competition stiffer than it’s ever been, and most markets increasingly saturated with choices, brands will need to continue to compete on the strength of their customer experiences – not just on price and product. In fact, a recent PwC study found that consumers will spend an average of 16% more for a better retail customer experience. And that may mean exploring new strategic partnerships for many brands. “Everything we do needs to be done for the customer, to remove friction – whether that means integrating Google Pay, or working with [partners] to develop technologies we don’t have the capacity to work on ourselves,” says Cliff Cohen, Chief Information Officer at ASOS.

What other sorts of “frictionless” experiences will customers expect?

  • “Invisible” payment. Look at Uber. With payment linked directly to customers’ credit cards, users never even think about paying for their ride. It’s taken care of automatically. And that removes part of the friction that makes Uber so attractive compared to, say, going to an ATM and calling a taxi.
  • Multichannel experiences. Today, customers expect brands to recall the entire history of that shopper’s interaction with them and be able to offer them promotions, coupons, and suggestions based on that personal history. And if your brand can’t do this today? Partner with someone who can. Citing one retailer’s strategic CX goals, Leprince-Ringuet says, “The technology is beyond the retailer’s technical capacity, so the company has teamed up with [a strategic partner] – all with the goal of making the customer experience better.”
  • Third-party payment. Not unlike “invisible” payment, millennial consumers are increasingly comfortable storing their payment information with a third-party and allowing that third party to provide that information when they “pay” for things, like Mint and Apple Wallet. This functionality can help make your brand stand out from the crowd.

Physical Stores Becoming Experience Centers with Innovation

With the online purchasing process faster by-and-large than in-store for many brands these days, brick-and-mortar stores are shifting to effectively occupy a new role: experience centers, where customers can touch, try, taste, and be tempted by your products in person. “Future retail is moving from transactional to relational,” says Emilie Colker, Executive Director at IDEO. “Brands will use the offline space to create more opportunities for people to connect with the products.”

For many brands that were once digital-only, like by-mail eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker or online mattress retailer Casper, creating physical spaces for shoppers to interact with their products adds authenticity to their brand’s perception, and is a clever way to create customer experiences that they just can’t replicate online. And to succeed with experience centers, retailers need to be agile, flexible, and ready to innovate. “In the current climate, speed matters,” says Kerry Liu, CEO of Rubikloud. “Tools that can give retailers insight into inventories, financial forecasts, technological skill,” anything that helps create a single point of visibility into marketing supply chains will be tremendously helpful.

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Yes, retail is changing.

But by understanding the most important retail trends before they happen, and by establishing partnerships that prepare your brand for success, companies of all sizes can make 2019 their most successful year yet.

Subscribe to the Blog

Why NVISION?

For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

LEARN MORE