In conversation with Marc Henkes from WE WERE PROMISED BRANDS
What exactly are “regenerative brands” and what distinguishes them from conventional brands?
Search for meaning, ecological collapse, “The Great Resignation”: With global challenges, the demands on companies have also increased. But many managers still act as they did 30 years ago: They use brand technology to sell their products or green their image — ultimately to maximize profits. Regenerative brands such as Einhorn or Soulbottles maximize their social impact. Another characteristic of regenerative brands is that they do not place the customer and their products, but the planet at the center of their actions. Patagonia is a good example of this. From the outset, its founder Yvon Chouinard was concerned with saving ecosystems — selling outdoor clothing was just a means to an end for him. He understood early on what was expected of brands: to use their influence to eliminate social grievances. In addition to these two features, there are five other features that distinguish regenerative brands from traditional ones.
It sounds as though many companies still have a long catching-up process ahead of them. What can they do today?
That's the beauty of the approach: Companies can start what they're already good at. For example, by dedicating themselves to a social purpose that the entire organization can rally behind. One example is the Upstalsboom hotel chain led by entrepreneur and author Bodo Janssen (“The Silent Revolution”): In dozens of workshops, hundreds of employees worked together to refocus their purpose of “Serving People.” The sense of togetherness was strengthened, motivation increased and, last but not least, the financial result. But symbolic measures such as waste separation, water savings or fundraising runs can also make a big difference. If you want to do more, you can take stock of the GWÖ movement for the common good, like outdoor brand Vaude. Important in everything: Not everything will work from the start and not every measure has to pay off. Managers in particular must learn that regeneration is not a target result, but an exploratory learning process in which you can also make mistakes. The journey is the destination. But we must also realize that we must do something if we want to heed the climate agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. We don't have much time left.
Are companies not at risk of overwhelming themselves economically in addition to the already major challenges?
Many managers still underestimate the potential of regenerative business models. All studies show that, in direct comparison, regenerative brands are more profitable than their competitors. By the way, it doesn't matter whether they are B2C or B2B companies. Customers reward brands that take on social responsibility — and are prepared to spend up to 17 percent more in return. Building a regenerative brand is therefore also financially worthwhile.
We've talked a lot about strategy. What are the implementation challenges? What changes must communicators, designers and designers be prepared for?
We still have too few entrepreneurial role models and inspiring stories from companies that are already doing business in a renewable way. There is still plenty of room for storytelling here. In addition, we are still very cliché in our visual language: The green logos and drone flights over rainforests that many medium-sized companies adorn themselves with harm them more than they benefit them. The degree of greenwashing is very narrow here. There are still very few examples of successful corporate design for regenerative brands such as LUSH or Tony Chocolonely. Designers are welcome to let off steam here. Saving our planet can also be fun!
The article was published in the column “Shaping the Future” in Grafikmagazin.
