The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019 - 10

Pulse
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The New Cool

Forward-thinking brands should harness the power of good.
By Emma Murray
IT TOOK A NATION-DEVASTAT-

ing tsunami for Afdhel Aziz, the
OIA Industry Breakfast keynote
speaker, to start considering the
ways in which he could leverage the
force of business to "do some good
in the world." Aziz, a Sri Lankan
writer and world-leading expert in
purpose-driven marketing innovation, assured breakfast attendees
they need not endure a catastrophe
to catalyze forward thinking. He
shared his marketing insights and
tried-and-true tactics for success
as a purpose-driven business. It's
possible, Aziz told the crowd, to do
good for the world while simultaneously turning a profit.
"Good should be the new cool,"
he said, rattling off examples
of companies that have already
capitalized on purpose-driven
platforms: Toad&Co, Farm to
Feet, The North Face, REI, and
Patagonia. "I'm here to give you
a bigger challenge: Where do you
go from here?"
Aziz outlined the thickening convergence of commerce, culture, and
consciousness. Brands need to sync
up with knowledgeable nonprofits
and then layer on cutting-edge
storytelling aesthetics. "This is the
engine that can change the world,"
he said. "Think transformational,
not transactional."
Social activism, he explained,
is becoming one of the strongest

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drivers of brand growth, now
ranked second only to a brand's
"leading edge." Solving problems
is a business opportunity, after all.
Aziz mentioned examples like Adidas' hugely successful partnership
with Parley to transform plastic
waste removed from oceans into
shoes. He also screened SaltWater
Brewery's viral video announcing
the debut of edible beer can rings.
Consumers are driving much
of this innovation. "Ninety-

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five percent of millennials say
they'd switch brands for a good
cause," said Aziz. But they aren't
the only demographic that
businesses should heed in their
strategy. Employees, too, are
leveraging their personal values
on employer practices.
Aziz cited a study that shows
nearly 64% of millennials won't
take a job if a potential employer
doesn't have strong corporate social
responsibility practices, and 85%

of Gen Z employees believe companies have an obligation to help solve
social problems. "This is going to
be the new normal: Your employees are going to hold you to higher
standards," he said. "It's going to be
as disruptive to your business as the
arrival of digital was."
Aziz urged companies to think
beyond sustainability. "The answer
is in the word 'abundance,'" he
said. "As we look at the state of the
world, I ask that you choose courage-courage as you think about
your own purpose, and how you
can leave this planet better than
you found it." He added, "It's about
moving beyond conservation and
into reparation. This is the moonshot you have to set for yourself as
an industry."
OIA Industry
Breakfast
keynote speaker
Afdhel Aziz

S COT T M A R T I N

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The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019

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