Goodvertising

01/12/2025

I need you. Yes, you!

For years I’ve heard it: and don’t match… 💔

Cats and dogs. Oil and water.

But the truth? The future belongs to leaders who know these two can be like oxygen and fire. It's not de-risking - it's levelling-up!

And that’s exactly why I need you.

Together with the International Advertising Association (IAA) and shaped around the UN Global Compact's CMO Blue Print, we’re launching a world-first mini-MBA built to unite marketing and sustainability leaders - so we can finally break the silos and solve the biggest brand + social and environmental challenges of our time.

You’ll learn from global leaders at P&G, Tony’s Chocolonely, and more, and work on real business cases as true co-architects of value.

If you’re a marketer who wants to lead a meaningful transformation - or a sustainability leader who wants a seat at the brand table - this is for you. Or you just want to be part of what’s next for marketing.

If you’re not the right fit, someone in your network is. A share would mean the world.

Marketing is all fireworks and fast results. Sustainability is system change and impact. In face of today’s challenges - brands that win will master both, right?

Comment “DETAILS” and I’ll send you the full programme info.

27/05/2025

Is there a community for me?

Cannes Lions — the world’s biggest advertising festival — can feel overwhelming. And honestly, a little wasteful.

We’re facing a mountain of urgent challenges: global warming, war, AI's human cost, water scarcity... and the list goes on. So why still show up?

Because we still believe in the power of creatives — a trillion-dollar industry’s worth — coming together to spark real solutions.

Goodvertising Founder, Thomas Kolster, will be at Cannes. Be sure to seek him out to discuss change for good!

We will be sharing more session updates soon, but for now:
Join me Thursday, June 19 at 14:30
for “Kill ‘Em With Positivity” – A Meet-Up with Goodvertising’s Thomas Kolster
An antidote to cynicism. A shot of hope.

28/08/2024

Three deadly sins in the creative for good space!

1) Preaching to the converted (What a waste of money!)
2) Too self-obsessed a.k.a. The Hero Trap (Who wants to listen to your brand being like God?)
3) More of the same (Everyone is talking food waste - tell me something NEW!)

Join our free Creativity for Good webinar on the 29th of August, where we're going to talk about finding the right balance between impact and creativity, something I talk a lot about also on our monthly AdAge podcast, Purpose Hits and Misses.

You can expect to see some amazing work from this year's Cannes as well, and a little look back at some other works, with some very concrete hacks that will give you all of the creative inspiration!

See you there 👊

➡ Free sign up here: https://lnkd.in/dX3DQpyA

09/08/2024

Sustainability shouldn’t be a value crusade where a select few people feel they’re walking on some morale and ethical high ground looking down at the rest of us. Wearing labels and pins to showcase that they’re right – and hey, you are wrong. The climate parties in Europe got a beating at the elections – and fair enough. They simply haven’t been capable of telling a compelling narrative. I’m sorry to break the news, but most people aren’t looking for savior in the supermarket aisles, they’re simply there to feed their families and make pennies last.

If we want to attract – and convert more people – to sustainable products, we need to get back to basics: price, quality and convenience. Imagine, if it was harder to find a gas station than to charge your electric vehicle (Convenience)? In many categories sustainability is becoming synonymous with better quality take for example meat. That free-range cow, just tastes better! The European Energy Label works because it showcases you a more energy efficient appliance, that will save you money (Price). When Germany during Covid offered a cheap travel pass to trains, people embraced train travel (Price). The challenge is that many companies are looking to use sustainability as a driver of premium rather than thinking about how to offer the mass-market more sustainable choices at a fair price. This is where convenience works. How do you make the sustainable choice the easy one, where people don’t have to go out of their way to find that specially labelled shelf? Think about supermarkets. I don’t believe any supermarkets sustainability commitments, when I see their check-out counter packed with candy and chips. This is where you can truly bring your sustainability efforts alive and make it easy for people. Offering fresh organic fruits and veggies? A second chance shelf? Local produce?

Lastly, yes, we can change the status of products or categories from high to low status – which can be an important driver as well, but it can unfortunately also alienate people, who might not be able to afford a high status product. Take for example bicycles that are gaining traction around the world. I was just in Mexico City and so pleased to see the bicycles paths (although in the most affluent areas – a lot of work still to be done). Or take second hand clothes – or let’s call it preloved.

I’m curious to know if you have other good examples from your company – or your work where price, quality and convenience make sustainability come alive? Or change of status? What’s your take? Any inspiring narratives you have seen?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thomaskolster_sustainability-price-quality-activity-7227569296648863744-ODNt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

11/06/2024

"Guardian Toad saving lives from dengue fewer or simply a Gimmick Toad?"

"Ice cream board preventing waste and turning renewable energy attractive - or poor sales effort?"

Get the unfiltered truth about the latest purpose, sustainability or impact campaigns from around the world from big brands like Unilever Burger King Volkswagen and agencies like DAVID Buenos Aires VML LOLA MullenLowe. Agree or disagree? Tune-in live in 2 hours! Ad Age

JOIN LIVE HERE- OR REWATCH https://www.linkedin.com/events/purposemarketinghitsandmisses-u7205961954631266304/theater/

30/05/2024

Thomas Kolster is a frontrunner and one of the most recognised thinkers globally where marketing, business and sustainability meet. He continuously challenges the status-quo with his vocal, and often provocative, views on values, purpose, and leadership. In an over-crowded do-good market, people don’t buy your values or your “why”, but rather who you can help them become.

Written two books: Goodvertising & The Hero Trap

Delivered keynotes and workshops in +70 markets for clients like Facebook, P&G and IKEA and at conferences such as TEDx, SXSW and more.

Judged top-awards such as Jury President at D&AD and Jury at Cannes Lions.

Delivered longer training programs with universities and the likes of Cannes Lions and D&AD.

Now is your opportunity to ask him anything you'd like to - simply follow him on LinkedIn and YouTube and catch him tomorrow at 3pm CET - send your questions here and he'll answer them live tomorrow!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskolster/

29/05/2024

“Brands should stay clear of societal issues and leave this for non-profits to figure out”, I’m paraphrasing Nick Asbury, who’s out with a new book “The Road to Hell – How purposeful business leads to bad marketing, and a worse world”.

I joined Nick and WARC's Strategy Content Director Lena Roland for a discussion about purpose, post-purpose and everything in-between.

There is plenty Nick and I don’t agree on. Talking about hell. “Humanity has opened the gates to hell” warns U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. For any business or for the advertising industry to ignore the climate emergency or delegate the responsibility to non-profits is ignorant, dangerous and not a viable path forward for any business thinking about more than the next quarter.

Yet, it’s conversations like this one with Nick that’s so important in the current landscape when ESG-factors (Environment, Societal, Governance) are vilified, basic human rights are challenged like the right to marry who you want, and we’re faced with a war on values. If we remove all the black and white rhetoric, Nick and I also found common pathways forward.

It's 32 minutes you don’t want to miss:
02:06 – Rise of purpose for Thomas 04:06 – Rise of purpose for Nick 08:20 – Lack of real, meaningful change 09:22 – The Hero Trap 13:41 – Are we moving into a post-purpose world? 17:45 – Patagonia and the death of corporate purpose 21:54 – What’s next for purpose? 25:41 – Awarding for creativity not purpose

Listen now on Apple Podcasts https://lnkd.in/dVtt-3bX and be sure to follow me on LinkedIn for more!

27/05/2024

Learn from Jesus.

He didn't brag about curing a blind woman. In times of increasing green hushing, legislative pressure and people becoming more critical, it's time to embrace new tactics. Don't go mass media, but whisper continuously and where it matters. When I did research for my first book, Goodvertising, there wasn't much literature around on sustainability and marketing, so I did enjoy the rather heavy book Marketing Public Health by Michael Siegel and Lynne Doner Lotenberg. Especially there definition of Openings, I think is more relevant today than ever.

hashtag
“The times, places, and situations when the audience will be most attentive to, and able to act on the message"

Find those everyday moments where you can tell your stories, where your customers are most able to act on it and at the right time! Take Innocent Juice, you’re busy in the supermarket but see these Innocent Juice bottles with cute knitted hats – they stand out on the shelf: obviously telling a story about The Big Knit: how senior citizens are knitting to raise funds for Age UK. Think about the whole customer experience. From at the counter or in the supermarket. How it’s delivered. On packaging? Or on product? On the way home? On your way to work? Maybe you want to make your staff do the talking? Something Starbucks did when they launched the Rainforest Alliance certified coffee, when you were given you coffee, the Starbucks employee would ask: Do you know what that little green frog stands for? And hey, a friendly conversation around better pay has begun. That's more trust-worthy than running a 1-minute commercial bragging about why and how Starbucks is supporting the Rainforest Alliance and growing better coffee.

Have you send any other inspiring examples of Openings or ways brands are dealing with green-hushing, do share below?

PS: If you wanna know more about how to communicate in greenhushing times. Let me whisper this to you: I am here, write me.



Follow me for more:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thomaskolster_openings-greenhushing-sustainability-activity-7200172792116367360-E7Qo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

24/05/2024

Anger leads to action. In my first book Goodvertising (Thames and Hudson 2012) the opening line was something like: “I hate 99% of advertising”. D&AD Festival and Awards remind me of why there’s still hope in our industry. As a first, I stepped down from stage and hosted an open round table format “Climate Conversations” with the always inspiring Kwame Taylor-Hayford. Thanks for all those who joined and it was clear to me from the candid chats that people are frustrated, anxious and angry. It’s not become easier to balance work in advertising with a want to do something for the climate. Do you feel the same? In some ways my feeling was one of naivety. How could I believe we could motivate big, multinational brands to change, when next quarterly result is all that matters?

This year I also did a masterclass with HP Graphics and Abel Sanchez-Hermosilla Martinez focusing on what happens when we turn people from passive recipients into creators - and how that’s a powerful movement building tool. I shared the Wheel and other hacks from The Hero Trap (The Wheel-Model is depicted below)

Lastly, the awards, awards, awards. This year I joined online to judge hashtag . Do have a look at the inspiring cases and the three White Pencils: Shellmet, Runner 321 and Alzome Ultra. The industry has been driven by stunts but these initiatives showcase design finesse, longevity and circular thinking - and with a work like Runner 321 movement building. I feel my fellow judges have been generous this year, but sometimes hard not to be then one witness the impact.

I want to highlight a few other interesting cases, that's done well in other shows: Solar Impulse - Pret A Voter and Makro Life Extending Stickers. View the cases here: https://lnkd.in/dAPa8K2F

As an industry we can try and excuse inaction to the most challenging issues of our time. Unfortunately I witness again and again how the industry embraces social issues and climate as yet another trend instead of daring to think big: What impact do we as an industry want to leave on society? Do we want to add to the hate, the frustration or lead with creativity and compassion?

D&AD

19/04/2024

How do you tackle overconsumption as a brand? How do you talk about feminism to a broader target group? And why is a group of naked women NOT working for an underwear brand?

Tune-in to the latest episode of Purpose Hits and Misses with Ad Age hosted by the always sharp E.J. Schultz. Learn from the good, the bad and the really great. And do share your work in the purpose space with me: You might shine or … What’s your favourite? What’s your take?

https://youtu.be/TKCDkcitamk

Vinted, Muschikraft, Comcast, Barilla Group, B&Q, Peachaus

How to tackle overconsumption as a brand? How do you talk about feminism to a broader target group? And why is a group of naked women NOT working for an unde...

09/04/2024

Get your exclusive audiobook for 50% off this Spring - learn more about Mr Goodvertising himself and be inspired!

https://thomaskolster.com/product/audio-book-the-hero-trap-60-mins/

09/04/2024

The advertising industry’s focus on greenwashing is a dangerous distraction

I’m not happy with the advertising industry’s open arm embrace of the greenwashing conversation. Again, I might add. I did have this conversation about a decade ago, my keynote presentation can even be reused (That’s circularity for you). Yes, there are legislative pressure, yet as with most things from Brussels, it is dumb and shortsighted (Maybe engage some industry specialists before you make elected officials take populist choices?) The problem is not greenwashing, it’s the complete lack of simple, sustainable choices. Ask yourself how easy it is to choose the lower carbon choice on your last trip to the supermarket? Was greenwashing the issue? NOPE. The ad industry is masters of distraction and it’s much more convenient to focus on greenwashing than the bigger issue: over-consumption. Smart folks like Jonathan Wise call it “advertised emissions” and written a report about it (grab it, read it), but the issue is much bigger. Take the average Dane’s footprint, it’s 13 tons and we need to get at 3 tons.

We need drastic measures, and we need to have a serious conversation as an industry of moving from pushing wants to solving needs. Our food system is sick (high on calories, low on nutrients, archaic farming practices). The fashion industry is a crime – same with design and furniture and the list goes on. Why are we talking about transitioning to electric vehicles when the sensible choice is bicycling or better public transportation.

Our industry needs to lead the way to a better future not distract or stand in the way.