FutureBrand news, views & insights: May 2022
Something for the weekend
Ever since we fixed the first of the month as the day I’d publish our monthly newsletter, I knew it was only a matter of time before it landed on a Sunday.
Suffice to say I’m feeling the pressure of making this worth your while, or perhaps you’ll simply save it for your Monday morning. Either way, let me start this newsletter slightly differently from normal.
If your Sunday morning is anything like mine, I often find myself reading items I wouldn’t normally discover during the week, let alone have the time or inclination to read. But Sundays feel different, and for me they’re the perfect time to practise one of my favourite habits, courtesy of Joseph Grenny writing in the Harvard Business Review:
“Early in my career, Will Marre, the founding president of Stephen Covey’s training company, admonished me to subscribe to a handful of business journals he listed, then added, ‘And every time you read one, be sure to read at least one article that holds no interest for you.’ I’ve been rewarded time and again for doing so. Many things that end of up in my shoebox have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight.”
It’s a habit worth trying, reading an article that holds no interest for you. I definitely find it pays dividends – you never quite know what you’ll learn or when that learning might come in handy.
Now, back to business. Starting with a brand you may never have read about. Until now.
Growing a brand in our own backyard
If you haven’t heard of Bush Heritage Australia, hopefully you will soon.
The organisation’s purpose is simple – Healthy Country, Protected Forever – and its impact will be felt for generations to come.
Bush Heritage Australia is an independent not-for-profit that buys and manages land for conservation. It was back in 1990 that Bob Brown used $49,000 awarded to him as recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize as a down payment on two rainforest blocks adjacent to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area – the blocks had been put up for sale as 'ideal for woodchipping'. He borrowed the rest of the money from friends and the bank, and the fundraising campaign to recover this debt soon evolved into Bush Heritage Australia.
Since then, the organisation has grown significantly, working closely with Traditional Owners and partners, and utilising right-way science, traditional Aboriginal knowledge and Western science to protect and restore more than 11 million hectares of land in Australia across 37 reserves.
Bush Heritage Australia has recently established an ambitious 2030 strategy to double the organisation’s impact by the end of the decade – in the words of Vibeke Stisen, Executive Manager Engagement:
“We’re at a critical point in time – for us, and for the environment. We’ve grown from a small army of passionate Tasmanians on a mission to save a special block destined for logging to an organisation with a bold vision and the capabilities to bring it to life."
Hopefully it’s obvious to all why we’re so excited to be working with Bush Heritage Australia to unlock their brand’s full potential and achieve their business strategy, and you can read all about the partnership on our website.
What's more, we'll be delivering the brand strategy, identity and experience via a combination of budgeted and pro-bono work, contributing more than $100,000 in unbilled time as part of our annual commitment to supporting not-for-profit organisations.
Dynamic Duos
A regular feature in Mumbrella is Dynamic Duos, and each week they ask two members of the same organisation with a professional and personal affiliation to share the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybrid world of work.
Last week, Mumbrella featured our very own Christina and Victoria.
When I bought FutureBrand in Australia, I said it was because 'I liked my job so much that I bought the company'. In all honestly, that was only partly true. The full story is that it wasn't necessarily my job, it was actually because I liked our team so much that I did it.
Personally, I find it inspiring to work with Christina and Victoria each and every day – and no, I don’t use that word lightly – and you can read here what they each had to say.
ESG: Untangling the riddle wrapped in a mystery hidden inside an acronym
Environmental. Social. Governance. Three little words that ought to make the world of difference but all too often fall short for reasons ranging from the obvious to the oblique.
Untangling this riddle will be the topic of a marketing forum we’re planning for later this year – all soon to be revealed, I’ll be sure to share the details in due course.
For now, a quick request. If you have any burning questions on ESG that you would be interested to have discussed in relation to brand and marketing, or indeed if you have any recommended reading on the topic, I’d love to hear from you – ESG is not only a big topic, it’s an important one too with lots of diverse perspectives to consider, so please do share any thoughts.
That’s it for another month! Hope you enjoy reading and find some useful insights for your own brands. Plus, don’t forget my recent article for The Australian on finding balance on the naming tightrope. It’s a long read at 1,500 words, perfect for a Sunday morning, warts-and-all perspective on the realities of naming a brand. Please subscribe, comment and share, always happy to hear all and any feedback.
good point, well made – thanks Emma!
The bar is rising. Research suggest that customers expect all companies they interact with to have strong ESG credentials - so for businesses this isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a do we/don’t we discussion, rather how far do we go and can we/should we seek to differentiate on ESG. So how can and should companies it differentiate over the coming years. Emma Grainge, Aware Super