Sustainability: Better for brands, better for the planet

The effects of climate change and sustainable practices have been front and centre of the media in recent years, and we are seeing businesses in every industry take swift action. From Nando’s pledge to become Net Zero by 2030 to Brewdog becoming carbon negative, and tech giant Microsoft leading the way in carbon neutrality since 2012, there has been a shift in priorities across the board.

While accolades such as becoming BCorp Certified or winning a Campaign Ad Net Zero Award are notable milestones, we are seeing a rise in sustainability being embedded into business culture itself. Take Sky Zero, the initiative in place at Britain Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) to make the business net zero carbon by 2030. The broadcaster has made significant strides; all operations are powered by 100% renewable energy, all Sky engineers drive electric vans, all packaging is free of single-use plastic and their newest market offering, Sky Glass, is the world’s first carbon neutral TV.

As the first media company to become carbon neutral back in 2006, this isn’t new territory for Sky. To date, it has invested £25m in startups that offer sustainable alternatives to plastic and saved 1 billion trees with its Sky Rainforest Rescue campaign. Even production is seeing a switch to sustainability, with Sky Studios Elstree using harvested rainwater, LED lighting and electric vehicles. An impressive 40% of the site’s energy comes from solar panels, and their furniture is locally sourced from a supplier specialising in end-of-line furniture.

While we can see suppliers making strides internally, how does this translate to adland and the effects on the consumer? A Sky customer survey has shown that ads carrying greener messages resonate more with viewers. TV ads focusing on sustainability are not only 5% more engaging, but drive a 15% higher positive brand perception than non-sustainability-focused ads. The highest uplift was seen across energy (16% higher than non-sustainable ads), finance (9%) and tech (10%). Sustainability ads also achieved a 0.3% uplift in un-aided recall, 1.9% for aided recall and an 11.2% uplift in explicit recall.

These are all positive moves, however, the public isn’t fooled easily and brands can fall foul of ‘greenwashing’. HSBC, for instance, released a series of ads in 2022 promoting the bank’s investment in climate-friendly projects. The series was subsequently banned after it was flagged the ads failed to mention that HSBC’s investments in oil and gas create about 65.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Innocent smoothies have also come under fire for running ads promoting recycling and climate change mitigation, despite being owned by Coca-Cola, the world’s biggest plastic polluter. The climate change bandwagon is not one to be jumped on lightly, it would seem.

Who’s been doing it right then? Olio is an app that tackles food waste. It’s completely free to use and connects people with each other and local businesses to share surplus food rather than go to waste. In 2021, creative agency Hell Yeah! created a TV ad for the app that would spotlight the food waste crisis and encourage people to start sharing with their neighbours, reducing consumer waste across the board. Featuring a group of children singing What a Wonderful World on top of a landfill, the campaign cut through the usual array of Christmas consumerism excess while tapping into the ‘new year, new me’ mindset that January brings. The campaign was one of the winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund – an initiative set up to support brands committed to impacting a more sustainable future. As a result, the brand saw a 39% increase in ‘first listings,’ a 23% surge in signups, a 35% boost in brand awareness, and 50% of those who recognized the ad said they would reconsider how their food and household waste can be reduced. A win all around, you could say.

The frenzy of women’s sport

Since the phenomenal Euros win last year, interest in Women’s football has been steadily climbing. In week 33 of this year, the Women’s World Cup final took the highest share of voice (SOV) across all terrestrial TV at 7,188,000. This has been a slow burn. A recent study showed record attendance and viewership across women’s sport in 2022 with the Euro finals against Germany setting an all-time record attendance for a men’s or women’s final through 87,000 spectators at Wembley.

The excitement doesn’t stop there. Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall’s world championship fight drew over two million viewers, making it the most-watched professional women’s boxing match in history. The event sold out the O2 arena, with 35% of tickets sold to women, and 40% of at-home Sky Sports viewership registering as women, well above the normal average for a Sky Sports Fight Night.

Overall, viewership of women’s sports increased by 131% in 2022, with the introduction of a new, unique audience; 8.4 million people watched live WSL football across 2022 but didn’t watch any Premier League football. 1.8 million watched the Women’s Euro but didn’t watch the men’s FIFA World Cup, and 1.3 million watched the Women’s Rugby League matches but didn’t view any men’s matches.

While these numbers may scream for brands to target more sport to hit a female audience, it’s important to note that women’s sport still only accounts for less than a seventh of sporting coverage hours on UK television, leaving inventory limited. A large part of ensuring commercial sustainability of women’s sporting events in the UK is consistency and habit building; increasing visibility across a range of platforms will continue to grow this following.

As viewership grows, so will sponsorships, spot buys, and online presence around sporting events allowing advertisers fresh avenues to reach female audiences. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, bringing over 7 million people together for a shared experience is unique, making women’s sports something that can’t be overlooked by advertisers.