Lemongrass Marketing’s Mirjam Peternek-McCartney offers five tips for firms looking to showcase their offering and ethos
Tourism is rapidly changing, which means the promotion of travel products and services must change too.
That means the ways in which we market it must change too. “Sustainability” is a buzzword. Yet, it also holds promise for creating ecosystems that are more inclusive, equitable, accessible, and environmentally and culturally aware.
Enter sustainable marketing. This new approach to marketing mindfully promotes brands’ offerings while considering consumer impact, action, and behaviour.
“Sustainable marketing refers to marketing principles and practices that are aligned with a sustainable future and the long-term wellbeing of all living things,” explains Charlie Thompson, programme director of executive education and co-convener of sustainable marketing, media, and creative at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
In tourism, this means re-aligning marketing’s purpose so that it supports a sustainable future in the places people travel and rethinking common tourism marketing practices. It also holds brands accountable for the socio-economic, environmental, psychological, and ethical impacts of marketing and public relations work.
This is a paradigm shift in the way we’ve approached travel marketing in the past. But it is a necessary one in this new era of tourism: “Marketing is a vital part of the sustainability solution. We need the marketing, media, and creative industries to play a critical role in influencing and leading the far-reaching and unprecedented change that the IPCC calls for,” Thompson says, referring to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has noted the urgency needed in slowing the climate crisis.
It isn’t only the IPCC that’s calling for change.
Conscious consumers are increasingly demanding that brands act with integrity.
According to the 5WPR 2022 Consumer Culture Report, 71% of people say they research the ethical and sustainable nature of brands and their supply chains at least occasionally. Additionally, 14% check out brands’ environment and sustainability initiatives every single time they buy a product or service. Thirty percent do this occasionally.
These statistics indicate shifting consumer demands. They also highlight why marketers need to be mindful of messaging that supports their clients’ efforts to attract responsible travellers.
This is all well and good, but what does this shift toward sustainable marketing actually look like in the tourism context? These five key actions will set your new strategy on the right course.
Build responsible practices into a brand’s ethos
Marketers must present authentic, responsible brands to the world. That is only possible if these brands are actually committed to the tenets of sustainability.
For example, on our journey to becoming a B Corp at Lemongrass Marketing, we developed an ethical marketing policy guiding all of our interactions with clients.
“Remember that every marketing decision has an impact,” Thompson said. “What you do matters.”
Measure what matters
“I think the biggest misunderstanding is that sustainable marketing is simply about selling more sustainable products — that if we consume better solutions everything is fine,” Thompson said.
With that in mind, marketers need to measure what matters. This may mean prioritising qualitative versus quantitative goals, such as how travellers’ behaviour has changed as a result of visiting a wilderness area versus the number of travellers who visited.
At Lemongrass, for example, we’re aiming for 25% of all press and business trips to be carried out by train, ferry, and e-car. This requires extra planning, but we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback. We can’t quantify that impact, but we know it has a great holistic benefit.
Help travellers make responsible decisions
Be innovative about communicating sustainability efforts. Slow Adventure, for example, invites travellers to support a specific conservation project with their travel fee, while Direct Ferries’ carbon calculator lets people compare their carbon footprint with other transportation options.
When made available, this information can inform travellers’ decision making. This also holds travel brands accountable for measuring what matters.
Think about content messaging
Until recently, marketers trumpeted clients with press release headlines glorifying Instagram-worthy photo ops. While one press release might seem harmless, this kind of messaging across all communication channels has a compounded effect.
Marketers need to consider the impact of their content choices. Consistent, responsible messaging needs to carry through the entire customer experience.
For example, Slow Adventure introduces visitors to the people who keep traditional wine practices alive while preserving an UNESCO World Heritage Site in Italy’s Via dei Terrazzamenti. This is in contrast to the typical food-focused holiday that doesn’t consider the local community.
Embrace honesty
The tourism industry must openly address its negative impacts — and that includes marketers.
Travel brands should be more transparent about those uncomfortable aspects of the “real world,” but this can be done in an engaging way. For example, try amplifying previously under-represented storytellers within the tourism industry like The Conscious Travel Foundation does through its ambassador programme, an initiative supported by Lemongrass.
In today’s world, sustainable marketing is appropriate. It is also necessary if the tourism industry actually intends to be a force for good.