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Nikki Mandow, Editor, Idealog

Sustainable Business Network

International branding experts will show New Zealand businesses how to build brand loyalty by telling compelling sustainability stories that resonate with their audiences at the Project NZ: Telling Good Stories conference in Auckland on 3 September.

Leaders in their field from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand will take centre stage at New Zealand’s premier sustainable brands conference.

Rachel Brown, CEO of the Sustainable Business Network, which is organising the conference, says brands that are effectively telling their sustainability story are becoming more powerful.

“In a world that is increasingly flooded with ideas and changes, effectively telling the story of your brand and standing out from the crowd is more important than ever,” she says.

Speakers include:

• Matthew Yeomans, CEO Sustainly (UK), a media and social media consultancy advising brands communicating sustainability, including FTSE and Fortune 500 companies
• John Heckman, Managing Director, thinkstep (North America), a global consultancy providing software and data for sustainability performance management
• Alicia Darvall, Executive Director, B Corps (Australia)
• Nicky Bell, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi
• Angela Buglass, CEO, Trilogy International
• Mike Pollok, Managing Director, Ricoh
• Nevil Gibson, Editor, National Business Review
• Nikki Mandow, Editor, Idealog
• James Russell, Editor, Element magazine (NZ Herald)

“There are a growing number of New Zealand organisations that have made good progress in a host of clever purpose-led initiatives in recent years. Yet market research shows there is a gap in public awareness and, when asked, Kiwis find it very hard to name one company doing good work in this area,” says Rachel.

“We are not great story tellers, particularly when the stories are complex. Most businesses prefer to keep their good works under the radar because they don’t know how to talk about them,” she says.

Colmar Brunton’s latest research shows that while 90 per cent of consumers say their purchasing behaviour is influenced by social, environmental or health related issues, two in three people can’t name a leader in sustainability.

Rachel says she wants the Project NZ: Telling Good Stories conference to turn that figure around.

“We want to help organisations learn tools from leading experts so they can grow the commercial success of their business through building the right messages for their market and connecting with their stakeholders. Sustainable brands in New Zealand need to tell their good stories,” she says.

She says it’s important to get internal teams onside too. Colmar Brunton’s research shows that 70 per cent of New Zealanders want to work for a sustainable company, so it’s important everyone in the office hears and understands the stories of sustainable success.

Project NZ: Telling Good Stories will explore the best in sustainable brands globally and in New Zealand. Topics will include how the world’s biggest brands communicate sustainability; the future of sustainable brands; masterclasses in internal and external communications, such as marketing and integrated reporting; and a panel discussion on the future of New Zealand media.

Further information about Project NZ: Telling Good Stories available on the Sustainable Business Network website:sustainable.org.nz.

Tags: green business