Ethical Corporation - How to communicate your values to consumers

9.00 Welcome address: PR Week, Kate Nicholas, Associate Publisher

How to turn your values into a competitive advantage

Marketers always talk about giving consumers that ‘warm feeling’. But how does that work in practice when your product sits on the shelf next to all the others? Craig Sams will discuss:

What Green and Black's learned about making their values a crucial sales differentiator
How they got started, what went wrong along the way, and how they have ended up where they are
The challenges larger companies face when it comes to 'keeping it real' for consumers
How he sees the relationship evolving between the ethical marketplace and large brands

Green & Black’s , Craig Sams, Founder and President

How building trust can enhance your brand

Ingrid Zeegers, Senior Sustainability Manager, will discuss whether ethical companies are more trustworthy than others and how transparency is core to this trust.

She will share insights into Philips’ sustainability strategy and how the company embeds its values in all its activities

How the business agenda has changed in recent years for Philips
How Philips has managed to earn trust among today’s increasingly discerning consumers
How Philips successfully communicates to its broad consumer base and how it pays off

Royal Philips Electronics, Ingrid Zeegers, Senior Sustainability Manager

The connections between values, ethics and brand

Branding is one of the most used and abused words, but Triodos will help you understand what a coherent brand is. You will also learn about the role of ethical branding as a business opportunity

Charles Middleton, Managing Director of Triodos Bank, will talk about the practical application of values and ethics in the day-to-day running of the business. He will highlight how the values are communicated in marketing, PR and communications. He will also discuss what sort of conflicts they create and to what extent ethical brands generate value.

You will learn:

How Triodos Bank has built a coherent brand that mirrors its values, belief and integrity
How the management team ensures that the organisation lives up to its brand values in the consumers’ eyes
Why and how implementing a consumer-led communication strategy will enhance your brand

Triodos Bank, Charles Middleton, Managing Director

Extended networking and exhibition break

Can ethical branding be scaled to big companies and their brands?

Big companies are buying ethical minnows. Are small brands just incubators until they are bought up or can they ever make it big on their own? Can the ethical product become the last great commodity differentiator for larger brands, companies and retailers?

Helen Jones will address how a small ethical business such as Ben & Jerry’s can prosper within a large corporate organisation and positively influence behaviours along the way. This session will discuss whether large retailers can engage in ethical branding and communicate it effectively to consumers.

Find out:

If the size of a company makes a difference to how they can market themselves
Who the ethical brand leaders are and how big they can get before credibility suffers
To what extent you can use ethical niche market strategies for your mainstream brand

Ben & Jerry’s, Helen Jones, General Manager

Helen Edwards, Author, “Creating Passionbrands

Lunch break

Break-out session:

How to handle media relations

There is no doubt that CSR has become a “buzzword” and, at least to some, a business fad. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the media have become far more cynical about CSR and put companies who claim to be acting for the public good under far greater scrutiny.

Find out

How to use the press effectively to deliver your messages
How to avoid your company’s good intentions resulting in bad press and brand damage.

O2, Glenn Manoff, Communications Director

Ethical Corporation, Tobias Webb, Editor

Moderator: PR Week, Kate Nicholas, Associate Publisher

Break-out session

How to market your values better

Understand how marketing strategies can help you communicate your values to consumers and customers.

Using case studies and examples from BP and Interface, this session explains how companies are successfully connecting and communicating their values through their marketing - in both the results and the process.

Find out:

What some of the key motivators and drivers are for marketing your values
How to make marketing strategies tie in effectively with your CSR values
Whether cause-related marketing can work on its own or whether it’s just part of a wider strategy
The differences and similarities across the B2B and B2C sectors

BP, Dave Welch, Marketing Communication Director

Interface, Karin Mortensen Laljani, Senior Vice President, Marketing

Moderator: Forum for the Future, Chris Sherwin, Principal Sustainability Advisor

Coffee break

Break out session:

How well has UK PLC embraced the communication power of the internet?

The session will present the findings of the comprehensive website review of the 50 largest quoted companies in the UK — How well has UK PLC embraced the communication power of the internet?

The session will focus on the corporate responsibility aspect of this report. Steve Hilton, Good Business, will present the corporate responsibility league table and will highlight examples of best and worst practice from the top 50 corporate websites.
Finally we will also discuss the potential of web-based reporting and how it can be best used as tool for interactive corporate communications.

Good Business, Steve Hilton, Founding Partner

Good Business, Giles Gibbons, Founding Partner

Break-out session:

When values and performance collide: managing issues and crises

Crisis Prevention
Developing a framework for crisis prevention can save you millions in the long term. Your CSR policies can be your greatest resource in difficult times.

Crisis Management
You will get professional tips that will help you manage crises. You will also learn from branding and marketing disasters.

Understanding crises and issues

Where do issues/crises come from?
Spotting and managing ‘gaps’ between corporate values and performance
The importance of ‘reputation capital’ when crises strike
Top tips to preserve reputation and brand value in a crisis

Regester Larkin, Andrew Griffin, Managing Director

Ethical Corporation, Peter Davis, Politics Editor

Moderator: CSR Europe, Catelijne Wessels, Senior Director Membership Services

5.30 - 7.30 Networking drinks

A 2-day conference with discussion workshops
Marriott Regent's Park Hotel in London, 22-23 November 2005

Day 2: 23 November 2005 - Identify what consumers want and how to deliver it:

9.00 Chairperson’s welcome address: Ethical Consumer, Editor, Rob Harrison
Brand value at risk from climate change Set up in 2001, the Carbon Trust is an independent company, business-led and funded by the government. It is tasked with reducing greenhouse gas emissions in business and the public sector. In its recent report "Brand value at risk from climate change", the Carbon Trust says it is a misconception that only industrial heavy users of energy are impacted by a carbon constrained world. In his speech, Carbon Trust chairman Tom Delay will present the findings of this report and argue that if brand value is at risk from climate change, better corporate environmental strategies with regard to this issue offer a rare opportunity to stand apart from the crowd. You will discover: Why climate change could possibly become a mainstream consumer issue in the next five years What will be the reputational implications for many sectors not seen to be addressing the issue appropriately How you can differentiate your brand by assessing the risks and issues related to climate change Carbon Trust, Tom Delay, Chairman
How can a company as diversified as Virgin get a consistent message across? The Virgin Group incorporates travel, mobile, financial services, leisure, retail and music businesses. Find out how Virgin communicates with its broad consumer base in a coherent way. What are its core values? What does Virgin stand for? How does it communicate these values to staff and customers? What is Virgin doing to use those brand values and its diverse business portfolio as a platform to make a difference? How does Virgin aim to consistently live up to its brand name? Virgin Group, Ashley Stockwell, Brand Director Virgin Unite, Jean Oelwang, Managing Director
Coffee break
The evolving role of NGOs, partnerships and their impact on consumer trust Can NGOs deliver market change and transform markets through consumer influence and corporate partnerships? This session will discuss: The evolving role of NGOs from permanent adversaries to sometime partners - and how their influence with consumers can change expectations – and open up new business opportunities How NGOs can help you formulate a responsible strategy and help you reach consumers What the MSC’s work with Unilever has taught them about how to sell sustainability related products to consumers – and what mistakes you should avoid How Greenpeace works with npower to promote profitable green energy What are the risks of partnerships – and what can we learn when they go wrong? Greenpeace, Blake Lee-Harwood, Campaign Director Marine Stewardship Council, Rupert Howes, Chief Executive Ethical Corporation, Peter Davis, Politics Editor Moderator: FTSE, Will Oulton, Strategic Advisor SRI
Can an ethical label exist? Fairtrade and organic labelling are both enjoying increased success in the UK. What is driving this growth? Speakers from the Fairtrade Foundation and Soil Association will give an overview of how they communicate to consumers, what has made their labelling strategies a success, and how they see the relationship with ethical trade and corporate social responsibility. This session will also discuss: Should an ethical label exist? Is it needed? If so, how would it work – what would it cover, who would certify it, and what would it mean to consumers? Should existing schemes such as ISO, SA8000 be developed into consumer labels? Should Fairtrade certification develop from its original focus on primary producers to include more manufacturing or processing sectors? Should the organic sector develop ethical or fair trade standards, or should the two sectors remain distinct? Fairtrade Foundation, Barbara Crowther, Head of Communications Soil Association, Martin Cottingham, Marketing Director Paola Ghillani, Former CEO of Max Havelaar Foundation
Lunch
Employees as CSR ambassadors As a communications company, BT’s aim is to help everyone benefit from improved communications, but how do you convince 102,000 employees in 120 countries to act as your ambassadors? And if you can’t convince your own people of the value of CSR, what hope do you have of convincing the outside world? CSR Communications Manager, Emma Williams will discuss the strategies used to engage and inspire BT people. Scott Keiller, Head of CSR and Communication at Starbucks, will talk about communicating and involving Starbucks “partners” in CSR. The “Partners in Education” programme will provide a framework for his presentation. He will highlight how this programme has managed to build grassroots ownership of initiatives throughout the business. Discover: How employees can influence consumer and customer choices What you can do to raise the level of ethical awareness among your staff What works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to getting staff to buy in Starbucks, Scott Keiller, CSR and Communications Manager BT, Emma Williams, CSR Communications Manager
Coffee break
Break-out session: Online communication: the new way to engage with consumers Nowadays, consumers are better informed than ever, and only a click away from finding the truth behind the company headlines. In this break-out session, you will learn how to translate your values for the online channel. Your website: Find out: How to measure the impact of your website How to turn your website into a strategic asset that allows a two-way dialogue with your consumers Dialogue-based CSR to consumers and employees: What it is and how it works - myths and success strategies Assess the common pitfalls when translating a CSR report onto the web Learn from your consumers’and emplyees' online feedback Identify the most efficient systems for channelling and collecting online ideas from below Learn from examples of exiting new ideas for viral, blog and wiki communication Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Jeannette Weisschuh, Corporate Affairs Communications Europe, Middle East and Africa Futerra Sustainability Communications Ltd, Solitaire Townsend, Managing Director	Break-out session: The importance of language: how to promote your brand better using a sustainable message Consumers want clear and concise information they can believe. You will discover how other companies have achieved success using simple words to get their message across. Maximize the impact of your CSR message by using simple and exciting language Capture your consumers’ interest with bite-sized, time-sensitive messages Tailor your language to different audiences Identify the common pitfalls in CSR communications Co-operative Financial Services, Jos Mister, Sustainability Adviser InBev, David Jerome, Head of Corporate Responsibility Moderator: Ethical Corporation, Peter Davis, Politics Editor
4.30 End