Sustainable cities – Can they be a brand marketing opportunity?

We’ve recently been thinking a lot about how business could make good sense for the environment, and whether smart communication can create real change and an impetus for other businesses to do the same.

In fact a bunch of companies are already in the fray but the challenge is that most consumers are not buying into it (as their web voices would tell us). We explored the fuel free transportation culture across a few cities in Europe to explore whether such initiatives by companies could make their commitment more believable.

From a brand perspective the Barclays Cycle Hire program in London is a classic example; a concept taken from the bixi bikes in Montreal; Barclays committed to invest about £25m to the approximate cost of about £140m (borne by the council) over the next 5-6 years.

It brings Barclays obvious visibility and we hope some brand equity too.

We believe brand association that involves customers (like riding a bike in this case) builds a stronger connections than just passive outdoor (which in the case of corporate brand promotion would say we love the environment – Siemens Sustainability, IBM Smarter Planet?). Can more companies participate in aligning marketing to really changing and engaging with civic communities. Consumers now question the value system of brands and this is a smart blend.

For instance we see some good opportunities with car brands taking this space –  many of them are already investing in cleaner solutions electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuel cells and even the humble bicycle - {Mini (Photo attached), Peugeot, Daimler and Volkswagen’s recent think blue campaign}

These companies are now evolving to be more mobility solution providers than in the business of making cars…. reminds me of Levitt’s marketing myopia .. This is one business going through its transition (we’ve heard about Kodak, TDK ..) .. we’re yet to see how they solve the challenge that they almost created and still manage to keep business for future.

With urban centres mushrooming as ever, we urge more marketing money spent on building efficient city infrastructure – well spent, buzz worthy and holds you in good stead for the future!