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Published on: 05 December 2022

Is modern marketing compatible with a sustainable world? Anyway, we all need to do more.

At the global marketers’ week of The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), two IRG100 participants were asked to take the stage and discuss whether marketing is compatible with sustainability or not: Procter & Gamble (P&G)’s European senior vice-president of brand, Taide Guajardo and the global CMO of Dole Sunshine Company, Rupen Desai. At the end of the debate, the 850 marketers attending the WFA event were asked to vote on whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement “marketing today is incompatible with a sustainable future.” Of those that responded, 74% agreed. The whole purpose of a debate is to land on one end of the pendulum. In reality, the world is usually much more nuanced.

Instead of repeating their arguments – which you can read here – and helping you decide who is right – we offer a different point of view. They are both right. More interesting; they both land on the same conclusion. ‘We’ – marketers – need to do more. The learning here is to find out which perspective empowers you and provides you with the most energy to be a catalyst for change.

Being the realist: Desai takes a more realistic approach by showing facts and stats on societal progress outside the company that clearly outline ‘we’ are not creating enough impact. Conclusion: marketing is incompatible with a sustainable future. We should do more.

Being the optimist: Guajardo shows what has already been done and refers to the massive progress made inside the organization – being the biggest advertiser in the world - to grow towards a more sustainable future.

Conclusion: marketing is compatible with a sustainable future. We should do more. It needs no arguing that marketers would need to live with the fact that building more sustainable brands is a never ending job. In our leadership program, we often witness an exchange of thoughts between realists and optimists. Depending on which brand you work for, you can decide how much, how fast, and how radical you can create change. From a more personal leader perspective, decide which energy empowers you the most: the realist or the optimist.

Inspired by Taide Guajardo, IRG participant 2021 and European Senior VP of Brand of P&Gs, and Rupen Desai, IRG participant 2022 and Global CMO of Dole Sunshine Company

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