Mindshare Launches #CHANGETHEBRIEF

New York, London, Singapore, Shanghai, 7^th October, 2019: Mindshare is launching the #ChangeTheBrief initiative – a new approach to marketing planning designed to encourage behaviour change in the face of the Climate Crisis.

The global advertising industry invests $600bn of its clients’ money every year to drive consumption of products and services. #ChangeTheBrief works by offering clients alternatives to the traditional marketing strategies, ones with a dual focus on driving consumption but also encouraging transition to carbon neutral behaviours - through sustainable ways of living, consuming and working depending on the client and product.

Mindshare will be launching the #ChangeTheBrief initiative on its annual ‘Mindshare Day’ on 1^st November, undertaking a global brief from its largest client, Unilever.

Carrie Timms, VP Global Media, Unilever, said: ‘At Unilever, we believe brands should be a force for good for the world we live in. Mindshare’s #ChangeTheBrief initiative is a powerful statement to the industry that we should all do what we can though media, both expertise and investment, to deliver a more sustainable future.’

Giles Morrison, Global VP Brand Communications and Global Brand VP, Unilever, said: ‘At Unilever, we are committed to being more purposeful in our communications. #ChangeTheBrief will bring us new creative opportunities which connect us to our audiences in a more sustainable way.’

Using the #ChangeTheBrief approach, agency teams present two alternative strategies in response to campaign briefs from clients. The ‘Now’ brief - a more conventional response - and the ‘Future’ brief - which encourages behaviour change in the face of the Climate Crisis. The ‘Future’ brief does this by allocating a proportion of the campaign spend and creative ideas to showcase the attitudes, lifestyles and behaviours which are consistent with a transition to a carbon-free world that are complementary to that particular product or service.

For example, using the #ChangeTheBrief approach, work for a shampoo client could see the promotion of considerate water usage by developing 4-minute brand supported but ad free 'songs to sing in the shower' playlists on Spotify or for a food brand, the development of packaging that encourages people to freeze unused food to avoid food waste.

Nick Emery, Global CEO at Mindshare, said: “Our great challenge as a society and as an industry is to show how living sustainably is possible, enjoyable, fulfilling and aspirational and that it can also drive our clients’ business. These are all the things that we know how to do! We hope that #ChangeTheBrief will become the start of a new way of planning media and advertising for a more sustainable future.”

Mindshare is also seeking partners to join a #ChangeTheBrief Alliance. It will be freely sharing the #ChangeTheBrief planning approach with Alliance members in order to generate an industry-wide movement that utilises the core skills of marketing agencies across the marketing spectrum – their ability to persuade people – to help be part of the solution to the Climate Crisis.

Read the #ChangeTheBrief Manifesto

For more information please contact Greg Brooks: +44(0)7826869312 | [email protected]