Key takeaways from the panel discussion ‘The Art of Communicating Impact for Artisanal Brands’, December 13, 2023.
The Panelists:
Apurva Kothari, Founder, No Nasties
Pragati Tripathi, COO, Flourish
Moderator: Shruti Singh, Country Head, Fashion Revolution India
Storytelling for Impact
Importance of Storytelling: In the context of climate action, evolving consumer expectations make storytelling essential to create a differentiative and authentic brand voice.
Integration with Product: Impact-focused messages need to be simplified to capture attention and integrated with the product to resonate with consumers.
Example. The No Nasties website homepage adopts a product-centric approach, strategically placing data underlining carbon-positive action within sub-sections. This design aims to cultivate a holistic consumer experience, providing visitors access to information and option to engage.
Pragati Tripathi highlighted the role of storytelling in establishing trust with customers and shifting gears to gauge consumer interest. She cited an instance of increased sales of a brand after the story behind its products was amplified.
Sustainable Brand Communications
Simplification: Apurva emphasized the need to reduce confusion and simplify communication, using trust logos and clear labelling as examples.
Evolution in Communication Strategy: Pragati shared that Flourish had initially used a glossary page on their website to define technical terms, but now believes that customers value not just the value but also the values of a brand.
Greenwashing Concerns: Shruti advised brands to consult experts and industry partners to avoid greenwashing and to focus on one key message initially, expanding gradually as they grow.
Brand Message Consistency
Memorable Messaging: Design your impact message as your elevator pitch. Having a concise and memorable brand message is important. Identify a key message or credential and communicate it consistently across all platforms.
Data and Numbers: Numbers can be used as a visual tool to communicate a bigger message with fewer words. Eg. 0% Waste 100% Circular in the case of No Nasties.
Communication and Community Building
Strategic Channel Selection: Apurva Kothari suggested adopting leveled approach to communication, starting with platforms where the audience is already engaged, low-cost mediums such as WhatsApp and email. YouTube is a great medium for visual storytelling especially for brands that work with handloom, khadi etc.
Optimise the channel you choose. Eg. Instagram is a visual channel and following 70:30 rule
(visual:text) while pushing material will help.
Community Building: Build a community before expanding to other cost-intensive channels like Facebook or Instagram. LinkedIn can also be used as a knowledge-focussed tool to build community, B2B alignment besides offline channels like meet-and-greets, open days etc. inviting consumers to directly engage with the brand ethos.
Acquisition Strategies
Budget Allocation: Allocating budgets for exhibitions, pop-ups, and influencer collaborations.
Navigating Algorithm Changes: Apurva stressed the need to allocate acquisition money, especially considering algorithm changes and increased online traffic. Eg. Instagram and Facebook are effective for customer acquisition.
Metrics and Strategies for Teams
Guiding Metrics: According to Apurva, a clever step that communication teams adopt to relay impact is identifying a guiding principle or a north star. For communication team at No Nasties, they use their mission of planting a million trees as a key metric, with 140,000 already achieved.
Comprehensive Data Collection: Pragati mentioned collecting and auditing data related to gender ratio, wages, artisan numbers, and carbon emissions.
Structured Processes: Strategies include identifying appropriate channels, keywords, and creating a monthly content plan with a review process. Lastly, don’t hesitate adopting customer analysis tools like Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity.
Reach the Speakers:
Apurva Kothari – apurva@nonasties.in
Pragati Tripathi – pragati@flourish.shop
Creative Talks – CraftxClimate
Creative Talks – a Creative Dignity initiative is a series of exciting conversations about the handmade sector, connecting key thinkers with each other, and you. You’ll hear from artisans, designers, enterprises, philanthropists, and individuals all of whom bring their unique perspectives on what it takes to harness the massive potential of craft.
The “CraftxClimate” series aims to position the crafts sector at the forefront of UN SDG 12 ‘Responsible Production and Consumption’ through issue identification, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and advocating sustainable solutions.