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SWEDEN – Lars Andersson from BANG Agency delves into corporate social responsibility.
If you work at a communications agency, it’s useful to step outside the office from time to time. For Lutherans, luckily, there’s Christmas and New Year’s. It’s also an intense period for brands. Within just a few days, we move from the holiday shopping frenzy to post-Christmas sales, then straight into the New Year’s rush, only to land in the gloomy, budget-conscious reality of January.
It’s worth considering what drives what. Do brands communicate in sync with human behavior, or do people simply follow along with how brands communicate?
Is it really a 6.90 kr blood pudding that carries us out of the darkness of January and into the light of spring? For the past 15 years, those working in branding have been delighted by the idea that brands are “important.” Remember those surveys asking young people who they believed should solve society’s problems? The joy was immense when it turned out that neither the state, municipalities, nor regional governments were expected to handle crime, social exclusion, loneliness, or our mental and physical health. Instead, it was brands that were supposed to fix the future.
Within a few years, purpose-driven marketing became everything for marketers. At the same time, the rise of fast, digital measurability appealed to marketing executives. “For every dollar you invest, you get four dollars back” became a simple and effective sales pitch. Purpose-driven branding met conversion metrics, software, social media, and everything else that made marketing strategies more data-driven. The role of the CMO evolved, and brand discussions moved into the boardroom.
Purpose-driven marketing turned into Sustainability, which then became HR’s responsibility. Large and small companies alike still reference Patagonia as the gold standard. Today, advertising awards introduce new categories focused on sustainability.
The belief that brands are “important” still persists. But how do we take this forward into 2025?
What if we acknowledged that, in general, brands aren’t particularly suited to tackling long-term structural transformations in society? There’s a difference between fixing it and not making it worse.
What if we realized that while it has never been easier to reach out, it has never been harder to truly connect?
A Simple Recipe for Monumental Challenges in 2025:
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Don’t assume that everyone believes your brand will save the world. But for the love of God, don’t make things worse.
(1. Avoid fossil-based materials, 2. Don’t start a chemical plant, 3. Give someone in need a job opportunity.) - Do something your audience actually enjoys. They’re just regular people—entertain them.
- Be optimistic—and maybe even a little happy.
- Recognize that when everyone can create and publish content easily (hello, AI), you’ll need to come up with something truly original.
And finally—Happy New Year.
Lars Andersson
Senior Planner, Bang Agency