Great job, terrible results
Published on Mumbrella.com, written by Nathan Jolly
Purpose Disruptors on advertising’s heavy footprint
Six years ago, Rob McFaul launched UK-based non-profit Purpose Disruptors with an aim to help the advertising and marketing industry move towards sustainability. Purpose Disruptors has just launched in Australia, with former OMD and Mindshare boss James Greet as its local boss.
On this week’s Mumbrellacast, Tim Burrowes speaks to McFaul and Greet about the non-profit’s mission in Australia, and changing the mindset around client briefs so they understand how climate change is impacting marketers, and how marketers are impacting climate change.
Greet and McFaul said that most advertising clients aren’t aware of the emissions impact their campaigns have on the environment.
“Climate change and biodiversity loss isn’t a future problem, it’s right here, right now,” Greet told Burrowes.
“It’s a problem for businesses right here. All businesses are seeing a massive impact because of the impact of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss on their supply chains. That’s happening now. Australians are feeling the impact of that through cost of living and increase in pricing on food and insurance and so forth. Which has to mean, if it’s affecting consumers and all businesses now, it’s got to be a problem for marketers.
“The challenge we have here is that I still don’t think many marketers understand that or see the connection yet, let alone actually understand what’s the relevant way in which they can get involved.”
Greet said he was compelled to make a difference after realising he had spent the best part of four decades religiously following briefs for clients without thinking about the wider impact.
“You suddenly realise the better I am at my job, the worse I’m making the stuff I really care about, which is nature and environment.”
