Walk into any store and you will see brands labeled with tags like ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘carbon-neutral,’ or ‘fair-trade’. Environmental sustainability is increasingly a key go-to-market message. And it makes sense. Financial cents!
In fact, a McKinsey and NielsonIQ joint study found that products that made ESG claims showed a 5-year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 28% compared to only 20% for products without such claims. Consumers’ concerns and demands for sustainability are only rising, especially among younger consumers. According to an HBR survey, Gen Z and Millennial buyers are 27% more likely to purchase a product vs. older generations when they believe the brand cares about people and the planet.
It’s no surprise then that advertisers and marketers are increasing sustainability speak in their marketing claims. But for an industry that is so focused on selling the ‘environment–conscious’ message to consumers, it is surprising that the advertising industry itself is much less conscious of its own carbon footprint.
Sustainability in advertising is not much of a priority or even a discussion point.
With the switch from traditional print to digital advertising, the industry has long relied on a narrative that digital advertising is much more environmentally friendly since it does not require the mass production of materials that print advertising requires. However, with the prevalence of digital advertising, the high energy consumption impact (10%-20% of the total energy consumed by the underlying internet infrastructure) has long overtaken the environmental advantages digital once promised. Cookies deprecation, ad-blockers, and more privacy-boosting apps have further declined the efficacy of digital advertising, leading to more digital ad spending and therefore, a worse environmental impact.
The answer, however, is not to move away from digital advertising. The solution is to add new, creative alternatives to connect with customers.
Adpaka, the first-ever Phygital Ad Platform provides an environmentally conscious way to engage customers. By leveraging e-commerce packages already enroute to customers for on-the-package outreach, the platform enables advertisers to increase brand awareness without any additional environmental impact.
One may think then – why not inserts? Aren’t they doing the same thing?
The “Phygital” approach Adpaka takes is much superior to the physical inserts used today. Granted, inserts use a sustainable medium i.e., the packages already enroute to the customers, just like Adpaka, but that is where the sustainable aspect of the inserts ends.
Static inserts present the same offer to all, irrespective of their preferences, purchase history, or other attributes, leading to a sub-par conversion rate. This in turn requires more ads, and more print materials. Adpaka offers, on the other hand, are highly personalized and contextually sensitive, based on already available first-party customer data, leading to much better conversion and therefore higher return on the same marketing dollars.
What increases the sustainability aspect of Adpaka, even more, is that on-the-package offers are dynamic. Powered by digital insights, the offers stay relevant beyond the life of the campaign as the Phygital platform simply links the QR code in the ad to the next best offer. Thus, getting brands more mileage from their ad spend while providing retailers, third-party logistics providers, and other publishers, a way to monetize their supply chain in an environmentally friendly manner.
The advantages of Adpaka over inserts don’t end just there.
With the ability to accurately calculate conversion rates, endless possibilities in terms of types of ads that can be presented, tailored to each customer’s needs, and standard campaign management capabilities, Adpaka offers superior functionality not only over inserts but also the level of efficiency and the ease-of-use advertisers and publishers are accustomed to from their digital advertising platforms. All in a more sustainable manner.
Serious about being good for the planet? Then you cannot take a piecemeal approach. You must look at all aspects of your production, marketing, and fulfillment processes. Adpaka can help improve your marketing outreach without adding to your carbon footprint. Let us show you how.
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