Giffgaff embeds sustainability into brand growth | WARC | The Feed

Giffgaff embeds sustainability into brand growth

Giffgaff, a British telco brand, is communicating its clear brand values on sustainability in the UK’s highly competitive mobile phone category to underline its approach to growth, according to a senior executive. 

Why it matters

Even as a brand competing on lower-priced services, Giffgaff’s well-articulated brand values and a focus on storytelling has differentiated the brand and moved its market proposition beyond just price. 

“The sweet spot that we’re in is that we are great value, but we also have great values,” said Sophie Wheater, chief marketing officer at Giffgaff, at AdWanted’s ‘The Future of Brands’ event in London recently. 

Tackling the climate change crisis doesn’t just have to be the domain of brands able to bridge the increased cost that sustainability initiatives can often bring. 

“What we’re not doing is asking people to compromise their own values in order to get a product that suits their needs. There is an expectation that there is a premium price tag on trying to align with the values that you have and that isn’t the space that we’re in,” she added. 

How Giffgaff is integrating its values into a growth-oriented strategy

• Working to become a BCorp, a certification which measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact and makes a legal commitment by changing its governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders. 
• Growing the brand in a responsible way, including which metrics the company prioritises.
• Improving the experience of underrepresented groups from a talent perspective.
• Using more vendors and locations on marketing campaigns – for example, filming commercials – to minimise the environmental impact of travel.

“There is this opportunity across the entire business to do good from an environmental and societal perspective. But it can’t just come from marketing, it has to live through the whole business,” Wheater said. 

“It’s more about being curious about what is out there, and not being afraid to lean into things and take them a step further than you might have done beyond the campaign that you’re working on.”

[Image: Giffgaff]