By: Will Herman, Account Director
Despite the years that have passed, I remember my university graduation day well. At the appointed hour, I stood in front of the photographer with my father, posing for the shot. The photographer asked my father to put his arm on my shoulder for a more intimate, informal picture. Quick as ever, he retorted: ‘Shouldn’t I just put my hand in my pocket?’.
Fast forward a few decades and it could be, that now I am the one getting old(er), if not quicker, and possibly more caustic in my humour. At least one these is certainly true. And like many of a similar age, there are any number of things I find baffling which the younger generation simply take in their stride. I was, however, completely flummoxed recently, by the seemingly endless barriers encountered while trying to open a bank account for my daughter.
Call me a traditionalist, but my vision of walking into the bank and opening an account in person, into which my daughter could deposit cash received for her birthday, was woefully out of date. It wasn’t the succession of online forms to be filled in, or the repeated security checks and poor customer service that bothered me so much. More that what I’d hoped would a formative experience, was reduced to a faceless, automated, and wholly depersonalised transaction.
Instead of building a relationship with what could very well be a lifelong customer, in my daughter’s mind, the bank means nothing more than the debit card slipped in a drawer. After all, who (except luddites like me) uses a bank card these days anyway?
But it seems some brands are listening.
The influence of the younger generation
Far from thinking children should be seen but not heard, there are those who have recognised what is obvious, that our children’s voices are important – they are tomorrow’s consumers and like it or not, they are already driving purchasing behaviour today.
Far more exciting than the new bank account for my daughter, was her appointment as the class environmental ambassador. She’s no Greta Thunberg, whose call for action on climate change led to more than 1.4 million children taking part in school strikes in 2019 but, she’s nothing if not enthusiastic and it seems she feels her responsibilities extend far beyond the school grounds. Where has that fruit come from? Will this carton actually be recycled? And what is recycled content anyway? Questions that drive what I buy for us both.
That same year, the study What do children spend their pocket money on, was not based on cash transactions, but data from parents using Rooster Money’s app and preloaded contactless card. Another highlighted that 87% of parents surveyed say their children influence their purchase decisions.
Meanwhile, prompted by letters from children, Lego announced it would replace its plastic bags, investing £310m over three years in more sustainable packaging.
It may have come as a surprise to some then, when Lego pulled out of its widely publicised Bottles to Bricks initiative a few months ago. But the fact is, the announcement highlighted an unusually forward-thinking approach.
An assessment of the project's environmental impact throughout its supply chain, found that producing bricks with the recycled plastic would require extra materials and energy to make them durable enough. Lego illustrated the importance of what many in others, notably the metal packaging sector, have been saying for some time, namely that we must look beyond single life cycle analysis when assessing the sustainability of our products. More than that even, we should be thinking about adopting tools such as the Material Circularity Indicator, developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which allows businesses to analyse and evaluate a range of environmental, regulatory, and supply chain risks.
Communicating to tomorrow's consumers
And we need to communicate all of this clearly, to tomorrow’s consumers, who live in a world subject to a more diverse range of influencers than ever before. It’s a significant challenge which requires commitment and the right expertise. Get it wrong however, and as my daughter’s first banking experience shows, businesses will struggle to build any kind of brand loyalty with the customers their future depends on.
As for my daughter, well, she remains a few years away from the summer graduation ceremonies taking place all over the country right now. But she knows what matters, can see straight through the greenwashing, and more than her parent’s generation might ever have thought possible at that age, has the ability to influence the people that matter.
And like Lego, if they aren’t already, brands, businesses and marketeers should be listening.
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