Pathmakers Marketing

Building environmental sustainability stories that consumers actually care about can be a challenge. Most people want to do something good but are not willing to compromise their everyday choices if it proves too difficult. Creating brand strategies and campaigns of relevance from vehicles to apparel to first put brands on consumer’s radar and ultimately drive consideration/adoption can certainly be done in a compelling manner.

AUDI
DIESEL, IT’S NO LONGER A DIRTY WORD

The challenge in 2009 with diesel engines coming to America was that all associations from the “70’s and ‘80’s were that these vehicles were slow, noisy and smokey. The challenge was to find a way to tell the story and break down the myths which was done using an EPA reference, "if 1/3 of Americans drove Clean Diesel, we could send back 1.5M barrels of foreign oil every day". It was a provocative way to enlist a conversation on a topic few cared about in America.

AUDI
ELECTRIC HAS GONE AUDI: INTRODUCING THE AUDI E-TRON

Shifting the Audi brand commitment to one of sustainability had to be dramatic. Like any purpose-led approach, it had to start with real company action. First, came the commitment to a full portfolio of electric vehicles - 1/3 of the Audi portfolio by 2025. Second, came the need to make the story more than just the vehicle. In leading the companies commitment to sustainability, I’ve built the stories around carbon neutral manufacturing facilities and the nationwide charging station partnerships. Working with conservation programs and legislative decisions to publicize how Audi is committed to a sustainable future has been part of the way we’ve created conversations. As the Executive Sponsor for the company Sustainability Strategy 2025, I’ve shaped what the organization will commit to with an Internal Carbon Pricing Model, employee days of conservation service, more sustainable vehicle accessories and future building LEED certification.

In communications, the first electric SUV was one of the first steps in educating consumers on the benefits of considering an electric driving lifestyle. In doing so, campaigns were created that brought to life the idea that Electric goes Audi with the full scale benefits of racing performance, quattro AWD capabilities, dealership network support, nationwide charging and a connected digital ecosystem.

• Introducing the first all-electric SUV from Audi required creating awareness of the benefits of an electric lifestyle so using the idea that “electric might not be for you”, the campaign dispelled some of the myths of the electric driving experience.

• The 2019 Super Bowl was the ideal location to reinforce the Audi commitment to sustainability through the story of “Cashew” ending with the statement that 1/3 of Audi vehicles will be electric by 2025.

LIFELABS DESIGN
INTRODUCING NEW SUSTAINABILITY

Changing the conversation in the fast-fashion apparel industry with a commitment to using fabric innovation to make consumers 18 degrees warmer/ 2 degrees cooler to offset their personal energy usage is not a simple story but one that is profound and needed. In building the LifeLabs Design performance apparel brand, the goal was exactly that - tell the inherit benefits of the Stanford University born fabric science that could keep humans 3 degrees cooler or 18 degrees warmer while empowering them to be able to better control their home, auto and workplace thermostats to save energy and reduce carbon impact. In addition, I built a marketing story around the need to use less materials, more sustainable supply chain solutions, carbon offset shipping and ultimately showing how innovation and commitment can use less and deliver more for the customer and our planet.

BEAM CAPITAL CLEAN ENERGY ASSET MANAGEMENT

Positioning the largest next clean energy asset management fund building the infrastructure in aerospace, heavy-duty trucking, marine and rail transport required knowing the sustainability commitments and telling the story of 20+ innovative growth companies starting the next energy revolution.