Building the Better Brands of Tomorrow

What a week! The Saatchi & Saatchi S team recently returned from a very full week of sustainability learning, sharing, and networking at the Sustainable Brands 2013 (SB ’13) conference in San Diego, Calif. In its seventh year, Sustainable Brands brought together more than 2,000 community members from around the globe to explore “the positive shifts taking place in business and society” and share concrete examples of purpose-driven brand innovation that’s reshaping business as usual. In line with this year’s conference theme, “From Revolution to Renaissance,” SB ’13 provided a slew of examples of how businesses around the globe are indeed contributing to a sustainability renaissance.

During the week-long conference, Saatchi & Saatchi S hosted several stand-out events, including a workshop on how to apply creative thinking tools to inspire brand “Lovemarks"; a “Making Sustainability Irresistible” networking lunch; a "Gender Diversity" panel discuss on the role of women in driving the sustainable brands renaissance;  a “Green and Brown” panel discussion on what America’s changing demographics mean for brands of the future; and a “Rejuvenation Salon” that gave attendees the opportunity to re-energize one evening with 10-minute massages. Yes, massages!

A personal highlight of mine from the conference was our very own CEO Annie Longsworth’s opening remarks on Wednesday morning, during which she delivered an inspiring speech on the nature of teamwork — and what we can learn from geese. Yes, geese! Apparently, geese can teach us many lessons in community, team work, and encouraging one another at all times. (Who knew.)

A spectrum of companies at SB ’13 shared their own lessons throughout the conference, as well, from global entities like Coca-Cola candidly speaking about the company’s sustainability commitments and journey to startups like Back to the Roots sharing their story on how they started a business from growing mushrooms in frat house closets and ended up securing a nation-wide Whole Foods distribution deal.

Indeed, every presentation, workshop and panel discussion at SB ’13 brought with it lessons on how businesses are “building the better brands of tomorrow.” After four days of non-stop sustainability conversation, participation and inspiration, I was once again renewed with hope that brands can shape (and are shaping) a more sustainable future — and that we are part of the solution.

Thank you, Sustainable Brands, for a great week! Can’t wait ’til next year.