Nine’s thought leadership and insights series, State of the Nation, dissects the state of play across key categories challenging marketers right now.
Each sector update provides a platform to voice opinion among key industry players, share insights and ideas derived from Nine’s audience intelligence, and pave a way forward to help brands navigate the future.
In this latest instalment we chart a path forward for marketers and business owners around the topic of sustainability. Never has there been a time like the present where the expectation of marketers is no longer just to sell products.
A new shift is again reshaping the job: the shift towards sustainability, and the need for greater emphasis on purpose-led marketing to influence consumer consideration.
Recap on State of the Nation: Sustainability livestream event
Research Debrief
Uncovering what matters to Australians and why, by unpacking behaviours, trends and insights from Crowd.DNA and Nine.
Panel Session
Industry panel hosted by Tory Maguire alongside Jeremy Nicholas, Luke Todd, Kimberlee Wells and Simon Bradshaw.
Commercial Initiatives
Turn consumer wants and needs into action.
What you need to know
We partnered with cultural insights and strategy consultancy Crowd.DNA on a multi-pronged approach, to bring to life qualitative research via expert interviews and digital ethnography. Nine’s audience insight specialists leveraged Nine’s wide reach of Australians from all walks of life to delve deeper into what matters to our country when it comes to the subject of sustainability, and as Australia’s media company, what better way to do this, than to consult our readers, listeners, viewers, and subscribers.
A multi-method approach to insights
Knowledge audit to understand current conversations around sustainability and deep dive into social conversation about sustainability, environment, climate, change and consumer fears, hopes, ambitions and tensions, via Brandwatch
Site intercept surveys across all Nine owned and operated websites tapping into Nine’s audiences across TV, BVOD, Publishing, and Radio. Period: 6-20 Dec, 12-18 Jan 22 Nat Rep P18+ (n=5,850)
Conducted 6 x 1hr interviews with cultural experts which included Nine clients and editorial teams
Conducted a 5 day online community panel speaking to a cross section of the Australian population through digital ethnographies, for a deep dive exploration on key themes derived from the quantitative survey
Socialising the story with mixed media outputs bringing learnings from cultural landscaping, quantitative research and qualitative communities to life
If sustainability is the answer, what is the question?
‘Sustainability’ currently represents many things to Australians
Natural Environment
Wildlife
Sustainable Practices
Activists
The scale of the problem often feels too big and the goal, ill-defined
"I really do not know what the end goal is for Australia."
"We are currently on a crash course to disaster, and I feel a little helpless about what I can do."
74% of Australians say 'the benefits of taking further action on climate change will outweigh the costs'
Australians see change as a joint effort from government, companies and individuals
Businesses
Businesses in Australia can reduce packaging and introduce new sustainable technologies
Individuals
Individuals can be more sustainable through the products they buy and the businesses they choose to support
Government
The Australian Government can introduce grants to sustainable development, and for businesses that are committing to sustainable policies
"I actually think companies are more likely to be successful in lobbying the government for change, rather than NGOs - or perhaps both, through mutually beneficial partnerships. NGOs have the expertise, independence and lack of self interest, but corporations have a lot more resources, access and political sway because of their economic clout."
What does this mean for brands?
Through our research, we identified six key take-outs to help move forward:
Adopt the four key principles of honesty, transparency, accountability and integrity
Leverage your platform for the community
Take action as a business, not just a brand
Collaborate
Seek progress, not perfection
Get on with it!
Looking to connect with Australians around sustainability?
It’s clearly a topic most Australians agree has never been more important, and as our insights demonstrated, it’s a topic consumers are willing to onboard into their everyday lives, which is clearly having a knock-on effect to accelerate business transformation.
At Nine, there is a great opportunity for brands to use our platforms to meaningfully tell their stories providing you with greatest network across print, digital, television and radio, to connect with Australians around this topic and drive action.
Leading the sustainability conversation across Nine publishing
NIM's
Podcast
Digital
Events
Utilising the power of Nine data to reach an audience at different stages of their sustainability journey
Socially Aware Change Agents
Premium Socially Progressive
For a Better Tomorrow
Food Conscious Consumers
We have at our disposal Australia’s largest data footprint – almost 15 million registered users. We can help you reach your core audiences through Nine’s unique consumer segmentation – 9tribes, wherever they are on the sustainability journey, or surface your messaging in relevant content via contexti targeting. Nine’s data strategy allows you to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of your media buying, delivering the right message to the right person at the right time, in a premium content environment.
Ways in for brands
The AFR is launching a new editorial reporting franchise called Carbon Challenge that assembles expertise from across the nation’s biggest and most experienced business and finance newsroom.
Carbon Challenge will place a large spotlight on the hurdles and opportunities of Australia’s transition from an economy powered by fossil fuels and carbon-intensive exports to a net zero greenhouse gas emission economy.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are shining a light on the sustainability action of Australian owned and operated businesses in this upcoming ‘Leaders of the Future’ series.
National Editor, David King and his team will interview 12 leading business CEOs and entrepreneurs, asking them what they are doing to alleviate sustainability issues. The content will be amplified across audio, digital and print within the Business Money section.
New to the Money section within The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, is a dedicated print and digital feature on Clean Capital each fortnight, exploring all things #ESG, to help combat greenwashing in the multi-trillion dollar responsible, investment world.
Raising the profile of progressive companies investing cleanly and educating our 16 +million readers on the importance of ethical investing and inspiring them on future choices.