We all get out of bed each day wanting to ‘do the right thing’ (unless you’re Skeletor or one of those cursed seagulls on Brighton beach.) This is especially true of business owners and their leadership teams who have defined a purpose for their operations beyond profit.
Some purpose-driven decisions don’t need much consideration. For example, introducing remote working or offering paid volunteer days—anything that has an obvious and direct benefit for people and the planet.
Other decisions, like choosing a B2B marketing agency, demand more care and attention. You want to prioritise your purpose and preserve your hard-won reputation. So, how do you identify a marketing partner that fits your values? That’s a question we’ll answer in this blog post.
You’re in the market for a B2B marketing agency (having already read our marketing agency vs. marketing person blog). You want an expert, effective team to help you craft a compelling, differentiated brand, website, or content strategy (or all three!) But you must also consider your values and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.
For one thing, investors increasingly have their eye on ESG when evaluating companies. A 2020 survey by EY found that investors carrying out structured reviews of ESG performance increased by 40 per cent in just two years. So your marketing partner’s values and sustainability need to stand up to scrutiny.
While investment appeal is a big reason to hire a B2B marketing agency that matches your values and ESG ambitions, there are other benefits. These include:
Now you know why you need a purpose-driven B2B marketing agency. But there’s still the matter of how to spot a real one out in the wild. Of course, everyone’s human, so no one and no agency is perfect. There’s always room for improvement. With that said, there are a few green flags that are particularly powerful for sorting the wheat from the greenwashed chaff.
The investment part is important here. Writing a well-meaning blurb about good intentions on your website is simple enough. But it’s another thing to (successfully) submit to a third-party assessment of your social and environmental impact. You’ll be familiar with the time and money it takes if you’ve done it for your own business.
At Articulate Marketing, we decided to pursue B Corp status because it represented the breadth of our ambitions to do good as a business and be good eggs as individuals. But there are other schemes, such as ClimatePartner and GoodWell, which also verify a company’s commitment to putting people and planet before profit.
Getting a credible third party to verify your social and environmental impact requires months of exploration and documentation. That’s why there’s usually an interim period between certification and re-certification, which can sometimes amount to a few years. We’re not suggesting that some B Corp business leaders throw off their do-gooder disguises, laughing maniacally at their genius deception as soon as they’ve got their shiny new badge. What we are saying is that it’s easy for standards to slip when urgent priorities like short-term growth and profit targets roar back into focus.
That makes regular impact reporting another green flag to look out for. It’s now typical for large, publicly traded companies to report annually on their sustainability. But, even smaller businesses can go the extra mile to demonstrate accountability and progress. We’ll take any opportunity to share our 2024 Impact Report, but it’s also a good example of the level of transparency that is possible, even with a lean team.
“Tell me what company thou keepest, and I’ll tell thee what thou art.” - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
You may or may not have seen the news that B Lab, which certifies businesses as B Corps, revoked Havas Media’s B Corp status in 2024 over a contract with oil and gas company Shell. This was a first in B Corp history, but it points to a fundamental principle of sustainability in marketing agencies. The true extent of social and environmental impact includes clients.
If the companies you see in a prospective agency’s case studies or portfolios represent a better future for people and planet, you’re on the right track. They could be working to improve healthcare, make education more effective and accessible, or protect and promote nature. Or they could be companies leading by example to make their own sector more sustainable. Either way, it represents an agency’s conscious choice to stick to its values and do even more good and less harm by proxy.
If you'd like more info, watch this webinar to learn how to choose a marketing agency that is right for your brand.
Lucky you. No sooner have you started your search than you’ve hit the jackpot! But seriously, we’re happy you’re here. We know the work it takes to live your values as a business owner or leader, which is why we want to work with people like you and companies like yours.
If you’d like to see how we stack up against your standards, check out our 2024 Impact Report and our client list and case studies. Oh, and if you want to have a chat, fill out our contact form and we'll be in touch!