Episode 106: 12 Motivations to Drive Sustainable Choices - with Tom Ellis, CEO, Brand Genetics

“If people genuinely care about sustainability, how can Marketers redesign systems to make the right choice the easiest one?”

In this episode of the Can Marketing Save the Planet podcast?, we’re joined by Tom Ellis, CEO at Brand Genetics where we explore the psychology behind sustainable behaviour change, specifically digging into motivations, but from many different angles – 12 to be precise!

As Tom explains, "If you can align to people’s motivations, you can shift their behaviour in a way that feels natural—like they’re getting closer to their own goals."

Tom shares insights from their research, "Marketing a Difference: A Brand Owner’s Guide to Motivating Sustainable Choices," which identifies 12 key motivations, but what caught our eye when we first came across these insights was the way in which the motivations were presented, with six drivers that encourage sustainable actions and six barriers that hold people back.

The research breaks each of these down, explaining the psychology and the ‘SO WHAT?’ behind them. It’s an interesting piece of work and a useful resource for Marketers who are interested in what motivates people.

Tom talks about behavioural ‘tricks’, or nudges which push us in the right direction, however, given where we are in relation to the climate crisis, these are no longer enough, instead we need to engender deep, motivation-driven behavioural shifts to tackle the increasing challenges.

We discuss the power of motivations and how people act based on core human goals (security, belonging, status etc), and showcase how by aligning sustainability with these, there is more opportunity to drive long-term change. Tom’s advice to Marketers looking at their audiences and stakeholders is, “move from asking, who are we targeting to, what are they motivated by?” .

If people genuinely care about sustainability, how can Marketers redesign systems to make the right choice the easiest one? It’s a similar question to the one that came up a couple of years ago when Seth Godin came on the podcast, where he asked… “How can Marketers tell a true story about climate and our impact, so that we can change the systems in our lives, tread more resiliently on the earth, and are more proud of what we are doing?” ...this not only reiterates the significant opportunity Marketers have to drive real and meaningful change, but also the reality that not enough of us are using our skills to do so.

So, perhaps start with yourself, what motivates you and what are your drivers or barriers?

Tune in as we talk to Tom about:

• Why motivations matter and how they drive action more than facts.

• The 12 motivations and how they work.

• Overcoming barriers, when cost, convenience, and denial hinder progress - how can we address these?

• The role of habit in driving motivation.

• Tapping into value rather than guilt.

• Thinking beyond "consumers", we have got to think of people as humans with complex lives, not just shoppers at a shelf.

• What to do when the objectives of Marketers and motivations of consumers clash.

Link to the research ‘Marketing a Difference: A Brand Owner’s Guide to Motivating Sustainable Choices ‘ - here.

For more information about Brand Genetics - Link here: And to connect with Tom Ellis - his LinkedIn profile is here.

Enjoy - and if you love the podcast, share with your friends, family and colleagues.

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