According to a recent article by Skyword magazine, 2016 is “the year of the influencer.” In a world where people are bombarded by information, consumers still predominantly make decisions by using the advice of friends, family, and trusted online presences like blogs, Youtube channels, and sites. The article posits that marketing in this day and age has become about influencers and less about traditional channels, which people are more likely to shut out or ignore.

In a situation like this one, it’s possible to engage in short-term relationships with influencers, such as when Professor Milne would send Robeez to various family blogs in order to build buzz and get reviews from people that are trusted into the hands of consumers. However, these relationships exist in flux, and very often have little behind them but the product. For producing an unbiased review this is ideal, but in the age of influence, a company should think about investing in long-term relationships with influencers and working to turn them from basic influencers producing content about a subject to a advocate working to advance the goals and causes of a company.

In much the same way that companies build relationships with consumers, the same must be done with influencers. I personally connect much more with companies that I feel appreciate my feedback and input, and care what I have to say. There are companies as well like Bose that I have interacted with in the past in a negative way, and have completely turned me off mentioning them or recommending them to others. While I cannot say that I am an influencer in general, the truth is that the same methods apply to just about any person, young or old. There’s a desire to connect with products, especially in the tech and outdoor gear worlds, to not only have them deliver solutions to the customer but also to be a part of their life, and share in their experiences. In such a world, building advocacy relationships with a consumer is not only sustainable business-wise, but it’s the ideal move to make.

The future is this: A company can release a new product or sustainability initiative, and more and more of the marketing will be done for them by a network of “advocate influencers.” As public relations rise in importance and company needs the public to be aware and yet avoid the stigma of greenwashing or simply trying to build hype, turning influencers into full-on advocates will be even more important, and the best way to do that? Develop relationships with them, take what they say into account, and give them some trust. They’ll do the same for you.

I’ve written before on the importance of business being transparent and open with consumers, not only with any and all aspects of environmental sustainability, but also with labor relations and any social sustainability programs the the company is undertaking and not undergoing. The age where a company could close ranks around an issue and wait for it to go away has for the most part gone away. While it is true that the media cycle will rapidly move away from a story the more time passes, customers in the last 5-10 years are more and more willing to move away from or even boycott products or companies that aren’t honest or transparent with them.

Eventually, almost every corporation will get to the point where it is easier and better in the long run to take a more proactive and open approach with consumers, as well as trying to become a more sustainable company. This is even the case with giants, like Amazon. Amazon has historically been a quiet company, not only with it’s reports but also with it’s sustainability initiatives. The company has never released a sustainability report, and even heavily criticized giants like Walmart or Best Buy do more work with non profits and work more on trying to make their supply chain more efficient. In the past, this sort of behavior led to massive gains in business, but is starting to lose traction as a business practice.

In fact, Amazon has just hired Dara O’Rourke, a leading expert on supply chains and one of those who first created awareness of the rise of sweatshop labor. Ultimately it will remain to be seen exactly how Amazon will create a more open and transparent company more devoted to sustainability, but the need exists. As the 7th largest company by market capitalization, it could seem that Amazon is unassailable, but time has shown how unwilling people can be to support a company that is completely closed off to consumers. While drone programs to reduce fuel usage and further cut costs, as well as its pledge to make sure 40% of electricity is from sustainable sources by the end of 2016, there’s still a lot of work to be done. 

In fact, as discussed in the article, there’s a lot more Amazon could be doing to make customers more conscientious of the resources they are using. Psychologically, Amazon Prime giving customers free shipping gives people the ability to consider shipping as free, when it is demonstrably not so. In addition, for shipping Amazon only gives people the option of consolidating shipments into fewer boxes and deliveries, when this should be either required or heavily recommended.

Irregardless, Amazon still has a lot of work to do as they work towards being more sustainable and transparent throughout, and is yet another example of the importance of transparency in this day and age.

In 1973, the OPEC oil crisis started. It nearly brought America to its knees. Jimmy Carter started a large amount of reforms focused on clean energy and reducing America’s reliance on foreign oil. He installed solar panels on the White House and lead a push for wind and solar energy. However, as quick as it started, the crisis ended, and Reagan entered the White House. Once gas prices fell, pretty much everything Carter had set up was slowly dismantled, and 30 years of inefficient cars and reliance on oil began.

Over the last 10 years, the steep rise of gas prices has led to a resurgence of sustainability and hybrid cars, most prominently represented by the Toyota Prius. However, it’s important to note that many of those driving the Prius are not driven by it’s sustainability-minded marketing, but by the economy of having the electric option, especially when city driving. This exists in much the same way that Tesla sells more often to luxury and design-oriented markets despite how sustainable of a vehicle it is. What this has led to is a culture where people are only driving hybrids because of economy and convenience, and now that gas prices have dropped below $2 a gallon in much of the US, it’s as if everyone has forgot the lessons of the past.

The New Prius: Redesigned to target new markets

Toyota is learning this the hard way. Within the last 3 years, almost a quarter of US Prius purchasers no longer exist. Now they’re redesigning the car to focus on performance and style, and going all-in on an expensive Super Bowl ad to showcase the new vehicle. While some think that it will be hard for the Prius, long known as the representative of the hybrid and green driving category, to reposition to target those who are now focusing on brands like Nissan and Tesla, it remains to be seen. Toyota itself thinks that the Prius is so iconic that in essence it doesn’t need to mention being green in order to be seen that way. I think, that this is just another representation of how consumers are more focused on economy and convenience over sustainability and being green, and getting consumers to change their mindset with smarter marketing or focus on those two factors are really the only ways to create long term change and prevent people from switching back to Hummers and trucks as soon as gas price lowers or water becomes more plentiful or any other sort of social or environmental change.