"We Have to Bring Clients on a Journey to Green Media Because There Is No Plan B"

Collective World has launches a green media agency. Called Collective Performance, the new agency has been created to offer its existing and prospective clients a media solution that begins the journey to carbon-neutral media, to deliver growth the right way. 

The B Corp-certified business knows that 100% carbon-neutral media won’t happen straight away, but wants to begin moving towards that goal. And wants clients to take that journey with them, to take a fresh approach to media and make a fresh start. 

Q> Why are you re-launching a green media offering? 

Liam> To lower our carbon impact as an agency and influence others in the industry to do the same. Or at least make them aware of its effect on our planet. And that there is a different, better way. 

As a B Corp, we have had to look closely at all areas of our business, and while moving towards green media was something we had been thinking about for a while, becoming certified really crystalised that intention and turned it from thinking to action.  

And that need for action became our approach to the whole agency. We know we’re not there yet, and 100% sustainable media isn’t 100% attainable, but we decided to start that journey. And ask clients to join us on it. We also knew that because the media industry has been mired in a lack of transparency before, for this to work, we had to be open about the fact that we don’t have all the answers. Yet. 

From an industry perspective, we think there is still a lot of confusion and miscommunication about just what sort of effect digital media has on the environment - and this needs to change. Discussions around sustainability in digital media are still very young, and it's still difficult for clients to find media solutions that are green. For example, the idea that green media will be more expensive is very pervasive. However, in many cases, overall campaign costs, including production cuts, become a lot cheaper in the long run. 

Also, there is an ever-growing amount of research showing that it's becoming a much more important issue for consumers. According to a 2021 YouGov study, an overwhelming 86% of British consumers now say it is important for brands or businesses to take action on sustainability. 

But finally, and more importantly, as we say all the time over here, there is no plan B.  

Q> What are the main aims of the new agency? 

Liam> Quite simply put, to give clients a new option in approaching green media. To give them a fresh start. We’re not going to solve net zero emissions right away but we’re part of the journey and we can only do what we can to play our part. But we want to give clients the opportunity to come on that journey with us. To grow the right way by working with green products and green partners. 

Q> What will make it green? 

Liam> We are now switching to prioritising carbon offset media placements where possible. We work closely with sell suppliers like Sharethrough and their partnership with Scope 3 to offset carbon emissions produced by digital media placements.

We are also starting to measure our carbon footprint within our media plans using carbon calculators. This way, we can measure our impact and make choices to actively reduce it.

We take a stronger approach towards efficient experience, faster website speeds, less payloads. We’re generating less complex customer journeys to reduce loads and refine digital media assets.

We partner with media distributors and suppliers such Stackadapt to ensure our media planning and buying is as carbon conscious and measurable as possible. 

And something we have over other agencies is our expertise in the wider agency on 3D real-time design, such as Unreal Engine. 3D rendering production is hugely more efficient and less taxing on emissions than classic design and production techniques, so we can make content at a hugely reduced emissions rate. 

Q> What is the message you want to give to clients? 

Liam> We’re taking our clients on a journey to grow their digital media the right way. A way that's sustainable. We believe it has to be the future of digital media. 

Q> What are the benefits to clients?

Liam> As mentioned above, you can save campaign costs in the long run. They can also drive huge benefits from consumers by showing you they are finding new ways to be sustainable, which also means hitting ESG targets. 

Shorter ads equal greener ads and in a digital world where consumers have less time than ever to pay attention and become influenced, we’re already in a win-win scenario. Now if we can make production and distribution greener, that’s a win win win.

Sustainable media deals also offer a new opportunity to add to their inventory supply chain, which opens up new potential growth areas for their campaigns. Without evolving sell suppliers, they risk performance becoming stagnant and find optimisation difficult.

And that’s just a few. There are loads more. 

Q> Why are you calling this a fresh start? 

Liam> It’s not a fresh start for Collective, we’ve always been ambitious to make a change and do good for people, it's in our nature. However, this is still relatively fresh for the industry, so if we have to be the driving force behind that change, we will be.

This is also a topic that people are still quite scared to talk about. It can be layered with ESG agendas that they almost can’t talk about due to the sustainability aims of a company - or lack of, for that matter. But we offer a new way to talk about these issues and a new way to approach them.  

There is also the point that the media industry has been somewhat murky at times, with tons of products and suppliers offering the next best thing. We want to offer clients something new. Something fresh. Something that puts people and the planet first and helps them grow the right way.