La Fresque du Marketing: understanding the environmental and social challenges facing the marketing sector

Badsender already helps marketers to measure the environmental impact of their campaigns by calculating the carbon footprint of their email dispatches. But it doesn't get to the heart of the matter.
The marketing fresco appears to be a formidable tool for bringing social and environmental issues into the heart of organizations once and for all, in order to challenge traditional marketing practices. Objective : making marketing more responsible.

Inspired by the climate muralThe marketing fresco is the brainchild ofADETEM. It is operated by Youmatter.world and supported byADEMEla Banque Postale and Orange.

I took part in the the marketing mural on September 20, 2023. And last summer, I had the opportunity to take part in one of the fresco's beta-test versions. Here's what I know about it.

A mural inspired by the climate mural

3 hours to understand the environmental and societal challenges facing marketers and initiate their transition. Inspired by the Climate Fresco, the Marketing Fresco is a collaborative workshop centered around a card game. It provides a basic understanding of the socio-economic and environmental issues facing the marketing sector.

Here's how the marketing fresco works:

  • Card game (90 min)
  • Group workshop: working on a responsible offer (60min)
  • Debrief: best practices and tools for marketers (30 min)
  • An animator
  • 15 to 20 participants
  • In-class or online

The marketing mural for all sectors

The content of the cards has been designed to suit for both B2B and B2C companiesIt covers the entire life cycle of a product or service: design, procurement, manufacturing, pricing, communication, distribution and end-of-life.

By tracing the interaction links in the marketing value chain, participants can take a step back from their daily lives and address the social and environmental issues associated with their professions.

Why create a marketing mural?

There are already some forty frescoes on various subjects. The best-known is the climate fresco. In our sector, we can also mention the advertising mural, the fresco of new narratives and the digital mural.

However, ADETEM is convinced that marketing plays a central, cross-functional role within organizations. And so.., marketing must play a key role in business transformation.

The marketing fresco was therefore designed to help marketing teams guide their companies into action in the face of the urgency of the situation.

A fresco of legitimate marketing

This marketing fresco took 18 months to complete.

A fresco launched by ADETEM

ADETEM is an association of marketing professionals. In my opinion, it's the only professional organization in the sector to link marketing issues so closely to social and environmental ones. It is making a concrete commitment to more responsible marketing via this fresco, via training on responsible marketing, and has launched the RESPONSABLES! by Adetem collective since 2021. This collective brings together committed marketers. Obviously, we'll have to see what happens in practice, but at least it's established and exists.

A fresco by Youmatter

Youmatter is a completely free online medium that deals with ecological and social transition issues. It is also a training organization whose aim is to help citizens better understand the various challenges facing contemporary societies as they strive to become fairer and more sustainable. Youmatter is part of KissKissBankbankpart of the Banque Postale, which belongs to the LaPoste group, a corporate citizen with a mission. Youmatter is already the creator of the advertising fresco.

A well-sourced fresco

The marketing fresco is based on data taken from inter-professional reference guides such as ADETEM, INSEE, ADEME and The Shift Project. It offers a neutral statement, objective leads and action methodologies based on these data.

A fresco co-constructed and supported by ADEME, Banque Postale and Orange

ADEME, Banque Postale and Orange are the major partners who have supported the marketing fresco from the outset. The content of this fresco has been co-constructed and challenged in all directions to guarantee its legitimacy.

Extract from the Marketing Fresco website
List of beta-testers from the fresque du marketing website

Breakfast launch of the marketing fresco: an inspiring round-table discussion

At the launch breakfast on Wednesday, September 20, a round table discussion was led by Pierre-Yves Sanchisfounder of Youmatter. The participants were as follows:

I'd like to share with you some of the highlights of this event.

The discussions began with Julie recalling the latest positive developments, including the growing awareness of civil society, the heightened expectations of consumers and the creation of new responsible positions in companies.

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However, Julie reminds us that it is essential to understanding major global issues and not be limited to climatic aspects. To make a successful transition to responsible marketing, it is necessary to a complete paradigm shift. Consuming better won't be enough. Responsible marketing also means consuming less. The size of the challenge should not be underestimated.

Damien shared his experience at Michelin. The company is in the process of transitioning to a model based on the prism of the 3Ps: People, Planet and Profit. He mentioned the good progress made in product eco-design, while acknowledging that they still had a lot to learn about operational marketing tactics.

Yves also spoke of Orange's efforts to adapt its infrastructures to environmental challenges (storms, floods...). He also stressed that marketing must also learn to evolve.

Julie reminds us that to transform, it's important to start from the ground up: the company's values. You need to switch business model to move towards values that generate a positive impact on society as a whole and regenerate the environment.

She encourages marketing professionals to take an active part in the transition, starting with small changes within their business perimeters (such as integrating new criteria into specifications). In this way, we hope to reach a tipping point within organizations.

If your core business is emailing and CRM, we've written a guide "What is the role of a CRM team in the ecological transition?". You'll find plenty of advice on how to improve your practices.

Pierre-Yves then asked participants to name examples of levers they could activate internally to accelerate the transition.

Damien recommendsbe pro-active about the regulatory framework. Regulations always seem to be a hindrance at first glance, but in fact they're a real opportunity for faster transit. He also advises work jointly with distributors and competitors (Michelin is working with its competitors on tire recycling concepts, for example). We need to think differently to transform the entire sector, and not just to increase market share. He underlines the fact that this leads toevolve psychologically and break certain reflexes of the classic business model.

Yves agrees with this necessary psychological transformation. For his part, he has to take into account the fact that resources are under great pressure, given that Orange's network equipment now accounts for 1/4 of sales: how can his model evolve with scarce resources and a possible carbon tax? He advisesbe proactive by thinking about the day after tomorrow.

The round table also addressed the issue of Comex involvement. All stressed that commitments must be made at the highest level of the organization for operational teams to get into battle order.

Julie finishes by qualifying this last statement. She recounts a recent story of a company director who couldn't get his team on board, despite a whole host of activities such as fresco animation. She recommendedinvolve your team in co-creating the company's transformation action plan.

Thanks to a question from the floor, we've touched on the issue of declining production in companies. Damien admits that this question has not yet been raised at Comex. Julie then reminds us recent history of the Carthusian monks. An experience that may seem difficult to apply to the types of companies at the meeting, but which Julie believes should be kept in mind as a beacon to follow. She also notes that companies that are financially free have much greater freedom of action. Financial constraint is one of the paradigms that blocks the most.

The marketing fresco: how to take action?

You want to participate in a session of the Business-to-Business Marketing Fresco ?

  • Where On the Adetem premises
  • How much Between 12 and 15 people
  • Rate :
    • Adetem members: 200 €HT / person
    • Public price: €400 excl. tax / person

Dates of next sessions soon available on the website : https://www.fresquedumarketing.org/

Vou want to organize a marketing mural in your company ?

  • Where : at your premises or online
  • How much Between 8 and 15 people
  • Rate :
    • Adetem members: €2,000 excl.
    • Public price: €4,000 excl.

You want to become a marketing mural animator ?

To do this, you will need :

  • Be fresqueur.se Climate
  • Have participated in a complete marketing fresco
  • Have take the Adetem responsible marketing training course or provide proof of training in responsible marketing
  • Attend a 1-day training session on how to animate the marketing fresco,
    • Adetem member rate: 800 €HT /pers
    • Public rate: €1,600 excl. tax /pers
  • To have animated at least one marketing mural accompanied by a professional.

Badsender wants to learn about marketing frescoes

Members of the Badsender team will certainly be training to animate marketing frescoes. It seems to make perfect sense with our raison d'être and our convictions. Give us a few months 😉

You can count on us to relay the dates of the first sessions organized by ADETEM, and of any other events related to sobriety, marketing and responsible communication. We'll relay these dates in our Sobriété & Marketing newsletter. If you haven't already done so, don't hesitate to register !

Support the "Email Expiration Date" initiative

Brevo and Cofidis financially support the project. Join the movement and together, let's make the email industry take responsibility for the climate emergency.

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