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🪻"Growth with Responsibility" - Lars Zirpins from Weleda about their soulbrand
67 Plays2 months ago
Lars Zirpins is the Chief Marketing Officer from Weleda, a renowned sustainability pioneer brand in natural cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The product portfolio of Weleda includes around 1000 medicines and 120 natural cosmetics, available in over 50 countries.
In his role Lars focuses on driving global brand initiatives ensuring that Weleda continues to be a force for good in the industry. Lars brings a passion for sustainable and holistic approaches that fit perfectly with Weleda's philosophy.
About the FutureStrategist podcast and Florian:
Hi, my name is Florian Schleicher I am a marketing strategist focussed on sustainability. Having worked with big corporates, NGOs, start-ups and agencies for over 15 years, I know my way around a lot of challenges. Let me help solve your challenges with my know-how and my Marketing Studio FutureS.
Also: If you enjoy reading, be sure to check out my FutureStrategies newsletter. I write about marketing, strategies and sustainability available every three weeks and I am sure you will find a lot of exciting and helpful insights there.
And if you have a challenge that keeps you and your company from doing your best work and this challenge is about marketing, strategies or sustainability, then I’d love to get to know you and your projects!
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Transcript
Sustainability in Business Culture
00:00:00
Speaker
Sustainability is sitting in the boardroom already due to the culture of the company so stay true to yourself in the core the why stays very solid but the how this is constant battle to stay on top of things.
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to the Future Strategies Podcast. My name is Florian Schleicher. I'm a marketing strategist focused on sustainability and I'm your host here. Every two weeks you can listen to my interviews with international experts and together we will explore where marketing strategies and sustainability intersect with great examples, insightful stories, and a look behind the scenes of some amazing brands. If you are curious how to apply all of that for your own business, I do this for my clients from all around the world through inspiring workshops, guiding mentoring, and an exciting on online academy.
Introduction to Lars Sierpens and Willeta
00:00:52
Speaker
But more on that at the end of this episode. Now let's jump into today's interview.
00:00:57
Speaker
My guest today is Lars Sierpens. He is the Chief Marketing Officer from Willeta, a renowned sustainability pioneer brand in natural cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The product portfolio of Willeta includes around 1,000 medicines and 120 natural cosmetics available in over 50 countries.
00:01:19
Speaker
In his role, Lars focuses on driving global brand initiatives, ensuring that Willetta continues to be a force for good in the industry. Lars brings a passion for sustainable and holistic approaches that fit perfectly with Willetta's philosophy.
00:01:35
Speaker
Before joining this Sustainability Hero brand, he worked for Nivea, as well as Villa Ryan Poch. I'm so excited to have you here
Willeta's Sustainable Brand Philosophy
00:01:45
Speaker
today, Lars. Welcome. Florian, thanks a lot for having me. Really looking forward to our conversation. So we already had a very short conversation a couple of weeks ago, um and I remember you asked me what I associate with the brand, Vileira. Yes.
00:02:01
Speaker
If I remember correctly, I mentioned that for me, you are one of the pioneers in sustainability with high product quality and and that I think that your social media strategy feels very authentic. Now, before we dive on these aspects deeper, I would be curious, how do you want the Willeta brand to be perceived?
00:02:23
Speaker
Yeah that's that's rather easy because we are a purpose-borne brand so I don't have to invent a purpose, it's already there since a hundred years. So we have to stay very true to ourselves and very authentic and that is the connection between human mankind and nature and this has always been the foundation of our company and there's a strong belief that humans are part of nature and that health and beauty of human mankind and the planet
00:02:57
Speaker
are highly interconnected. So I don't have to invent anything in the core of the DNA because we have a very strong founding impulse more than 100 years ago. yeah So yes, and sustainability is deeply ingrained in our DNA. It's it's in every every cell of our organization and that is really on a level which I haven't seen before. This is what motivates me.
00:03:26
Speaker
Yeah, I like that. It's always great if you have a passion for what you're actually working in. ah You mentioned that sustainability is deeply ingrained in your company's philosophy and the strategy. How did that come to be? Well, so we later from the very beginning always focused on nature and the company's place in it.
00:03:46
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's coming really from the founding impulse of Ita Wegman, Dr. Wegman and Rudolf Steiner, of course, and their philosophy. Seeing everything is connected.
00:04:02
Speaker
holistic health and
Sustainable Practices in Willeta's Operations
00:04:03
Speaker
beauty there is no easy single isolated solution but everything belongs together so the body soul and mind for example so it's always a holistic approach and if you start from that impulse of course you also care for nature.
00:04:23
Speaker
And this is really something which you can feel everywhere in the building and the way people behave. We are now building a new logistics center, close to our German affiliate in Schwiebesgemund, which is built in a very special way so we use more money than than we other competitors do for logistics center. We build it rather small and high not to use too many land so we can use the land around for biodiversity and other things recreation for the people working there.
00:04:59
Speaker
We built this logistics center with clay from the soil which is there where we built the building and with wood from the surroundings. So usually if you have today a modern logistics center, it's as big as a little town and not very high. Yes, it's very flat. Yes, yes and it it's that that cannot be the solution. So we are doing it differently.
00:05:24
Speaker
Very small high material from where we build it if we don't use it in fifty years for some reason or others the whole building can vanish there where it is today so this is really and and still it's very digital it will be very modern.
00:05:43
Speaker
And this is just one example where we spend more money on such a thing because we believe in these long-term investments which are good for us and good for the planet. Just an example, and this is like a red thread through everything people do at Violeta already before I joined. Also, this was a fascination also which caught me somehow.
00:06:04
Speaker
Yeah, I can imagine. Your CEO said, we're not just any company, we are a sustainable native in the truest sense of the word for over a hundred years.
Collaborations and Industry Influence
00:06:16
Speaker
And also on your website, you write strategy means growth with responsibility. What does that mean? And how do you translate that then into your marketing?
00:06:27
Speaker
So the first thing is, it means that we are very open to collaborate with others. Now, because we know that we cannot be the only solution. If the whole industry we are in would work like Willeta, that is really a goal for us. So this is why we founded, what is that like, almost 20 years ago, nature.
00:06:50
Speaker
to bring our philosophy how we produce our products. So there were never mineral oils or micro plastic and all these things have never been in our products. And we want more brands to use this philosophy, which is right. So we found it not true. And we have now many, many brands that joined that movement.
00:07:14
Speaker
We also are part of the B Corp movement, yeah where you want to be a force for good, where you are not only a good company in this world, but for this world. And in all these moments, you feel that we are really a true sustainability native. And in marketing, that means how do we develop our products? How do we convey the beauty of nature? We have a strong focus on healthy soil.
00:07:44
Speaker
Because our products are coming in the end from the soil. Soil is often connected to food. But in the end, everything comes from soil. Also cosmetic products, our pharmaceutical products, our clothes that we are wearing. So healthy soil is really at the heart of everything we do. So we select the plants, we cultivate them, we harvest them, we process them.
00:08:12
Speaker
And then we are certified natural organic cosmetics. And this we do for a hundred years. There's a high level of craftsmanship. So already the way we develop our products and and also produce them is is very, very consequent since since a very long time. and And fantastic colleagues who know how to create an if efficient cosmetic product out of nature. And this is this is really something which I haven't seen before, I must say. And I know the industry quite well. I can already see there are so many stories hidden in that company. And I want to go a lot deeper there too. But you mentioned something that is, I think, very important, which is the often negative impact of the cosmetics industry.
00:09:04
Speaker
on resource extraction, you mentioned soil, the importance of that, packaging disposal, raw materials like palm oil, chemical runoffs, microplastics, and packaging waste. And I've heard from a lot of companies that sustainability is very important for them. But in the end, most companies focus on profit.
00:09:28
Speaker
whom because that's what we want to generate. And then if there is a little leftover profit and money, they invested into nice sounding initiatives for people and the planet. What do you measure success by then? Is it also profit or ah there are there also KPIs focused on sustainability involved?
00:09:47
Speaker
Hashtag focus and growth that matters is our company strategy since Tina joined us and that means growth with responsibility. Of course, we cannot be 100% on sustainability only and not producing profit.
00:10:06
Speaker
But the shareholder structure we are having allows us to have really a long-term view on things and and we are not driven by shareholder value with with quarterly profit announcements. So that gives us a little freedom. We have to make profit,
Storytelling and Brand Identity
00:10:26
Speaker
but in a very balanced way. So thanks to our culture, I would say sustainability is sitting in the boardroom.
00:10:35
Speaker
Already due to the culture of the company, everybody is also an ambassador for the sustainability issues. So it's it's part of every discussion. It's no question around it. So we have a good balance there, but we also have to make profit.
00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah, you have to sustain yourselves also. yeah Otherwise you can't do good for the planet and for people. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. Sometimes that's not easy because it could feel like an NGO also inside the company sometimes. So we have to make sure that we have a good balance. But for us, it's the.
00:11:09
Speaker
Contrary to a shareholder value-driven company, and we have to take care of that we also make profit and that's very clear. But in our culture, being a force for good is is very close to the heart of, I think, everybody working for Belita.
00:11:27
Speaker
I had the same feeling working at Too Good to Go, which was so different from working at McDonald's. I had the best time at McDonald's. I imagine you had the same with Nivea. It's a great company to work for, to learn from and to try out things. But the difference is in the end at McDonald's, my job was selling burgers. At Too Good to Go, my job was to help people to make a positive change every day with a small action.
00:11:56
Speaker
And that feels so much more gratifying to everyone and the whole team. They were all so involved into that mission and vision because they knew they could have an impact. Yes, yeah it's the same to me. Nivea is a great brand, of course, and I went there many, many years, loved it. Now in my stage of life, it's very purposeful and I'm loving it and it gives the whole team a lot of motivation that you know that you you are you are having impact in that direction.
00:12:27
Speaker
yeah So we already talked a little bit about the brand of untold stories and you also mentioned this in another interview. What do you mean by untold stories? Are there so many and why are you not telling them yet? I changed it around in the meantime to stories to be told.
00:12:46
Speaker
What does that mean? If you arrive at Willeta and you know the industry a little bit, then you hear a story at the beginning every day where you think, really, this is the way things are done here. That's fascinating. Then after, now I'm here for one and a half years, of course, it gets less. You hear something maybe every two weeks.
00:13:08
Speaker
but it's really on another level which I haven't seen before and the interesting thing is that of course a lot of people inside the company know about these procedures but the company was a little too humble to really tell it to the outside world and then Many different stories were told and there was not a real roof tying it all together, like an emotional brand territory for a brand or a brand creative ideal, let's say. So it was too cluttered. But for many years, maybe it was not so important because if you are the lighthouse in a certain part of an industry, know that the corner we ah were in or a niche many years ago, it was a niche.
00:13:58
Speaker
Then the cake was growing market was growing and you were the clear lighthouse today for consumers it's not so easy to distinguish between a a cheap cosmetic product and a discounter let's say it also has a nice bunny on the packaging and some claims and there are so many certifications or things which look like a certification up to green washing sometimes and so now we have to be much more precise and much sharper and tell about the things we are doing differently. This this is a task now, and that was maybe not necessary 10 years ago, yeah maybe five years ago, prior to COVID maybe. yeah And from from how you're talking about it, I can already get the sense that you are also a storyteller.
Market Positioning and Consumer Engagement
00:14:45
Speaker
ah There is this quote that I love from from Steve Jobs who said, the most powerful person in the world is a storyteller. And I love it because it really shows you the power that storytelling has because even today, like in in times of TikTok where entertainment eats everything for breakfast, what we do like in the end is to be entertained. And that's what a good story does. If we can be entertained by a brand story, it becomes more memorable. And the product that is then associated with it also becomes more memorable for the same reason. Yes. What is so nice here is that we can tell the stories and know that our products are very good. So if we measure the NPS, the Net Promoter Score, um
00:15:31
Speaker
And in our industry, according to our brand health tracking, we are in cosmetics, so a body care. We are the brand with the highest net promoter score. So people who know us and have used our products, they love us. And then there was the other day from Hundreds Blood and YouGov, this consumer satisfaction study, a very, very broad one in in germany and also there we were very very good so we are telling the stories or we are starting to tell the stories on a very good platform or foundation because the products work and people who know them love them and now we only have to
00:16:13
Speaker
tell our stories and we are getting better, better on this, no? But it's also a way to go. It's not, you don't change that overnight. So you mentioned TikTok. How do you do that on TikTok? It's different than on yeah tolling national TV. yeah oh Every channel has this distinctive culture, how people communicate there. And I think the job that you have is also figuring out, okay, how can I adapt my story to all of these different channels? I'd be really curious, what's the story that you're actually very much looking forward to telling about Willeta in the future? Yes, I think our brand is a sole brand. So it can it's it goes beyond the love brand.
00:16:55
Speaker
Every contact with our brand can change the perception of Willeiter fundamentally. The most ah obvious thing is, if you are in our medicinal healing plant garden, so Heilflanzengarten in German, close to to our German affiliate. shument There you see how we, next week, by the way, harvest the Kalendula plant by hand.
00:17:24
Speaker
And then processes, also Calendula, we use a lot, for example, in our baby products. It's a fantastic plant. So if you are so close to the core of our products, like in the healing plant garden, then that changes the perception so fundamentally. But we are a brand which which is an inspiration for life, which goes much more beautifully. beyond the functional benefits of the product. And this emotional brand story, we we are sharpening that. So you will you will see it in the next weeks and months. ah We are on our way. We started in February this year with the Touched by Nature of campaign. Yeah, I saw that. Followed up by by by Skin Food. because Skin Food is our hero, or our brand ambassador, where Hailey Bieber or Victoria Beckham or others post
00:18:15
Speaker
the on skin food as their are most loved product, we don't pay them for that. And this is already showing how how strong the product itself are. And then we have to tell the stories around it, it will be always focusing next to the functional benefits of the product itself on to from soil to product to skin or to soil, from soil to soil. This is a little bit where we will focus on because this is our USP. I'm very much looking forward to seeing those stories then. Thanks for the teaser. Let's dive a little bit deeper also in terms of marketing on the target audience.
00:18:53
Speaker
I don't know if you know this concept of the jobs to be done concept. So whenever people have a problem, they hire a product or a service to relieve them from this kind of problem. yeah So for example, Holly Davidson, they sell to 43-year-old accountants the ability to dress in leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of them.
00:19:16
Speaker
That's like the solution that they are offering or Rolex and who doesn't really sell you watches to tell the time, but a status symbol. So I would be curious, what kind of problem are you solving for your target audience?
00:19:31
Speaker
Yes, this is a very good question because Willeta is an umbrella brand. So the challenge, and I know that very well of course from Nivea being an umbrella brand as well, we have to play the the functional benefits much more in each category. So if you buy a face cream from Willeta, functionally you want something else, let's assume you want to moisture your skin or reduce your wrinkles if you have any it's something totally different than using the order and from us all other products no yeah so as an umbrella brand we first have to make sure that our products hit the functional needs of the consumer so if you wake up in the morning you don't say today i buy something from
00:20:20
Speaker
Harley Davidson or Willetta or Coke, you wake up and say, oh, I need a new face cream. yeah And there we have to be much more precise what our products are delivering. Let's say anti-wrinkle or in a different category, if you have an Anika gel for muscle relaxation, we have to be much more precise on the functional benefits. And then the the art of mastering an umbrella brand is to tie it all together in one territory. And this territory, we are sharpening at the moment, we have worked on territories, then nailed it down into a brand positioning. And now transferring that into experience principles and do
00:21:07
Speaker
We'll see it coming alive already with the next campaigns for a brand creative idea. But that's the difficulty if you have an umbrella brand, that you still have to be very precise on the functional benefits and then tie it all together. But of course, it will be in the territory from soil to soul and the inspiration you can get, which is from a brand like Milleta, which goes far beyond the functional benefit of reducing wrinkles, but still we have to deliver that. murder Also, I think sustainability is one of the things that is very interesting in communications because most people, they don't look per se for a sustainable face cream, for example, or a sustainable lotion, but they look for a lotion. So they are looking for something that helps them deal with the problem that they have, which might be dry skin or or
00:22:01
Speaker
or wrinkles or whatever. And for you and for your brand, I think the important thing is that if you say that to consumers, if you choose a product from Milleta, you're also making a choice for our planet. Yes. Which I think is a very nice bottom line. But does that get people to buy it or is it like just an additional factor on top of everything else that the product does for them?
00:22:25
Speaker
So my strong belief is that the sustainability benefit is not enough to be successful. and it's It's a very important part of our offer for let's say 20% of the population.
00:22:43
Speaker
80% don't don't care and let's assume 20% we will never get we are talking about the 60% in the middle if we ask them they would say. Yes of course if i buy a product and it does good for the planet that sounds interesting but then there in front of the shelf.
00:23:05
Speaker
Of course things like price or convenience or other elements become very very important and we have to switch our activities and marketing a little bit from the twenty percent who are like we are you have that view on on things like we do and work with the sixty percent where they where we see this value act gap we ask them.
00:23:32
Speaker
And they say, yes, that's interesting. And if they make a decision, they decide for conventional things usually. And this is where we have to shift the way we do marketing, the language.
00:23:46
Speaker
It has to be very much on eye level. It has to be a positive communication. If we ah tell our stories this, um what is it? Moral, I don't know the English word for that, you know, with a, we know it better than you or anybody, that does not work at all. No, it has to be a little lighthearted. We have to speak the language of.
Challenges and Brand Positioning
00:24:08
Speaker
this target group, we have to use the channels. You mentioned TikTok. These were things where in the past we didn't focus so much on and this limits your your impact and and and the target group.
00:24:22
Speaker
That touches upon one very important aspect, I think, which is let's just briefly talk about competition because I think studying competition is in general overrated and studying your customers is underrated in most companies. But what I see is that a lot of cosmetic brands also tap into sustainability now because it becomes on-vogue and people are looking for these solutions. At the very beginning, I also mentioned you were a pioneer brand. How do you stay on top of that curve?
00:24:52
Speaker
And how do you still stay perceived as a pioneer? Yes, that's not easy. So we were pioneer. let's Let's say we were the lighthouse and easy to perceive as a lighthouse. And now, of course, with the growth of that niche,
00:25:10
Speaker
Many brands went into that territory so the big multinational players they bought smaller brands or invented their own ones or added a franchise to strong existing brands and then you had all the smaller brands and the.
00:25:26
Speaker
The barriers to enter the cosmetic market are much, much lower than in the past. Now, you can get, of course, formulas, packaging much easier today. You can reach the consumer via the digital channels much easier. You can sell online. So all the barriers we had in the past are gone. And then, of course, the legislation and also the Green Deal and everything around it pushes the boundaries towards a more sustainable approach for everybody. And this is good. we We like that, of course. Then, of course, you have all the all these labels, which you can today use very freely. Then, of course, the greenwashing in the end. So to so to stay
00:26:17
Speaker
relevant and differentiated in such an environment is super difficult so we have to build a new lighthouse much higher and we have to walk uphill and and yeah build a new one which is twice as high as the old one.
00:26:34
Speaker
And we are in the middle of that on different layers so of course it's about sharpening the brand positioning it's about the innovations we are doing including the sustainability efforts on circular economy and so on i talked about the logistics center a green marketing will be a topic and then of course all the communication around it.
00:26:57
Speaker
So but it's it's heavy lifting for a company which is medium sized let's say but but we are right in the center and we know that we have to become the the pioneer and the shining lighthouse again this is often you these days you cannot do that on your own so we are well connected i mentioned bcor before and And we are in in many very good networks
Future of Purpose-Driven Brands
00:27:25
Speaker
where we push not only ourselves, but but communities into the right direction. Yeah.
00:27:32
Speaker
But it's not easy then to transfer it to the consumer that it's easy for the consumer to really have a differentiated view on us compared to the competition. If it were easy, I think everybody would do it. And that's also like the fun part that you get to be part of that transition, but transitions are never easy. and So before we go to the final questions, do you have any questions for me, Dals?
00:27:57
Speaker
Yes, ah maybe one thing which comes up quite often, brands which are in the same territory as we are, so brands which are good for the planet, not go only on the planet, but for the planet, I think many of them have have to reinvent themselves. And sometimes these brands or companies also have a difficult time.
00:28:22
Speaker
at the moment the last years with a higher inflation, the war, COVID, price war. So the the environment is not easy at the moment, especially for brands who take a higher price for a good reason, because somebody in the value chain has to pay. If it's not the final consumer, then it's the worker or the planet or somebody pays. No, if you pay only Half of it than somebody else pays and you see a lot of brands and and and ah companies who are going in the right direction how is the sentiment because it's that might be a lot of hope and enthusiasm but then financially it's sometimes also very challenging.
00:29:06
Speaker
Where are we going? Where are these brands or companies that have a strong purpose and that are not only profit-driven, but go far beyond? How is the state of the nation, let's say, for but for companies like these? How do you see that? I think you're talking about something very important here. That is, there are these good brands, but they also struggle.
00:29:31
Speaker
with price for example i think and that's what i hear from a lot of these companies that i'm talking to them working with this yes it's challenging at the moment everybody takes a different approach i know some companies who say we don't want to pass on the coast.
00:29:47
Speaker
one-on-one to our customers because we also have a responsibility for people and we don't want to say, okay, Jan, now you will have to pay the price for everything, but we will be there for them. For example, I have an an energy provider. I know that they covered a lot of the inflation costs when it comes to gas and energy prices, and I am forever grateful for that.
00:30:13
Speaker
So I think if you as a brand invest into that relationship by also taking some of the burden, of course you can't take all of it, but you will create a lot of loyalty. The important thing is you have to let people know.
00:30:27
Speaker
here If you only take up the costs and you say, okay, we're not going to ah do this price increase, no then it's not as strong as a message as if you say, we're not going to do this price increase because we don't want to pass it on to you because it's also not your fault. So let's do this together. I think that's a very powerful message. And the second thing that I hear is whenever there's a challenge, there is also something opening up.
00:30:54
Speaker
And we know, for example, in Europe with legislation that is coming, that a lot of companies will have to be more sustainable. So there is now a window of opportunity yeah to be one of the first brands in the sec the the field that you're operating in, to set your mark, to set the stage and say, we are here and everybody else will have to follow in a couple of years.
00:31:18
Speaker
But then again, if you say, let's go back to your example, if we now build a lighthouse here, then everybody will need to move to towards this lighthouse in the coming years. And once they are there, you probably have already built the next lighthouse or you're in the process of that. So I think.
00:31:37
Speaker
Loyalty is one big thing that you can build with being transparent about how you are adapting to changing markets and the second is be a forward thinker now because sustainability will come we see that for example also with the jobs that young people are looking for.
00:31:54
Speaker
A lot of millennials nowadays, they turn down jobs like, yes I would not work for McDonald's any anymore now. And so companies live by the talent that they attract. And they will only have access to the best talent if they also reflect on the values that these brands have.
Pioneering Spirit and Marketing Principles
00:32:13
Speaker
So it's also for HR.
00:32:14
Speaker
for employer branding, a huge factor to work with sustainability. So bottom line, I think, yes, it's challenging, but every great company, they become great because they master these challenges. So I think look more looking at the potential of what that can bring, and of course, appreciating the difficulties, the challenges that are there in the moment, but always looking at the future and having a future mindset and seeing what we can achieve if we can overcome this.
00:32:43
Speaker
Yeah, that's, that's very good. So I have two examples which come to my mind. One is we've just found it the other day, our school of nature in our healing plant garden in close to Schmidt and for us, ah mental health, for example, as a topic.
00:33:01
Speaker
and also all the regenerative working procedures we are doing there ah with with our healing plants and processing them. We have to bring people closer to that and this is of course something far beyond our functional product.
00:33:17
Speaker
On the other hand, I don't know if you've seen it, in the one of the games in the European Championship, male football in Germany, Mbappe, Kylian Mbappe, the French player, in the extra time in one of the games, he had an Arnica massage oil from the leader in his hand and a physio therapist.
00:33:38
Speaker
ah used it. ah So if you use it in that situation on one of the best players of the world, obviously, our product functionally ah works very nicely. And we know that it's it's a hidden secret, our Anika massage oil. So we are working at this is a fascinating stuff now, the the pioneering spirit, which we have reignited to build this new lighthouse is is coming on on on several layers.
00:34:05
Speaker
You are right. Communication is key then around these things, no doing good and and talking about it. That's almost like a nice final sentence to close this up. But before we close it up, let's move to the three final questions very shortly. First, my question is, what is good marketing to you in three words? Consumer centricity, you mentioned it also. No, that's that's important.
00:34:32
Speaker
than staying true to yourself. So based on the brand values, this authenticity I think is key. And then innovation. You can only survive with innovation and transformation means innovation on all
Future of Marketing and Consumer Engagement
00:34:49
Speaker
layers. Yeah, maybe these is three aspects.
00:34:52
Speaker
yeah Next question, what is the future of marketing? The future of marketing is is twofold. So one rule that remains true is you have to stay true to yourself. So the DNA in our case, more than 100 years, there we have to be very precise. So we have to stay true to ourselves. No, very authentic.
00:35:17
Speaker
But the way you portray it, the way you messaging it to the consumer on which channels to remain relevant and also have a differentiation in consumers' minds, this will constantly change. Already the explosion of touchpoints, we mentioned some of them already, social media with with all the different rules on each channel,
00:35:43
Speaker
is is highly challenging. So stay true to yourself in the core, but the how, no, the why stays very solid, no, but but the how. This is a constant battle to to stay on top of things. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. so two forward It's two-fold somehow, no? Yeah. You have to manage both things. Last and maybe most challenging question. What is a book that you would like to recommend here?
00:36:14
Speaker
ah Yeah i have had the time to read a book now for yeah one and a half two years so if i would choose a book this weekend it would be about healthy soil, because healthy soil is our future. This is where everything comes from. And I learned, thanks to our Sustainability Department, also how severe the situation is on our soil around the globe, no? And then with the global warming and and the chemicals we use on it. I'm coming, of course, now from an area where biodynamic farming is very strong. And we believe a lot in that. And
00:36:56
Speaker
That is one great solution which has been invented a hundred years ago. So if I would read a book, then it would be about soil and what the soil means to our life. We need nature. Nature doesn't need us, but we need nature. And I think a lot starts with the soil, so the skin of the earth, if you want to, where we are standing on.
00:37:20
Speaker
And we need a totally different perception of soil. And
Podcast Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:37:25
Speaker
I have two books in Basel, in bal in and my flat there, and I have to read them, definitely. That sounds super fascinating. So I'm all for you starting that. Yes, yes last thank you so much for talking with me here. It's been super insightful. It's been a pleasure. ah I can't wait to see and hear more stories about Willeta coming from you and your team. Thank you so much for taking the time. Yeah, Florian, thanks for our conversation. Very nice. And yeah, looking forward to hearing it then on the on your channels. Yes. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Bye. Bye bye.
00:38:07
Speaker
And that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening. If you've enjoyed this episode, please forward it to a friend or a colleague. This would mean the world to me as I pour my heart and a lot of energy into producing this podcast with all the brilliant minds that share their perspective here.
00:38:25
Speaker
And if you are curious to use the huge potential of sustainability marketing for your own brand and you know the value that a great marketing strategy brings to really connect with your target audience, give me a call or send me a message. I'd love to get to know you and your projects. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or through my newsletter, where I write in-depth thought pieces that help you build a successful and exciting marketing strategy.
00:38:53
Speaker
Again, thank you so much for listening. I really look forward to sharing more with you in the future.