From Ice Cream to Activism: Ben & Jerry’s Marketing wit… — Transcript

Explore how Ben & Jerry's integrates activism and inclusive culture into marketing, driving purpose beyond ice cream.

Key Takeaways

Integrating activism into business strategy can enhance brand purpose and consumer loyalty.
Diverse and inclusive leadership drives better business results and fosters innovation.
Creating a culture that permits failure encourages creativity and breakthrough ideas.
Marketing with humor and authenticity strengthens brand connection with audiences.
Supporting social justice causes aligns brand values with consumer expectations in today’s market.

Summary

Ben & Jerry's unique business structure includes activists on its board to challenge power and drive systemic change.
The company prioritizes values such as inclusivity, activism, and fun in the workplace, encouraging creativity and innovation.
Ben & Jerry's was founded on principles of community giving and fun, with early support for LGBTQ+ rights.
Women hold significant leadership roles within Ben & Jerry's, contributing to a diverse and democratic culture.
The brand uses humor and creative marketing to engage consumers and build a loyal audience.
Ben & Jerry's campaigns actively support social justice causes like refugee rights, criminal justice reform, and Black Lives Matter.
The company embraces failure as part of innovation, exemplified by their 'flavor graveyard' for discontinued ice cream flavors.
Marketing in the MADFest episode highlights the importance of empowering women in leadership for better business outcomes.
Ben & Jerry's aims to enact its values through every pound spent, linking marketing efforts to activism.
The brand culture fosters an environment where employees feel safe to propose bold ideas without fear of failure.

Chapters

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Hey guys, and welcome back to another episode of Marketing in the Madness. Now, as you may see behind me, if you're watching and not just listening, we are not actually called Marketing in the Madness anymore. For the next few weeks, there are some very special episodes coming.

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Because we are live backstage in the Female Leaders Club at MADFest. So at the moment, we are called Marketing in the MADFest rather than Marketing in the Madness. So there's going to be a few special episodes coming at you, this being one of them, which I really hope you enjoy. We're

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going to be uncovering not just the marketing innovations that get us further, but also the cultural innovations that need to happen to get women ahead at work.

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Ben and Jerry's is under a unique structure in that we have our own CEO, but also we have a board of directors that's made up of activists whose job it is to challenge power structures and to try and

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drive systemic change. We hope that every pound we spend is a way to enact our values. I think that even a sense of fun in the workplace is a privilege because to have fun, you have to be given

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permission to fail, right? And leaning into that brand difference of humor is really encouraged.

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I'm such a fan of making everything humor. Thinking of your brand like a person. We can buy into the brand like your ads are fun, the way that you communicate. We have a flavor graveyard in our Vermont factory and there's real-life tombstones for flavors that didn't make it in

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the marketplace. And on the tombstones it says things like, here lies pistachio, why it didn't work, nobody knows. There was going to be a percentage of your ideas that won't make it, but by doing that you're going to get that brilliant gem of an idea. We have these tools and channels as a

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business that we can drive awareness, drive change. How can we help further your cause?

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Gives us something beyond just fantastic, really amazing tasting ice cream. Something that we actually want to sit behind. And I think that's really, really important. For me as a consumer, my daughter is addicted to your ice cream. I can tell you that. People want to buy brands or

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work for brands that they actually believe in. Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Marketing in the Mad Fest. And I am live next to the stage. I'm being very, very quick with my podcast today with the fantastic Kerry Thorpe from Ben and Jerry's. We're going to be really dialing into

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something that I think is super important. I think when we come to marketing, we're often thinking about the technologies, the things that we can do in the world of marketing to get us ahead further and faster by taking innovative approaches to your technology, but also by

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empowering women. When you have more women in leadership roles on the board, businesses get much better results. And that is not just from a sales point of view, but also profitability.

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So because of that, I have got the fantastic Kerry Thorpe from Ben and Jerry's because Ben and Jerry's do some pretty cool stuff when it comes to, well, activism across the business.

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Although it was founded, well, I'm going to let you tell the story, Kerry. Although it was founded by two men, you've got a very diverse and very female heavy, so a huge amount of female equity in the business. Can you talk to me about what that means, I guess, within the business? And

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then, yeah, we can delve into all the other things that that helps Ben and Jerry's do.

Speaker A

Yeah, of course. So my role at Ben and Jerry's is I'm head of integrated comms for Europe and ANZ. And I've been at the company nearly 10 years now. So Ben and Jerry's was founded by two school friends, Ben and Jerry. The story is that they met in gym class.

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They wanted to start a business. They couldn't have the money for an ice cream business. Well, they wanted a bagel business at first. They couldn't afford the equipment. So they decided on an ice cream business. And they started this business based on their values. They had two

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mantras. They wanted to have fun while they did it. And they wanted to give back to the community within which they operated. So quite unusual business people in that they didn't just want to get in business for profit. And this was in the 1980s. And their values kind of led every decision

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that they made. So we were one of the first companies in the US to offer the same benefits to same-sex partners as people in heterosexual relationships. We champion marriage equality right across the globe. And now we campaign on things like refugee rights and criminal

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justice system in the US and Black Lives Matter. Things like that you will see Ben and Jerry's campaign for. So whilst we have these two male co-founders, you're right that actually, when you look at our business, there's loads of strong women in our business. The European MD,

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she's a woman. Her name is Lillian. And she's a force to be reckoned with. On our European leadership team that I'm on, it's predominantly female, actually. I think there's two men on the group. And then when you look at our factories, you've got lots of women in high positions within

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our factories as well. And I think Ben and Jerry's really does encourage people to be at their best and to step forward. And it's quite a democratic culture, I think, actually, that hopefully by showing that we respect everybody's voice and we want to be an inclusive place, it means that there's

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more confidence for people to step forward where potentially before power and privilege wouldn't have made you think it was possible. Yeah. And I mean, that kind of echoes throughout your go-to-market strategy through your branding and your advertising. And it's something,

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you know, not only the values that your staff, your team, your colleagues buy into and makes people want to work there and do their best work. But also, for me, as a consumer, my daughter is addicted to ice cream. I can tell you that. It means that we can buy into the brand like your

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ads are fun. The way that you communicate to your audience gives us something beyond just fantastic, really amazing tasting ice cream, something that we actually want to sit behind. And I think that's really, really important in today's. It is a lot more diverse. People want to buy brands or work

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for brands that they actually believe in. Thank you. I mean, the sense of fun that you mentioned is important. I think that even a sense of fun in the workplace is a privilege because to have fun, you have to be given permission to fail, right? In some workforces, the idea of getting it wrong

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or making a mistake is so binding that actually creativity is hamstrung, isn't it? It means that we aren't as creative as we want to be. And at Ben & Jerry's, having fun and being innovative and doing the kind of surprise and delight and leaning into that brand difference of humor

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is really encouraged. We have a flavor graveyard in our Vermont factory. And when you go to the factory, it's almost like a tourist destination. There's a kind of mound and there's real life tombstones for flavors that didn't make it in the marketplace. And on the tombstones, it says

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things like, here lies pistachio, why it didn't work, nobody knows. And there's real different poems on each of the tombstones. We also have a replica flavor graveyard in our office in our HQ in Europe. And that just sense of there was going to be a percentage of your ideas that won't make it.

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But by doing that, you're going to get that brilliant gem of an idea. And that nugget is such an important part of our culture, I think, because it means that, A, people feel willing to put forward creative ideas. And B, they aren't bound by that feeling that if I put something

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through that doesn't make it, I will be penalized or I will be laughed at or it won't be supported.

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So I think having a privileged place that you can be creative and put forward silly ideas is so important, actually doesn't happen by accident. I think you have to create that culture.

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Y

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brands and ice cream brands specifically that have challenged you guys over the years, but you're still there standing strong. I think all the things that you've spoken about, the culture is absolutely why you're still standing strong. So how do you actually make

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that happen? How do you encourage activism within the business? Well, I think having activists on staff is a really unique one for a business. So people who don't know, Ben and Jerry's is under a unique structure in that we have our own CEO.

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We are owned by Unilever and that CEO reports into Unilever. But also we have a board of directors that's made up of activists. So people who've been at Greenpeace, people who've been at Christian People have been at big, big NGOs, whose job it is to challenge power structures and to try and

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drive systemic change for some of the most marginalized people in the world. So we have this board of directors. So our CEO has to answer to both of those groups. And in our company, we have activist managers who are hired within market and their sole job, no ice cream targets,

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is to get to know movement builders, to get to know NGOs and ask them, how can we be of service to you? Traditional CSR is asking, hey, you're a charity. How can you be of service to our brand? How can you make our brand look good? We've done a survey. We've asked

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our consumers what they care about. They care about this issue. Come, come join us and make us look good. But the Ben and Jerry's model is we have these tools and channels as a business that we can drive awareness, drive change. How can we help further your cause? So how can we drive

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change on refugee rights? How can we drive change on racial equity? So because we have these activists within our office, if you've ever worked with an activist, they aren't people that accept the status quo. Their entire disposition in life is to say, I don't think that's right. We should

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challenge it. We deserve better. And they want to bring people on that journey. So we're lucky to have people in the business who take us on a learning journey on the topics we're working on.

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We've met people who've been living in indefinite detention, meet people with real, real first-hand experience of the asylum system. So we're kind of there all the time working with activists, which I think does also encourage a culture where you aren't afraid to speak up and you aren't

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afraid to demand better. I love that. There's so much that I want to ask you about this. So that's good. I mean, one, what a fricking inspiring business to work for. So all of this stuff that's happening internally, you as someone that's kind of responsible for communications,

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how do you even start to tell the world about all these amazing things? Because there's almost so much to shout about. How do you go about, because you're obviously doing a bloody brilliant job at it, how do you go about defining how you tell this story? So I think, first of all, we used to have a

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rule like do 10 things, talk about three of them, because we do so much. And we hope that every pound we spend is a way to enact on our values. So you could tell every story, but I think there's

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an acceptance that we can't tell every story. And also not every story is going to be interesting to our ice cream fans. There's also an acceptance that some people will only ever love Ben & Jerry's because they love cookie dough. And that is absolutely fine. And some people may be half

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baked or something. And we're okay with that too. But when you look at Ben & Jerry's social channels, we're kind of like that friend you'd meet in the pub who one minute might be talking about politics and how something really angered them and they want to take an action or they want to bring you

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along on it and how they need to kind of bring you along their thinking. And then another moment, they might be talking about something they've eaten that's delicious. And I think Ben & Jerry's is that friend really in a pub or a cafe. So when you go to our Instagram, you'll see that one minute

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we are talking about something to do with refugee rights. And the next moment we're talking about an ice cream sundae that we think is just absolutely delicious. And I think there's something about not being afraid to have that mix. I think sometimes brands can find it quite

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fearful of deviating from their kind of main content or what they think fans expect of them or want of them. And I think actually, your audience is more intelligent than you think.

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And you can flip between these different topics because that's what people do with their friends.

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They don't just chew their friends off about one topic for the rest of time.

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So that's one thing that we do. I love that. What I also love, anyone who listens to the podcast regularly is I'm such a fan of making everything human, like humanizing your brand and thinking of your brand like a person. I'm sure I've made my mum's bipolar. I'm sure I've

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got ADHD. Like my brain goes here, there and everywhere to keep me engaged. I need brands to talk about different things, to pull me in on different topics. So I think thinking of it like a person is actually really important. Totally. And thinking about it from that emotional level,

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I think that in activism, for example, there are times when you have to be outraged, where the only emotion that is fitting, you know, if there's deaths in the Mediterranean or something for refugees, you know, outrage is a fitting emotion then. Whereas there's other

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times when actually you can use ice cream as an on-ramp for a serious issue. You can use that kind of, you know, you can talk about the power of voting, for example, and saying, imagine being choosing between vanilla and chocolate or pistachio. Imagine if you didn't get a choice.

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Imagine if voting was taken away from you. You can use ice cream as a conduit to important issues sometimes. And you can use ice cream puns and fun and flavour. But sometimes that just is wildly inappropriate to talk about a serious issue. So it's about asking yourself,

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you know, the question you'd ask yourself, well, how do I want to tell this story to a friend?

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What would be appropriate? Is this a moment to have fun? Is this a moment to be silly?

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Or is this a moment that we've kind of got to hunker down and have a serious chat?

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And it's going through the motion, like you say, as a person, like you would with your friend, and then bringing that to life across your channels.

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I literally love that. You must have the best job, Kerry, like so much fun.

Speaker A

I do love it. It is a really fun job. Yeah, it is. It is fun. It is fun. The fun that you can have with a brand like Ben & Jerry's, but also everything the brand stands for, just, yeah,

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I absolutely love. It comes with pushback, though. I think anyone who works, you know, working for a B Corp or working for an activist brand, yeah, with progression comes pushback.

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And sometimes that means haters online. And sometimes that means, like, stressful days and tense conversations to try and get it to the right space. But yeah, I love it. And it's worth it.

Speaker A

Yeah, you're there. Well, Kerry, thank you so much for joining. I literally could talk to Kerry for the rest of today, but we're about to get kicked off our little mini stage because there's another talk going on main stage. So a huge thank you, Kerry, for joining me today.

Speaker A

And thank you for sharing so much. It is important, guys. What I really, really have taken from this conversation is we're always often thinking about the technologies and the things that we can do from a marketing perspective, but actually the culture and

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the values is the foundation of everything. Thank you. Hey, guys, me again. I hope you enjoyed the episode that you've just listened to.

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And if you did, I'm going to do the, you know, the annoying thing that all podcasters do, which is go and ask you to subscribe because it really does make a difference to our rankings.

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And please do go subscribe, leave a comment, give us a five star review if you did love it.

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If you want to get in touch, do check out the email address in the show notes.

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Most importantly, again, if you're on YouTube, please subscribe by clicking the button somewhere that is on this screen. And it'll mean you get notified when new episodes go live.

Topics:Ben & Jerry'sactivisminclusive leadershipmarketing strategybrand purposesocial justicewomen in leadershipcorporate cultureinnovationcreative marketing

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Ben & Jerry's incorporate activism into its business?

Ben & Jerry's has a unique structure with activists on its board who challenge power structures and drive systemic change. The company campaigns on social justice issues like refugee rights, criminal justice reform, and Black Lives Matter, aligning its marketing and spending with its values.

What role do women play in Ben & Jerry's leadership?

Women hold significant leadership roles at Ben & Jerry's, including the European Managing Director and a predominantly female European leadership team. This inclusive culture encourages diverse voices and empowers women to step forward and contribute meaningfully.

What is the significance of the 'flavor graveyard' at Ben & Jerry's?

The flavor graveyard symbolizes Ben & Jerry's acceptance of failure as part of innovation. It features tombstones for discontinued ice cream flavors, encouraging creativity by showing that not all ideas succeed but each attempt is valuable in finding great new products.

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