MEET THE SPEAKERS
WATCH THE WEBINAR
ABOUT tms
tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world’s leading brands. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices worldwide, we offer an impressive range of solutions – from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.
Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business, and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for clients including McDonald’s, adidas, T-Mobile, and O2.
Francesca Mahoney
Former Vice President of Sustainability,
Petco
Gina Engel
Sustainability Manager,
Live Nation
Seb Martin
Founder,
Bryter
Tania Wendt
SVP, Engagement & Strategy,
tms
Oliver Ellis
Sustainability Lead,
JDE Peet's
Our quant research revealed that while 71% of people say that they're willing to do their bit to make the world a better place, only 13% of them will follow through within a QSR environment. Why the disconnect? Well, consumers in these environments are typically in a ‘hot state’ – hungry, pleasure-seeking, task-focused, in a hurry – rather than a logical, rational mindset (i.e. the cold state). Their subconscious mind is driving decision making and steering them away from those loftier intentions. So, any actions that feel like a chore or a barrier to that gratification, such as cleaning up and recycling, are going to have low uptake.
1. SOLUTIONS BASED ON COLD STATE RESEARCH WILL LARGELY BE INEFFECTIVE.
Here are our key takeaways from the talk…
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM
19TH MARCH 2025 | 10:00 CST / 11:00 EST / 15:00 GMT
Consumers may passionately express support for sustainability, but they often fail to follow through when it comes to choosing products and services. As the gulf between eco-friendly beliefs and behaviors grows, it’s time for brands to start focusing on the customer experience.
Mandates and funding have been pouring into sustainability initiatives, but the results remain suboptimal. This is because the motivations and subconscious drivers affecting consumer choices are widely misunderstood.
19TH MARCH 2025 | 16:00 GMT / 10:00 CST
IS IT TIME TO BREAK THE RULES?
3. REMEMBER, WE'RE IN THE INNOVATION BUSINESS, NOT THE SUSTAINABILITY BUSINESS.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of consumers told us they really love innovative brands – those invested in product development and charting new territory, making them feel like they’re on the cutting edge can generate a sense of pride and excitement. By contrast, it drops significantly for sustainable solutions because they often feature retro-coded design. They tend to look raw, unfinished or sombre, conveying a sense of frugality and gravitas – emotions that aren’t exactly compatible with many retail channels. It’s time to inject more joyful, hedonistic and modern visual cues into sustainability to positively shift consumer behaviors.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
2. REPLACE THE SELFLESS CONSUMER WITH THE SELFISH CONSUMER
More than half (57%) of consumers we surveyed believed that sustainability shouldn't come at a cost to their personal experience. Take their morning coffee: the beans could come from regenerative farming methods and be served in a reusable cup, but ultimately, if it doesn't taste good and look good, that customer isn’t going to buy it again. The ‘halo’ of sustainability isn’t enough to convince the mass consumer to accept an inferior experience. Spotlighting the superior performance of your product and how it benefits your audience’s lifestyle is far more effective. Take Ford’s ‘the frunk’ campaign, showing EV owners popping their hoods and putting the added space (normally taken up by a combustion engine) to imaginative new uses, from a pop-up kitchen to a tattoo shop.
For mass adoption, sustainability can’t come at a cost to user experience; position these products as the superior choice, not a sacrifice.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
How would Silicon Valley design a sustainable product or service? Use modernity as a tool to positively influence perceptions.
WE HEARD FROM:
"SUSTAINABILITY HAS TO BE EFFORTLESS, EASY, AND POSSIBLY EVEN FUN FOR THE CONSUMER. THE MORE DIFFICULT WE MAKE IT FOR PEOPLE… YOU PROBABLY AREN'T GOING TO GET MUCH TRACTION."
Seb Martin, Founder, Bryter
"INNOVATION IS WHAT’S GOING TO DRIVE THIS, NOT SUSTAINABILITY."
Gina Engel, Sustainability Manager, Live Nation
Tania Wendt, SVP, Engagement & Strategy, tms
"MOVE AWAY FROM SUSTAINABILITY AS THIS HALO. STOP USING THAT AS THE REASON THAT PEOPLE SHOULD USE YOUR PRODUCT AND JUST DEVELOP PRODUCTS THAT ARE SUPERIOR. FULL STOP."
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To unravel these contradictions, we conducted extensive research with 2,000 U.S. consumers. The study unveiled a fresh perspective – an opportunity to break old rules and build new, human-centered strategies in which sustainability is the byproduct of a better end-user experience.
At our recent panel event, tms’ SVP of Engagement and Strategy, Tania Wendt, unpacked these research findings, while four leading industry experts shared their insights on bridging the intention-action gap. It’s essential listening for any brand striving to develop more impactful sustainable products, spaces, and campaigns.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
Stop asking consumers what they think (or think they want) about sustainability and instead analyse the behaviours they exhibit.
4. REVIEW EVERYTHING THROUGH THE SUBCONSCIOUS MINDSET
Sustainability essentially means renewal and regeneration, right? Why then is the recycling bin right next to the rubbish bin, and both involve throwing items into a black hole, never to be seen again? The semiotics unintentionally cue waste, anonymous disposal, and ultimately, the death of the product. The truth is that many brands’ sustainable systems are triggering the opposite reaction of what they are trying to achieve. Our study found 72% of consumers believe they're responsible for clearing and sorting their rubbish in QSRs, but only 29% of them actually do so.
Neuroscience tells us consumers will subconsciously rebel when feeling forced to do something, so the trick is for brands to make them want to take the sustainable action. Consider, for instance, how the simple gamification of traditional coin-spinning machines for charitable donations: kids flock to them for the fun factor; the philanthropy part is incidental. Small nudges can be far more effective than big-picture messaging to trigger short-term behavior change.
KEY TAKEAWAY:
The semiotics of recycling need a shakeup. Swap complex, messy systems and ‘black hole’ rubbish chutes for either effortless or playful, rewarding activations to spur engagement.
More than 70% of the consumers we surveyed believe that climate change is real. Yet 56% are unsure what to do about it, and 26% admit they don’t truly understand sustainability itself. This confusion breeds antipathy and overwhelm – making it hard for brand messaging to cut through. What’s more, greenwashing has resulted in scepticism about eco claims.
Likewise, a lot of sustainability comms come off as authoritarian, or preachy. To swerve this, smart brands are foregrounding alternative selling points – the great taste or enhanced user-experience – before communicating how sustainability plays a role in that. The iconic anti-littering campaign ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’, for example, plays on state pride rather than guilt. For a topic as overwhelming, mystifying, or in some cases divisive, as the environment, sometimes the best approach is simply not to shout about sustainability at all.
5. STOP TALKING ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY (!)
KEY TAKEAWAY:
Practise ‘sustainability by stealth’, foregrounding other benefits of the product to nudge positive changes.
LET’S CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.
If you are curious about what the "Human Rules of Sustainability" mean for your brand, get in touch and let’s dive into it.
"SUSTAINABILITY HAS GOT TO BE BUILT INTO WHAT WE DO, AND THAT MAY MEAN THAT IT'S NOT THE HEADLINE ON THE ADVERT."
Oliver Ellis, Sustainability Lead, JDE Peet's
Francesca Mahoney, Vice President Sustainability, (Ex)Petco