The benefit of having a value-based business: The Ben & Jerry’s case study with Sean Greenwood
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Did you know that 82% of consumers will shop from brands whose values align with their own? Now more than ever, people are looking to brands to do good—a brand that does this very well is Ben and Jerry’s.
In this episode, Sean Greenwood, Director of Public Relations and Communications at Ben and Jerry’s is joining us to discuss some of his favorite brand campaigns. Sean highlights the unique approach he and his team take with PR and communications at Ben and Jerry’s. Listen in as he shares how you can be better about infusing your values into your business.
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The PR and communication strategies that have contributed to Ben and Jerry’s success
The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s led the company with strong missions. For Jerry, it was that business should be fun. For Ben, it was that businesses have a responsibility to give back to their communities.
These two missions have informed much of the company’s PR and communications strategies since 1978. In every product launch and marketing campaign, the Ben & Jerry’s brand has infused fun and purpose.
The clear vision that Ben and Jerry had for their business in 1978 has trickled down to all of their employees over the years, from the CFO to the marketing director. It’s easier to communicate the values of a company when everyone is on board, which is why leaders need to get clear about their vision and inspire their team to see the vision too.
The team at Ben & Jerry’s does not only measure success by their bottom line. Instead, they weigh three factors:
- Revenue
- Impact on marginalized communities
- Production of great products
Another key to the company’s success is that the founders understood that their values would not align with everyone. From the time they were a small business until now, they have focused on connecting with their target audience who resonates with the brand. This strategy has paid off for Ben & Jerry’s—82% of shoppers want a consumer brand’s values to align with their own according to The Harris Poll.
Taking a stance on values & political issues
Many business owners fear that if they speak up about a cause they care about or take a stand on a controversial issue, they will lose business. However, Ben & Jerry’s has only ever seen their profits go up when the company is outspoken on an issue.
Ben says, “The strongest connection you can have with your fans is through shared values.” The company takes that approach when it speaks out. Instead of focusing on being potentially polarizing to some potential customers, they focus on the shared values they build with their ideal customers.
It also helps that Ben & Jerry’s offers a great product that everyone loves: ice cream. The ice creams serve as an ‘on-ramp’ to be able to talk to customers about important issues. Even when people don’t agree with the company or like the political statement it makes, the ice cream invites them into a conversation instead of creating a divide.
Inspiring your team to promote the company’s values
Ben & Jerry’s makes sure that every employee understands the company’s values by making it a crucial part of the onboarding process. The company also conducts an annual review, and the yearly bonus is tied to how much an employee helped push the company’s mission forward.
Netflix and Chill: Successful marketing campaigns and partnerships
Ben & Jerry’s Netflix and Chill marketing campaign was an amazing partnership between two huge brands that capitalized on a current pop culture moment—ultimately inspiring the flavor of Netflix and Chill’d. This is just one example of the creative partnerships that Ben & Jerry’s has created, and every time the company revolves the marketing campaign on a hot moment or topic in pop culture.
Part of the reasoning behind this strategy is the fact that Ben & Jerry’s is not trying to be “your father’s ice cream brand.” The company understands its brand, mission, and target audience so well that it can create explosive campaigns with the right partners.
Ben & Jerry’s chooses their partners carefully. They want to partner with other brands that both share the company’s values and challenge the company to be better. Another example of a partnership like this is when the company partnered with filmmaker Ava DuVernay on the ice cream flavor, Lights! Caramel! Action!, which benefited DuVernay’s non-profit Array Alliance.
Ben & Jerry’s supports racial justice causes, but the company doesn’t know how to solve the problem of racial tension. DuVernay is a fierce advocate for people of color in the film industry, so the partnership served as an educational opportunity for Ben & Jerry’s. The partnership also used the Ben & Jerry’s platform to shine a light on an important issue.
How Ben & Jerry’s continues to live out its values amidst huge growth
Ben & Jerry’s has worked hard to maintain and live out its values even as the company has seen huge growth. The bigger a company gets, the more difficult it can actually be to stay aligned with its values.
Part of Ben & Jerry’s success in this area is in the company’s ability to admit that it isn’t perfect and still has a long way to go. While one cause that the company is passionate about and puts a ton of effort into supporting is racial justice, they admit that their workforce is still not as diverse as it should be.
An openness to continue learning and admitting when they don’t get it right is what makes Ben & Jerry’s such a trusted and transparent company.
The biggest differentiator between businesses that succeed and the ones that fail
Sean believes that the difference between Ben & Jerry’s success and other ice cream brands is the way that they include their values and mission into everything they do, from how they source ingredients to how they communicate with their fans.
Important sections of the conversation:
- [3:31] The PR strategies that have contributed to Ben & Jerry’s success
- [9:18] How Ben & Jerry’s measures its marketing impact
- [10:10] Taking a stance on political issues
- [19:27] The success of the Netflix and Chill campaign
- [27:05] Maintaining values through huge company growth
- [31:03] The biggest differentiator between businesses that succeed and the ones that fail
Resources Mentioned
Connect with the guest
- Website: benjerry.com
- Twitter/X: twitter.com/prpoobah
Episode Transcript
Haylee Gaffin is a podcast producer, strategist, and owner at Gaffin Creative, where she helps podcast hosts plan their podcast launch and create strategic content that serves their brand and audience. As the founder of Mic Check Society, a community for podcasters, and host of Clocking In Podcast, a podcast for professionals making their way in the working world, Haylee is on a mission to help hopeful podcast hosts grow their brand.
