461 - Sustainable Branding
Core/Elective: Elective
Credits: 1.0
Quarter Taught: Winter
Synopsis:
This course covers many fundamental topics in branding, with a deep emphasis on the reasons and value for brands to use sustainability as their north star. Beginning with an exploration of branding, the course progresses to building an understanding of key themes such as sustainable brand strategy, design, and value. The course material is rooted in examining brands through the lens of seven key attributes that all sustainable brands possess to varying degrees. Sustainable brands all have a minimum, strong performance baseline in credibility, a long-term perspective, authenticity, stakeholder-centricity, self-benchmarking, imperfection, and transparency.
All topics covered apply a unique sustainability-centered focus, with careful differentiation between B2C and B2B brands. This course employs case studies, lectures, guest lecturers, outside perspectives from real practitioners, and relevant articles and videos from current sources.
Course Objectives:
- Understanding Branding: Students will understand the process of creating a consistent, applicable brand messaging strategy as well as the particularities of sustainable brands.
- Understanding Brand Architecture: Students will understand brand portfolios under a single firm and will understand how their treatment differs from a single brand.
- Exploring Negative Externalities: Students will explore how externalities are a natural part of business operations and how brands that are sustainable work to minimize the extent to which society bears the cost of negative externalities.
- Understanding Generational Power: Students will understand how generational divides and power shifts are composed, what these trends mean for companies and brands and how to translate these insights into brand action and activity.
- Understanding B Corps: Students will understand the structure of and certification process for B Corps status and the role the B Corp movement in sustainable branding.