Fleur Osté is responsible for the Ben & Jerry's brand and business in the Benelux. Heading up a team of marketing and creative professionals, she works to raise awareness of both the company and the causes close to its heart.
When school friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first scoop shop in 1978, they had two core goals: to give back to their community and to have fun whilst they did it.
Fast-forward over 40 years and those core values are still the sprinkles on top of everything we do. It's not just about churning out delicious ice cream (although let's be honest, that's pretty important); Ben & Jerry’s are committed to using our business as a force for good. From fair trade sourcing to advocating for issues we care deeply about, including LGBTQ+ rights and climate justice.
Ben & Jerry’s are committed to using our business as a force for good.
Brands today face mounting pressure to stand up for social issues. But nobody likes fake activism. Consumers can smell “purpose-washing” a mile away, and empty messages just leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. That's why we don't approach social impact as a marketing gimmick or a corporate social responsibility (CSR) box to tick.
We believe in authentic action; one that aligns to a brand’s ethos. And social justice has been a part of Ben & Jerry’s for nearly 50 years now.
Taking a stand with a spoonful of humour
Instead of throwing money at problems, we start by listening. We have activism managers in every market we operate in. These are folks with tons of experience in campaigning and their purpose is to build relationships with grassroots organisations working on issues aligned to our ethics. They ask the question: "How can Ben & Jerry's be of service to you?"
This approach has been the starting point for all of our campaigns, including the "Half Baked Policy" in the Netherlands.
We were working with refugee rights organisations and they told us about a government policy that made it incredibly difficult for asylum seekers to find work. So, we decided to fight fire with… well, not exactly fire, but definitely some catchy slogans and delicious ice cream.
Approaching this like any other Ben & Jerry's marketing effort, we created a multi-channel campaign centred around an open letter and petition on the topic of limiting asylum rights. We called it "Half Baked Ice Cream for Half Baked Policy".
We gave away pints of Half Baked ice cream flavour and we only half filled these pints to help drive attention.
YouTube, with its vast reach and space to load complex messages, played a crucial role in getting our message across and starting the conversation around refugee rights and employment. Showcasing a protest party video featuring our Dutch staff, these online initiatives were designed to drive petition signatures and spark debate. By engaging our target audience, we hoped to inspire meaningful action being taken by viewers
While the goal was to gather enough signatures to prompt parliamentary discussion, the bigger objective was to build public pressure for positive change.
Beyond ice cream: Inspiring new voices
When it comes to social justice campaigns, sales are not our measure of success. Instead, we judge it on a campaign-by-campaign basis. For example, if we’re giving away ice cream in return for voter pencils in our most recent campaign for the EU Elections, we will look at whether voter turnout has increased.
For this particular campaign, over 11,000 signatures were collected on the petition. Six months after launch, it was discussed in the Court of Justice and they overruled this particular piece of regulation so it is not valid anymore. The "Half Baked Policy" campaign wasn't just a win for refugee rights in the Netherlands, it was a testament to the power of collective action.
Pursuing brand-aligned activism is not about driving sales, but about wielding a business' societal influence for good.
Together with Ikea and Microsoft, we went on to co-fund a refugee rights research initiative.
It can be daunting, but by working with grassroots groups and experts in the subjects, partnering with impacted communities you can take the first steps on an authentic path to impact.
It’s key that your company values are very clear. Pursuing brand-aligned activism is not about driving sales, but about wielding a business' societal influence for good.
We believe it's really important to use our voice to create the world we want to see. And, of course, have some fun along the way.
