The Marketing Meetup & Finisterre: Driving growth through sustainability and creativity
National Maritime Museum | Image Source
It was a pleasure to attend The Marketing Meetup’s first-ever event in Cornwall last night, hosted by Peaky Digital at the National Maritime Museum. There was pizza, there was beer, there was networking, and there was Bronwen Foster-Butler (CMO at Finisterre) who won our hearts with her talk on how sustainability and creativity can drive the bottom line.
Finisterre has been pioneering sustainability for two decades. Its founder, Tom Kay, recognised a need for British surfers to have functional and sustainable products that didn’t cost the earth. He found that the surf industry was full of hypocrisy, claiming to love the ocean but perpetuating the cycle of petroleum-based wetsuits lining our landfills and promoting bikinis and board shorts not fit for our wild and windy coastlines.
“People want brands to stand for things and challenge their thinking”
Bronwen illustrated how, whatever economic or circumstantial storm has been thrown their way, Finisterre has always remained committed to product, environment and people. There have been moments where decisions may not make financial sense, such as investing in plant-based eco wetsuits or offering a 'lived & loved' repair service, but this integrity has paid off establishing trust and loyalty among customers over time.
As marketing professionals, we were left with three takeaways to fuel the growth of purpose-driven brands: How consumer-focused is our measure of success? Are we scaling through a niche audience, realising not all messages resonate universally? And, crucially, is our growth starting from within, fostering an engaged and dedicated team?
On her final point, Bronwen challenged us to ask if the people in our companies are together: “are they engaged, showing up every day as beautifully flawed humans on a development journey?” Yes, it is important to track and measure data correctly in order for businesses to scale and grow. But it is also important that people and the planet are at the heart of our growth strategies.
