Influencers have greatest impact on consumer sustainability selections, Unilever finds

• Influencers have the only largest impact on consumers’ sustainability selections, ahead of TV documentaries, news articles and government campaigns, in line with a study shared with Marketing Dive conducted by Unilever with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).
• Three-quarters of consumers surveyed said that social media content made them more more likely to adopt sustainable behaviors, with 83% of consumers, and 86% of those 18-34, saying that TikTok and Instagram are helpful places to hunt down advice on learn how to be greener at home.
• The study, commissioned by Unilever brands Dove and Hellman’s alongside experts from across the business, demonstrates how brands can utilize social media and influencers to create content in keeping with larger sustainability efforts.

The results of the study conducted by Unilever and UK-based organization the Behavioural Insights Team — unofficially generally known as the “nudge unit” for the way it attempts to influence motion — demonstrates a number of the strategies and tactics that brands use as a part of sustainability efforts that seek to encourage consumers to vary their behaviors, like using less plastic and wasting less food.

“People are finding it hard to make sustainable selections as a consequence of a scarcity of easy, immediate and trustworthy information,” said Conny Braams, Unilever’s chief digital and industrial officer, in an announcement. “Our ambition is to proceed to collaborate with our partners to enhance the sustainability content produced by our brands and support the creators we work with.”

Influencers were rated as impactful by 78% of consumers, ahead of TV documentaries (48%), news articles (37%) and government campaigns (20%), reinforcing the facility of influencers at a time when consumer distrust of media and government institutions is increasing. The high marks for Instagram and TikTok as places consumers turn for information underscores the continued importance of the social media platforms. 

The study measured the impact on 6,000 participants within the UK, US and Canada that were shown various pieces and sorts of content on a simulated social platform crafted by the BIT. The content was either pragmatic, with a spotlight on the dimensions of environmental problems and a heavy use of information and statistics, or optimistic, with an emphasis on practical demonstrations of learn how to live sustainably, often with a humorous tone. Both kinds of content encouraged consumers to try to vary their behaviors, with pragmatic (69%) barely outperforming optimistic (61%).

The study focused on sustainability efforts from two Unilever brands, with 76% of consumers encouraged to act after watching Dove’s plastic reuse content and 82% encouraged after watching Hellmann’s content on food waste reduction — the main target of the latter brand’s recent Super Bowl ads. Consumers largely support influencers’ focus on sustainability, with eight in 10 supporting creators encouraging their audience to act sustainably and 7 in 10 supporting influencers selling services or products focused on sustainability.