Emily Viola: The Truthful Brand Imagines Better (and Proves It)

In episode 24, we imagine the new story of humanity, progress, and cultural leadership with Emily Viola, a Cultural Strategist and Head of Planning (North America) at Futerra, a B-corp certified change agency that joins the magic of creativity and the logic of strategy to make sustainability so desirable, it becomes the new normal. She combines over 20 years of consumer insights and brand planning with the study of market dynamics and future technologies, specializing in Gen Z, Millenial and Multicultural audiences. 

While sustainability is here to stay, the scope of how we think about this word has expanded massively, thanks to the rising fluency of Gen Z and Millenials. What began as silo-ed discourse around environmental stewardship, risk mitigation and reporting about pollution and bad practices has transformed into a mindset and collection of practices to consider the longevity of our species -- from the air we breathe to the water we drink, all the way to how businesses benefit all stakeholders and address social and environmental justice. Thus, the scope of sustainability must evolve to imagine a better future, in order to change the world.

All that to say, traditional cause marketing campaigns, greenwashing and glossy mission statements can only take brands so far. Through original research, Emily and the Futerra team affirmed the inevitable -- that today’s Gen Z and Millennial populations have a higher aptitude and fluency for sustainability (“only 41% of consumers felt products were providing the right amount of info on sustainability, while 86% of corporate experts thought consumers were satisfied”). They expect brands to be truthful over perfect and demand greater sustainable proof at the product level. How will brands today avoid becoming future dinosaurs and lead the movement from the inside out?

In this incredibly imaginative and culturally rich conversation, we explore:

• Why it’s critical to integrate logic and magic to create a new story for humanity

• Why “honesty” is the new “transparency” and what Gen Z and Millenials expects from truthful brands today 

• How to think about building a sustainability strategy for brands that want to do better

• How to become a cultural leader in 2021 (think: intentional energy) 

• The importance of dialectical thinking to reimagine the nature of progress

• The power of “perspicacity” and moving from “ism” to “ish” to catalyze innovation

More about the show: https://www.digseedgrow.com/thealtnormal-podcast

Produced by Resonance™, the creative practice of Dig | Seed | Grow

This show is hosted at Destination Outpost, a coliving and coworking community based out in Bali.