Why you need to be focusing on corpsumer communications in 2023

The PR industry is renowned for creating toe-curling portmanteaus and one that you will increasingly hear in 2023 is ‘corpsumer communications’.

The ‘corpsumer’ was a phrase created by MWWPR in 2017 to categorise the increasing number of socially conscious consumers who were prepared to base their purchasing decisions on a company’s values and corporate actions, alongside their products and services. Since then, the question of the value, potential, risk and best way to communicate with the corpsumer has been a persistent challenge for brands.

The size of the opportunity in getting this right and risks of getting it wrong are fairly clear if you look at The Kantar ‘Who Cares? Who Does? report, which suggests that ‘Eco Active’ consumers are expected to represent 62% of British households by 2030, up from 29% in 2021.

This mounting consumer pressure and the sizeable opportunity it represents, combined with the signing of the Paris Accord in 2015 and the requirement to reduce carbon output in order for the UK to hit its net zero target by 2050, saw many businesses prioritise their ESG efforts and communications prior to the pandemic.

However, interrupted by COVID, the war in Ukraine and wider issues with global prices and supply chains, many companies’ ESG efforts to embed sustainability and responsible practices were forced to slow down or take a back seat.

Now, and even with many of those pressures still in play, the need for companies to finally nail their corpsumer story is returning and will be a big factor in comms for the foreseeable future. There are several forces driving this:

1. It’s not going away. The journey that many companies started remains the same, they’ve just lost the best part of three years in finalising and implementing policies and, in many cases, have had to be more realistic about their targets and timeframes for achieving them.
2. It’s not only about grasping the opportunity but also managing risk. As ubiquitous as sustainability seems to be in comms these days, so is the issue of greenwashing. Many companies know that they are one wrong question away from having their ESG credentials raked over in the public eye, and the potential reputational damage this could cause.
3. Corpsumers aren’t only those buying products but increasingly are also employees. Even before the pandemic, it was becoming clear that employees were looking for more from prospective employers than a paycheck and a ping pong table. Post 2022, the desire for a grown up conversation about flexibility, work life balance, mental health and what makes a career, means that the ‘G’ in ESG is important than ever. It now sits equally alongside a business’s commitments to the ‘E’ and ‘S’ in attracting and retaining the best employees.

So, you need to be taking corpsumer communications seriously, as the days when you could separate your corporate story from your consumer story are long gone. And, most significantly, the ability for one to directly influence the other across customers, employees, markets and investors could have a lasting impact on your business. It’s now in your hands whether that’s for the positive or not.