Virgin, Ben & Jerry's, O2, BP, Starbucks to Discuss How They Brand Their Values

September 28, 2005

London — Virgin, Ben & Jerry’s, O2, BP, Starbucks, the Fairtrade Foundation, Greenpeace & The Co-operative Bank will be discussing ethical branding at Ethical Corporation’s conference in London on November 22-23, 2005, which will focus on CSR communications and brand values.

Pret a Manger recently agreed to sell a third of its business to McDonald’s ; Pepsi swallowed P&J Smoothies a couple of months ago; Cadbury Schweppes bought Green & Black’s organic chocolate last May; Go Organic and Ben & Jerry’s are now owned by Unilever – and the list goes on.

However, there has been no sign of golden arches at Pret a Manger, no hint of Cadbury’s purple intruding on the Green & Black’s chocolate brown and Ben & Jerry’s hasn’t lost its quirky company culture or playful approach.

How did Ben & Jerry’s retain its values and identity? Can ethical branding be scaled to big companies and their brands? These are some of the questions Helen Jones, UK general manager of Ben & Jerry’s, will be exploring at Ethical Corporation’s conference, “How to Communicate Your Corporate Values to Consumers,” on 22-23 November in London.

Helen Jones will address how a small ethical business such as Ben & Jerry’s can prosper within a large corporate organisation and positively influence behaviours along the way. She will highlight how important it is to remain true to your values and behave accordingly but also how this new development and access to expertise can enable the smaller business have a greater impact.

Craig Sams, founder and president of Green & Black’s, will discuss how the brand has turned its values into a competitive advantage and what are the challenges it currently faces to “keep it real.”

Some of the expert Conference speakers on November 22-23 will include:

Ben & Jerry’s

Green & Black’s

Philips

Virgin

BP

Starbucks

The Co-operative Bank

BT

Interface

Triodos Bank

The Fairtrade Foundation

Greenpeace

Marine Stewardship Council

The Soil Association

PR Week

Ethical Consumer