2013 winner: Fairtrade, Marketing for Sustainable Consumption - case study

Fair trade in the UK goes back more than 19 years. The movement sprang from concerned citizens looking for ways to create fairer trading links resulting in a better deal for those at the end of international supply chains. These pioneering consumers and businesses created a social movement which raised awareness of unfair trade and helped create a market for ethical products. In the first decade, the emergence of a single Fairtrade mark and the energy of the social movement combined to create a force of huge potential.

But by 2007, after fifteen years of campaigning, less than £500m of Fairtrade goods were sold in the UK. Five years later that figure stands at over £1.5bn, as Fairtrade has successfully mainstreamed, transforming opportunities for hundreds of thousands of farmers around the world.

Building a brand with purpose

In 2009 the Fairtrade Foundation recognised that the slow organic build of a movement was not enough to seriously address deeply ingrained poverty amongst developing world farmers. A Marketing function was created to reposition Fairtrade for the masses and create a compelling proposition for businesses to join and to scale up rapidly.

This application will present how excellence in marketing – in positioning, in promotion, in word of mouth and in commercial marketing – has helped achieve a step change in awareness, familiarity and the value of Fairtrade, whilst maintaining its position as the most trusted mark in an increasingly crowded environment of labels and issues. With excellence in marketing Fairtrade has built itself as a lighthouse brand with purpose, enabling many others to build purpose into their brands.

Judges' comments

To register your interest or to find out how to enter the next Awards for Excellence visit our Awards site.

Please login to download the full case study below: