1.
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Modern Brand Transparency

2.
Transparency.
Transparency is a frequently discussed, and often overused, term in the business
world.

3.
The majority of brand transparency efforts focus on
communication.

4.
After researching a large sample of companies who value transparency, we
discovered there are three levels - each with a different degree of difficulty
and adoption.
This is only one way in.

5.
INTERNAL
CULTURE
BRAND
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL
ACTIONS
Manufacturing Processes
Key People
Practices (e.g. Sustainability)
Future Initiatives
Etc.
Adoption: High
Difficulty: Easy
Level I:
Expose
Actions
BUSINESS/GREATER
COMMUNITY
CONSUMER
COMMUNITY

6.
Crowdsourced Ideas
APIs / Patents
Business Collaborations
Spark Discussions/Debates
Adoption: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Level II:
Invite
Actions
INTERNAL
CULTURE
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL
ACTIONS
BRAND
BUSINESS/GREATER
COMMUNITY
CONSUMER
COMMUNITY

7.
INTERNAL
CULTURETransparency is a cultural
imperative of the company
and all actions are taken with
openness in mind.
Adoption: Low
Difficulty: Hard
Level III:
Empower
Actions
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL
ACTIONS
BRAND
BUSINESS/GREATER
COMMUNITY
CONSUMER
COMMUNITY

8.
Examples of this model in
action.

9.
Manufacturing Processes
Key People
Practices (e.g. Sustainability)
Future Initiatives
Etc.
Adoption: High
Difficulty: Easy
Level I:
Expose
Actions

10.
The footprint chronicles launched a host of copy cats
and a new view of how transparent a company can be.
Patagonia is famous
for exposing their
supply chain.

11.
Fashion supply chains are a deeply guarded secret until
an ex-Hugo Boss art director (Bruno Pieters) decided to
turn the tables and expose everything.
He says it was the failure of heritage brands – Chanel,
Versace and other "bling" labels you often see faked on
eBay – to live up to their reputation that led to his
interest in ethical fashion.
http://www.honestby.com
Honest by has taken
exposing their actions
to the ultimate level.

12.
Due to people’s heightened desires to understand what
they’re eating, food has become a lightening rod for
transparency.
Food brands are one of
the largest categories
exposing their actions.

13.
Crowdsourced Ideas
APIs / Patents
Business Collaborations
Spark Discussions/Debates
Adoption: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Level II:
Invite
Actions

14.
Tesla made news when they released their patents to the
world.
Elon Musk is famous for making statements that explain
why this is a required action, “[Tesla can’t] build electric
cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis” and “the
world would benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving
technology platform.”
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/06/tesla-
bmw-collaborate-promoting-electric-cars.html
Tesla knows
collaboration will
benefit everyone.

15.
For many years their practices were under intense
scrutiny until they decided to be proactive in their
approach and change the conversation.
Current actions include:
• Robust interactive sustainability report
• An open source sustainability app
• A collaboration with NASA to to crowdsource the
future of fabrics.
http://www.nikeresponsibility.com
http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/Pages/CalculatorPage.aspx
Nike continues to truly
make strides.

16.
GE started the Open Innovation initiative and Toyota
started The Collaborative Safety Research Center to
connect their business problems to a greater pool of
talent.
http://www.ge.com/about-us/openinnovation
http://www.toyota.com/csrc/
GE and Toyota open up
their innovation to solve
business problems.

17.
Transparency is a cultural
imperative of the company
and all actions are taken with
openness in mind.
Adoption: Low
Difficulty: Hard
Level III:
Empower
Actions

18.
At 600 people strong, actions like - all company emails
for meetings involving more than two people, giving
everyone a stake in the company, and weekly ‘ask me
anything’ sessions with leadership - make a big impact.
This transparency extends into their business practices
where they have a flat pricing structure and access to
data. "We want a small business to have as much
knowledge about their company as possible," - Jack
Dorsey CEO
http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/square-office-culture/
Square has created a
truly transparent
culture.

19.
By uniting employees to a clear set of values they have
empowered them to truly make connections with people
in a way that’s hard to replicate.
Ways in which they continue to be transparent culturally:
• Live Stream Company meetings
• Offer free tours
• Publicize employee memos on their blog
http://www.terrigriffith.com/blog/2010/08/25/more-transparency-zappos-tells-all
Zappos is famous for
building trust through
transparency.

20.
• Which of your brand’s actions are the easiest to make transparent? Which are the hardest?
• Which of your business problems could benefit from working with partners to help solve them?
• Are there any issues that your brand could benefit from raising awareness about? (E.g. Tesla - Energy/
sustainability)
• Are transparency levels 2 (invite) and 3 (empower) a possibility for your brand? If not, how could you get there?
Making this approach actionable:

21.
Thank You