The concept of “What if?” builds on a new brand platform developed by BillerudKorsnäs in cooperation with the brand agency, Grow, and will be used in company marketing, recruitment, brochures, web pages, banners, social channels, exhibitions, trade fairs, and offices around the world.
BillerudKorsnäs’ mission, to challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future, is based on the fact that innovative and sustainable packaging solutions have an important role to play in delivering solutions to some of the global challenges that we all face today. Through the communication concept,“What If?”, classic product positioning is replaced with open questions that invite reflection and dialogue.
We asked Johan Dyredahl to share a little more about the thought behind the concept.
Can you tell a little bit more about the process of making this from a personal point of view?
I started at BillerudKorsnäs four years ago, and I was immediately attracted to the company mission statement, “We challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future”. To me, it captured the purpose of the company. But even though we had a clear purpose, we still communicated too “inside out”, too “product centric”. I think we always saw the link between paper and packaging solutions and the contribution it could make to a more sustainable future, but we were not good enough at conveying it. All the pieces were there, so when it was suggested to truly start thinking, acting, and communicating according to our mission, to start with answering why, it all fell into place quite naturally. One way of putting it is to say that we became more “planet centric,” meaning that we do not only ask ourselves how our products, and the things we do, can generate value to us or our customers, but how they can contribute to a more sustainable future.
Then we realized that, while our mission clearly states our commitment, it is not very inviting. We are also humble enough to realize that the contribution we can make to a more sustainable future on our own is very limited. We need to work with others to develop new and better solutions, and we need to work with customers that believe in the same thing we do etc. We felt that we needed a communication concept to strengthen our brand while also inviting dialogue and attracting the right customers and partners. While making our brand film, our agency suggested “what if” as the core tone of the film, and we realized that we had the embryo for a strong yet flexible concept that really caught our approach.
In short – first we made our mission our guiding light (and not just a nice slogan), then we started builing our brand communication around it. Finally, we realised that we needed to combine our mission statement with a more inviting concept and we found “what if”.
In general, what inspired you?
The fact that something as mundane as paper and packaging actually could make a real difference contributing to the solution to some of the most pressing environmental challenges that we face today.
To contribute to a sustainable future, it’s not enough for BillerudKorsnäs to be customer-centered. We must cooperate and build our business in a planet-centered way and understand the long-term consequences of our and our customers’ operations. With “What if?”, we aim at everyone who wants to make a difference. Achieving change essentially requires dialogue and cooperation arising from the questioning of common methods, principles, and realities. We believe that fibre-based packaging materials and solutions can contribute to a sustainable future. But we don’t have all the answers. Therefore, it is important to ask the right questions. This is our way of interacting with our customers and making them part of our pursuit,” says Johan Dyrendahl, Director of Communications at BillerudKorsnäs.
