[6] Sustainability advertising contributes to all three pillars of triple bottom line: economic development, environmental protection and social responsibility.
[14] First, the idea of ecological marketing was developed and mainly centered in the "depletion of energy and non-energy natural resources and the pollution created as by-product of production and consumption.
It has encountered critics, and limitations, but also challenges that are guiding the companies, governments and organizations to the implementation of more holistic and sustainable practices in the process of providing products and services worldwide.
However, mainstream media have constrains in promoting sustainability issues due to limitations to the application of persuasive, motivational or educative communication.
High imagery ads that elicit visual images in the minds of listeners show positive effects on attitude toward the brand and purchase intention.
[23] The right choice of words for the campaign and the possibility to activate imagination of the consumer and raise the desire for the product or service is the challenge for radio advertising.
Therefore, print advertising generally includes a higher resource use in terms of paper, compared to digital radio and television campaigns.
Responsible consumers are sensitive for corporate behavior and are careful in trusting companies which laud their social or environmental commitment even if it is independently monitored.
[28] They consume efficiently, see economic growth decoupled from environmental degradation and focus on 'common but differentiated responsibility' to improve the quality of life.
Advertising is capable of reaching a large or dispersed market repeatedly with persuasive and informative messages[5] and is considered to be one of the most powerful sources of symbolic meaning in modern society.
On the basis of the primary impression the consumer than takes the decision whether the product and the company behind deserve further evaluation as a potential purchase choice.
Originally advertising was one of the factors that created consumption culture, thus playing an important role in shaping consumer preferences and the social and environmental impact they produce.
By promoting sustainable initiatives, companies showcase their authentic values in alignment with the growing consumer demand for socially responsible products and services.
[38] Nevertheless, it serves as a link to more substantial sources of information (e.g. a company's web page) where consumer can find more data on environmental and social aspects of the product.
[42] However, communicating meaningful about the complex interplay of social, environmental, economic, technical and consumer benefits of a product from a sustainability perspective using a 30-second radio or television slot or a single printed page can be a serious challenge.
It results from the corporations' effort to gain more credibility and trust by providing search qualities in form of text and fact oriented advertising.
[46] It allows firms to manipulate an image of environmental, social, and cultural responsiveness[47] by communicating false or misleading sustainability claims.
This general inconsistency between a company's messages and it actions could finally explain the value-action gap between consumers strongly expressed concerns about socio-ecological issues and their nevertheless relatively low purchase of sustainable goods and services.
[48] Therefore, the most important future challenge concerning firms as well as advertising agencies is certainly a better understanding of the benefits of corporate socio-ecological responsibility in communications.