Think selling a skeptical public on the green virtues of the chemicals industry is a tough row to hoe? Julie Fasone-Holder, chief of marketing at Dow Chemical and head of the company’s Human Element campaign, begs to differ. The trick, she says, is to make an emotional connection before laying on your sustainability message. (To listen to our conversation with Julie, click here.)

SLM: What is the Human Element campaign?

Julie: One of the things we've learned is that the more people know about us, the better they like us because they understand the work that we do. Our fundamental value proposition as we articulate it in the Human Element campaign is combining chemistry with humanity to solve world problems. The chemical industry is uniquely positioned to do that because our products are in just about everything people use.

The missing element on the periodic table is the human element. It's our job to bring that to the forefront for individuals as they think about our company in their community and the work that we do. It's really our intention to inspire people with the possibilities.

SLM: In designing the Human Element campaign, were you conscious of having to overcome some negative stereotypes surrounding the chemicals industry and, if so, how did you deal with that?

Julie: As a matter of fact we found that in general, people today have fewer negative associations with our industry and our company than they may have had in the past. Some of us who have grown up in the '70s and '80s are still wearing some of the negative images on our backs - and yet younger consumers and those who live in developing markets don't really have that same perspective. They come at it in a much more open way, saying "Tell me more about your company because I don't know all that much about it." Being inspirational and aspirational in talking about what we can do and how we can help improve the world with chemistry solutions really plays well with most people we've talked to.

SLM: Dow makes the chemicals that go into end-user products, but most shoppers have no idea where these ingredients come from. How does the Human Element campaign, which speaks to end-users, drive Dow’s traditional business goals?

Julie: Your value as a company is much more than the value of your cash stream. While people may think of brand value in strictly financial terms, there are many intangibles that influence people to buy your product. We look at company reputation as an essential component of brand value. That's why it's important to focus on it, invest in it, and work to enhance it. We see the Human Element campaign as directly linked to our company's financial performance. In an industry like ours it's easy to destroy a reputation if you're not backing up your message with authentic action. The unique thing about our campaign is that it's fully integrated throughout our business processes - sustainability strategy, philanthropic efforts, investor relations, community engagement. All of the pieces that influence our reputation are linked.

SLM: The Human Element website makes great use of multimedia, emphasizing pictures, video, and audio over text-heavy explanations. What was the rationale behind telling Dow's sustainability story in pictures and spoken words?

Julie: We've found that our ads are more effective when they make the emotional connection with people. Once you get them to stop and listen, you can then follow up with more traditional forms of communication that may offer more depth. The first interaction that we want to have with people is to connect via music or visual imagery or audio. It's a layered approach, getting them to stop and listen and then bringing them the details of what we bring to the world and who we are as a company. In this world of cluttered information, if you don't get them to stop and listen first, you won't have a chance to tell them the rest of the story.

SLM: Any advice for companies that are trying to communicate their sustainability efforts in an informative yet highly engaging way?

Julie: At Dow, we wanted to build our reputation around the very important platforms of sustainability and our 2015 sustainability goals. What has made Dow's Human Element campaign so robust is its full integration into everything we do. We're now beginning to layer in our business stories, showing specifically how chemistry is solving human problems and also making Dow a more sustainable company, not only in terms of financial performance but also by the products that serves to improve humanity. Any successful sustainability-communications effort has to start with an authentic, sincere core business strategy.

Dow has a very unique corporate culture. In an industry that's all about science and technology our company has always valued the individual - the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. That's a message that resonates not just with consumers but also with our own employees. People want to be a part of a company that's solving human problems.

Hear Julie speak live at Sustainable Brands ’08!