Challenge the establishment. That’s what you should do if you’re young and don’t really have to care about being fired. (Actually that’s what you always should do!) That’s exactly what the students over at Berghs School of Communication have done this year once again.

Their contribution to an often shallow advertising world is driving sustainability. They’ve decided to make their entire final exhibition about sustainability, they’ve established a prize that award sustainable communication and they’ve also just launched their campaign site that promotes their final exhibition – A Sustainable Plan.

About a month ago I got the question if I could share my point of view on sustainability on their site. Their question really got me thinking but then last week I came back with my answer. Read it there or here:

Sustainability and brands – my point of view

A choice between choosing and not to choose

It’s not up to me to define what sustainability is all about. It’s up to each and one. You and me need to decide for ourselves. What are we prepared to do to save the world and maybe even more importantly – what are we not prepared to do. After all sustainability goes both ways. A choice between choosing and choosing not to choose. But it’s our choice.

The problem today is: What are we choosing?

The future ecosystem of consumption it built upon trust between brands and consumers. Responsible brands, they provide us people with guidance. Through their communication brands lead us into a sustainable future. The products and services they offer us are the tools we need to lead the life we choose while helping this planet to endure.

This ecosystem is a fragile one. After all, how can we as individuals really know if a pair of jeans are made out of ecological fabrics. How can we know that a chair produced in the third world hasn’t been put together by kids. What says your favorite brand aren’t lying when their telling us that they are giving back to society?

Let’s be honest, very few brands have even started their journey to become truly sustainable and it’s because most brands still run their business with one goal – make money. Behind that thick door that leads to the board room you’ll find a bunch of people that have been around for ages. Most successful brands today are very good at two things – making money while staying ahead of competition. In order to do that they’ve built up walls of secrecy. For these brands transparency is a bad thing. Yet transparency is exactly what we consumers need to be able to separate the green-washers from the true heroes. So, for now we’re left with trust. Trust what brands are telling us about their sustainable plans but not truly knowing the real ruth.

Governments all over the world are shaping new laws and regulations that will lead both brands and consumers towards a sustainable future. Until they’ve done with their work we as consumers write the laws that drive change. Our money is our pen and the lifestyle we lead is our paper. Award brands that are acting sustainable and transparent while punishing the greenwashers. It’s our only option.

So, let’s end this where we opened. It’s a choice between choosing and not to choose. And if your brand is not part of the sustainable ecosystem for real – I’ll choose not to choose.

I am sitting in Nacka, Sweden outside the office of one of my clients. My attention is drawn to a Tweet from Richard Gatarski, Weconverse, that points my eye towards a live Bambuser feed from the Berghs School of Communication.

Richard is right now streaming the opening lesson for the 2009 class of advertising at the Berghs School of Communication.

THIS IS A SHIFT in more ways than one.

1. Richard Gatarski is the king of digital communication and future trends. In other words the students meet someone from the world of internet in their first lesson – not any old advertising guru.
2. This is a school where students pay to learn. Yet I can follow their opening seminar online via bambuser. Openness!
3. Richard is opening up backchannels on Twitter and Bambuser. The students learn about open conversations.
4. Mobile internet. A couple of minutes ago a few students waved their arms in the class room as to see themselves that they were really live. Their getting the picture.
5. Schools will open up. Schools will change. Schools will adapt new technologies. I just hope this happens to a lot of them before my kids start.

Richard is heading Berghs into the future of communication. Rock on!
Berghs are learning from the best. Rock on!

This year when the students at Berghs School of Communication graduate they sum up their examination exhibition like this:

• No one reads ads.
• People read what is interesting.
• How do we become interesting?
• We create news instead of advertising.

Instead of having a regular examination exhibition they’ve launching a live news channel the 27th of May where all their projects will be highlighted. The news channel will be available online on the Berghs Live website. Apart from that you can visit the studio at the Berghs school. Finally they’ve managed to get the channel live on Stureplan, Stockholms most central public square. Of course they’ve created a Twitter # for the event as well.

Larger than life. Make it larger than life. That’s what I was told when I was working with a Nike campaign back in 1999. Today, make it larger than life but make it true!

What the student have actually been working with for their final examination is yet to be seen. But the wrap up of it all in the context of Berghs live shows they’ve got what future communication is all about:

• Make things interesting.
• Make it bigger than it actually is.
• Use multiple channels.
• You can’t buy distribution, you have to create it.
• Viral marketing is achieved when context beats the hell out of surface.

Good Luck ›› Class of 2009!
ps. If you wanna check it out

Broadcasting live at berghslive.com:
Thursday 28/5 19.00 – 20.30
Friday 29/5 15.00 – 18.00
Saturday 30/5 13.00 – 15.00
Sunday 31/5 13.00 – 15.00

Opening hours for the offline version at the School:
Thursday 28/5 17.00 – 22.00 (Vernissage for invited)
Friday 29/5 11.00 – 19.00
Saturday 30/5 11.00 – 19.00
Sunday 31/5 11.00 – 16.00