Amy Williams, CEO of Good-Loop, is on a Mission to Make Online Ads More Positive…
Not all visionaries are people of action. Amy Williams is both.
She recognized the need to redesign online advertising, making annoying internet ads a force for good. In 2016, she co-founded Good-Loop as a simple and profitable way for brands to do good through advertising.
So far, her Good Formats have raised over $10 million for good causes globally. In doing so, Good-Loop also proves that brand stories can become more memorable and impactful when they support partner charities or nonprofits doing related work.
Amy Williams discusses how she accomplished this ambitious goal and talks about the trends she’s noticing in issues of purpose and cause marketing.
Amy Williams often admits that soap was her inspiration. Not any soap, but the pioneering impetus behind Dove’s Real Beauty initiative that elevated a simple soap brand to a purposeful means for building self-confidence and changing culture. She recognized how connecting with something larger makes a difference to consumers.
Now she likes to say, “Good is our secret sauce. In a sea of sameness, a brand can stand out by standing for something. Good-Loop helps brands build meaningful customer relationships at scale.”
Hear a clip from the interview
“Marketers’ jobs matter because they spend millions of dollars every day, and how they spend that money shapes the world. If we use the industry in the right way, then it’s something we should all be proud of.”
… Amy Williams, Good-Loop
Good Engagement
Amy calls Good-Loop’s Good Engagement Platform “an ethical ad-choice alternative to an ad blocker.” In exchange for opting in to an ad and giving that advertiser attention, the advertiser donates to a charity or cause on behalf of the viewer. The result is that consumers feel good about the time they spend online, and the brand gets associated with worthy causes, resulting in higher engagement.
In fact, Amy is laser-focused on the business results Good-Loop brings to brands, given how the platform works to boost attention, trust, and memorability. She cites how running shoe brand Asics increased attention by 41% on completed YouTube views while also championing mental health. Reckitt’s Vanish stain remover gained a 57% increase in ad recall while also sparking an important autism dialogue.
How Good-Loop Works…
A donation frame appears around the ad, which enables viewers to unlock donations directly from the advertiser.
The first example below is a message from Purina Dog Chow for Service Dog Salute, which is focused on supporting the care and training of service dogs for veterans with PTSD. The upper banner shows that the free donation is unlocked in 2 seconds.
The second example is from the Ford Bronco and its Bronco Wild Fund, dedicated to promoting and preserving public lands. Here, the frame shows that a donation on behalf of Ford unlocks in 1 second.
To learn more from Amy Williams about how Good-Loop has helped create win-win results for both brands and nonprofits, watch the video interview on Internationalist Marketing TV (IMTV) on YouTube by CLICKING HERE.
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In our conversation, we discuss the following:
- You started Good-Loop in the UK 8 years ago. How has your organization evolved in that time?
- Can you share examples of the results you’ve provided to brands, as well as to nonprofits?
- Everything you mention sounds so positive and sensible… What are your biggest challenges?
- I’m always intrigued by the speed of culture and how advertising responds to “cultural moments.” However, I also realize that advertising can have a profound impact on culture. What are you finding now?
- Let’s discuss the topic of “purpose” or purposeful branding. Does purpose still matter today? Or should we distinguish between brand purpose and corporate purpose?
- Is there purpose message fatigue? Or have purposeful messages become too principled and serious rather than creative and memorable? Or are brands simply “playing it safe,” which reflects our current cultural climate?
- Do you think a ‘purpose gap’ exists between the values most companies or brands claim to hold and the actions they take?
- Do you believe that advertising is at an inflection point? Our digital world hasn’t done much to enhance trust in advertising; however, I might suggest that Good-Loop is helping brands demonstrate the power of their convictions.
- What’s next for you and Good-Loop?
Listen to Amy Williams discuss how brands and nonprofits can make a difference to consumers while improving online advertising and to The Internationalist’s entire Trendsetters podcast series here on iHeartRadio’s Spreaker or wherever you download your podcasts.
A Current Perspective on Purpose…
For an Innovator, Amy Williams surprises many by also being a realist. She acknowledges, “Brands that previously invested in purpose marketing or backed ad campaigns supporting social causes are now under more pressure to prove the worth of those efforts to the bottom line.” To that end, she is doubling down on Good-Loop’s effectiveness measurement and sustainability scores.
However, she adds, “The desire for ‘politically neutral’ brands doesn’t negate the fact that we all hold a set of values that run deeper than any political party. Brands need to get out of the culture wars and get back to their authentic values.“
How it all began
In 2016, after working three years for Ogilvy & Mather, Amy Williams put a question out to the advertising world: Can we redesign online advertising to make annoying internet ads a force for good in the world? It was an ambitious question. But it turned out Daniel Winterstein had been asking himself the very same thing. Amy and Dan met up, shared stories, put ideas on the table, and their dream became a reality – Good-Loop was born. The company now has offices in London, Edinburgh and New York.
