Sprint’s Invisible Sustainability

What distinguishes your company from your competitors?  How are you sharing what makes you unique?

Did you know Sprint has a buy-back program that’s kept more than 20 million cell phones out of landfills since 2001?  Did you know it has a new phone, the Reclaim, made from 80% recycled plastics?  That it aims to recover or recycle 90% of devices by 2017 (it recovered 42% of devices in  2009)?  Or that it has a sustainable phone accessories online-store?

I didn’t. It was an award from the International Electronics Recycling Conference and Expo (IERCE) that tipped me off to the company’s sustainability exploits. Curious and intrigued, I went to Sprint’s website expecting to see news of the buy-back program or a flickering image of the Reclaim as the phone for all Prius drivers and organic eaters.

But instead I saw the same message as AT&T and Verizon: an announcement of new models, satisfaction guarantees and rate plans. I’d wager that Sprint would be a leader in sustainability and market share by continuing to compete on its traditional offerings of price and service (the core of its business) but also branded its existing(!) sustainability programs. IERCE praised Sprint for setting the industry benchmark, but I sure couldn’t tell from an initial look at Sprint’s website.

The potential complexity and nuance of marketing, branding and positioning don’t negate the simple. Compete on how your company is different.  Talk about what sets you apart with consumers.  Put it on your website’s homepage.