Thomas Kolster is a motivational speaker, author, impact entrepreneur and sustainable marketing advisor. Forbes called him 'a climate change agent,' and Shots Magazine dubbed him 'a pioneer of impact advertising.'
He’s the author of Goodvertising (Thames & Hudson 2012), The Hero Trap (Taylor and Francis, 2020) and has contributed to other books such as Utopia Brands (2023).
In 2009 Kolster coined the term Goodvertising to describe advertising delivering positive environmental or social benefits, which has later become an industry term. In Kolster’s second book, The Hero Trap, he popularised the idea of a post-purpose market, where people are no longer buying your values or your why, but who you can help people become.
The Hero Trap provides strategies for brands to foster authentic connections by facilitating personal transformation. His methodology The Arrow has since been widely adopted and mentioned in the advertising industry.
Thomas is a motivational speaker with two decades of experience and featured in more than 80 countries at conferences like TedX, Financial Times, SWSW and Cannes Lions.
Mr. Goodvertising – Marketing Activist, Author, Motivational Speaker, Impact Entrepreneur, Sustainable Marketing Advisor
He’s been a Jury Member at global advertising awards such as Cannes Lions, for the Sustainable Development Goal Lions and he’s been Jury President and Jury Member at the D&AD Impact Awards, which recognises excellence in using advertising to create positive social change. He’s been acknowledged twice as a M-list recipient by the Danish Marketing Community as exceptional Danish marketing talent. In 2023, Kolster was mentioned in Forbes as one of “43 People Changing Advertising For The Climate”.
Kolster has over the years launched several impact start-ups such as WhereGoodGrows.com where companies and organisations could reuse successful impact initiatives from across the world to create even greater good and CPH:Change a platform where brands could connect with sustainable artists across film, music and art and together bring more attention to global sustainability topics.
He's the founder of the sustainable marketing advisory company, Goodvertising Agency, established in 2010, transforming clients globally.
He’s a columnist for The Guardian, AdAge, Forbes, and others, where he's often also cited. Monthly, Kolster joins Adage's podcast Purpose Hits and Misses taking a critical look at global purpose campaigns. Together with climate solutions platform, We Don't Have Time, he runs another monthly podcast called Climate Punk, where he interviews diverse people in the climate space.
Kolster serves in different advisory roles and councils such as the Sustainability Council at the International Advertising Association, where he works to shift the global advertising industry in a more sustainable direction. At Act Responsible, where he's part of the Active community on a mission to "Inspire, promote and unite the ad community on sustainability & industry responsibility" and lastly he serves at the D&AD Impact Council helping impact start-ups working towards "a fairer, more sustainable future"
