New research by Cone shows that yes, consumers are paying attention to social and environmental responsibility to a much greater extent these days — and that they appreciate learning about it via ad campaigns. In the recent MediaPost article on the findings, Sarah Mahoney wrote…
“In its survey, 45% of respondents say that advertising is their favorite way to learn about a company’s corporate responsibility and environmental policy, beating out methods that include Web sites and packaging. That’s an increase from 41% in 2004.
“In addition, they are overwhelmingly looking to companies to act: 93% of Americans believe companies have a responsibility to help preserve the environment.”
Hearing about it through an ad campaign may be enough to sway some consumers, but for today’s women especially, brands should be prepared for a little follow-up. Women don’t necessarily take your warm, fuzzy advertising message for gospel, and they, in their “it all matters” mindset, will investigate further to make sure you are seriously walking the walk before committing to your brand over another.
Lots of great insight in this Cone report — so go check it out.
As I prepare for my presentation this week to the gem industry, this information took on extra meaning. Lots of businesses are involved in higher business standard organizations or doing a lot of great environmental and social works, yet not so many may not be spreading the word as widely or creatively as they could.
Anyway… since this is clearly on the minds of female consumers in all sorts of industries, I suggest you revisit how you talk about your involvement in social/environmental causes. It doesn’t have to feel “braggy” — so think about sharing the “goodwill news” in a more story-type format, for one. The point is not that you’ll gain direct and immediate sales in this way, but that you will be giving women more common ground with your brand as they wind along their buying paths. It all matters, eventually.
On a side, but environmentally-related, note: Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI) has launched a new green lifestyle site – Sprig that looks pretty interesting to me. Green products, interviews with green-gurus (for lack of a better term on my part), user-generated content and so on, all guided by editorial smarts of Jeannie Pyun, the woman who was editor at the now-defunct Organic Style magazine (which I always liked).
The intention of the site, as presented in the press release:
“‘Sprig helps users discover a world of products that are well-designed, accessible–and also eco-friendly,’ said Mark Whitaker, vice-president and editor-in-chief of new ventures at WPNI. ‘We think the market is ready for a site that offers unique information and options, without pressure or guilt. At Sprig, our motto is that the world will be better off if we can get 95 percent of people to be five percent more green than if only five percent of people are 95 percent green.’”
Check it out, and let me know if it delivers for you.
Tags: Andrea_Learned, Cone, environmental_responsibility, green_business, green_marketing, Marketing_to_women, Sprig
Excellent points! Many of our users are marketing “green” products and services. There does seem to be growth in this area.
In addition to marketing quality, green products, one of the many things a marketer can do to support the Green Revolution is to do his/her marketing activities as efficiently as possible and reduce or eliminate paper as a component in daily sales work. BOTH of these needs are well supported by state-of-the-art sales lead management software. It’s another example of short-term discomfort (learning a new system) for long-term gain (using an organized system for managing your prospecting activities).
Here in the UK the “sujet du jour” in the marketing community is Green Marketing. There is a chap from the WWF (not wrestling, wildlife) who has initiated an interesting set of measures and protocals to avoid the plethora of waste that so many marketing departments produce.
What is most interesting is the actual cost savings that can be had. For example, using on-demand, specific quantity printing reduces costs. Maintaining clean lists ensures less waste in post office bins… and the list goes on.
On your side of the pond you may be interested in http://www.ecoeco.ca – a Vancouver-based green marketing consultancy (started by the daughter of my father’s high school principal in small town Alberta – small world indeed!)
Ah.. yes.. Thanks for translating “green” into what we, as marketers, can do to walk our own talk, William and Parry. Even in my own little home office, I just realized I should be printing on both sides of my paper for any first drafts of things. The list does indeed go on, so it is great to keep being reminded from all angles what we can each be doing to be green.
As someone who pays attention to environmental issues — and presumably a target for green marketing — I have to say that us green consumers are more likely to do research before buying. That is, many of us will do our best to find out if the green marketing is backed up by actual green practices.
By the way, let’s not start calling this the “Green Revolution” as that refers to something completely different. The Green Revolution was the period between the 1940’s and 1960’s when various techniques were applied to agriculture that greatly increased crop yields. The Green Revolution included intensive use of pesticides, etc., which has left a mixed legacy…
Neil