With a $209 billion market share, green-conscious consumers are a force to be reckoned with. Who are they, what do they want, and how can you reach them? Green marketing and ad agency egg, which has worked with big-name brands including Southwest Airlines, Coca-Cola, Expedia, and Washington Mutual, has a few ideas. egg's Hilary Bromberg reports.

What Is a Conscious Consumer?

Conscious consumers seek a feeling of control in an increasingly chaotic world. Although they may buy green, they are not necessarily environmentalists. Rather, they seek personal benefits to their lives, along with a sense of positive social or environmental value in whatever they consume. Conscious consumerism represents a convergence of several cultural forces:

* Were living in an age of anxiety. Half the U.S. population has clinical levels of stress, anxiety, or depression. 83% of Americans are overweight, 62% feel unconnected to others in their community, 81% believe that global warming is a problem, and only 44% feel optimistic about Americas future.

* In response to this anxiety, people crave control over their lives. People want good health back. They want a sense of calm and well-being. They want to be able to trust the companies they buy from. They want to eat clean and healthy food. They want to regain a sense of local community.

* CSR policies have become mainstream, and brands are beginning to reflect the values underlying these policies, which builds consumer awareness.

Weve come full circle during the past century, from the flour barrels of the general store to the gleaming aisles of Whole Foods. Even Wal-Mart has launched organic food and with the organic market growing at 20% yearly, its no surprise. The conscious consumer has arrived, savvy companies from BP and GE to Levis and Nike are responding, and the greening of the consumer landscape represents the largest trend in recent history. And we are only getting started. The US market in socially responsible investing is currently $2.3 trillion theres no turning back.

Reaching the Conscious Consumer

The most important thing to know about reaching the conscious consumer is that theres no such thing as the conscious consumer. This is a large and heterogeneous population which must be segmented and fully understood in order for targeted messages and brand strategies to reach the right people in the right way. At egg, we cluster the population into five segments, based upon how conscious (or green) people are, and we take into account the crucial difference between belief and action its one thing to aspire to conscious consumerism, and another to act upon it.

The Advocates, who grew from 7% to 20% of the population during the past three years, represent the most socially conscious segment, in both belief and action. Theyre the trend-setting early adopters. The Strivers (7%) are also balanced between belief and action, but theyre not as extreme as Advocates. The Believers (4% in the US, though 14% in the Pacific Northwest) are especially interesting their attitudes are as strong as the Advocates, but their actions lag their beliefs; the path to conscious consumerism involves some personal sacrifice. Which brings us to the Moderates (33%), who embrace some green attitudes and act upon slightly fewer; this is a crucial segment because theyre more susceptible to green branding efforts by mainstream brands. Finally, the Skeptics (36%): they dont embrace or act upon green values.

The conscious consumer continuum can be seen as a path, with the entire population gradually entering into and moving along the path as conscious consumerism becomes increasingly mainstream, and green products meet standard products on the primary brand antes: price, performance, and availability. Even 80% of the Skeptics will admit that companies have a responsibility to help preserve the environment. And behaviors like water conservation and recycling have also penetrated far into the Skeptic population another sign that the culture is undergoing profound shifts.

Weve reached a cultural tipping point, and its critical to understand the trends, the psychological drivers of the various conscious consumer segments, and most importantly, how to reach these consumers. As green products begin to meet the primary brand antes, it will be the new brand equity drivers, such as wellness, community, and social responsibility, that will differentiate the new greener brands of the future.