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Move Over Kermit - Employees Are Taking the Eco-Spotlight
To help spread the word about their new sustainability campaigns, leading companies including Coke, Anheuser Busch, and Ford are starting to leverage one of their most powerful assets: their employees.
Using employees to promote sustainable initiatives is a winning strategy. Why? Employees are “regular people” and, as such, they are much better equipped to gain more trust and confidence of prospective consumers than splashy Hollywood celebrities, million dollar CEOs, and paid pitchmen. Employees are objective critics of their companies' greenness. If employees are viewed as involved and openly on-board with the company’s sustainable initiatives, consumers are more likely to view the programs as genuine and lasting, rather than a temporary greenwashing stint.
Finally, every CEO knows that to recruit and keep the best employees, he or she has to maintain the highest eco-standards. Spotlighting employees in ads helps communicate internally that your company is on the green bandwagon.
What's not to like?
~Jacquelyn A. Ottman, President, J.Ottman Consulting and SLM Advisor
What do you think? Weigh in!
This Week's Top Stories...
Most Americans Don't Understand Companies' Green Claims
Americans frequently misunderstand key phrases commonly used in environmental marketing and advertising, a new survey finds. The kicker? Most Americans think they've got a pretty good handle on green terminology. Read more...
High-Profile Green Programs Can Cut Both Ways, Survey Finds
Marks & Spencer, widely known for its ambitious Plan A environmental push, has been named the greenest company in the U.K for the second year running, according to an annual report on British consumer opinion. But a well-publicized green program does not a green brand make. BP and Tesco, which have also undertaken high-profile sustainability programs, are still considered to be most guilty of greenwashing, the survey finds. Read more...
All Things Equal, 83% of Consumers Will Choose the Greener Product
Newsflash: Consumers, when choosing between two similar products, prefer the greener version. In a new survey from research firm DoubleClick Performics, 83% of respondents said they are "extremely" or "very likely" to choose the more environmentally friendly option. Read more...
For Many Marketers, Earth Day Is Just Christmas in April
Can companies really save the planet by convincing consumers to buy more stuff on Earth Day? Critics say too many companies are just going "green for a day," Advertising Age reports. Read more...
Beverage Industry to Get Carbon Footprint Label
The new Carbon Action Plan (CAP), unveiled at an industry conference last week, offers a standardized protocol for the measurement and independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions across the entire supply chain. The program will eventually create a "nutrition-style" product label for green performance in the areas of energy use, packaging material, water use, emissions reduction, and carbon offsets. Read more...
Anheuser-Busch Employees Star in New Green-Themed TV Ads
Anheuser-Busch is continuing its strategy to put employees front and center in its green marketing efforts. The brewer, which featured its own workers in a series of green-themed internet promos last year, is set to air four new television ads in which employees highlight the company's commitment to the environment. Read more...
HR Execs Cautioned Against "Wal-Mart Effect"
Corporate social responsibility should form the basis for human resources initiatives - because "Americans don’t care if businesses are recycling if they treat their own people like trash,” according to CSR expert Will Marre. Speaking yesterday at gathering of human resource executives in Southern California, Marre cautioned HR execs about the "Wal-Mart Effect" by which no amount of environmental do-gooding can offset negative perceptions of a company's employment practices. Read more...
More Sustainable Brands News & Tools...
SLM Readers Speak Out!
This week's article on the green-marketing hoo-hah surrounding Earth Day earned a thoughtful rebuttal from reader E.B. Moss of marketing firm Moss Appeal Green:
"The challenge is to not throw the baby out with the bath water (and of course use that gray water!). Awareness should create familiarity, which hopefully breeds trust, which helps drive purchases. Why are we so easily equating this drive towards familiarity with breeding contempt?"
Read more, and post your own comments, here. (Note: You must be an SLM member to view. Not yet member? Register here!)
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Why Sustainable Brands '08?
SB'08 will put you in personal touch with the leaders of the sustainable brand movement, including senior executives from Dow, Clorox, HP, Yahoo!, Method, Interface, Keen Footwear, New Belgium Brewery, Steelcase, Nestle, Seventh Generation, IDEO, Frog Design, Ziba Design, and more. Download the conference agenda here (PDF), and register today!
Give Them Something to Believe In: The Value of Brand Culture
A brand, argues this whitepaper, is essentially a meaning-making system which generates and embodies a sustainable set of values which are embraced by its target audience. The real question people are asking of a brand is, what do you stand for? In the best-case scenario, the answer to this question compels people to want to join that brand’s culture. Here's how embracing "brand culture" can help strengthen your green-marketing message. (ID Branding) Download now (PDF)...
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Sustainable Life Media is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable processes, practices and products. We bring you top stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and help you connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help you quickly reach your goals.
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