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June 5, 2007 
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News & Tools for Building a Better, Greener Brand
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It's Finally Here!
The 20 years that I've been consulting on green marketing have felt like the equivalent of standing at a station waiting for a train to come in. But now the day is finally here. And the train has come in like a Japanese Bullet!
What was once a niche opportunity -- the purview of the fringe, is now squarely in the mainstream. Awareness of environmental issues like climate change has doubled from last year to this year. Biggie manufacturers like Kraft (sustainably harvested Yuban coffee), Home Depot (3000 products in its Eco-Options program), Colgate-Palmolive (owners of Tom’s of Maine) and Hilton’s Doubletree now offer greener alternatives to an attractive audience of 25-34, upscale, educated, and aware women. Eco-targeted media properties such as The Sundance Channel's Big Ideas for a Small Planet series, LIME.com, and Treehugger.com are equipping green consumers with info and product alternatives for their new lighter-on-the-planet lifestyles. Got an eco-friendly product or service? Want to tout your green bonafides to this influential audience? Words to the wise: make sure you don't look like you're jumping on the bandwagon -- this audience is savvy enough to see right through the hype. Relatedly, link your messages to something fundamentally intrinsic to your brand. Explore the power of connecting your brand to a cause-worthy issue to engage potential new customers. As you'll see in the article "Marketing Organic," below, more than 35% of consumers now base their purchase decisionmaking on a company's commitment to social responsibility. Go for it. The time is now! ~Jacquelyn A. Ottman, President, J.Ottman Consulting and SLM Advisor This Week's Top Branding Stories Bosch Ad Push Highlights Quiet, Environment Bosch Appliances is launching an integrated campaign this week that is also the brand's first major push to highlight its environmentally friendly major appliances. (MediaPost) Read more... Philips Nabs "Global Lighting Partner for Live Earth" Tag Live Earth and Royal Philips Electronic have formed a partnership that will provide a global platform for Philips to promote energy-efficient lighting solutions during the upcoming concert series to raise environmental awareness. (Environmental Leader) Read more... BrandWatch – May 2007 Ethical Corporation's latest roundup of big-brand saints and sinners — and how they're earning (or burning) their sustainability cred. (Ethical Corporation) Read more... Marketing Organic — A How-to for Hotels As major brands align themselves with cause-worthy issues, savvy hoteliers are seeking to engender customer loyalty by creating an emotional connection to the guest. Enter "purpose marketing." (Hotel Interactive) Read more... The Greening of Ad Networks Increasingly, new ad networks are being created to offer marketers access to entire suites of green websites. LIME founder and CEO C.J. Kettler explains why the time for his company's green ad network has finally arrived — and not a moment too soon. (Marketing Green) Read more... Coffee Companies Aim to Boost Eco-Friendly Purchases Rainforest Alliance, an organization that certifies agricultural products grown in ways that benefit both farmers and the environment, has seen its coffee business grow almost 700% in three years. (Reuters via Planet Ark) Read more... |
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Like what you see here? Our roundup of news and ideas on building and marketing sustainable brands, presented with Jacquie's insightful commentary, is available to you for free -- but you must subscribe now to continue to receive it. Forward to a Friend! Sustainable Brands '07: Learning From Leaders Eco-responsibility has become a hot commodity in business today, and companies are scrambeling to figure out when and how to talk about theirs. At Sustainable Brands '07 you'll learn from the leaders about how to lay the proper groundwork for creating value for your organization through smart eco-communication strategies. Sustainable Brands Conversations Sustainability is definitely "hot." How are you positioning your company or its products to make the most of the green trend? Join the discussion! Tools & Frameworks Corporate Branding for CSR: A Toolkit Columnist Bill Valentine, a 30-year marketing veteran of Bayer in China, offers concrete tips on determining the right balance of "value" and "values" for a company in product development. (China CSR) Read more... Branding Experts Speak! John and Jane Emrick on "Attracting a Customer That Cares" The former owners of Norm Thompson, John and Jane Emrick, describe how best to present greener products — without greenwashing. (Run Time: 1:00 Min.) Solution Providers |
This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2007
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