Green marketing special report: Green products gleam

Now more than ever, companies of all types looking to make a profit are investing in marketing and PR campaigns created especially to sell their green products. And the reasoning behind a company’s green strategy can be simplified to that old chestnut: a desire to appeal to more consumers and gain a larger market.

But green marketing campaigns are becoming increasingly substantial as companies realise the impact their business is having on the environment, and consumers become more conscious of their buying habits.

A report by UK PR company GreenPortfolio found last year that 84% of marketing and PR management see green credentials becoming increasingly important as environmental issues move to the forefront of consumers’ minds.

Rebecca Dunstan is an environmental PR consultant at GreenPortfolio. She says that though being seen as green is a definite competitive advantage, the survey also shows that organisations cannot “greenwash” their commitment to the environment.

Consumers can see right through what Dunstan calls a “surface veneer” of environmental credentials.

Avoid greenwash

Environmental activists are quick to point the finger at Tesco, the UK supermarket giant with over 2300 stores worldwide. Despite their recent energy and emissions reduction campaigns, there are sceptics still arguing that much of the company’s PR is greenwashing over its inherently wasteful practices, with any environmental efforts thus far just a drop in the ocean.

And at the opposite end of the spectrum is a recent campaign promoting Ariel laundry detergent.

Ollie Willis, senior research executive at 2CV Research in London, says the company’s “Turn to 30” campaign has been highly praised for its simplicity and directness, urging consumers to save energy by washing at lower temperatures with Ariel. According to Willis, “It just says, ‘We’re so good, you don’t need to waste energy if you use us.’”


Treat green benefits as added value to a good product and you will be left with something that is appealing to the customer as well as environmentally friendly


But it is not always touting a product’s “green-ness” that causes sales to increase, even among environmentally conscious consumers. Take Toyota and its introduction of the hybrid Prius.

In May 2007 alone, over 24,000 Priuses were sold – more than double the numbers from their entire first model year. Researchers attribute the jump in sales to several factors, not the least of which is a new marketing strategy de-emphasising the vehicle’s green features and re-emphasising its driving performance and build quality.

Quality and satisfaction

Toyota’s situation exemplifies one of the most important aspects of green marketing: addressing the primary needs of consumers first.

Jacquelyn Ottman is founder of J Ottman, a green marketing consultancy in New York, and author of the book “Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation”. She says that a successful green marketing strategy will balance two objectives: environmental quality and consumer satisfaction.

Treat green benefits as added value to a good product and you will be left with something that is appealing to the customer as well as environmentally friendly.

Ottman highlights Energy Star, a labelling initiative sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, which has also recently targeted the EU.

She says the US government’s backing provides credibility for the campaign. It is easy for consumers to recognise the distinctive label, which provides information about 44 different benefits, mainly economic savings in energy and water use, on top of the product’s purely green credentials.

Not a hair shirt

Ottman says Energy Star products are not asking consumers to trade ecological benefits for product quality. In other words, this is a complete departure from environmental campaigns of the “turn down the heat and wear a sweater” era.

For some companies, it seems striking a balance can be as simple as introducing a witty tagline for their green products.

A list recently compiled by Ottman and colleagues mentions several. The Toyota Prius’s “mpg:)” is simple yet effectively conveys the car’s fuel-efficiency while targeting enthusiastic drivers mindful about their effect on the environment.

GE sells its Energy Smart compact fluorescent light bulbs as having a “longer life for hard-to-reach places”, giving consumers an immediate idea of the product’s energy-efficiency as well as its practical application.

Media interest

John Rooks, president of Dwell Creative, a marketing agency based in Maine, US, believes that green products have been pulled into the mainstream by the media.

Principally this has occurred through the popularisation of green issues such as climate change and gas-guzzling, the media’s recent attention to the economics of “going green” and major corporations financing huge ad campaigns to get in on the attention.

Dwell usually attracts smaller clients. Rooks believes it is the smaller fringe companies – more dynamic and eager to grow – that are usually change-makers in marketing strategy, with the “big ones” following behind.

Ottman says that larger companies usually do not want to risk putting themselves out of business by pushing green products too hard. Meanwhile, small entrepreneurial companies are more willing to take the plunge since they have less established technology or brand names at stake.

It seems, though, that almost nothing can “go mainstream” without a push from at least one large company. This is where the company giants come into play, touting green products with a big enough brand to generate mass appeal.

Premium appeal

Willis of 2CV Research points out that there is also a huge overlap between consumer perception of “green” and the concept of “premium”, which only adds to the popularity of green products.

“A hybrid car is a sign of status, good taste and common sense,” says Willis. “A low-energy washer is a sign of smart building and forward-thinking design, not a cumbersome beast from a darker decade.”

Ottman notes the success of green products involving personal health. Some of the fastest growing industries in this sector are organic cotton clothing and linens, natural personal care, organic produce, and lawn and garden care.

Willis believes the food industry has been the quickest to jump on the green marketing bandwagon and fastest to develop in terms of labelling and product offerings. This is partly due, in his view, to the fact that food is a low-risk purchase for consumers as far as cost and commitment, but has huge personal associations with the purchaser and what sort of consumer he or she is perceived to be.

At the moment, Willis says it is important for companies to have a green strategy to meet consumer demands and avoid being out-positioned by greener companies in the marketplace. From an activist point of view, however, Willis says green marketing is not important at all.

“It needs to be a company-wide initiative that starts at the top and works down,” he says. “Marketing can’t work in isolation.”

Without a comprehensive strategy to combat climate change, Willis says empty campaigns are only easing the consciences of consumers. Marketing tactics must include the input of environmental critics – often in the form of NGOs – who have the power to either legitimise or discount a company’s green message, giving or taking away credit where it’s due.