Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing Blog
Green Marketing Done Right! Join me February 12, 2010
Posted on February 06 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Want to learn how the pros do green marketing right (and some of them a little wrong?) oin me February 12 for a 90-minute installment of the Sustainable Brands Boot Camp. It’s a 13-week series of 90 minute sessions, one per week, conducted by experts in sustainable branding and green marketing.
Join me Friday, February 12 and get a sneak preview from my new book, due out later this year about how to court mainstream consumers credibly, impactfully—and without a hint of greenwash.
I’ll specifically be sharing: some of the latest data on LOHAS consumers from the Natural Marketing Institute, …
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A Smart New Way to Segment Green Consumers
Posted on February 06 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
When you target customers, it helps to know if they’re “dark green”, “light green” or “basic brown” in their attitudes, but, with so many green issues, products, and labels out there, it may be more relevant to your branding and communications to understand their personal green interests.
Ask: To which environmental organizations do members of our target audience belong (The Appalachian Mountain Club or Greenpeace)? Which types of vacations do they take (hiking or the beach)? Which environmental magazines and websites do they read or visit? (Sierra or Animal Fair?) Which types of products do they buy? (green fashions or …
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How Nike Reduces Toxicity to Balance Consumer Needs with Enhanced Corporate Reputation
Posted on January 28 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Toxicity affects products at every stage of their life cycle, so naturally, reducing toxicity is good for business. As I discuss at more length in my latest book on green marketing to be released later this year, it reduces the liability associated with worker rights, and via alternatives that are safer to handle, can enhance productivity and cut workers’ compensation claims. And of course, there’s the opportunity to market to the growing number of mainstream consumers looking for safer alternatives.
Nike’s Considered line of reduced toxic shoes
Nike aims to eliminate noxious adhesives with its Considered line which is targeted …
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Underscore Health Benefits to Add Relevance to Green Marketing Messages
Posted on January 13 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
As I have said numerous times over the years, the number one reason why consumers buy greener products is not to “save the planet” but to save their own health. AFM understands this well—and puts their understanding of this green marketing fundamental to work in two ads that do a great job of underscoring the health benefits of their line of Safecoat paint.
One ad features 16 buckets of paint lined up in a row. Fifteen of the buckets are painted red and sport descriptive labels touting benefits including “long lasting”, …
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When it Comes to Marketing Green Appliances, Silence is Golden
Posted on January 11 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Ads for Bosch’s super quiet, high performance appliances make a point about doing green marketing right loud and clear: focus on the benefits most relevant to consumers.
As I discuss at more length in my soon-to-be-published book, “Consumers buy products to meet basic needs, not (primarily) to save the planet.” Said another way, consumers walk into the store with their, well, consumer caps on, not citizen ones.
Commercials for Bosch’s super-energy efficient appliances focus on how quiet they are, with secondary emphasis on their environmentally preferable attributes. In one ad that I discussed in the book, a gentle deer walking …
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Opportunities for Marketing to the Green Consumer
Posted on January 09 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Consumers buy over $200 billion of natural personal care and cleaning products, organic produce, hybrid cars, fair trade coffee, compostable plates and cups, and other green products and services.
Please join me on February 4, 2010 (in New York City) for Opportunities to Market to the Green Consumer. Network with members of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club and other senior marketing professionals from New York. Listen to green marketing practitioners from HSBC, Ozocar and Sundance Channel talk about opportunities to build green brands, innovate new products and services, and contribute to the bottomline. I’ll be moderating the panel and …
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How to Avoid Greenwash
Posted on January 09 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Greenwashing—communicating (even unintentiionally) that one’s product or company is greener than it actually is—is the Number One challenge of green marketers today. Greenwashers can expect swift retribution from consumers, advocates and the media in the forms of lost sales and tarnished reputation.
To help smooth the way for our clients and other green marketers, I’ll be moderating a special virtual conference on Thursdday, Jan 14, 2010. It’s called: Building Credibility, Avoiding Greenwash.
Join us online for a look at unfolding strategies and best practices for establishing credibility for your sustainable brand.
This jam-packed, full-day, online conference will teach you…How to …
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Guest Blog: Green Marketing and the Simultaneous Pursuit of Growth and Reputation Enhancement
Posted on October 16 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
This is a guest blog post, written by Eric Lowitt.
A company that I admire shared a story that highlights a green marketing conundrum faced by a growing number of companies. The story, told by a progressive drink distributor, went something like this:
The company held an off-site with the salesforce dedicated to one of their key accounts. The company invited executives from the key account to present ways the company could increase sales through the account. Nestled among the usual suspects was “prove that you are a sustainability leader.”
The company was surprised, not because they doubted that green …
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Earn Your Sustainability Certificate!
Posted on October 09 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Looking to learn more about sustainable business? Want to switch into a green job? Consider earning a certificate in Sustainability from the MAKING GREEN FROM GREEN Sustainability Certificate Series hosted by the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of NY (which I Co-Chair). All you need to do is attend 6 of the 8 topics in order to be certified. (OK to just attend one or two events, too -- and you don't have to be a member of the Columbia B School Club, the series is open to all.)
This is an 8 part series that covers the following topics: …
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Why Jacquie Ottman’s Green Marketing Remains Relevant
Posted on September 08 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Guest post by Peter Korchnak, who writes the Sustainable Marketing Blog.
I recently read for the first time and reviewed Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation (2nd edition) and this is what struck me: "[M]ost of what I read nowadays about sustainability and marketing, Jacquie covered in Green Marketing more than a decade ago."
Though sustainability* has made inroads throughout the corporate world, with the likes of Nike and Walmart implementing sustainable practices on a large scale, green marketing literature and blogs recycle the same old themes. If green - or at least parts …
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What If Mainstream Consumers Don’t Care About Green?
Posted on August 14 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
A professor from India queried me this morning about this intriguing green marketing question: How are we going to serve the customer who is not at all worried about green? In India with the kind of population we have the awareness levels I feel India is going to be a tough market where people are more price concious than Environment.
Government may or may not provide any incentive to the green consumer.
My answer (and I hope it's not too glib): Not to worry! Most green products simply work better. So highlight the direct consumer benefits instead. The Toyota …
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USDA Proposes Voluntary Label for Biobased Products
Posted on August 03 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
If you're a manufacturer, or part of another organization that deals with "biobased" products (i.e., made out of agricultural, forestry, or marine-based ingredients), you will be interested to know that our client, the USDA is proposing a special eco-label for such products or packages. Examples of products on the government's "BioPreferred" list include PLA-based plastics, vegetable oil-based cleaning fluids, and soaps made from natural ingredients—but not food or fuel.
You have 60 days, (from now until September 29) to comment on this proposed "BioPreferred" eco-labeling program.
For more information: Posted on July 30 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman If you read nothing else today, read this link to "Proper Medicine Disposal Prescribed Daily" by Andrea Nocito. How many times have you cringed when throwing away unused prescription drugs? Flushing them down the toilet, as described, is not the answer either. I have long suspected that prescription drug disposal will be the Next Big Issue in green marketing and sustainable product development. We desperately need a mechanism for allowing consumers to take back unused drugs. I believe one solution might be to require druggists to fill prescriptions only half way. If the prescription works out (you don't have … Posted on July 28 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman Dear Clients and Friends, Today marks twenty years since I started J. Ottman Consulting. Posted on July 10 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman How does Frito-Lay's new marketing campaign seek to change the conversation about "local" food -- and what are the implications for Frito-Lay's sustainability efforts? By Jacquelyn Ottman and Sarah McGrath Frito-Lay’s new “Lay’s Local” marketing campaign attempts to reposition their mass-produced potato chips as a local food. New ads celebrate the eighty plus farmers in 27 states who grow the two billion pounds of potatoes used in Lay’s chips each year. They then direct consumers to a website where they can trace the potatoes in their bag of chips back to the farm where they were grown.
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Proper Medicine Disposal Is the Next Big Green Marketing Thing
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Happy Birthday J. Ottman Consulting—Celebrating 20 Years
A lot has happened since 1989! I thought green would be mainstream by 1995 (!), but I’m delighted to see it’s finally here.
In 1989 there were no green conferences, books on green marketing or green websites (or even the Web). Today it’s gratifying to go to conferences, socialize on Twitter and Linked In, and see how many consumers, professionals and organizations are now incorporating the environment into their decisions and purchasing.
I’ve got a lot to be thankful for – …
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Think Global, Market Local
We …
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