Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing Blog
Smart-Grid Enabled Appliances will help U.S. Green Marketers Compete in the Global Clean Energy Race
Posted on February 13 2010 by Jacquelyn Ottman
The global clean energy race has begun and the powerhouse economies of Asia-China, Japan and South Korea -are already proving to be key challengers. Although the United States and E.P.A. have made great strides, the Obama administration has yet to take firm action in the form a comprehensive clean energy bill, forcing conscientious businesses and consumers to carry the baton for the U.S.
On the green marketing front, the future of energy consumption in the United States lies in ‘Smart-Grid Enabled Appliances’. Invested players including government, and product and software manufacturers such as Google and Microsoft are digitizing the nation’s …
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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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Apples Versus Oranges: To Compare or Not?
Posted on October 14 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
I received an email this morning from a frantic manufacturer of laptops: "We need to finalize a green marketing claim for an ad we're preparing. Our laptops use less energy than desktop computers. Should we make the claim? Help! We don't want to be accused of greenwash!" (Note: Company name not included and category has been changed for confidentiality - but you'll get my points!)
On the surface a comparative green marketing claim such as this one looks pretty innocuous. However, dig a little deeper and you find some issues.
There are two of them: one related to comparing "apples …
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Play Ball with a Polluter—or Not?
Posted on September 04 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
ExxonMobil is coming around to the fact that a green reputation is necessary to compete. Among other steps, they are investing in their R3M technology to remotely detect oil and gas and reduce drilling. From a marketing perspective, they are running an extensive campaign in major dailies and newsweeklies, and among other things, are sponsoring the Washington Nationals’ LEED-certified baseball park.
But not everyone is so comfortable with Exxon’s green marketing efforts. Sponsorship of the baseball park is drawing flack from environmental activists, who are pressing the Nationals to cancel Exxon’s contract. Alan Jeffers, a spokesman for ExxonMobil notes …
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Before They Buy, Consumers Have to “Buy It”
Posted on July 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Back in December 2004, HSBC became the first major bank to commit to carbon neutrality, aiming to improve energy efficiency, buy "green electricity," and then offset the remaining carbon dioxide emissions using carbon "allowance" or "credits." As a global bank with numerous offices and branches gobbling up significant amounts of fossil fuel-generated energy, HSBC made a smart strategic move by committing to carbon management. And the scope of that commitment, paired with the strong business case for action, gave HSBC the credibility it needed to deliver an effective sustainability-focused marketing appeal: "There's No Small Change" a campaign launched earlier this …
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CFLs: It Takes a Team to Market a Lightbulb
Posted on July 16 2008 by Sydnee Grushack
CFLs have become the quintessential example of a mainstream green product. As proof, as of October of 2007, Wal-Mart announced that it had surpassed its goal of selling 100 million CFLs by the end of 2007, three months ahead of time. However, this accomplishment was not so easily attained. The current success of CFLs is due to the innovation and commitment of a virtual “village” of manufacturers, designers, and marketers.
Remember those early CFLs? Too many consumers were reluctant to pay $15 versus 75 cents for an incandescent, despite promises of hefty savings over the life of the bulb. …
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