Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing Blog
EcoPower to the People
Posted on June 03 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Whom do you trust to make green marketing claims? The answers surprised us. Yesterday at the Sustainable Brands ’09 Conference in Monterey, California, we polled all 350 participants about the notion of trust when it comes to verifying green claims and create standards for products.
We specifically asked these on the cutting edge of green and sustainability leaders and activists who they themselves trusted to this important task, who consumers trusted, and who they thought was best equipped to verify claims and create standards for green products and marketing.
The Results
We specifically asked them to rate five …
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Green Marketing Success Strategies From Sustainable Brands ‘09
Posted on June 03 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Optimism is the sentiment coming from the Sustainable Brands 09 conference taking place in Monterey, California this week. Consumer polls suggest that concern about the environment (relative to the economy) and stated intent to spend premiums on green brands is holding up in a tight times. Importantly, this is being played out in the green marketplace as well.
Concrete case examples of brand successes being presented at the conference suggests that pursuing a course of sustainable branding is indeed the route to sustainability even—against a backdrop of the toughest economic times any of us has ever experienced. Cases being …
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Greenest Notebooks—or Just Boldest Ads?
Posted on March 03 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman
In a recent blog post, Bob Pearson, Dell’s VP of community outreach and green marketing, panned Apple over a well-publicized - and ostensibly controversial - ad campaign, "The Greenest Family of Notebooks." As one of Dell’s biggest competitors, it comes as no surprise that Dell would have some not-so-friendly things to say about Apple’s bold green marketing effort.
Among Pearson’s scathing accusations, he claims that Apple's self-proclaimed "world's greenest laptops" are more smoke-and-mirror rhetoric than substantiation, and that Dell's laptops demonstrate a greater commitment to the environment than Apple's. The main concern addressed in the post …
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Hey, Nestle: Don’t Communicate—Eco-Innovate!
Posted on November 20 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
If only Nestle had used good green marketing efforts and communicated its efforts to green its bottled water business sooner, it wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in now. Right? Wrong!
Contrary to what Kim Jeffery, CEO of Nestle Waters, laments to BusinessWeek, the real issue with bottled water lies in consumers’ minds (and the advocates who influence them), not in pricey carbon analyses showing that lightweighting the plastic bottle is the solution to reducing the environmental impact of bottled water. The real issue simply stated is that it’s environmentally wasteful to ship water across …
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The Power of Green Lies In Marketers’ Hands
Posted on October 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Many people think the power to restore our environment lies in the hands of technical types like scientists and engineers, even lawyers and legislators. But the real power of green lies in the hands of marketers - we, the creative folks who have the power to design and promote cleaner products and technologies and help consumers evolve to more sustainable lifestyles.
It may be hard to fathom, but over 75% of the environmental impact that a product throws off during its lifetime is determined at the design stage, when, for instance, the materials are chosen, the recyclability of a product …
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Exxon Called “Climate Friendy”...What Did You Expect?
Posted on October 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
The five companies consumers consider most "climate friendly" are GE, BP, Toyota, Wal-Mart, and Exxon. Here's why I'm not surprised (ok, maybe a little).
On the surface, the results of a recent survey by U.K.'s Climate Group and Lippincott, the brand consultancy firm, seem to fly in the face of what all card-carrying sustainability pros believe - walk the walk or consumers will cry "BS!" The survey found that 76% of Americans couldn't name a single "climate-friendly" company despite significant amounts of investment by American businesses attempting to portray their green bona fides. So what's going on? Has all that …
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Eco-Logos: A Double-Edged Sword?
Posted on October 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Eco-logos are all the rage - but how valuable are they as a green marketing tool? Are there some hidden risks that warrant a second look? Let's consider the three ingredients of an effective marketing logo - green or otherwise - and their implications for the savvy eco-marketer.
Here are the three factors at play:
1. Recognizability. Eco-logos can reinforce green messages, a welcome benefit for sure. But of the myriad eco-logos on the market, only a few are known to consumers. They consist of the, chasing arrows recycling logo, the Energy Star seal of energy efficiency, USDA Organic logo, …
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How to Avoid the Carbon Offset “Gotcha” Game
Posted on October 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
In a market that demands nothing less than completely honest, ethical, and authentic corporate communications, it can sometimes seem like no green deed goes unpunished. The NFL catching flak for its not-quite carbon neutral Super Bowl 2008 is a case in point.
For the second year in a row, the National Football League plans to offset "100%" of estimated emissions associated with the Super Bowl. Sounds pretty good, right? The NFL is taking positive climate action, from buying renewable energy certificates to replanting acreage lost to wildfires. Unlike last year, however, organizers will not tout the event as …
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Green Marketing: What Not to Say
Posted on October 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Don’t join the growing number of marketers throwing around phrases like “environmentally friendly,” “Earth friendly,” and “ozone friendly.” While such claims have a calming ring, they can be very misleading. Here's how to avoid some common traps.
The simple fact is, there is no such thing as an "eco-friendly" product; all use resources and create waste to some degree. To avoid such confusion in the marketplace, the Federal Trade Commission introduced its Environmental Marketing Guidelines in 1992. Some are some key takeaways.
- Be specific. Marketers are liable not only for inaccurate statements but also for consumers' misinterpretations of …
MORE...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 …
MORE...Is There a Green-Consumption Gap?
Posted on October 14 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
A new poll shows that 76% of consumers say they want to help others and 69% aim to provide a better life for their children, but only 26% say they actively seek out environmentally responsible products - a challenge for sure for green marketing. Paradoxically, more than 90% say that the environment influences their day-to-day purchasing decisions. What's going on?
If the environment is truly influencing as many as 90% of consumer purchasing decisions, chances are respondents are either overreporting to a surveytaker in the interest of looking worthy or, more likely, making a distinction between products that are …
MORE...A Country Divided on Climate Change: What Green Marketers Can Learn
Posted on October 13 2008 by assistant
According to the 2008 American Climate Values Survey (ACVS), the American public is deeply divided on the issue of climate change. These deep rifts trace to such factors as religion, political affiliation, and even the perceived state of the economy. Understanding such dynamics creates an opportunity for green marketers to step in with relevant and targeted messages.
Although public recognition of global warming has increased greatly over the past several years, climate change still remains relatively low on the list of priorities for all but the most ardent advocates. The economy, hit hard by the recent rise …
MORE...What’s Law Got to Do with It?
Posted on September 24 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
An Australian law firm recently blamed fuzzy regulations by government bodies as a key source of confusion, and hence risk, for would-be green marketers. Is this a fair accusation? More importantly, is it even relevant?
While no government can be expected to stay completely current on a fast-moving green vernacular, it can be expected to define the territory in order to protect consumers from potentially fraudulent and misleading green terms. Government watchdogs such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority are working hard to establish hard definitions for the many green marketing terms in …
MORE...Address Sustainability or Risk Not Being Sustained
Posted on July 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
In an age where sustainability has begun to assert itself across the consumer and business-to-business product spectrums, those managers who fail to respond to social and "green" initiatives will find their brands swiftly barred from consumers' hearts and pockets.
Films like Supersize Me and An Inconvenient Truth are radically altering the marketing landscape. In response to such media, McDonald's has launched a bevy of healthy alternatives, and the market for hybrid and alternative fuel (ethanol/bio-diesel) automobiles is booming. This method of creating change through media has consumers better informed than ever. The result? Companies are forced to shape up, …
MORE...Déjà Vu All Over Again - Part II
Posted on July 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman
Last month I discussed some of the green marketing missteps that we keep repeating no matter how many times we should have learned from hard experience that such tactics fall short. I suggested that rather than repeating these mistakes, perhaps the best solution is to move forward with new product innovations that truly transcend green marketing claims and eco-labels.
In fact, pursuing a course of eco-innovation - new product concepts with the potential for significantly enhanced consumer benefits and significantly reduced environmental impact - might be just what the planet doctor has ordered.
For example, as product innovations …
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