Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing Blog
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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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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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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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: [No comments yet!] Posted on June 29 2009 by Jacquelyn Ottman Eco-labels are a popular and effective way to certify that a product really is as green as it claims to be. But what are some alternatives to eco-labeling, and what are the benefits of steering away from third-party certification? By Jacquelyn Ottman, with Sarah McGrath Congratulations! You have a shiny new green product and you want to market it the right way. You worked hard to make it state-of-the-green-art – and you want people to believe that the product really is as green as you claim it to be. You naturally think of going the eco-labeling route, but stop. Unless it’s … 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. The Results We specifically asked them to rate five … 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, … 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. [No comments yet!] Posted on July 22 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman How far have your products traveled from manufacturing plant or farmer's field to market? Perhaps it's time to tell your consumer. In a marketplace where more and more consumers want to know their carbon footprint, and the marketers themselves are often confused about how to craft their sustainability messages, meaningful, easy-to-understand information is at a premium. Too many think, for instance, that bamboo (which travels 6,000 miles to get to your floor) and fair trade bananas are going to "save the planet," when the truth is that locally procured alternatives are the better environmental bet. [No comments yet!] Posted on July 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. 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 key takeaways: Posted on June 05 2008 by Jacquelyn Ottman Just got back from the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference, in Monterey, California. Over 550 people gathered to hear about the latest trends, see the leaders in sustainability speak, and learn about new tools to conduct their business in a better way. I had the honor of keynoting the conference. Several of the points I made were iterated by many of the speakers and by participants via their insightful questions from the floor. So there's a lot of consensus out there about what are the issues that we need to be dealing with … [No comments yet!] Page 1 of 1 pages
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Alternatives to Eco-Labels
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EcoPower to the People
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.
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Eco-Logos: A Double-Edged Sword?
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Apples Versus Oranges: To Compare or Not?
There are two of them: one related to comparing "apples …
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How Far, Pray Tell?
Finding ways to …
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It Isn’t Always So “Friendly” Being Green
—Be specific. Marketers are liable not only for inaccurate statements but also for consumers' misinterpretations of their claims, as Shell recently discovered. So, don't just say …
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Sustainable Branding in the 21st Century
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