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It’s Not That Easy Being a Green Marketer
http://bonniesheartmusic.250m.com/ItsNotEasy/BeingGreen.htm
It's not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold...
or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord'nary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky.
But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain,
or tall like a tree.
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.
Credit to Kermit the frog!
Choosing the Right GreenMarketing Strategy
Jill M. Ginsberg, PopCap Games, Inc.
Paul N. Bloom, Kenan-Flagler, UNC
Basic Argument
• Defining green marketing as:
– Efforts in developing, branding, labeling, and
promoting a company’s offerings that stress
environmental-friendliness as a differentiating
attribute
• Green marketing has often disappointed
– It has not consistently created the win-win situation
that advocates have anticipated
– It has actually made some companies look
opportunistic and manipulative
• But not a “one size fits all” strategy
– Different “styles” of green marketing can be work well
in different marketplace situations
– Careful research and analysis must guide strategy
Why has Green Marketing
Disappointed?
• Consumer preferences have been misjudged, as
people will not sacrifice quality and performance
for environmental friendliness
• Consumers willing to pay a little more for
greenness, assuming all else is equal, but not a
lot more
• It is very hard to differentiate a brand on
greenness
• Consumers are very skeptical of green claims
• But there ARE segments that care…
Roper ASW Environmental
Segments
True Blue
Greenback
Sprouts
Grousers
Basic Browns
Green Gauge Report 2002
Americans Perspective on
Environmental Issues
Yes…But
Implications of Consumer Caring
• For some products and some markets,
differentiating on environmental
friendliness will be limited in potential
payoffs
• For other products and other markets,
differentiating on environmental
friendliness could produce substantial
returns
Key Attributes to Investigate
• Substantiality of the green consumer
segments for a brand
• Differentiability of the brand versus
competing brands
– Can the company mobilize the will and
resources to be really different on greenness?
– Can consumers be persuaded that the brand
is truly different on greenness?
Green Marketing Strategy Matrix
Low
Differentiability
on Greenness
Low
LEAN GREEN
Substantiality of
Green Market
Segments
High
DEFENSIVE
Substantiality of GREEN
Green Market
Segments
High
Differentiability
on Greenness
SHADED
GREEN
EXTREME
GREEN
Lean Green: Good corporate citizens that are less focused on publicizing
their green initiatives and more interested in what those initiative can do
for helping to achieve cost competitive advantages. Also concerned about
living up to green expectations.
Defensive Green: Using green marketing as a precautionary measure,
a response to a crisis, or a response to a competitor’s actions.
Shaded Green: Capable of differentiating on greenness, but the market
May be more focused on other attributes.
Extreme Green: Letting greenness permeate everywhere because it’s what
the brand is about and what the market wants.
Primary Marketing-Mix Tools in
Green Strategy
Product
Price
Lean
X
Defensive
X
Shaded
X
X
Extreme
X
X
Place
Promotion
X
X
X
X
Implementation Considerations
• Study own-customer records to determine
whether green segments being served
– What does the company stand to lose if consumer
segments go elsewhere?
• Study how segments see the brand and
competitor brands on greenness
• Cultivate the corporate culture
• Educate consumers
• Be credible (employ 3rd party certification)
• Don’t forget attributes other than greenness!
Conclusions
• It’s not easy, but certain styles of green
marketing can produce good returns
• Do your homework
• Proceed with caution
• Monitor your performance
• Remember:
– We’re not arguing that companies should limit the
greenness of their business practices – they should
be as green and sustainable as possible.
– It just may not be wise for everyone to try to be
“extreme green.”
– Strategies like “lean green” are very viable.