Download getting the green - IdeaExchange@UAkron

Running head: GETTING THE GREEN
May 11, 2016
GETTING THE
GREEN
Understanding the Market for
Eco-Friendly Tires
Secondary Research Report
The Fab Five
Kyle Costal, Pauline Gaynesbloom, Julia Mallinak, Nicholas Moyer, Kira Sizemore
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |1
Abstract
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has developed an interest in potential markets
for its new soybean oil tires. It is most interested in the Millennial generation and the
environmentally-conscious market as potential buyers for a “green” tire. In this research, key
aspects of the Millennial generation and “green” perceptions were examined to determine
Millennials’ viability as potential customers.
Millennials were found to be very socially-minded, mainly speaking in favor of “ecofriendly” products in order to gain the good opinion of their peers. However, those who did care
about the environment often believed any marketing methods to be insincere. It was found that
Millennials spend a great deal of time on the internet, so if they are to be reached, they should be
reached online.
“Green” perceptions in the public varied greatly. While actions taken to help the
environment were generally considered favorable, key phrases such as “green” and “ecofriendly” were met with confusion. If Goodyear wishes to position itself as a “green” company,
it must make efforts to explain its stance.
From this research, it was concluded that a sincere, online approach was the best method
to market Goodyear’s new tire, especially when attempting to reach Millennials. Future research
will look further into what messages garner the best responses.
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |2
Introduction
For decades, the public has been moving from a strictly industrial viewpoint to a more
environmentally ethical, “green” perspective. Specialty grocery stores featuring organic
products, electric cars, and recycled products are gaining increasing popularity every year. Many
companies are taking advantage of this trend, while others are adopting its beliefs on a deeper
level. One of the companies making a move toward “green” is the Goodyear Tire Company. In
recent years, Goodyear has developed advanced tire technology that supplements petroleum
with a renewable resource: soybean oil.
During the summer of 2012, a press release regarding the Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Company’s soybean oil tire went “viral” on the internet. Several online publications picked up
the release, sparking online interest. Several blogs wrote opinion pieces on the subject, and NPR
even picked up the topic for a brief amount of time. However, this apparent interest contrasts
with preexisting market data which suggested that the majority of the market is not interested in
buying environmentally friendly products. Some officials at Goodyear suggested that the
increased interest may be related to the Millennial generation entering the market in recent years.
Millennials are generally perceived as more environmentally conscious than previous
generations.
In light of this information, Goodyear wishes to know more about the potential market
for “green” tires. Its areas of interest include the emerging Millennial generation and the existing
“green” market. The goals of this paper are to determine the eligibility of these markets as
potential consumers; the public opinion of “green” products; and the best methods of marketing
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |3
Goodyear’s tires (if advertising them as environmentally conscious is even a worthwhile
endeavor).
This research will be focused on Millennials in terms of how they differ from previous
generations. Since they grew up in a unique environment, their mindset and behaviors have been
impacted in such a way that they may respond differently to marketing methods than previous
generations have. Environmentally conscious marketing has been around for decades. However,
because it has undergone many changes, the public is unsure of its intentions. In this research,
possible causes and solutions to this issue will be examined. Finally, the project team will
attempt to integrate this information in order to determine the best methods for marketing
Goodyear’s soybean tires.
Understanding Millennials
Millennials are distinguishable from previous generations in terms of demographics,
environment, and mindset. Millennials were born between 1980 and 2000 (DeVaney, 2015;
Smith & Nichols, 2015; Fromm, Butler, & Dickey, 2015; Dorsey, 2015). They are the last
generation to be born in the twentieth century and make up 25 percent of the US population
(Fromm et al, 2015; Reisenwitz & Iyer, 2009). Consisting of about 80 million people, the
Millennial generation is closest in size to the Baby Boomer generation (76 million). (DeVaney,
2015; Smith, 2014; Fromm et al, 2015; Dorsey, 2015). However, while Baby Boomers are
leaving the marketplace, Millennials are just entering and their spending power is quickly rising
(Reisenwitz & Iyer, 2009). It is estimated that Millennials now wield 21 percent of consumer
discretionary spending, amounting to more than $1 trillion per year (Fromm et al, 2015; Dorsey,
2015). For this reason, it is not surprising to discover that businesses are increasingly targeting
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |4
Millennials. The Millennial generation is also the most ethnically diverse generation in the
United States, consisting of 47 percent of minority groups, compared to Generation X’s 37
percent, and the Baby Boomers’ 26 percent (DeVaney, 2015). However, Millennials are
considered a heterogeneous generation for more reasons than just their ethnic makeup. While
some Millennials are young parents and careerists, others are still obtaining their high school and
college educations or are just beginning to enter the job market (Fromm et al, 2015).
Unique environments also shaped the Millennial generation. The generation’s early
memories include the push toward globalization; the attacks of September 11, 2001; and the
blossoming of the Internet Age (DeVaney, 2015). The Internet Age, though, has perhaps been
the most influential in shaping the Millennial profile. Since Millennials were the first generation
to grow up with technology, they are considered the earliest digital natives (DeVaney, 2015;
Fromm et al, 2015). Millennials are notorious for their addiction to mobile phones and social
media (Shashittal, Hodis, & Sriramachandramurthy; 2015; Dorsey, 2015). Because of their
enthusiasm for technology, Millennials are also “2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of
new digital, social and mobile tools” (Fromm et al, 2015, p. 29). The last environmental factor
that has shaped the Millennial profile is the recession of 2008. As a result of the recession,
Millennials are facing a slower job market, which has forced many to live with their parents and
delay marriage and home ownership (DeVaney, 2015; Dorsey, 2015). Although Millennials are
projected to become the most college-educated generation in the U.S., many Millennials find that
their college education has primarily burdened them with debt, compounding their financial
troubles, and further postponing their start in life (DeVaney, 2015).
Some people have described the Millennial mindset as “entitled, optimistic, civic minded,
close parental involvement, values work-life balance, impatient, multitasking, and team oriented
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |5
(Alsop, 2008). The word “entitled,” though, sums up the generation well. This attitude is
reflected both in the way they act as consumers and as employees. As consumers, Millennials are
very demanding that companies listen to their comments and critiques. They feel that they have
a right to be demanding, because Millennials are “highly aware of the options they have as
consumers and [take] full advantage of their freedom of choice” (Smith, 2014, p. 56). If a
company or brand fails to deliver, Millennials will take their business somewhere else. Not
surprisingly, studies show that Millennials are not as brand loyal as previous generations. Brands
that have been successful in catering to the narcissistic Millennial mindset have usually done so
by appealing to Millennials’ desire to be part of worthy causes (Fromm et al, 2015). However,
the most successful brands also give Millennials the ability to take credit for their participation.
The infamous Ice Bucket Challenge was one such success where Millennials believed in a cause
and shared their participation in it with the rest of the world via social media (Fromm et al,
2015). But even as job seekers, Millennials demonstrate narcissistic tendencies. Instead of asking
if they are a good fit for a job, they instead wonder if the position is right for them (DeVaney,
2015). Within the workforce, Millennials have been noted for their outspoken and ambitious
nature; they don’t “relish the idea of working their way up the ladder,” (DeVaney, 2015, p. 13)
and therefore become easily discontented, feeling undervalued by their company.
Millennials find much of their motivation in life from personal relationships, human
connections, technology, and social media (DeVaney, 2015). They deeply desire peer
affirmation, which they obtain through posting on social media sites (Sahittal et al., 2015).
Another distinguishing factor of Millennials is that they have a propensity for supporting social
change and usually accept non-traditional family values (Smith & Nichols, 2015). They also
want to be involved in socially responsible businesses, and generally seek to align themselves
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |6
with brands that have a higher purpose (Smith, 2014; Fromm et al, 2015). More specifically,
Millennials often support businesses that strive to make a positive effect on the environment, and
they think well of environmentally friendly products (Smith, 2014). Whether or not Millennials
are actually willing to act in accordance with their statements is yet to be seen, since younger
Millennials are often unaware of how to do so. On the other hand, studies show that older
Millennials are much more likely to reflect their environmentally conscious nature in their
buying behavior (Smith, 2014). Perhaps, given time, younger Millennials will follow suit as they
mature.
Green Perceptions
In order to effectively market its soybean tires, Goodyear must consider public attitudes
toward going green. A look at market research, scientific studies, and psychological phenomena
will be helpful in discerning these attitudes. To begin with, some research indicates that the
majority of consumers have positive attitudes and intentions toward eco-friendly products, but
many companies go unrecognized for their overall green efforts (Cordeiro & Joon Yong,
2014). Many consumers say that they are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly
products or change brands based on their impact on the environment (Drozdengo, Jensen &
Coelho, 2011; Park & Lee, 2014). In contrast, however, some research shows that despite
consumers’ favorable attitudes toward green products, there is no clear correlation between these
attitudes and demand for green products (Johnstone & Tan, 2014). Research also documents a
slow transition to eco-friendly activities such as recycling or carpooling (McDonald et al, 2015;
Park & Lee, 2014).
Opinion polls across the globe have shown significant concern over environmental
issues. However, consumers continue to buy products that use more energy or more raw
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |7
materials, such as cars and televisions (Johnstone & Tan, 2014; Olson, 2012). For instance, cars
have increased in weight and horsepower by 25 and 100 percent respectively since the
1970’s. Similarly, televisions have only continued to increase in size. These facts lead
researchers to believe that a paradox exists between the public’s purported concern over
environmental issues and its decision to purchase “brown” products (less environmentally
friendly products) (Olson, 2012).
Many believe that environmental innovation will improve a firm’s competitiveness in an
industry. However, researchers have found evidence that consumers are not purchasing the
products that companies are bringing to market as a result of environmental innovations
(Thogersen, 2006; Sandhu, 2010; Forsman 2013). This conclusion was also supported by
Michaud and Llerena (2011) who found evidence that most consumers were not willing to pay a
premium for green products (Forsman, 2013). Other researchers have found that companies’
green products have failed because the company focused too much on the efficiency or
“greenness” of the products instead of their consumers’ expectations and wants (Ottman,
Stafford, & Hartman 2006). This idea was supported by Belz and Schmidt-Riediger (2010), who
found that consumers’ willingness to buy green products was based on the advantages perceived
by the consumers and the trade-off between environmental efficiency and their other buying
standards (Forsman, 2013). In contrast, Michaud and Llerena (2011) found that a consumer’s
desire to pay for a conventional product decreased when he was told of how the product
adversely impacted the environment (Forsman, 2013). In summary, it seems that the public feels
guilty purchasing “brown” products, but not guilty enough to motivate them to purchase green
products. This situation may be remedied, though, if a company can prove to the public that its
product meets not only environmental standards, but also the consumer’s needs and wants.
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |8
Millennials are one of the largest generations in history, so it is important for companies
to understand the group and learn how to cater to their desires. Previous research has shown that
47 percent of Millennials would pay more for products that were environmentally efficient
(Smith, 2014). However, companies face a challenge in promoting their green or eco-friendly
products because green label standards are virtually non-existent, making it difficult for
Millennials to tell the difference between green and non-green products (Lu, Bock, & Joseph,
2013; Mishra & Sharma, 2014). Ambiguity also exists in words that are used to describe
environmentally friendly products (Smith, 2014). Therefore, research has shown that in order for
green messages to be communicated effectively through advertisements, the message must target
the consumer’s personal motivations for purchasing an environmentally friendly product (Ku et
al, 2012; Mishra & Sharma, 2014).
In addition to market research, specific studies also provide a deeper understanding of
green perceptions. Data collected from a number of Finnish companies between 2002 and 2010
lends insight into green perceptions. The study focused on the market, image, risk, and
efficiency related aspects of companies, measuring their sales before, during, and after the
introduction of environmental innovations (Forsman, 2013). A key finding of this study was that
the development of environmental innovations helped to create a market-related advantage in
terms of sales growth (Drozdengo, Jensen & Coelho, 2011; Forsman, 2013). Interestingly
enough, the largest growth values were noticed during the development phase of the innovations,
while sales numbers tended to decrease after implementation (Forsman, 2013). It seems that the
public buys more from a company when it hears that it is about to produce something green, but
then, when the company brings the product to market, the public decreases their financial
GETTING THE GREEN
Page |9
support. One reason to explain this conundrum might be that the public desires to support green
companies, but is displeased with the performance of green products once they come to market.
Another study attempted to research the perception that companies that promote green
innovation have a financial advantage over companies that don’t. The researchers’ hypothesis
that green firms experience greater yearly improvement in financial performance was rejected
after the study, which makes sense when one considers the Finnish study mentioned above,
where it was discovered that green firms may experience an increase in financial performance
before a product comes to market, but then a decrease after it comes to market--resulting in no
net gain. In this new study, they found that while green firms had an overall higher Return on
Assets (ROA), they also experienced a smaller increase in ROA from year-to-year than nongreen firms. This discovery concerning ROA led to the rejection of the beginning
hypothesis. Two other perceptions were also confirmed during the research. The first one being
that the more green patents a company produces, the greater their financial performance. The
other being that increased environmental regulations inhibit the production of green patents, and
therefore decrease a company’s ability to enhance its financial performance through green
technologies. Thus, the more firms focused on improving their processes and products with
green innovations the better their financial performance. However, a company’s pursuit of green
innovations is facilitated best if it is located in a country with minimal environmental regulations
(Caracuell & Mandojana, 2013).
When considering green perceptions, it is important to note that there is a known
psychological phenomenon called the rebound effect, where consumers justify using products
more than they normally would just because they are more energy efficient (Olson, 2012; Yu,
Moreno-Cruz & Crittenden, 2015). Studies have found that purchasers of hybrid and other fuel
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 10
efficient cars were likely to drive up to 20 percent more than other drivers, thereby eliminating
their increased fuel efficiency and marginalizing their pollution reduction.
Marketing to Millennials
Millennials are the generation of multitasking; they use an abundance of technology to
communicate every possible thought. They take in a variety of information to make spontaneous
decisions, as they are not risk averse (Reisenwitz & Iyer, 2009). At the same time, the
abundance of information coming their way slows down their decision process; they want to
have all the details they need before choosing. As they take longer than previous generations to
finish school, get married, and have children, it should come as no surprise that they take longer
to establish brand loyalty too (Dorsey, 2015). With enough information, Millennials can easily
switch from brand to brand; it takes less time to find a new brand than to try to find one to stay
with.
As the breadth of technology increases, Millennials find themselves locked into one of
the most immediately engaging processes that exists in the modern age--social media. In fact,
they seek to join the engagement in any way they can. As they rapidly take in information, they
want to share it just as quickly. Millennials are focused on peer affirmation, and they want to
share or retweet everything the instant they see it to gain the recognition and attention they seek
(Fromm, Butler & Dickey, 2014). In this way, Millennials are their own source of
information. Once news breaks the generational barrier, it spreads like wildfire across the
cohort. However, in the world of constant upgrades (Barkoczi, Lobontiu & Bacali, 2015),
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 11
standing out from the crowd is harder than ever. It does not help that Millennials are
unimpressed by advertisements and established brands (Shashittal, Hodis &
Sriramachandramurthy). They need to feel as though approaching a new brand is their idea.
Consequently, they refuse to acknowledge advertising as an influence in their decisions. With
that in mind, marketers need to learn to create advertisements that engage the consumer. If they
can catch the attention of one Millennial, they have found a way to communicate with
thousands.
Looking forward, engaging Millennials’ attention and trust will be essential to keeping
their patronage. According to Ken Dorsey (2015), Millennials are “the easiest generation for you
to win, not the hardest.” At a speech during Goodyear’s most recent dealer conference, he stated
that Millennials are the most likely to be obtained through word-of-mouth in the automotive
category, as Millennials are not aware of all the products and services available to
them. Because Millennials trust what they hear, it is imperative to reach them first. In the
article “Going to Google” (McCarron, 2012), results showed that 21 percent of tire consumers
made their purchase online and that roughly 66 percent of tire consumers did research online
before making a purchase. McCarron notes that as consumers come closer to making a purchase,
their online research becomes more specific. Therefore, if a company does not become a part of
the search process early on, it may never be part of the search process at all. Additionally,
availability is an important product attribute among Millennials, as evidenced by the popularity
of Amazon’s two-day shipping plan. McCarron also found that the number of tire consumers
shopping online is increasing. Therefore, it is extremely important that consumers be able to
find and shop tires on a mobile friendly site.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 12
Another key to obtaining Millennials’ attention is to appear immediately in search
engines. As of January 2016, Google globally commands over 65 percent of the desktop-search
market share. Coming in second is Bing at just over 15 percent of the share. While this is
significantly less than Google, it is still a substantial percentage (“Search engine market share,”
2016). However, the mobile browser-search share is distributed differently. Google Chrome
holds the lead at just over 41 percent of the share, but Safari is not far behind with 34 percent of
browser usage.
However, there are other ways to reach Millennials. While social media including
Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and similar sites are powerful connecting tools, a new trend is
developing which may prove to be even more effective than advertising through social media.
Amanda Walgrove (2015) wrote that U.S. adults are spending more time watching digitally
streamed videos than any other digital media. In summary, it seems that the best way for
Goodyear to reach Millennials is to dramatically increase its presence online, via social media,
search engines, or digitally streamed videos created to engage Millennials’ attention.
Green Marketing and Implications Regarding Millennials
The concept of promoting products as “green” is not new. It has been around at least
since the early 1970s (Rex & Baumann, 2007), when marketing scholars Karl E. Henion II and
Thomas C. Kinnear coined the term “ecological marketing.” This was meant to be a real attempt
to create a movement for environmentally friendly products that could still create profit for
businesses. (Herberger Jr, 1977). The concept has undergone many changes in the past decades
due to the underperformance of newly released green products and the consumer’s growing
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 13
desire for more information about the legitimacy of the claims that companies put on product
labels (Peattie & Crane, 2005).
Businesses today must be careful about how they present products that claim to be
environmentally friendly due to the influx of “greenwashing” in the 1990s, which meant that
companies were promoting products as being eco-friendly without any real evidence behind their
claims. (Smith & Brower, 2012; Lu et al, 2013; Olsen, Slotegraaf, & Chandukala, 2014). Even
though the Federal Trade Commission has since created regulations regarding this issue of false
advertising, the average consumer is still unsure of what it even means for a product to be green,
or is confused by the communication strategies in use for green products (Clare, Medhi & Peter,
2006; Smith & Brower, 2012).
Many consumers experience a feeling of cynicism towards products that are labeled as
“green” or “environmentally friendly” because they either do not trust the company’s claims, or
they do not believe that they can make an impact as an individual (Bray & Kilburn, 2011). When
considering the consumer’s decision-making process between a claimed eco-friendly product and
a conventional product, a few very important factors are: the level of education and knowledge
that the consumer has on the issue at hand, whether or not the issue is of importance or concern
to the consumer, and whether or not the consumer feels that they have the power to make a
difference (Rex & Baumann, 2007; Bray & Kilburn, 2011). Consumers in general are much
more likely to purchase a green product if it is endorsed by a well-known environmental group,
as well as if the individual has access to consumer-generated feedback about the company or
specific product (Smith & Brower, 2012).
The individuals contributing to the environmental cause by purchasing “green” products
tend to be classified on a deeper level than demographics alone (Rex & Baumann, 2007). This
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 14
may pose an additional challenge in regards to marketing a green product specifically to
Millennials. The attributes that are common in a typical green consumer include a commitment
to recycling, carpooling or biking to work (Johnstone & Tan, 2015). These people are more
highly educated about environmental issues, price insensitive, and high-scoring on generativity
(the desire to establish and guide the next generation) (Smith & Brower, 2012). In addition,
green consumers tend to either have some personal affinity to the environment or another
personal attachment, such as being dependent on the environment for their wellbeing (Johnstone
& Tan, 2015). Green consumers also expect that the companies they support are participating in
green practices too (Lu et al, 2013). This may include utilizing clean energy resources for
everyday business activities or transitioning into using recycled or recyclable packaging for their
products (Olsen et al, 2014). Consumers who buy green products tend to experience an ad-hoc
need for justification of their purchase, which occurs internally, and in turn creates a higher sense
of admiration for their choice and increases their overall preference for green products (Smith &
Brower, 2012). This proves that a good past experience with green products has a positive
impact on the consumer’s attitude toward environmentally friendly companies and products and
their likelihood to buy again.
It may be beneficial to target smaller groups of consumers within the Millennial
generation, with regard to household income, previous purchase behavior, and brand loyalty
(Park & Lee, 2014). The older Millennials tend to support companies that have proven to be
taking steps to help the environment, whereas the younger Millennials appear to have a desire to
be environmentally conscious, but do not really know where to start or how to adjust to an
environmentally conscious lifestyle (Smith, 2014).
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 15
Many Millennials, both older and younger, find that going green is too big of a
commitment and is too difficult in regards to time consumption, financial obligation and overall
effort, which is a recurring theme with this group in general (Johnstone and Tan, 2015) . Both
groups of Millennials also tend to identify green products as excessively expensive and assume
that they are of lower quality than non-green substitutes (Lu et al, 2013). They tend to perceive a
product with a very simplistic design and packaging to be greener than one with a cluttered or
confusing appearance (Smith & Brower, 2012). Studies have shown that interpersonal
communications are much more effective and persuasive than mass media when it comes to
green products and activities, and Millennials tend to value individuality more than
environmentalism (Muralidharan, Rejón-Guardia, & Xue, 2016). They want communications
regarding these products to be relevant and engaging (Smith, 2014; Pickett-Baker & Ozaki,
2008).
In order to effectively communicate a green message, especially on social media,
companies must show genuine concern for the environment. They must make the communication
strategy less of a sales pitch (Lyon & Montgomery, 2013). This should include some level of
content marketing that would be engaging and interesting to a wider audience than the typical
green niche market (Pickett-Baker & Ozaki, 2008). When a company tries too hard to convince
consumers that it is environmentally friendly, the consumer will easily see through any façade,
and may develop a perception that the company is hypocritical (Lyon & Montgomery, 2013;
Callahan, 2006). Therefore, it is important for a company to make further changes within the
organization in regards to its corporate strategy, in an effort to go green, rather than just
producing one product as a green alternative to the rest of its product line (Lyon & Montgomery,
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 16
2013; Papadas & Avlonitis, 2014). This strategy can be effective on a business-to-business level,
as well as business-to-consumer.
On the B-to-B side, a company may be able to leverage the idea of guiding their industry
into a more environmentally friendly state, much like Interface Fabrics has done with their
recycled materials for automobile interiors (Callahan, 2006). In addition, the use of “positive
marketing” will create higher value for the firm (reducing cost, time to market, etc.), the
customers (creating convenience, individuality, positive affinity) and society as a whole
(recyclable, uses less raw materials to produce, etc.) (Gopaldas, 2015; Mittelstaedt et al, 2015).
These messages will resonate with Millennials because the company will become more genuine
in their eyes and more relevant to their everyday lives, which is the ultimate goal that presentday marketers must strive for (Parker, 2014).
Conclusion
The purpose of this research was to search for potential insights into the market for green
tires. Areas of interest included the Millennial generation and the explicitly “eco-friendly”
segments of the market. The key question to be answered, asked whether or not any particular
communications would benefit Goodyear when marketing its soybean oil tire as “green.”
While the Millennial generation claims to seek out “green” products, its behavior does
not always align with its statements. Millennials, a generation that cares deeply about image,
naturally claims to argue in favor of “green” technology when it improves their social
standing. However, as a generation that cares about efficiency and results, Millennials often
avoid green products due to beliefs that environmentally-conscious products are inherently
lower-quality and more expensive than their “brown” counterparts. It is difficult to gain their
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 17
trust, as they are suspicious of marketing. Therefore, in order to effectively market to
Millennials, companies must consciously make an effort to be genuine in their efforts. Utilizing
the internet can also be very beneficial, as this is where Millennials make the most of their
connections.
Because of marketer’s historical dishonesty, the “green” market is a very imbalanced
segment. While many people support environmentally-conscious choices, they are often unsure
whether or not a company is truly acting in a responsible fashion. The “greenwashing” of the
1990’s led to a great deal of confusion regarding phrases like “green” and “eco-friendly.” In
order to gain the trust of the market, Goodyear will need to establish itself as an
environmentally-minded company before it can successfully market any “green” products.
If properly reached, Millennials can be a very profitable segment for Goodyear. The key
to reaching Millennials is for Goodyear to genuinely approach them as an environmentallyconscious company, as opposed to a company pushing one “green” product for profit and
attention. Goodyear will have to gain the good opinions of thought leaders among Millennials,
including key bloggers and internet celebrities. From there, Goodyear can take advantage of
word-of-mouth advertising to establish itself as a truly “green” company. With the trust of the
Millennial audience, Goodyear can then sell their “green” tire as an inherently good product that
happens to be better for the environment than its “brown” counterparts.
In moving forward, future research will look into the opinions of Millennials and other
generations regarding environmentally-friendly products. These groups will be examined in
terms of their responsiveness to various marketing techniques. Millennials will also be
compared to other generations in terms of their purchasing behavior. With this information, it
will hopefully be possible to place Goodyear at the forefront of the “green” automotive industry.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 18
Resources
Alsop, R. (2008). The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the
Workplace. San Francisco: Jorsey Bass.
Barkoczi, N., Lobontiu, M., & Bacali, L. (2015). Predicting the Adoption by the Young
Consumers of a New Technology on the Mobile Phone Market using the Bass Diffusion
Model. Revisita de Management şi Inginerie Economică, 14(2), pp. 297-306.
Belz, F.M. & Schmidt-Riediger, B. (2010). Marketing strategies in the age of sustainable
development: Evidence from the food industry. Business Strategy and the Environment,
19(7), pp. 401-416.
Bray, J., Johns, N. and Kilburn, D. (2011) An exploratory study into the factors impeding ethical
consumption. Journal of Business Ethics. 98 (4).
Callahan, S. (2006). B-to-b marketers go green. (cover story). B To B, 91(7), 1-42.
Caracuell, J.A., & Mandojana, N.O. (2013). Green Innovation and Financial
Performance: An Institutional Approach. Organization and Environment, 365-385.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 19
Clare, D., Mehdi, T., & Peter, L. (2006). An empirical study on the influence of environmental
labels on consumers. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 11(2), 162173.
Cordeiro, J. J., & Joon Yong, S. (2014). Consumer Perceptions of Green Brands and
Actual Corporate Environmental Performance. Advances in Consumer Research, 443444.
DeVaney, S.A. (2015). Understanding the Millennial Generation. Journal of Financial
Service Professionals, 69(6), pp. 11-14.
Dorsey, J. (2015). Adapting to Millennials can pay off. Tire Business, 33(1), pp. 6.
Drozdenko, R., Jensen, M., & Coelho, D. (2011). PRICING OF GREEN PRODUCTS:
PREMIUMS PAID, CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS AND INCENTIVES.
International Journal of Business, Marketing, & Decision Science, 4(1), 106-116.
Forsman, H. (2013). Environmental Innovations as a Source of Competitive Advantage or Vice
Versa? Business Strategy and the Environment, 306-320.
Fromm, J., Butler, C., & Dickey, C. (2015). How to engage Millennials: Re-imagining
the consumer as a partner, not a target audience, to increase engagement. Journal of
Brand
Strategy, 4(1), pp. 27-36.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 20
Gittelman, S., Lange, V., Cook, W. A., Frede, S. M., Lavrakas, P. J., Pierce, C., & Thomas, R. K.
(2015). Accounting for Social-Desirability Bias in Survey Sampling. Journal of
Advertising Research, 55(3), 242-254. doi:10.2501/JAR-2015-006
Gopaldas, A. (2015). Creating firm, customer, and societal value: Toward a theory of positive
marketing. Journal of Business Research, 68(12), 2446-2451. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.
2015.06.031.
Herberger Jr., R. A. (1977). ECOLOGICAL MARKETING/ ECOLOGICAL MARKETING.
Journal of Marketing, 41(3), 143-144.
Johnstone, M., & Tan, L. (2015). Exploring the Gap between Consumers' Green Rhetoric and
Purchasing Behaviour. Journal of Business Ethics, 132(2), 311-328. doi:10.1007/s10551014-2316-3.
Ku, H., Kuo, C., Wu, C., & Wu, C. (2012). COMMUNICATING GREEN
MARKETING
APPEALS EFFECTIVELY. Journal of Advertising, 41(4), 41-50.
doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367410403.
Lu, L., Bock, D., & Joseph, M. (2013). Green marketing: what the Millennials buy. Journal of
Business Strategy, 34(6), 3-10. doi:10.1108/JBS-05-2013-0036.
Lyon, T. P., & Montgomery, A. W. (2013). Tweetjacked: The Impact of Social Media on
Corporate Greenwash. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(4), 747-757. doi:10.1007/s10551013-1958-x.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 21
Matthes, J., & Wonneberger, A. (2014). The Skeptical Green Consumer Revisited: Testing the
Relationship Between Green Consumerism and Skepticism Toward Advertising.
Journal of Advertising, 43(2), 115-127. doi:10.1080/00913367.2013.834804.
McDonald, S., Oates, C. J., Thyne, M., Timmis, A. J., & Carlile, C. (2015). Flying in the face of
environmental concern: why green consumers continue to fly. Journal of Marketing
Management, 31(13/14), 1503-1528. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2015.1059352.
Michaud, C. & Llerena, D. (2011). Green consumer behavior: an experimental analysis of
willingness to pay for remanufactured products. Business Strategy and the Environment,
20 (6), pp. 408-420.
Mishra, P., & Sharma, P. (2014). Green Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities for Business.
BVIMR Management Edge, 7(1), pp. 78-86.
Mittelstaedt, J. D., Kilbourne, W. E., & II Shultz, C. J. (2015). Macromarketing approaches to
thought development in positive marketing: Two perspectives on a research agenda for
positive marketing scholars. Journal of Business Research, 68(12), 2513-2516.
doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.038.
Muralidharan, S., Rejón-Guardia, F., & Xue, F. (2016). Understanding the green buying
behavior of younger Millennials from India and the United States: A structural equation
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 22
modeling approach. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 54-72.
doi:10.1080/08961530.2015.1056328.
Olsen, M. C., Slotegraaf, R. J., & Chandukala, S. R. (2014). Green Claims and Message Frames:
How Green New Products Change Brand Attitude. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 119-137.
Olson, E.L. (2012). It’s not easy being green: the effects of attribute tradeoffs on green product
preference and choice. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 171-184.
Ottman, J.A., Stafford, E.R., & Hartman, C.L. (2006). Avoiding green marketing myopia: Ways
to improve consumer appeal for environmentally preferable products. Environment:
Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 48(5), pp. 22-36.
Papadas, K., & Avlonitis, G. J. (2014). The 4 Cs of environmental business: Introducing a new
conceptual framework. Social Business, 4(4), 345-360.doi:10.1362/204440814X141857
03122928.
Park, J. S., & Lee, J. (2014). Segmenting Green Consumers in the United States: Implications for
Green Marketing. Journal of Promotion Management, 20(5), 571-589.
doi:10.1080/10496491.2014.946202.
Parker, K. (2014). Stop thinking like a marketer and let the value exchange guide you. Marketing
Week (Online Edition), 21.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 23
Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005). Green marketing: legend, myth, farce or prophesy?. Qualitative
Market Research: An International Journal, 8(4), 357-370.
Pickett-Baker, J., & Ozaki, R. (2008). Pro-environmental products: marketing influence on
consumer purchase decision. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 25(5), 281-293.
Reisenwitz, T.H., & Iyer, R. (2009). Differences in Generation X and Generation Y:
Implications for the Organization and Marketers. Marketing Management Journal, 19(2),
pp. 91-103.
Rex, E., & Baumann, H. (2007). Beyond ecolabels: What green marketing can learn from
conventional marketing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(6), pp. 567-576.
Sandhu, S. (2010). Shifting Paradigms in Corporate Environmentalism: From Poachers to
Gamekeepers. Business and Society Review, 115 (3), pp. 285-310.
Search engine market share. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2016, from
https://www.netmarketshare.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4.
Shashittal, H.C., Hodis, M., & Sriramachandramurthy, R. (2015). Entifying your brand among
Twitter-using Millennials. Business Horizons, 58, pp. 325-333.
GETTING THE GREEN
P a g e | 24
Smith, K.T. (2014). Millennials’ Interpretations of Green Terminology. Journal of the Academy
of Marketing Studies, 55-68.
Smith, K. T., & Brower, T. R. (2012). Longitudinal study of green marketing strategies that
influence Millennials. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 20(6), 535-551.
doi:10.1080/0965254X.2012.711345.
Smith, T. & Nichols, T. (2015). Understanding the Millennial Generation. Journal of Business
Diversity, 15(1) p.39.
Thogerson, J. (2006). Media attention and the market for ‘green’ consumer products. Business
Strategy and the Environment, 15(3) pp. 145-156.
Walgrove, A. (2015). The Explosive Growth of Online Video, in 5 Charts. Retrieved January
27, 2016, from https://contently.com/strategist/2015/07/06/the-explosive-growth-ofonline-video-in-5-charts/.
Yu, X., Moreno-Cruz, J., & Crittenden, J. C. (2015). Regional energy rebound effect: The impact
of economy-wide and sector level energy efficiency improvement in Georgia, USA.
Energy Policy, 87250-259. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2015.09.020