Tag Archives: Consumer

Statistics Every Cause Marketer Should Know – Cause Marketing Forum

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Statistics Every Cause Marketer Should Know

By David Hessekiel, Cause Marketing Forum

If you’re a cause marketer, you undoubtedly need quick access to research to support your daily work. Here are some statistics from 2008 to 2011 that shed new light on doing well by doing good.

2011

The Numbers – Although it’s difficult to quantify cause marketing spending, IEG predicts corporate cause sponsorship to reach $1.7 billion in 2011.

Consumers Crave Communication – Ninety-three percent of consumers want to know what companies are doing to make the world a better place and 91% also want to be heard by companies. Unfortunately, 71% report being confused by the message companies use to talk about their efforts and impacts. 2011 Cone/Echo Global CR Study

Millennials: A Critical Cause Demographic – Millennials, more than Non-Millennials, prefer active engagement in cause campaigns, such as volunteering their time (31% versus 26%), cause-support purchasing (37% versus 30%), encouraging others to support a cause (30% versus 22%), and participating in fundraising events (27% versus 16%). Thirty-seven percent of Millennials report being drawn to products co-branding with cause campaigns where their purchase is a form of support, such as Tom’s Shoes One for One Campaign. American Millennials: Deciphering the Enigma Generation, a report from Barkley based on research conducted as part of a joint partnership with Service Management Group, The Boston Consulting Group and Barkley

2010

Consumer Expect Marketing with Purpose Globally – Eighty-six percent of consumers around the world believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on societal interests as on business interests. 2010 Edelman goodpurpose

Marketing Experts Agree – Two-thirds of brands now engage in cause marketing (up from 58% in 2009) and 97% of marketing executives believe it is a valid business strategy. 2010 PRWeek/Barkely PR Cause Survey

Communication is Key – 90% of consumers want companies to tell them the ways they are supporting causes. Nearly two-thirds (61%) don’t think companies are giving them enough details about their efforts, including the amounts donated and the length of the promotions. 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study

Hispanics and African Americans Respond to CM – One-third of Hispanic and African American consumers report that they almost always choose brands that support causes they believe in, compared to just one in five Non-Hispanic Whites. Yankelovich MONITOR Multicultural Study 2010

2009

Consumers Punish Companies with Bad Reputations: 72% of US consumers say they have avoided purchasing products from companies whose practices they disagree with. 2009 BBMG Conscious Consumer Report

People Seek Authentic Corporate Commitment – Globally 66% of people believe%

via Statistics Every Cause Marketer Should Know – Cause Marketing Forum.

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Why Education is Key to Green Marketing Success | Sustainability Marketing, The New Rules of Green Marketing Book

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Jacquie Ottman‘s Green Marketing Blog

Why Education is Key to Green Marketing Success

October 26, 2011 by Jacquelyn Ottman

Given the complexities of greening, properly educating consumers can make the difference in the success of a campaign. One green marketer who learned the hard way about the need to educate is Whirlpool. In the early 1990s they won a $30 million “Golden Carrot” award that was put up by the U.S. Department of Energy and a consortium of electrical utilities for being the first to market with a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free refrigerator. But they misjudged consumer’s willingness to pay a 10% premium for a product with an environmental benefit that many did not appreciate. Many consumers, not knowing what a CFC was, likely thought the appliance to be deficient.

For advertisers that make the effort to teach, educational messages represent special opportunities to boost involvement, enhance imagery, and bolster credibility.

Demonstrate how environmentally superior products can help consumers safeguard their health, preserve the environment for their grandkids, or protect the outdoors for recreation and wildlife. Make environmental benefits tangible through compelling illustrations and statistics, and you will make consumers feel as if their choices make a difference.

Have We Met Before?

In 2008, Pepsi launched an empowering Have We Met Before? recycling campaign. It featured fun fact-based messages from the National Recycling Coalition that underscored the difference recycling can make, and it encouraged consumers to make recycling a part of their daily routine. Two factoids emblazoned on specially designed cans included: “Recycling could save 95% of the energy used to make this can” and “The average person has the opportunity to recycle 25,000 cans in a lifetime.”

via Why Education is Key to Green Marketing Success | Sustainability Marketing, The New Rules of Green Marketing Book | J. Ottman Consulting.

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What Is Green Marketing – Green Marketing – Green Marketing Definition

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The Earth flag is not an official flag, since ...

Image via Wikipedia

Green Marketing By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

Definition: What is green marketing? Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.

The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service’s “greenness” as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product – an assumption that, in my opinion, has not been proven conclusively.

While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousness with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company’s other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it’s not is called greenwashing.

via What Is Green Marketing – Green Marketing – Green Marketing Definition.

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Focus On Consumer Self-Interest to Win Today's Green Customer | Sustainability Marketing, The New Rules of Green Marketing Book | J. Ottman Consulting

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Focus On Consumer Self-Interest to Win Today’s Green Customer

October 05, 2011 by Jacquelyn Ottman

If your green ads showcase the now tiresome images of babies, daisies, and planets, your messages will likely be irrelevant to mainstream consumers. Eco-imagery may have tugged at the purse-strings of “deep green” consumers, but their lighter green counterparts, who make up the bulk of the market, want to know how even the greenest of products benefit them personally. While the environment may be the underlying reason a product was created or upgraded, it will likely not be the primary motivation for consumers to choose your brand over those of competitors.

Avoid green marketing myopiaIn other words, don’t commit the fatal sin of “green marketing myopia”. As my colleagues, Ed Stafford and Cathy Hartman of the Huntsman Business School of Utah State, and I point out in our much-quoted article, “Avoiding Green Marketing Myopia,” remember that consumers buy products to meet basic needs – not altruism.

When consumers enter a store, they don their consumer, not citizen caps. They are looking to find the products that will get their clothes clean, that will taste great, that will save them money or that will make themselves appear attractive to others. Environmental and social benefits are best positioned as an important plus that can help sway purchase decisions, particularly between two otherwise comparable products.

Quiet Green MarketingUnderscoring the primary reasons why consumers purchase your brand – sometimes referred to as “quiet green” – can broaden the appeal of your greener products and services way beyond the niche of deepest green consumers. Quiet green might also help overcome a premium price hurdle. So, focus communication for greener products on how consumers can protect their health, save money, or keep their home and community safe and clean. Show busy consumers how some environmentally inclined behaviors can save time and effort.

To be clear, this does not mean focusing exclusively on such benefits – to do so would be to go back to conventional marketing altogether. But focusing too heavily on environmental benefits at the expense of primary benefits will put your product in the green graveyard, buried under good intentions. Happily, thanks to advances in technology, many greener products these days do provide added value in the form of enhanced benefits.

Does your green product improve health?Keep in mind that the number one reason why consumers buy greener products is not to “save the planet” but to protect their own health. Categories most closely aligned with health are growing the fastest and tend to command the highest premiums. Health%

via Focus On Consumer Self-Interest to Win Today’s Green Customer | Sustainability Marketing, The New Rules of Green Marketing Book | J. Ottman Consulting.

What Is Green Marketing – Green Marketing – Green Marketing Definition

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Green Marketing By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

Definition: What is green marketing? Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.

The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service’s “greenness” as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product – an assumption that, in my opinion, has not been proven conclusively.

While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company’s other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it’s not is called greenwashing.

via What Is Green Marketing – Green Marketing – Green Marketing Definition.

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5 Steps to Forging a Green Marketing Path | GoodWorks – Advertising Age

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Green

Image by Will Clayton via Flickr

Don’t Let Skepticism Stifle Green Marketing

5 Steps for Gaining Consumer Trust Despite Greenwashing Fears

By: Jacquelyn Ottman

Bio  RSS feed Published: August 04, 2011  inShare45  J. Ottman

Ask businesses why they don’t tout green achievements more often, and their answer will likely be fear of greenwash. Before you let such fears deter you from making investments in sustainable technology or promoting your green achievements, consider how difficult it is for any advertiser to gain consumer trust.

Consumers have always been skeptical of advertising. Take the food industry, for example. Food brands have long been under government scrutiny for their advertising claims. Today, companies are getting smeared for overpromising health benefits, leaving consumers confused about what’s actually true. But we don’t call that “food wash.”

As I write in my new book, “The New Rules of Green Marketing,” skepticism is so rampant in all industries that consumers trust each other more than they trust brands, ads and media messages in general. That’s one reason social media is soaring right now.

Skepticism is par for the course. Besides, a little skepticism is good — it keeps us on our toes. The now “Wild West” green marketplace will mature. But as is the case for many established industries, the potential to screw up will always be there.

So, proceed with caution. But for the sake of the planet and your business, do proceed. The following strategies will help you avoid greenwash and gain competitive advantage in the process:

1. Walk your talk. Thwart the most discriminating of critics by visibly making progress toward measurable goals. Being proactive in responding to the public’s concerns and expectations starts with a visible and committed CEO. That’s because CEO

via 5 Steps to Forging a Green Marketing Path | GoodWorks – Advertising Age.