Green Marketing Flashcards
Green marketing (Or environmental marketing or ecological marketing or eco-marketing or sustainable marketing….)
Refers to environmentally and socially conscious oriented goods…..which meet customer needs with an ecologically and socially compatible process of development and distribution.
To market products as green/ sustainable a number of considerations need to be taken into account:
- Authenticity: the company should have a genuine claim to the environmentally/ socially beneficial characteristics of the product.
- Commitment: the company itself should actively pursue the quest for sustainability. It should be a universal commitment (from the management down through the ranks).
- A programmatic approach: a complete programme aimed at addressing the Triple Bottom Line is needed; focus on all three pillars not on environmental issues only.
Green marketing….might be driven by:
- legitimacy (coercion/ mimetism)
- ethics
- competitiveness (differentiation/ mimetism)
The 5 Ps of sustainable marketing
- Product
- Price
- Promotion
- Place
- People
Product?
• Is the product truly needed?
• Are all claims legitimate, proven, and certified?
For example, Srinivasan & Till (2002) showed that the credence claim of “easily biodegradable” for facial tissues was rated as more likely to be true when it was made by the well-known Kleenex brand than when made by a generic producer.
• Is the product packaging recyclable?
Price?
- If the product costs more to deliver, are customers willing to pay extra for the product, given its environmental/ social superiority over competing products?
Promotion?
- What media outlets would the potential customers be most likely to pay attention to?
- Which are the available promotion channels that require minimum consumption of natural resources?
- What NGOs/ CSOs might be willing to partner for this particular product?
Place?
Typical considerations:
• What stores would be the most appropriate to capture the demographic who would buy this product?
• In what area of the country would sales be optimal?
• What stores/ distribution practices would ensure minimum environmental impacts? Most companies these days fail to take this into account e.g amazon to attempt to promote the environmental actions but offer immediate satisfaction to customers, there’s no environmental consideration in this. This would be considered by investing in culture, to ensure the company implements an environmental approach so firms can differ themselves from the rest.
People?
Do employees genuinely believe in the values presented by this product? (focus on culture).
Basic requirements for successful sustainable marketing?
- Know your customer: it’s important for companies to know the consumption patterns of their customers (e.g. those who are willing to pay added costs to buy sustainable products; those who lean green but are not willing to pay extra costs; and those who just don’t care)
- Empower consumers: give them the feeling that the purchase of the product actually makes a difference. Can be argued most important.
- Be transparent: disclose clear/ easy to understand/ comparable information.
Consumers who are willing to pay the price can be categorised as:
- Resource Conservers: conscious of energy consumption and try to minimise to appeal to these consumers marketers need to emphasise the longevity and reusability of products.
- Health Fanatics: eat organic, buy non-toxic products. Marketers should focus on health benefits (e.g. Wholefoods)
- Animal Lovers: would never buy leather or fur. To appeal to these individuals, advertising should be sought in the speciality magazines like PAWS, Animal Fair or partner with organisations like PETA (people for ethical treatment of animals).
- Outdoor Enthusiasts: campers and hikers; they seek products that minimise impact on the environment. To appeal to these individuals marketers, need to promote their products in speciality magazines such as Backpacker or partner with national parks.
Brandalism?
• Companies need to be transparent in terms of their good impacts but bad as well.
• Brandalism is a revolt against the corporate control of culture and space.
• Intervening into ad spaces that usually celebrate consumption, Brandalism use ‘subvertising’ as a lens through which we can view the intersectional social & environmental justice issues that capitalism creates.
e.g.
“We’re sorry we got caught,” reads a fake advertisement from Volkswagen, alluding to its emissions scandal.
Issue with green marketing?
(Scammon and Mish, 2011)
Marketing for the natural environment involves value creation, delivery, and communication objectives beyond those that satisfy immediate customer wants and needs. Ultimately, this means that marketers and marketing scholars are facing a major reorientation of the field.
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Going
Green (Gershoff and Irwin, 2011)
- Consumers Don’t See Green Actions Leading to Green Outcomes
- Consumers Don’t Think Tomorrow’s Benefit is Worth Today’s Cost
- Consumers Assume there’s a Catch
- Consumers Let Others Bear the Costs
- Consideration of Money May Reduce Preference for Green Products
