Marketing BEEP

The Top Green Companies in the U.S.

If you want to shop at green stores, you may not have to look any farther than your own grocery store. Trader Joe’s, Publix, Whole Foods, Wegmans and MOMs have all made the list of the top 35 companies that are greenest. These companies are also the best investments and are the most recommended by shoppers across the U.S.

A new report from GreenBiz.com entitled “The Corporate Reality of Consumer Perceptions” revealed the list. The report was written by marketing firm Earthsense, which conducted an Eco-Insights Survey, polling more than 30,000 people. The survey tried to figure out how green people perceive familiar companies to be. Results were ranked according to: how sustainable the company’s operations are; how green the products on the shelves are (or how green the products produced are); the potential of the company being a good investment; and how likely a person is to recommend that company to friends or family.

Not Just Supermarkets
Of course, grocery stores and supermarkets weren’t the only companies that made the list. Many green consumer packaged goods companies made the list, including Tom’s of Maine, Green Mountain Coffee, Kashi and Burt’s Bees among others.

The authors of the report, Amy Hebard and Wendy Cobrda, said on GreenBiz radio that the probable reason these brands scored high is because shoppers have a personal relationship with them and as a result feel like they know the companies more, including their “green” quotient.

Then again, other companies that are giants, namely Google and Yahoo!, aren’t exactly close to consumers, but have effectively communicated their green initiatives to the public. Both companies are also helping their customers become more green.

You can download the full report at GreenBiz.com.

The Top 35 Green Companies, by Earthsense
Amazon
Apple
Benjamin Moore
Burt‘s Bees
Discovery
Earthbound Farm
E & J Gallo
Fresh & Easy
General Electric
Google
Green Mountain Coffee
Hain Celestial Group
H. E. Butt
Hess
Kashi
Kraft
Lowe‘s
Method
Microsoft
MOM‘s
Odwalla
Peet‘s
Publix
Sinclair Oil
Stonyfield Farm
Target
Tesla
Tom‘s of Maine
Trader Joe‘s
United Natural Foods
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney
Wegmans
Whole Foods
Yahoo

Microsoft Gets Double Recognition
In addition to making it on the Top 35 list from Earthsense, Microsoft is receiving the first U.S. sustainable events management certification. Microsoft’s Convergence 2009 event, set to take place in New Orleans March 10-13, will hopefully complete the events management certification standard BS 8901:2007, a British standard developed specifically for the events industry.

The standard details three phases of event management – planning, implementation, and check and review – and requires companies to address a broad range of environmental issues at each phase. The standard applies to events such as large-scale conferences to events as small as business meetings.

Economic Forecast is Gray, but Consumers Still See Green

Even though times are tough, consumers are still thinking about the environment when they go to the store. According to a report by consumer behavior specialists The Hartman Group, Sustainability: The Rise of Consumer Responsibility, more than 75% of consumers “consider environment and social aspects at times in making purchase decisions and one-third are willing to pay more for that benefit.”

“During these tough economic times, sustainable products create that ‘sweet spot’ that make consumers more optimistic about the choices they are making,” said Alison Worthington, Hartman Group Managing Director of Sustainability. “In many ways, the term sustainability has become synonymous with responsibility for consumers or just ‘doing the right thing’.”

The online survey consisted of 1,856 respondents September 19 – 24, 2008, at the onset of the recession.

Consumers Consider Themselves Green, but Many Can’t Name a Green Product
According to the report, 88% of consumers consider themselves to partake in sustainable behaviors. About 37% of consumers believe that their purchase decisions matter as much as their votes (45%). Only 56% were familiar with the term “sustainability” up from 54% in 2007.

But despite these great numbers, only 25% of consumers could actually name a sustainable product. Worthington noted that this lack of knowledge is a great opportunity for companies to get their messages out. 

A Green Reputation is Key
According to the 2009 National Green Buying survey by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing, half of consumers are buying just as many green products now as they did before the recession started. When asked what influenced their green purchasing decisions, 21% said a product’s reputation mattered most, followed by word of mouth (19%) and brand loyalty (15%).

About one in three said that they don’t know how to tell if the ad claims of a product being green are true, while one in 10 people said that trust green product claims no matter what.

To find out the truth in the advertising, 24% said they read packaging to understand the green claims and 17% research online or look at studies.

Marketers Must Focus on Educating Consumers and Branding
These two studies show that consumers want to jump on the green bandwagon, and in fact, many have one foot in. Consumers want to learn more about being green, and marketing that focuses on educating customers, whether on product packaging or on company Web sites, will likely win more customers. If a customer feels that the company is teaching something about being green to them, the customer will be more apt to buy.

Marketers must also focus on green branding and getting the word out to foster a green reputation. In these hard times, loyalty to green brands could be just what keeps your company from going in the red.

Super Bowl Ads Not As Effective During Slumping Economy

When U.S. consumers are worried about money, it detracts from their ability to remember Super Bowl commercials, according to a Gallup & Robinson study. The study surveyed 12 years’ (1997-2008) worth of recall and likeability of 30-second commercials that appeared during the Super Bowl and found that there is a direct relationship between the people’s confidence in the economy and the amount of attention they pay to Super Bowl commercials.

When consumer confidence is down, recall is 11% lower than average and 36% lower than in good times.

The president of Gallup & Robinson, Scott Purvis, said that marketers who are planning on running a 30-second Super Bowl commercial should be “more cautious” this year. He also said that advertisers running their “ordinary fare” of TV ad will be taking hits on their recall levels.

In other words, the most successful Super Bowl advertisers will be the ones with the most original commercials.

Advertisers’ Quandary
The Gallup & Robinson findings accentuate the quandary advertisers face when running a Super Bowl ad this year. Many marketers depend on the publicity of the pigskin classic to set the tone for their company for the rest of the year. The word-of-mouth buzz and Internet buzz afterwards are what some brands use to leverage their industry position for the rest of the year.

The event draws the biggest TV audience of the year, and many people watch the game live and therefore can’t skip the ads. Some people even watch the game just to catch the new ads. This coupled with the shaky economy has made many companies pull out of their usual 30-second spot, making those that did buy a spot feel the pressure of having a great, memorable commercial.

NBC has been seeking a record $3 million per 30-second spot, and while the network was selling well last spring and summer, the fall and winter brought on the recession and regulars like GM and FedEx have “passed” on advertising this year, citing economic considerations.

It’s Not Only the Economy
As noted earlier, the content of the ad is important to the recall factor. And to a lesser extent, the quality of the game also affects how well people recall commercials. If the game isn’t intense or exciting, less people pay attention to what’s going on on the TV whether it’s the game or the commercials.

Purvis said that about 25% of change in recall was related to change in consumer confidence.

With only 25% accounted for in consumer confidence, that means that advertisers still need to create inventive, memorable ads for people to recall them the next day. Sounds like the same kind of advice needed for any type of advertising, really.

Green Presidential Inauguration Celebrations

For the inauguration of a president who has put saving the environment at the top of his “to-do” list, what would you expect but carbon-neutral inaugural balls, organic menus and valet bicycle parking?

During the Inaugural Speech
In his inaugural speech, Obama states while talking about America’s problems: “…and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”

In regards to what work needs to be done, Obama again referred to the environment: “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” With Obama on the environment’s side, hopefully we’ll see a greener America in the next four years.

Green Inaugural Balls
Two Green Inaugural Balls were planned this year, one even featuring a green carpet from recycled rugs. The invitations were green as well, of course, printed on recycled paper.

“Our goal is to create an unforgettable evening while treading lightly on the Earth,” said Jenna Mack, an organizer of one Green Inaugural Ball -- not to be confused with another Green Inaugural Ball featuring Al Gore. Organizers of a number of other balls and celebrations used energy-efficient lighting.

“We're obviously not going to have paper towels in the bathroom," said Shelley Cohen, helping organize the green ball featuring Gore, the ex-vice president who shared a Nobel Peace Prize for efforts in raising awareness about climate change. “We're going to have air dryers.”

“Making the inaugural balls as low-energy and low-carbon as possible won't stop global warming, but it is a very important symbol about the direction of the incoming administration,” said Dan Weiss, director of climate strategy for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

Other Inaugural Celebrations
Many groups that promote causes around the country hosted an inaugural celebration. PETA gave away fur coats to the homeless while offering hot soy-milk cocoa to celebrate President Obama’s first day in office.

The Inauguration Itself
The greening of inauguration celebrations is drawing a special effort because Obama has made green projects a main theme of his economic stimulus plan. “Not only are we committed to holding an inauguration that is the most open and accessible in history,” said Linda Douglass, chief spokeswoman for Obama's inaugural committee, “but we are also committed to making sure that it is as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible.”

The EPA has provided a liaison to the Presidential Inaugural Committee to advise on “best practices,” which is a first.

To reduce the inauguration’s carbon footprint, attendees are asked to carpool or ride public transit. For those driving long distances, they’re encouraged to use a hybrid vehicle or to purchase carbon offsets to make up for their pollution.

Inaugural organizers only used biodegradable containers, plates and utensils, made from corn resin. Plastics and Styrofoam were banned. Caterers were instructed to put food scraps, containers and utensils into a “composting stream” that will be taken to a facility in Maryland. 

Even with Olympic Ad Revenue, China’s Advertising Growth is Declining

Even though ad dollars are flooding China this year due to the Beijing Olympics, it’s estimated that only 4% of the country’s ad budget ($1.4 billion) are spent on online ads. The U.S. spends 17% on online ads.

Chinese advertisers don’t have the ad-targeting companies like Blue Lithium and Tacoda to help them like the U.S. has and so far Chinese advertisers haven’t really wanted to target their advertising. That could change soon, due to the launching of PinYou, a behavior targeting ad network in China founded by Grace Huang. However, PinYou hasn’t really taken off yet.

Huang said in an interview with Ogilvy Digital Watch that “…behavioral targeting companies in China are just starting up.  I don’t think many people have figured out the essence of behavior targeting and especially how it can be applied to the current China market.… And even in the States, it is only recently starting to get real momentum in terms of proving it yields better ROI, creating robust profiles and algorithms, etc.”

Huang thinks that with time, behavioral targeting in China will take off even faster than it did in the U.S., for two reasons: “1) we have the demonstrated success from the U.S., and 2) the Chinese have proven to be quicker to adopt now [new?] advertising techniques, as was evidenced with search marketing.”

The Chinese don’t take their online privacy as seriously as Americans, but Huang said that her company will avoid gathering “personally identifiable information” from consumers and her company is trying to come up with ways for consumers to opt-in or opt-out of the service. Huang says that behavioral targeting is meant to help the consumer by providing relevant advertising in the midst of advertising that is going to pop up everywhere anyway. She believes that as long as privacy is protected, Chinese consumers will embrace targeted advertising.

Despite the ad revenue from the Olympics, ad growth is declining in China. Even with the decline, though, it’s still probably going to be the second-largest advertising market in the world next year, according to GroupM, a WPP media buying unit. Overall ad growth in China is expected to drop from 22% in 2008 to 19.5% in 2009. At the end of 2008, the amount allotted to online advertising is expected to reach 7.3% or $2.5 billion. That’s more optimistic than eMarketer’s $1.4 billion estimate made early this year.

Part of the online ad struggle could be because online ventures in China like Tudou (Chinese YouTube) have to have a license to run the site, and the license requires all videos be manually reviewed for banned content. This has meant hiring a staff to review the more than 12 million videos in Tudou’s library. Online advertisers don’t want to advertise with these kinds of sites that aren’t up and running. With the stringent Chinese government running things online, it’s going to take a while for Chinese advertisers to want to advertise online.

Obama is Teaching Us about Marketing to Gen Y

Barack Obama is teaching us something that most people wouldn’t expect from a presidential candidate: how to market to Gen Y. Gen Y, also known as Millennials, are those young adults under the age of 30.

Obama’s marketing and brand management have taken marketing politics to a whole new level. Obama understands what it takes to appeal to the youngest set of voters. For instance, one of the first iPhone apps was an Obama “Countdown to Change” that ticks off the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Election Day. Presidents since Richard Nixon in ’68 have been marketing themselves, but no one has done it to the extent of Obama 40 years later.

Why Obama appeals to Gen Y
He exudes a cool aura, with values of unity and hope that are conveyed in his campaign’s graphics and font choices. Everything about his campaign pulls at Gen Y’s heartstrings. He’s smart and funny and never loses his temper. When John McCain created an ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton, Obama’s response of “Is this the best you can do?” shows Gen Y that he gets them.

Gen Y is used to heavy marketing – they’ve grown up in a very media-centric culture, bombarded with so much marketing that it’s no problem for them to ignore most of it. Newsweek’s Andrew Romano stated “Obama is the first presidential candidate to be marketed like a high-end consumer brand.” Gen Xers and Boomers have never like mass marketing; but Gen Y embraces it.

Obama’s logo – a red, white and blue “O” that is designed to look like a rising sun, and his use of Gotham typeface make Obama the first candidate with a whole, complete marketing system at work. Design expert Michael Bierut even said that Obama’s consistency in his brand is hard to achieve with Bierut’s biggest corporate clients. And yet, Obama has been pulling off his brand strategy almost flawlessly.

Obama is social, as is Gen Y
Gen Xers don’t like mass marketing – if too many people are buying something, it is uncool for a Gen Xer to buy it. But marketing to the masses appeals to Gen Yers (think iPod and Harry Potter). Gen Y is a more social generation than generations before it. Obama’s mass gatherings appeal to Gen Yers because they feel stronger in numbers.

Also, Obama’s campaign makes good use of social media. Obama’s site my.barackobama.com appeals to Gen Y because the “my.” makes it personal. Gen Y is used to customizing things to fit their tastes – like their iTunes, or their MySpace or Facebook pages.

Although not all youngsters love Obama, a good portion of them do – most polls show Obama beating McCain in the voters-under-60 category. Some boomers that support Obama are more amenable to him just because the youth support reminds them of their experiences in the 60s.

But is it wise for Obama to market to young voters, who have notoriously had low voter turnout in past elections? We’ll see in November.