Green Marketing - US - May 2008

Table of Contents

• Scope and Themes
• What you need to know
• Definition
• Data sources
• Consumer survey data
• Qualitative data for this report
  • Figure 1: Descriptions of green lifestyle qualitative interviewees, January 2008
• Abbreviations and terms
• Abbreviations
• Terms
• Executive Summary
• Current reputation an asset or a liability
• Greens get their info online
• Design, color, and symbols
• Breast cancer, treatment of employees, human rights seen as more important than environmental issues
• Women and those earning 75K more likely to respond favorably
• Wide variety of drivers means corporate greening has staying power
• Carbon neutral claims to lose their shine
• Green consumers are mainstream consumers
• One in three shop based on corporate behavior
• Punishments are more common than rewards...
• ...but most may not know who to punish or reward
• Push advertising meets with skepticism
• Spreading skepticism made easy by watchdog sites online
• Many paths to "greenness" illustrated
• Toyota
• Stonyfield Farm
• Nike
• Unilever
• Frito-Lay
• Chevy
• Wal-Mart
• Trends in Green Marketing
• Traditional campaigns
• Powerhouse green brands
• Toyota: capitalizing on hybrid leadership
• Stonyfield Farm: focus on organic growth
• Nike: casting off negative publicity with a long-term plan
• Subaru: leveraging a previous image into the green arena
  • Figure 2: Subaru "Better plant, better cars" ad, 2008
• Unilever: buying into the green marketplace
• Clorox: developing a green line alongside its conventional products
• Frito-Lay: aiming to green the conventional line
  • Figure 3: Frito-Lay Sun Chips ad, 2008
• Procter & Gamble
  • Figure 4: Tide Ultra detergent, 2008
• Overcoming negative images
• General Motors (GM)
  • Figure 5: Chevy Volt concept ad, 2008
  • Figure 6: Chevy Tahoe hybrid ad, 2008
• Wal-Mart: making the changes before promoting them
  • Figure 7: Wal-Mart ad, 2007
• BP
  • Figure 8: BP energy alternatives ad, 2008
• Online and alternative marketing campaigns
• Facts, honesty, and having fun on the company website
• Interactive cause marketing a hit with 18-24s
• Using the news media to do your green marketing
• Harnessing customers' creativity
• The power of green symbols
• Getting in good with citizen watchdogs
• Competitive Context: Other Cause-Related Marketing
• Introduction
• CRM is on the rise
• Consumers expect corporations to be socially responsible
• Green issues important, but breast cancer is the most popular CRM
• Top socially-responsible companies include green brands
• Who responds to CRM?
• More than half of adults respond to CRM
• CRM helps brand image among young adults
• Women respond more favorably than men to CRM
• A link between children and CRM
• CRM attracts Hispanic loyalty
• Benefits of CRM
• How consumers learn about CRM and how it influences purchases
• Products that might benefit from CRM partnerships
• CRM and green marketing share potential pitfalls
• Corporate environmental practices compared to other issues
  • Figure 9: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior, December 2007
• Core green consumers care about all aspects or corporate ethics
  • Figure 10: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior to respondents who are most concerned about corporate environmental impact, December 2007
• Women focused on people and the environment
  • Figure 11: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior, by gender, December 2007
• Income mediates expectations of business
  • Figure 12: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior, by household income, December 2007
• Market Drivers
• Green investing impacting company valuations
• Follow the leader or fall behind
• Wal-Mart flexes its environmental muscle
• Peer pressure drives everyone green
• Keeping one step ahead of government regulations
• Green media channels proliferate
• Green goes mainstream
• Health and safety concerns boost the green market
• Trends in Green Business Practices
• Carbon Neutral: trendy but confusing
• Carbon accounting can be murky and challenging
• The rising popularity of the carbon-neutral claim
• Is the claim legitimate?
• The growth and appeal of offsets
• Problems with offsets
• Metrics and standards on the rise
• The Green Consumer
• Shades of green
• How do Greens think?
• Age and green shopping patterns
  • Figure 13: Frequency of buying green products, by age, December 2007
• Household income and green shopping
• Race and ethnicity
  • Figure 14: Frequency of buying green products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• Education
• The impact of children in the household
• Reasons for buying or not buying green
• Consumer Attitudes Toward Corporate Responsibility
• Going green affects the decisions of one third of online respondents
  • Figure 15: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, December 2007
• Corporate ethics does not resonate so well with the 18-24s
  • Figure 16: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by age, December 2007
• Education drives expectations for corporate behavior
  • Figure 17: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by education level, December 2007
• Most worry about corporate behavior but do not act
  • Figure 18: Reasons that corporate behavior does not impact shopping decisions, December 2007
• Rewarding Ethical Brands
• One in nine respondents will pay more for ethical brands
  • Figure 19: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, December 2007
• The young and educated more willing to sacrifice convenience for greenness
  • Figure 20: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by age, December 2007
• College grads and students committed to rewarding ethical brands
  • Figure 21: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by education level and student status, December 2007
• Punishing "Bad" Brands
• The stick is more common than the carrot
  • Figure 22: Influence of negative corporate behavior on shopping decisions, December 2007
• Deciding Which Brands are Green
• Sources of information
  • Figure 23: Sources of information about corporate environmental behavior, December 2007
• Age-related media divide governs the way people learn about green issues
  • Figure 24: Sources of information about corporate environmental behavior, by age, December 2007
• Which Green Issue is Most Important?
  • Figure 25: Importance of specific corporate environmental practices to consumers, December 2007
• Women more concerned than men
  • Figure 26: Importance of specific corporate environmental practices to consumers, by gender, December 2007
• Limits to Knowledge about Corporate Responsibility
• Half of concerned respondents cannot name a company they approve of
  • Figure 27: Familiarity with positive and negative corporate behavior of specific firms, December 2007
• Higher-income respondents feel more informed
  • Figure 28: Familiarity with positive and negative corporate behavior of specific firms, by income, December 2007
• Responses by education
  • Figure 29: Familiarity with positive and negative corporate behavior of specific firms, by education level, December 2007
• Attitudes Toward Green Advertising
• Consumers willing to believe, but also following up
• Advertising probably not the best foot forward
  • Figure 30: Consumer attitudes toward green advertising, December 2007
• Women safer targets for green advertising
  • Figure 31: Consumer attitudes toward green advertising, by gender, December 2007
• College grads skeptical of green ads
  • Figure 32: Consumer attitudes toward green advertising, by education level, December 2007
• Results by Race and Ethnicity
  • Figure 33: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• Charitable giving and local efforts important to people of color
  • Figure 34: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• Hispanics willing to compromise for green brands
  • Figure 35: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• Whites more committed to punishing bad corporate behavior
  • Figure 36: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• Green ads are missing blacks
  • Figure 37: Consumer attitudes toward green advertising, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
• The Qualitative Survey: Consumer Concerns and Behavior
• Concerns
• Recycling the leading way to lead a green life
• Green shopping commonalities
• The Qualitative Survey: What Companies are Green?
• Introduction
• Impressions of specific companies and industries
  • Figure 43: Companies viewed as environmentally friendly by multiple respondents, January 2008
  • Figure 44: Companies mentioned as environmentally friendly by a single respondent, January 2008
  • Figure 45: Companies viewed as bad for the environment, January 2008
• The Qualitative Survey: Green Branding
• Introduction
• Packaging a key theme for respondents
  • Figure 46: Sources of information on green companies, January 2008
• Energy-efficient products a clear driver of perceptions
• "Greenness" of retailers depends on products carried above corporate policies
• Promote your solar panels and telecommuting employees
  • Figure 47: Specific actions expected of green companies, January 2008
• Advertising tainted by concerns about credibility
  • Figure 48: Respondents' opinions about green claims in advertising, January 2008
• Exuding that green feeling
• Green the brand, not the parent company
• Healthy = green; green = healthy
• Companies that care about people and communities care about the environment
• Yesterday' s negative brand image taints today' s green initiatives
• Distribution a key source of credibility
• The Qualitative Survey: Responses about Packaging
• Simple packaging sends a green message
• Product packaging claims: offer facts and figures
  • Figure 49: Views of green claims on product packaging, January 2008
• Consumers want evidence, but not too much
• Appendix: Trade Associations