Communication Tools
Going Green While Maintaining the Brand
In a recent article published by the Harvard Business Review, environmentalist Steven Bishop offers his opinion as to why so many companies run into trouble when marketing green products. The problem, according to Bishop, is that companies often think they must focus on the green consumer when they should be highlighting green behaviors that directly benefit all consumers.
“The majority of consumers seek to satisfy their personal needs before considering those of the planet,” says Bishop. “Green-for-green's-sake products often don't meet the basic needs that most people require from their products.”
With those needs in mind, companies can build green credentials without a total overhaul of the products that consumers have come to trust over the years. A salient alternative to such massive re-branding is to enhance the environmental benefits of existing products and focus messaging on those benefits.
For cleaning supplies, it isn’t changing the chemical formula; it’s evolving from aerosol spray to pump-action mist. For vacuum cleaners, it isn’t reducing the electricity needed to run the device; it’s a far simpler modification like switching to a bagless design. For products with built-in environmental benefits such as bicycles, it isn’t changing production methods; it’s communicating how riding to work reduces the consumer’s carbon footprint.
As the marketplace begins to green, don’t be afraid to jump on the bandwagon. But don’t sacrifice your brand – the greatest resource your company has – in the process.
Meanwhile, a different sort of challenge confronts businesses historically perceived as serial polluters. Far from having to duck the green revolution, energy and chemical companies have a number of strategic options to create a credible place for themselves in the green universe and reap the multiple benefits that the public’s approval will provide…
It’s your planet too, so say so. From the board on down, everyone associated with your company must breathe the same air, drink the same water, and inhabit the same natural environment as everybody else on the planet. Build credibility by highlighting the human motives that gave rise to your green efforts.
Be greener that you have to be. As the likelihood of more stringent climate change regulation continues to grow, find ways to go above and beyond the letter of the law and publicize those efforts at every opportunity. Steps that go further than mere compliance demonstrate a real commitment, dispelling perceptions that you’re becoming more environmentally conscious only because you have no choice.
Employ all-natural visuals. The green movement presents powerful opportunities for companies to market themselves in visual media. Companies can utilize television or more cost-efficient viral video to get their green messages via verdant imagery and pastoral scenes. Visuals speak directly to how we feel – and how we feel, more than how we think, determine the decisions we make.
Engage environmentalists. Transforming critics into partners is a time-tested crisis communications tactic. Mollify detractors and further demonstrate your commitment by offering environmentalists a seat at the planning table. Publicize the fact that former adversaries are working together for our environmental security.
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