Consor Wants to Know: Is It Making a Difference?
April 22 marks the annual celebration that we have come to know as Earth Day. In 1970, the first Earth Day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson to inform the public about environmental issues.
40 years later, Earth Day has become an established international event. Is Earth Day becoming another marketing gimmick, with everyone sending e-cards to family and friends? Is there a basket filled with eco-friendly goodies left at your door by Mother Earth?
Yes, we should be encouraging an eco-friendly lifestyle and practicing conservation at many levels. But has the marketing aspects of tying in business and product brands to Earth Day really been making a difference in promoting a green lifestyle — like the new Rolls Royce Phantom EE model?
As consumers we are influenced by the advertising that we see. Buying green makes us feel like we are part of the global solution. But, again a huge but, are we all being greenwashed into thinking the products with the eco-friendly labels are actually practicing what they advertise? Is this a new type of brand confusion? Sustainable or not sustainable?
How do we know? We haven’t seen a survey that studies that topic. We have seen survey results that show what consumers think are the top green brands. Cohn & Wolfe’s 2010 Green Brands Survey listed the top ten green brands as: Burt’s Bees, Whole Foods, Tom’s of Maine, Trader Joe’s, Google, Aveeno, SC Johnson, Publix, Microsoft, and Ikea. Now, you wouldn’t first think of Google as a green company, but searches do enable consumers to be green (just like how we googled this list). But where’s Seventh Generation, Terracycle, or even Starbucks?
Many companies will sponsor Earth Day activities or have special Earth Day promotions, giving them exposure as eco-friendly brands. Is one event enough? Would the amount of marketing dollars be better spent updating a business’ efficiency, or donated to a green charity? Possibly buying wind power credits with which to power their offices and manufacturing sites or used to build rooftop gardens to green their buildings?
To be truly green, brands should practice environmentally friendly methods year round. Last year, Nike was one of the recipients of the first annual Gigaton Awards, given to businesses that make a difference in promoting global sustainability. But Nike doesn’t market that designation, because their philosophy is that practicing normal green methods is just part of the whole package. That subtleness increases their brand value in our books. As we say at CONSOR, it’s Earth Day every day.