Main | Interview with Ben Todd, Executive Director, Arcola Theatre »
New Study: What Americans Think about Green Marketing
The 2008 Green Gap Survey, released by branding firm Cone and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, provides some key insights into how Americans view green marketing and products. It takes a look at the “green gap” between what companies say about green products and what consumers understand. The survey was conducted online in February 2008 with 1,080 adults.
Some interesting nuggets from the 2008 Green Gap Survey:-
A key misunderstanding:
Almost half (48%) of respondents believe that a product advertised as “green” or “environmentally friendly” has a positive (beneficial) impact on the environment.
Only 22% indicated that these phrases describe products with less negative environmental impact than similar products or prior products.
Less than half of Americans believe the environmental information they receive from companies:
• 47% trust companies to tell them the truth
• 45% believe companies are accurately communicating information about their impact on the environment
On the other hand, about half do believe information received from companies.
Americans believe third-party oversight is important to ensure environmental messaging by companies is accurate:
• 80% certification by third-party organizations
• 78% review and reporting by watchdog groups, news media, bloggers, etc.
• 76% regulation by the government
“The gap creates significant risk of embarrassment for companies and disillusionment for consumers,” according to Mike Lawrence, executive vice president of corporate responsibility at Cone. “Activists are closely monitoring green claims and can quickly share information online about the actual environmental impact of a product. The result can be accusations that a company is engaging in greenwashing and is misleading the public.”
Five Guidelines for Effective Environmental Marketing
Cone and The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship suggest several strategies companies can use to effectively and credibly communicate information about how their products or services impact the environment, summarized below:
- Be precise. Make specific claims that provide quantitative impacts.
- Be relevant. Demonstrate a clear connection between the product or service and the environment.
- Be a resource. Provide additional information for consumers in a place where they want it.
- Be consistent. Don’t let marketing images send a signal that contradicts the carefully chosen words and facts you use.
- Be realistic. There are always more environmental improvements that can be made to a product or service. Communications that include some sense of context and a “work in progress” tone will be more credible and less subject to criticism.
April 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Good to know more about what consumers want
May 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
This is a very interesting survey, and we are putting together a similar survey for the UK market. Based on the initial feedback, consumers need help so that they can be armed with the right information to make better decisions.
Perhaps we should get the advertising assocations involved in helping to develop a clear, accurate universal message as part of their industry-wide CSR policy.