Wave of green marketing

Every day, signs of change towards low carbon economies and lifestyles pop up. Among the service industry, advertising companies bring their contribution in helping companies, governements and NGO to create green messages. They conduct research on consumer behaviors,

they boost awareness and publicize earth-friendly products. They organize conferences, seminars and courses on this hot topic in the EU and the US. We believe that it is just a beginning.

In February, the Financial Time reported that AMV BBDO, JWT, Ogilvy, RKCR/Y&R and Saatchi & Saatchi, UK’s leading advertising agencies, believed green advertising will grow in the next 12 months.

Agencies say communicating green values is fast becoming an act of “corporate hygiene” needed to retain competitiveness and standing with customers.

Farah Ramzan Golant, chief executive of AMV, said: “We’re at a tipping point. I really believe we are going to see more of this.”

Lee Daley, chairman and chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi UK, said: “Brands will not be able to opt out of this. Companies which do not live by a green protocol will be financially damaged because consumers will punish them. In the longer term, I do not think they will survive.”

Now, ride the green wave. The quality and quantity of eco-related messages has shifted strikingly in the past 6 months. Whether you believe it is trendy or not, this is no longer a peripheral activity. It could even become mainstream in the coming years.

We are all catching those messages. In fact, a recent EU survey (Eurobarometer) shows that European citizens put environmental issues on top of their concern. So, it is clear and obvious that marketing companies are following our “brand” new behavior.

In the research field, Ipsos-Mori, for example, explores the public’s perspectives on climate change in new report entitled “Tipping point or turning point? Social marketing & climate change”. Published in July, 01, it explores how they think and behave in relation to the issue and what their values and aspirations are. It examines the complex issues that behaviour change policy has to engage with and the role that social marketing could play.

Another study, “What assures consumers on climate change?” carried out by AccountAbility and Consumers International has been released in June. It looks at consumer attitudes to climate change and to their role in tackling it through changes in behaviour.

Regarding awareness raising, institutions, governments, artist and NGO are on the front line. One of the best example is certainly the campaign initiated by the European Commission. The purpose of “You control Climate Change” is to educate individuals on the factors affecting climate change as well as to influence them to make a contribution to stop its progression. Greenpeace has his channel on You Tube. Friends of the Earth campaigns for solutions to environmental problems by proposing a video contest. Check here and here. Artists such as the Blue Man Group are also giving their piece. See here

Companies try to “clean” their brands as much as they can. In the automobile industry, SMART is leading the way ahead of Toyota Prius, VW Blue Motion and Saab Biopower. From Philips with “Saving the polar bear“to Tesco to HSBC, businesses blitz the airwaves with concern for a healthy planet. BP, for example, advertises its investments in renewables as it rebrands itself with the label “Beyond Petroleum”.

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AlisonBurns, chief executive of JWT London, said “Once a company makes an environmental statement, its direct competitor is now conspicuous by its absence if it hasn’t too. Consumers are suspicious of that silence. This isn’t restricted to a particular industry. It is in-creasingly pervasive. There is an underlying expectation that we are asking more questions about companies’ intentions. That is partly a phenomenon of the digital age where consumers are used to interviewing brands like they might be interviewing people for a job.“

As it becomes more and more crucial for businesses to communicate with clarity, thoroughness and responsibility on their sustainability performance, events on the subject are organized around the world. London will be the venue for a Green Marketing Forum on November 28-30. That event will feature “14 incisive case studies,” offering insight “from early adopters [about] what works and what doesn’t.” Participating companies include Barclaycard, BMW, Intel, Marks & Spencer, Philips Lighting, and Virgin Trains. Sustainable Brands ‘07, will take place in New Orleans on September 26-28. On October 3, PRWeek is hosting Target Green: Collaborating for Change, in Washington, D.C.