Sound Of Sirens

“Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a conference hosted by UCLA covering a variety of business topics related to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and ‘green’. This panel looks at how marketing executives are devising strategies for shaping and managing their brands’ eco-friendly profiles.
I videotaped the ‘Green Marketing Strategies’ session, and broke up the hour discussion into 8 segments for the viewing pleasure at your pace and interests:

• Opening & Introduction
• Consumer Profiles
• Greenwashing
• Branded Content & Connecting with Customers
• Power of Kids & Parents
• Cause Related Strategies
• Q&A - Internal Buy-In
• Q&A - Pricing Considerations

Moderator:
Beverly Macy, Managing Partner/Co-Founder, Y & M Partners, LLC

Panelists (from left to right):
Joe Hartnett, Principal Consultant, Hartnett & Associates
Brenda Lynch, Senior Vice President, Rogers Group
Barbara Manconi, President & CEO and Founder, VERT Brands”

That’s what Mario Vellandi said.

As you can see, the marketing-guys are getting more and more involved into green issues - well, i know that’s not fairly new - the big thing is: it’s getting harder to seperate the companies that really care from the greenwashing others…

So what do we have to keep in mind, in order not to get fooled by clever lohas strategies? (This is an open question, feel free to comment!)

• “Is it really organic?” inspect not only the ingredients, things such as transport routes are important, too.
• “What else do they sell?” Does the recycled sneaker you are about to buy really represent Nike’s whole product identity?
• “Who’s really behind?” Always check “Terms of Use” and “Imprints”.
• Do not fall for every “100% green” label! i.e, simply google for “organic” and “label” and see the confusion for yourself.
• Stay critcal! They even try to sell you trans-Atlantic flights as carbon-free with the little help from Renewable Energy Certificates.
• …

Finally, tripple-check the companies’ real intention, especially if a polar bear appears on the campaign’s key-visuals! ;)