Green Options

Why this matters to green and organic products, is that more and more, stores are offering their own brand of organic and green products. And so now green businesses face the same challenges and pressures with which major consumer package goods manufacturers have struggled for years - How to deal with private label.

Environmental Research reports that Cause Marketing can Make a Difference which is good news for social entrepreneurs. A recent survey conducted on consumer packaged goods found that, yes, consumers do prefer and purchase products associated with a charity or cause.

74% increase in actual purchase for a shampoo brand when associated with a cause

(47% of participants who saw the cause-related message chose the brand while only 27% of those who saw the generic corporate advertisement chose the brand)

28% increase in actual purchase for a toothpaste brand when associated with a cause

Triple bottom line entrepreneurs, of course, already know that, or at least have hoped that their efforts to give back will make a difference in sales. But, just giving back isn’t always enough.

Qualitative consumer responses showed that the issue, the nonprofit and the inherent nature of products were key factors in making cause-related purchasing decisions and helped explain why movement in (some) categories was not significant.

In other words, choose well and choose wisely, not only in the non-profit you plan to support, but in how you promote your connection and how you market your product.

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Everyone knows that the plastic bottles for packaged water are bad for the environment and bad for your health. The promotional items industry knew this as well and seized on this to promote the reusable plastic bottles ubiquitous in gyms and office promotions.

Water bottles became big business for us. Then came the Bisphenol A scare.

Overnight plastic bottles were out. If you are in the business of promotions and brand management it really did not matter if the plastic water bottle your client had purchased in the past was made with Bisphenol A or not. All water bottles got painted with the same brush.

So what happened?

Well basically overnight, and industry wide, the plastic water bottle orders became steel or aluminum water bottle orders. And then - due to the rush, the tragic earthquake in China which was one of the main manufacturing areas for these items, and basic distribution issues - the aluminum water bottles sold out.

Couponing is a strategy employed by almost all big packaged goods companies to increase trial and to encourage increased usage. Though most marketing managers today haven’t managed during a recession before, many are now learning the value of coupons during a downturn too.

A recent ICOM study of U.S. shoppers found that two-thirds said they are more likely or somewhat more likely to use coupons during a recession. Well, the recession is here and eco-entrepreneurs should consider using this effective promotional tool.

“The consumer incentive certainly is there,” said Peter Meyers, ICOM marketing vice president. “Look at it this way: households of two adults and two children who use coupons wisely can save 25% on their grocery bill annually, without cutting purchases. That saves $2,400 a year based on a typical $800 a month grocery spend, which outstrips the $1,800 economic stimulus check this family has coming in May from Washington.”