Green Options » sustainable marketing

Psychographics Help Take Marketing Green

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:36:41 +0000

I was just reading about a report on the psychographics of Hispanic teens, one of the fastest growing demographic segments—projected to reach 62% of the entire teen market in 10 years. Among other things, they are described as extroverted, outspoken, wired, and defined by culture. The top three media consumed by Hispanic youth are 1) the Internet, 2) TV and 3) radio.

In light of the barrage of data on the decline of direct mail, I’ve done a lot of writing these days in the defense of print. But the psychographics of your customer or prospect base (such as Hispanic teens) may well determine which medium (or media) you use. That could mean greening your marketing program at the same time.

I’m never a fan of reducing your use of print simply for the sake of greening. After all, electronic media have their own carbon footprints, too. They are just hidden in energy use, disposal of used electronic equipment, and so on. Comparing the carbon footprints of the two can be very complicated.

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Inspiring Change One Person at a Time

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:48:45 +0000

Sometimes we think we have to change governments and corporations in order to see environmental change, but change is just as powerful when it happens one person at a time. And sometimes it’s easier to do.

About a month ago, I made two posts about the environmental efforts of SunChips, a snack food company. I had become excited when I discovered, quite by accident, that one of my favorite chips was packaged by a company with a deep environmental commitment. It’s always nice when you discover something that you love anyway has a secondary environmental benefit. Makes me feel better about eating junk food.

Yesterday, I ran into a guy who was eating a bag of them. I joked, “Hey, did you know that SunChips’ packaging is one-third compostable?”

He immediately perked up. “Really? I didn’t know that. Cool!”

Then he added thoughtfully. “I enjoy using the environment. But I don’t know much about saving it. I drive a diesel truck.”

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Sustainability as a Marketing Issue

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:24:21 +0000

More and more frequently, I’m seeing companies choose sustainability, not just as operational preference, but also as a marketing approach. They are marketing “green” or sustainability (because “green” and “sustainability” are different) as a way to connect with consumers and sell products.

Thus, when I was contacted by Don Carli, senior research fellow with the Institute for Sustainable Communications, about a three-minute video on the topic of sustainability as a marketing issue, I was intrigued. It sounded like a headline I’d write. That always gets me interested.

The video was posted on YouTube by “Three-Minute AdAge,” a daily news “show.” What I thought was interesting about this particular video was that, while it claimed to be about marketing, it really focused on the need for sustainability, not just as a way to connect with consumers, but as a way to protect marketers’ supply chains from disruption and price spikes based on their dependence upon carbon. It was interesting how Carli tied the two together—indeed, he appeared to make the two issues inseparable.

Here are some of Carli’s comments (edited for brevity):

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Greening Print Marketing: Environmental Sustainability Conference Means Your Printer May Get Greener

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:42:20 +0000

Now corporate marketers have even more reasons to feel good about keeping their documents in print.

Those following the “greening” of the printing industry know that the industry has really put a lot of force behind environmental sustainability. Those efforts are ramping up with the 2009 National Environmental, Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference, to be held March 16-18, 2009, will tackle one of the most significant issues that has the printing industry abuzz: becoming a Sustainable Green Printer (SGP Printer).

The conference will span all printing processes—commercial printing, flexographic, and specialty printing—and will address sustainability, environmental, health, safety, and HR issues.The conference will include general sessions, roundtable discussions, and half-day in-depth pre-conference workshops covering topics such as:

Developing sustainability management systems
Meeting environmental and safety compliance
Establishing sustainability metrics
Sharing updates on new employment law issues.

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Greening Print Marketing: Is There a Double Standard When It Comes to Paying for Green?

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:42:45 +0000

Most of us have heard the popularly cited statistics that given the choice between two similar products, 83% of consumers will chose those that are “environmentally friendly” and will pay more for them.

According to the DoubleClick study, not only are consumers interested in green products and companies, but nearly half are willing to pay at least 5% more for them.

It’s not a new study. It came out in April, but I was cleaning out my email, and when I re-read it, the findings got me thinking. In our consumer lives, it’s true. We’re not just wiling to pay extra. We actually feel good about it, as if that extra few cents or a dollar, in itself, shrinks the hole in the ozone layer.

Yet, when it comes to paying more for recycled paper, or spending those extra dollars improving our database for more targeted marketing, or switching to a Web-to-print document management system, and other initiatives that green our print marketing programs in ways that have equal, if not greater, environmental impact, all of a sudden, it’s, “Oh, no. That’s too expensive.”

Do we have two different standards for paying premium for green?

View all my “Greening Print Marketing” posts.

Greening Print Marketing: The Age of the Press Matters

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:10:40 +0000

When you think about “greening” your print marketing, do you think about the age of your printer’s press? If the printer is running “big iron,” or a traditional offset printing press, then the age of the press can have a significant impact on the environmental sustainability of your print.

Why? Because newer presses are designed for maximum efficiency, both in consumables and paper waste. This is great for your printer because it keeps his running cost down. But from an environmental sustainability perspective, it’s great for you because fewer consumables, less paper waste, and faster makeready means a less impact on the environment in terms of chemical, solid waste, and energy use.

As just a single example, take the MAN Roland 700 DirectDrive press introduced at Graph Expo ‘08, a commercial printing and publishing trade show held in Chicago, IL, over the last two weeks.

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Greening Print Marketing: It Doesn’t Have to Hurt

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:19:30 +0000

One reason many businesses hesitate to “go green” is because environmental responsibility seems too time-consuming and overwhelming. It’s not that they don’t care. It’s that, with all of their other responsibilities, it seems like too much.

Just the thought of measuring the corporate environmental footprint—from measuring the carbon output of every office copier to the impact of the transportation methods of employees—is enough to send the poor manager tasked with the job into apoplexy.

But while “going green” may seem overwhelming, in reality, I see it as being a lot like my relationship with my dishwasher.

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