Preface

This book is about the new rules of green marketing that increasingly characterize the purchasing sensibilities of billions of consumers around the world. It took over 20 years of my career advising leading businesses on green marketing strategies (and 15 more years than I had projected), but few would now question the facts that green is mainstream and the rules of the game for marketers are rapidly changing. Is every consumer making every purchase decision a green one? No. Far from it. But are awareness, concern, and intent to purchase the right thing squarely on the radar screens of most consumers in the developed world today? Is green also changing the agendas of the manufacturers and service companies that meet consumers’ needs, as well as shaping the agendas of government officials, NGOs, church leaders, the news media, educators, Hollywood celebrities, and every other important force in society? The answer to both of these questions is an emphatic Yes!

This book is also about the strategies needed to play by the new rules. Reflecting the changing attitudes and behaviors of today’s consumers, these strategies cover greening current products and inventing sustainable ones; communicating credibly and impactfully, and working proactively with a variety of stakeholders in order to extend one’s resources and address consumer needs authentically and thoroughly. I illustrate these strategies by telling the stories of the sustainability leaders – brands with green ingrained in their DNA. Included are stories from Seventh Generation, Timberland, and Stonyfield Farm, companies that are swiftly growing their businesses by extending their appeal from a once very fringe audience to now mainstream consumers. Also included are the stories of the big multinational brands such as GE, HSBC, Starbucks, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and Wal-Mart who are quickly adapting to the new rules. This book is also about these two forces coming together to open the doors for young, innovative upstarts such as Method to go green and mainstream from their very beginnings – and what everyone can learn by studying their ingeniously unique strategies.

Driven by fears for the future, consumer demand for sustainable products is built on trust. Unfortunately, as I write, the term “green marketing” bears the perceptual brunt of “greenwashing” – players within the industry who overstate or otherwise mislead consumers about the environmental attributes of their offerings. I personally believe that much so-called greenwashing is unintentional and even understandable in a fast-growing industry still finding its sea legs. Green marketers today largely operate without the light of a strong governmental sun or established self-governance. (The U.S. Federal Trade Commission executed zero cases of green claims during the Bush Administration of 2000–2008!) There is no form of certification for green marketing practitioners, and few, if any, courses about sustainable branding are available in community colleges, business schools, or corporate training programs. Nevertheless, I am encouraged by the many sincere efforts to communicate the benefits of legitimate sustainable products that are on the market today; it is these stories and strategies that I recount and celebrate from my many years deeply involved in this industry.

The goal of this book is to help every well-intended marketer to understand the strategies needed to adapt to the new rules of green marketing and to find a profitable, low-risk path to meeting consumer needs in a truly sustainable fashion – indeed, to be inspired to become a leader in his or her own right. Written primarily from the perspective of my native U.S., it nonetheless contains rich content from around the world. I wrote this book for sustainability directors and brand executives at consumer product manufacturers and service providers and their advertising and PR staff and agencies. It is also a valuable tool for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, professors and students, and representatives of trade associations, NGOs, and government agencies.

I start by making the case for the mainstreaming of green and the ways in which the rules are quickly changing (Chapter 1). In Chapter 2, I describe two ways for segmenting green consumers before characterizing their swiftly changing buyer motives and psychology. Then I describe the new green marketing paradigm (Chapter 3) and provide an in-depth look at one company that superbly exemplifies this paradigm, Method. I move on to discuss what it takes to address the new green marketing paradigm, starting with the strategies for greening one’s products (Chapter 4). This is followed by an introduction to sustainable innovation together with five practical strategies for forging an exciting path for significantly reducing one’s environmental and sustainability impacts while improving one’s top line far into the future (Chapter 5).

With legitimately greener products in hand, readers will be ready to learn about the new strategies of green consumer communications and how to deliver the benefits of their wares with impact (Chapter 6). An entire chapter (Chapter 7) follows devoted to the full complement of strategies for establishing trust and avoiding greenwash. I then offer in Chapter 8 the new strategies for collaborating with various key stakeholders – an essential step in ensuring the legitimacy and completeness of one’s efforts in a complex world where one company cannot possibly garner the resources and the expertise necessary for the task.

I close with Chapter 9, which encompasses the in-depth stories and strategies of two sustainability leaders, Starbucks and Timberland, which exemplify a deep understanding of the new rules of green marketing and are laudably showing the way toward integrating environmental and social considerations successfully and profitably into their businesses. I then conclude (Chapter 10), followed by a full complement of resources from around the globe.

Enjoy reading this book and the examples of successful green marketing efforts being conducted by many sustainability leaders including, I am proud to say, some of our clients. I hope you find, as intended, that you will keep it within reach as a useful resource, practical guide, and source of ongoing inspiration.

I’d love to hear your comments, your questions, and the details of your own journey and successes. Send them to me via our company’s website, www.greenmarketing.com, and indicate if you’d like to be added to our mailing list. Use the many articles and links there, as well as my blog, www.greenmarketing.com/blog, as supplementary guidance for your efforts and as updates to the material contained within this book.

I wish you much success addressing the new rules of green marketing.

Jacquelyn A. Ottman
New York, New York
Fall 2010