What is ECO Marketing?

06/01/2008 by blog.

There appears to be a certain amount of confusion going on at present, as to how to go about ECO Marketing? Most people, from the ordinary person in the street to the CEO at the global corporation, want to be green. But there seems to be a big confusion about how to market green ideas. So here is the current lowdown on how to “green” your business

From a UK perspective, the USA as a whole appears to be very schizophrenic in it’s attitude to all things eco. The US leadership reluctantly agreed at Bali to get on board with those who had already signed the Kyoto Protocol, whilst US commerce is catching on fast to the fact that the eco market is worth billions of dollars.

Mr Bush sits like King Canute, against a tide of environmental change in the USA. In the meantime, forward economic thinkers on eco marketing are making their first major breakthroughs. The information giant Experian recently announced its new segmentation marketing system called GreenAware. The primary stage in any marketing has to be an understanding of the market place. Experian sees the “Green” segment for 2008 at a predicted value of $500 billion For a mini US perspective on the segmentation of this market see this short video by Angelika Kaprelian of Experian.

In the UK, according to investigation by the Observer, ” British people are now convinced about the dangers of global warming but are either baffled about how to stop it or are ignoring the issue.” The report goes on to explain that 9 out of 10 members of the UK public believe Climate Change is real and manmade, but their is a distrust of government involvement in solving issues especially in relation to “Green Taxes”. The most interesting point about this research is that Richard Lambert, the CBI’s director-general noted that UK Businesses are taking the lead, and ‘They are ahead of the consumer.’

It looks as if the gaps are finally being filled between “understanding” of the climate change issues and “action” to resolve them. Yet at present, the USA whilst lagging behind the developed world in it’s political rhetoric, US business is now forging ahead with the marketing tools to reach green consumers. In the UK, political rhetoric about environmental issues is high on the agenda but perceived poorly by UK citizens, whilst UK businesses are forging ahead preparing to sell green products and services.

The key difference in thinking at present between the “optimists” and the “pessemists” appears to revolve around “the bubble bursting in the green market place“. From a purely logical standpoint in terms of marketing, the idea of the bubble bursting on the growth of a green economy makes no sense. The market is at such an early stage and is related to facts as opposed to fashion. Green may be the new black in fashion, but putting short term fads aside, the green market place is comparable to the early days of the motor industry. I am sure their were plenty of short-sighted pessemists declaring that Henry Ford’s new vehicles would be a flop; but the reality was that this industry was based on global industrial needs not the whims of the fashionable glitterati.

So when viewed logically, the green market place is really quite straight forward. As usual, politicians are all jostling to gain new voters on any subject they can in the UK and USA, whilst the public they are supposed to serve has questionable belief in them. Meanwhile, consumers and businesses run the world through supply and demand.

Marketing remains the same for the new green industry, just as it did for the old high carbon industry. There will still be rogue marketeers claiming unsubstantiated facts like “there are more germs on your chopping board than your toilet seat“. Similarly, there have recently been some absolutely barking marketing campaigns about green products. There are always a few rotten apples in the barrel, but marketing that works will always be about facts (with plenty of hyperbole) about products that meet the needs of the consumer. The green industry is no different.

In terms of “reaching” the hearts and minds of the public, commerce and industry who wish to “buy-in” to all things green, it is simply a case of good market research. The difficult part for businesses is often a lack of knowledge from their own marketing teams. If the current marketing team still feast at the local burger bar and endeavour to possess the latest gas guzzling vehicle, then are they of the right mind-set to understand their customers?

If you are serious about eco marketing, then take a look at some the growing eco marketing agencies that appear to be springing up. The truth of the matter is that they have been slogging away in the background for the last 15-20 years. The Head of ECO1, the first ECO Direct Marketing Agency, has been directing business development of ECO Products and Services since the late 1980’s.

Whilst public perception may be of a “revolutionary” need for eco marketing, it has been going on for a long time. It is simply a question of logical change from a high carbon to a low carbon economy. Companies who survive and prosper will be those who seek the advice of expert eco marketing professionals such as ECO1. It’s worth bearing in mind that when Henry Ford built his first cars, there was plenty of money to be made in building roads, car-parks, maintenance and fuel. Those with enough business acumen to get on board now with the green industry will be the Fords of the 21st Century, and which self-respecting entrepreneur does not get excited about that?

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