Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Impact of recession on green brands more limited than expected
- A more watchful FTC should decrease greenwashing, build trust
- Delayed government action on climate good for green marketers
- Green reputation influenced by both marketing and performance
- Ethical shopping on the rise
- All aspects of corporate behavior important to green and ethical consumers
- Under-35s more willing to sacrifice
- Consumers more likely to punish “bad” companies than reward green ones
- Less willingness to punish “bad” companies or sacrifice for good ones
- Best practice: PR ahead of advertising
- Consumers want companies to be green in all areas
- Hispanics vie with Asians for title of greenest group
- Environmental justice and climate change important to black respondents
Insights and Opportunities
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- Water is the new energy
- Standardizing the standards
- Joining forces with other green companies
- On the heels of giants: Following Walmart into a greener supply chain
- Talking to the college crowd; avoiding premiums
- Design campaigns with skeptics in mind: put verification first
- Pull instead of push: Social media to target Super Greens and True Greens
- Best practices: Splurge on POP
Inspire Insights
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- Simplicity and Convenience
- What it’s about
- What we’ve seen
- How it relates to green marketing
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- Figure 1: Sources of information about corporate environmental behavior, December 2007 vs. January 2010
- New onsumer
- What's it about?
- How it relates to green marketing
Competitive Context
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- Green concerns via other consumer concerns
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- Figure 2: Importance of different aspects of ethical corporate behavior, December 2007
- Green + other values
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- Figure 3: Incidence of other marketing claims on products claiming to be environmentally friendly, 2007-09
- Punishing business as usual
Trends in Green Business Practices
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- Greening the supply chain
- Rise of lifecycle analysis
- Walmart still leads in supply chain accountability
- Brands held accountable for suppliers’ behavior
- Metrics and standards
- Measuring the shrinking carbon footprint
- Joining forces with other green companies
- Water is the new energy
Brands Seen As Green
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- Consumers identify green brands from a wide range of industries
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- Figure 4: Top green brands, January 2010
- SC Johnson often confused with Johnson & Johnson
- Green consumers more aware of brands’ environmental credentials
- Mainstream consumers favor familiar brands
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- Figure 5: Top green brands with rankings from other consumer perception studies, July 2008-November 2009
- Data sources for consumer perception information
- Green advertising shapes perceptions for some consumers
Case Studies: Leaders in Green Reputation
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- Key points
- Toyota
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- Figure 6: Toyota “It has earned the love of millions” ad, 2010
- Honda
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- Figure 7: Honda “America’s greenest automaker” ad, 2009
- General Electric
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- Figure 8: GE “Scarecrow dances at power plant” ad, 2009
Case Studies: Mixed Message Brands
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- Introduction
- Key points
- Walmart
- Procter & Gamble
- Clorox
- General Motors
Case Studies: Stealth Green Brands
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- Introduction
- Key points
- Unilever
- Nike
- Groupe Danone/Stonyfield Farm
Case Studies: Halo Effect Brands
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- Introduction
- Key points
- Apple
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- Figure 9: Apple MacBook Pro “Longer lasting batteries mean less in landfills” ad, 2009
- Johnson & Johnson
- General Mills
- Whole Foods
Which Brands Are Seen As Bad?
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- Recall for green brands better than for “bad” brands
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- Figure 10: Brands seen as least green, January 2010
- Consumers judge industries as a whole
Case Studies: Brands with Baggage
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- Key points
- Exxon-Mobil: Defiantly pro-oil
- BP: Oil company? Who, us?
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- Figure 11: BP “People talk about the need for energy diversity” ad, 2009
Market Drivers
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- Recession and Fatigue
- Less willingness to punish “bad” companies
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- Figure 12: Influence of negative corporate behavior on shopping decisions, October 2008 vs. January 2010
- Fewer willing to make sacrifices to reward ethical brands
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- Figure 13: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, January 2010
- Willingness to pay for premiums in decline
- Confusion remains a barrier to ethical shopping
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- Figure 14: Reasons that corporate behavior does not impact shopping decisions, January 2010
- Government regulation of green marketing positive for consumer respect for claims
- Government inaction positive for green marketers
The Green Consumer
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- Shades of green
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- Figure 15: Change in frequency of green consumer population, August 2006-January 2010
- The impact of children in the household reverses since 2008
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- Figure 16: Frequency of buying green products, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Reasons for buying or not buying green
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- Figure 17: Attitudes towards effectiveness of green products, November 2009
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- Figure 18: Consumer experience with the availability of green products, November 2009
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- Figure 19: Attitudes towards health benefits of green products, November 2009
Attitudes Towards Corporate Responsibility
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- Ethical shopping on the rise
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- Figure 20: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, January 2010
- Seniors lead in keeping companies accountable
- Relationship with age intricate: standard green vs. premium green
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- Figure 21: Environmental attitudes and behaviors, by age, April 2008-June 2009
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- Figure 22: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by age, January 2010
Reward and Punishment
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- Under-35s most willing to sacrifice to reward corporate ethics
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- Figure 23: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by age, January 2010
- Bad corporate behavior more likely to inspire consumer action
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- Figure 24: Influence of negative corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by age, January 2010
Deciding Which Brands are Green
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- Best practice: PR ahead of advertising
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- Figure 25: Sources of information about corporate environmental behavior, December 2007 vs. January 2010
- Age-related media divide governs the way people learn about green issues
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- Figure 26: Sources of information about corporate environmental behavior, by age, January 2010
- Limits to knowledge: Majority can’t name environmental heroes or villains
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- Figure 27: Recall of specific corporate behavior, by education level, January 2010
- Higher income groups feel more informed about corporate behavior
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- Figure 28: Familiarity with positive/negative corporate behavior of specific firms, by household income, January 2010
Which Green Practices Matter Most
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- Limiting pollution and toxic chemicals chief concerns
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- Figure 29: Importance of specific corporate environmental practices to consumers, January 2010
- Differences by gender
- Green advocacy as important as green initiatives
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- Figure 30: What does it mean for a financial services company to be “green,” by gender, January 2009*
- Unprompted responses shed light on green consumers’ thinking
- Top characteristics of green brands
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- Figure 31: Top 10 reasons given for naming a brand as environmentally friendly, January 2010
- Top characteristics of “bad” brands
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- Figure 32: Top 10 reasons why a brand was named as bad for the environment, January 2010
Attitudes Towards Green Advertising
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- Consumers listening, but skeptical
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- Figure 33: Attitudes towards green advertising, January 2010
- Super Greens and True Greens strong advocates for sustainable brands
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- Figure 34: Attitudes towards green advertising, by type of green consumer, January 2010
- Young people most receptive to green advertising
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- Figure 35: Attitudes towards green advertising, by age, January 2010
Race and Ethnicity
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- Hispanics vie with Asians for title of greenest group
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- Figure 36: Frequency of buying green products, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Minorities more concerned about climate change
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- Figure 37: Concern about climate change, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Whites and Asians place more focus on corporate responsibility
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- Figure 38: Concern about corporate ethics and pollution, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2008-June 2009
- People vs. planet: Differences by language among Hispanics
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- Figure 39: Concern about corporate ethics and pollution among Hispanics, by language spoken, April 2008-June 2009
- Environmental justice and climate change important for black respondents
- Hispanics view donations more favorably
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- Figure 40: Importance of specific corporate environmental practices, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Hispanics lead in boycotting bad brands
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- Figure 41: Influence of irresponsible corporate behavior on shopping, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Hispanics ripe for green advertising
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- Figure 42: Attitudes towards green advertising, by race/Hispanic origin, January 2010
Cluster Analysis
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- Ethicists
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunities
- Considerates
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Characteristics
- Indifferents
- Demographics
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Characteristic tables
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- Figure 43: Green marketing clusters, January 2010
- Figure 44: Green shopping status, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
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- Figure 45: Attitudes towards green marketing, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
- Figure 46: Rewarding corporate environmental stewardship, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
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- Figure 47: Punishing poor corporate environmental behavior, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
- Figure 48: Attitudes towards green advertising, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
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- Figure 49: Efforts to assess “greenness” of corporations, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
- Figure 50: Top environmental concerns, by green marketing clusters, January 2010
- Demographic tables
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- Figure 51: Green marketing clusters, by gender, January 2010
- Figure 52: Green marketing clusters, by age, January 2010
- Figure 53: Green marketing clusters, by household income, January 2010
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- Figure 54: Green marketing clusters, by race, January 2010
- Figure 55: Green marketing clusters, by Hispanic origin, January 2010
- Cluster methodology
Focus on College Grads
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- Education a key determinant of green attitudes
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- Figure 56: Environmental attitudes, by education level, April 2008-June 2009
- College grads more likely to “vote with their dollars”
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- Figure 57: Influence of corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by education level, January 2010
- College grads most committed to rewarding ethical brands
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- Figure 58: Influence of positive corporate behavior on shopping decisions, by education level, January 2010
- College grads best able to recall corporate heroes and villains
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- Figure 59: Recall of specific corporate behavior, by education level, January 2010
- College grads skeptical of green ads
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- Figure 60: Attitudes toward green advertising, by education level, January 2010
Appendix: Recall of Green Brands
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- Figure 61: Brands recalled at least twice as being environmentally friendly, January 2010
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Appendix: Recall of Green-Unfriendly Brands
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- Figure 62: Brands recalled at least twice as being environmentally unfriendly, January 2010
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Appendix: Trade Associations
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