Toot Your Own Horn

Behind-the-scenes eco-initiatives can be invisible to shoppers. By getting the word out on store brand-related efforts, you could win over eco-motivated shoppers.

Some product-related eco-conscious efforts are fairly obvious to consumers. It's hard to miss the "green" message, for example, when "eco" or "organic" is part of a brand's name — and as such, displayed prominently on the front label.

But other initiatives are barely noticeable, or even invisible, to consumers. It can be a challenge, after all, for brand owners to get the word out on greener manufacturing practices, environmentally responsible ingredient/material sourcing, or even eco- minded packaging enhancements.

When it comes to communicating the "eco-stories" behind store brands, retailers face a greater challenge than the national brands, which boast large-enough marketing budgets to ensure the green message gets out. Even Walmart has its communications issues here, notes Todd Maute, senior vice president and partner at CBX, a strategic branding and design company headquartered in New York. He says the Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer had done "a pretty good job" when it comes to sustainability — by, for example, right-sizing own-brand packaging, recycling packaging and even attempting to use the recycled packaging to make new packaging.

"But I don't know how well of a job they're actually doing communicating it," he says. "I think [the messaging] is more to the trade than it is to the consumer."

Opportunity knocks

Still, retailers have a number of opportunities to get the word out — and consumers certainly appear to be willing to listen.

As proof, Ken Shore, executive vice president of Chicago-based Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, points to the "2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study" from Boston-based Cone LLC The study reports that 46 percent of American consumers said they would be willing to try a store brand if they knew the purchase would support a cause (such as sustainability) that was meaningful to them.

"Retailers have so many different consumer/shopper touch points at their disposal," Shore says. "It is amazing that they are not using each and every one to connect with this very large and important group of highly motivated customers."

That said, retailers cannot count on one communication strategy — or even one message — to clearly resonate with all who are listening.

"Terms like carbon footprint and even the word sustainability are still not well understood by the average shopper," Shore says.

To further confound things, consumers now are bombarded with more than 300 different eco-related symbols promising to "help" them quickly locate the products that are best for the environment, he adds. In October, however, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed revisions to its "Green Guides" — changes that Shore believes eventually will result in a universally accepted way to communicate the environmental impact of each product. (See the sidebar, above.)

Start with the package

Perhaps the easiest — and most logical — starting point for communicating behind-the-scenes store brand eco-efforts is the product packaging. Shore believes packaging should play a "huge role" in getting the message out in terms of carbon footprint and more.

"Since so much of the purchase decision takes place in store at the shelf, it is the perfect medium to communicate the environmental impact of a product, as well as the manufacturer's investment in and commitment to the cause," he says. "One only needs to look at the impact nutritional labels have had on society to understand the potential that exists."

Timothy Kenyon, an executive with the GfK Roper Consulting division of GfK Custom Research North America in New York, counts packaging and packaging labels among the top five sources of environmental information in the United States — and arguably the most important vehicles for retailers' store bands. (Online articles, TV programs, newspaper articles and word of mouth make up the other four.) He believes a combination of on-packaging messaging and point-of-sale materials can go a long way to communicate environmental initiatives related to store brand items.

"There is one major caveat, however," he stresses. "Consumers are increasingly skeptical and confused about green claims. It is important for claims to be honest, transparent and verifiable."

Shore agrees that shelf tags and other point-of-sale messaging make great eco-communications vehicles — and a growing number of retailers are putting them to work. For example, in September, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market announced a partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Blue Ocean Institute whereby the retailer will provide color-coded sustainability ratings tags next to items in the seafood case (with green representing the best choice; yellow, a good alternative; and red, a product to avoid). And in May, Publix Super Markets of Lakeland, Fla., announced that it has been working with three environmental groups to devise a similar type of ratings system for its stores.

Packaging makes a good start, but should certainly not be the only medium for communicating store brand green messaging, contends Shel Horowitz, a marketing consult and the primary author of Guerilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies To Improve Your Profits and Your Planet.

"The old rule is it takes seven impressions to make an impression," he says. "I'm not entirely convinced that that's true, but certainly you want to hit people with multiple stimuli, with in-store signage, with whatever advertising you're doing, with product demonstrations and with social media."

Retailers also could look to loyalty cards as a way to track and communicate with sustainability-minded shoppers, Shore suggests. After analyzing purchase patterns to confirm shoppers' interest, they could send out targeted electronic and direct-mail messages that highlight a shared interest in the environment — and state exactly what the retailer is doing to green up its operations and own-brand products.

"There are so many different digital shopper marketing tools now available to direct shoppers to store brand green products," Shore adds. "Whether it be through digital coupons and/or mobile apps they provide to their consumers to create shopping lists, retailers now have the ability to call attention to their green [efforts] more so than ever before."

Point out the obvious

Even organic items, non-toxic cleaners and other store brand products that already have an obvious green slant might not be getting their fair share of attention. Maute believes retailers could benefit by finding a way to tie all of these products together. He points to The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) of Montvale, N.J., as a success story here, at least from a branding perspective.

"They've branded everything [that's eco-minded] under the GreenWay brand, whether the product is good for the environment or has sustainable packaging or whatever," he says. "I think that gives the brand a greater presence because the categories become fairly small when you have organic items here and natural items there and green items over there. You're not gaining the 'total story' benefit."

Polish the message

The right communication vehicles and branding strategies are only half of the equation, of course. The messaging used also must resonate with shoppers.

Horowitz believes consumers will read and relate to a "story" delivered via packaging — even a long one — if the message is compelling. Retailers might want to take a look at some eco-minded national brands for inspiration here, he suggests.

"Look at a company like Ben & Jerry's, for example," Horowitz says. "Their packaging is all over the place with what they are doing with sustainability. And look at Familia cereal — the back of the box talks about small farms, no chemical growing processes."

Anything that conveys some sort of personal benefit or draws an emotional connection back to the product or the retailer stands a good chance for success, Kenyon believes.

But Maute notes that green can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, so retailers really first need to understand their "platform for green" — how they want to run their stores, what products they want to put on their shelves and across what categories, and ultimately how they want to market it all.

"The challenge is how to position it, and how to create that value proposition," he says. "Customers, I think, will become more loyal to a store, and actually more loyal to a brand, if they feel it gives them an opportunity to say, 'Hey, I'm doing my part.'"

Retailers cannot count on one communication strategy — or even one message — to clearly resonate with all who are listening.

Changes in the Works for 'Green Guides'

In October, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed revisions to its "Green Guides" — the guidance the agency provides to marketers to help them avoid misleading environmental claims. The proposed changes are designed to update the guides and make them easier for companies to understand and to use, FTC says.

"In recent years, businesses have increasingly used 'green' marketing to capture consumers' attention and move Americans toward a more environmentally friendly future," says Jon Leibowitz, FTC chairman. "But what companies think green claims mean and what consumers really understand are sometimes two different things. The proposed updates to the 'Green Guides' will help businesses better align their product claims with consumer expectations."

Among other things, the proposed revisions:

• Caution marketers not to make general claims about a product being "environmentally friendly" or "eco-friendly" because the FTC's consumer perception study confirms such claims are likely to suggest the product has specific and far-reaching environmental benefits (which very few products do).
• Advise marketers not to use unqualified certifications or seals of approval — ones that do not specify the basis for the certification or approval.
• Explain to marketers how consumers are likely to perceive certain environmental claims such as "degradable," "compostable" and "free of" a particular substance. For example, if a marketer claims a product package typically tossed in the trash is degradable, the package should take no longer than a year to decompose.

The proposed revisions also give advice about claims not addressed in the current guides, FTC says — claims such as "renewable materials" and "renewable energy." In addition, they provide new advice related to carbon offset claims and more.

The proposed revisions can be found on FTC's website at www.ftc.gov/os/fedreg/2010/october/101006greenguidesfrn.pdf. The agency says it will accept comments on the guides until Dec. 10.

A Nation of Eco-Skeptics

Only 62 percent of Americans believe environmental pollution is a serious issue, says a new report from GfK Roper Consulting, a division of New York-based GfK Custom Research North America, making the United States one of the most environmentally cynical nations in the world. The "Green Gauge Global" report, which examined the green habits of 36,000 consumers in 25 countries worldwide, also found that American consumers are skeptical when it comes to the cost and efficacy of "green" products and their impact on the environment. Approximately two out of three Americans perceive green products to be too costly, while one-third of them believe they do not perform as well as "regular" products.

"In the U.S. and around the world, marketers are being challenged by consumers to produce better green products that don't cost too much," says Timothy Kenyon, director of the study at GfK Custom Research North America. "To that end, marketers need to be cognizant of the distinctive perceptions and attitudes about green products in order to convey these products as a smart, pragmatic purchase." The report also identifies five distinct groups of environmental consumers:

• "Jaded" consumers, who tend to exhibit the least amount of concern about the environment.
• "Glamour Greens," whose green behaviors amount to status-seeking efforts.
• "Green in Need" consumers, who have the desire but lack the means to be environmentally responsible.
• "Carbon Cultured" consumers, who are concerned about the environment, but exhibit green behaviors that lag a bit.
• "Green InDeed" consumers, who are green in both their lifestyles and their advocacy efforts.

"Our Green Gauge Global report not only discusses the unique elements of each of these population segments, but it also provides actionable strategies for developing green marketing campaigns and tailored customer communications in every region across the globe," Kenyon says. "Now, more than ever, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reach those consumers across the globe who embrace green behaviors compared to others who are less passionate about the environment."