Are Consumers Buying Your Green Message?

If you were betting on which word-of-mouth advertising campaign would have the most influence on society, who would you put your money on:

A) a group of 10,000 moms who were given bottled water and asked if they would "talk" about it to their friends, or...

B) a group of 10,000 moms who believe in all their hearts that bottled water is bad for the environment, their wallet and the world?

Which group would talk louder and longer and with more passion? I'm betting on group B and I'm sure you would too. That recently struck me as I read about a "Big Name Bottled Water" manufacturer hiring a company to distribute water to moms in hopes they would give them positive buzz and then last weekend I was asked to bring my own water bottle to a women's conference. (I was impressed that they asked.)

On the speaker's panel next to me was Kimberly Danke Pinkson, the founder of ECO Mom Alliance, a group of about 11,000 women. She brought her water container as well. Kimberly told me how after her group was written up in the NY Times and she did a spot on the Today Show, she was slammed with offers from companies who wanted to have their "green" whatever be part of their word-of-mouth marketing machine.

Today, Toby Bloomberg, social media maven that she is, posted on taking your green message to the masses: [Toby helped create this blog.]

According to research from Nielsen Online protecting the environment has become increasingly important to consumers, with online buzz around sustainability growing 50 percent in 2007. "...consumers are becoming increasingly vocal online about the  issue of sustainability... Blogger attention to... issues like pollution, toxins and sustainable agriculture reveal an important intersection between personal health and environmental wellness." Jessica Hogue, research director, Nielsen Online.

As we're seeing "Green" has morphed into a cool marketing strategy. However, Nielsen's research cautions businesses to be careful how products/ are positioned and promoted. "Consumers expect consistency in action and authentic and transparent messaging."

The message to consumer marketers is clear, if you want free word-of-mouth marketing, make sure your product is green to the core first before asking these growing women's groups for your endorsement.

Comments

[mvellandi]

Yup, the green features really have to be there not just for promote-ability reasons, but for the potential scrutiny and negative WOM if the product doesn't live up to its claims. This goes especially for PR firms who need to fairly/accurately represent clients to publics.

[Tobv]

Mary - great example of how word of mouth may create buzz but if it is wrapped in passion and belief the credibility increases .. and I must believe would be more likely influence consumer purchase behavior. Thanks to you for your dedication and leadership in educating so many about sustainability.