Branding & Marketing

Posted by Chris Brown on September 30th, 2008 in Branding, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Marketing - General, Rebranding

Do you remember when food got lighter? Lite. Fat-Free. Fewer Carbs. It seemed like everywhere you turned there were alternatives that were better than the other stuff that had too much butter or cream or shortening. When you read the labels, things got confusing. Something that was supposed to be very healthy for you had words you could barely pronounce. Looking closely, sometimes healthy food had a calorie count or sodium content that was way off. There was a lot to learn and not a simple as 1, 2, 3.

Now it seems to me that the “Green Movement” has reached that same same critical point. It’s morphed. Now it’s not about just “going green” but actually making things sustainable. As I look at the marketing and branding aspects of this, I find many companies reluctant to talk about it. Most won’t take a position for fear of not being “good enough.”

Joel Makower at Greenbiz.com in his post From Movement to a Market summarizes the change from pollution control of the 60’s to waste reduction and energy efficiency of the 80’s & 90’s into sustainability of people, planet, and profit.

His book: Strategies for a Green Economy, has just been released.

I find his notion of a green business quite interesting:

There are no widely accepted definitions of “green business,” so no standard means of answering the fundamental question, “How good is good enough?” We know what “good enough” is for green buildings — there’s a standard for that — but not for green businesses.

So what does that mean for marketers? I see many regulations, certifications, training and seminars in the near future. Figuring out how to make a business sustainable from all three facets is the future. Being able to brand and market a company as a sustainable business is powerful, but only if it meets the criteria.

I know I’m not the only one working on understanding the criteria and trying to make sense of it. How about you? Do you understand the challenges and opportunities of sustainability marketing? Are you working on the branding aspects of this for your company?

More resources:
What is Greenwashing?

About Cradle to Cradle from TED: