In addition, it is very clear that consumers -- you and I -- are wary and cynical about any and all commercial messages touting just about anything, let alone something that involves sacrifices on our part. Buzz" and "prove it" are the keywords for a large portion of the public to accept this effort.

The authors suggest that word-of-mouth, or buzz, is the most credible means of purveying a message that the public will buy into, especially when they are trying to comprehend complex, product innovations. Hearing it from a trustworthy friend works. And in our internet age, buzz includes "word-of-mouse," as the authors cleverly put it. Email, websites, search engines, blogs, databases, product rating sites, etc. can be utilized to create, sustain, and enhance the buzz as well as that "prove it" mentality (Ottman, p.19, 2008).

The Future of Green Marketing

Commerce will shift from the sale of goods to the sale of services -- providing illumination rather than selling light bulbs. The authors demonstrate this by referring to the Apple iPod.

The iPod gives the consumer the ability to download, play, and store tens of thousands of songs without the environmental impact of manufacturing and distributing millions of CDs, plastic jewel cases and packaging (Ottman, et al., 2008).

Innovations that transform material goods into efficient streams of services...

In 1999, to encourage water and energy efficiency they pioneered a "pay-per-wash" service where consumers were given (free) new, efficient washing machines for a small home installation fee and were then charged 10 kroner (about $1.25 U.S.) per wash. The machines were connected via the internet to a central database to monitor use and Electrolux maintained ownership and free servicing of the washers.
Pay per wash" failed. Why? Because it was not marketed per the guidelines presented in this article. Consumers were not convinced of its benefits over the traditional way of washing.

Why? Because Electrolux did not market pay-per-wash's conveniences such as virtually no up-front costs for a top-of-the-line washer, free servicing, or easy trade-ins for upgrades. They did not bundle pay-per-wash with other desirable products or services either (Ottman, et al., 2008).

Had they done those things, consumers may well have accepted the "green" service.

Bibliography

Levitt, T. (1960). Marketing myopia. Harvard business review, 24-47.

Ottman, J., Stafford, E., & Hartmann, C. (2008). Avoiding green marketing myopia. Environmental management: readings and cases, 12-21.

Avoiding Green Marketing