Green Branding and India

8/8/2019 Green Branding and India

1/16

Awareness

Consideration

Purchase

Awareness

Consideration

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C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 0 8 , S T R A T E G I C O X Y G E N

The green factor

HOW, WHEN AND IF GREEN MARKETING

CAN IMPACT YOUR BRAND


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PLEASE CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE CHOOSING TO PRINT THIS DOCUMENT.


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Introduction

You cannot escape the onslaught of green-

driven messaging. Turn the page of anynewspaper, visit any well-known website

it's there. Wherever you stand on the issues

and/or the messages, this onslaught of mar-

keting is seeping into every area of life.

Even within the past year, as we were

tracking green-related messaging, we saw

significant shifts. In 2007, when U.S. busi-

ness people were asked which messages

mattered most to them in server purchasing,

the message of power consumption ranked

eight out of nine choices. Today it is fifth,

and even higher in some segments. (See

Chart B on page 4.)

The call to Go Green is a visceral and

emotional one for many brands, and the

marketing method has often been far more

passion than science. We believe that apply-

ing more analysis to our marketing

decisions will help generate more rational

1

IN A TIME WHEN

WE ARE

INCREASINGLY

CHALLENGING

OUR LEADERS

TO LISTEN TO

ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENTISTS, WE,

AS BRANDS,

MUST ALSO

LISTEN TO OUR

CUSTOMERS

AND DEVELOP

A MORE

SCIENTIFIC

APPROACH TO

MARKETING

GREEN.

This brief overview of Strategic Oxygen's GreenFactor research (v1.0)

looks at how effective green marketing would be for 26 of the world's

top technology brands, translating these findings into information any

brand can use. The research is based on the input of 3,500 BtB influ-

encers from around the world.


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support, and will further build green

budgets, green programs and potential

changes in green products and services.

This white paper summarizes Strategic

Oxygen's recent GreenFactor research(v1.0), which compiles the views of BtB

influencers worldwide on issues like who

they see as green leaders, who they believe

should increase their green focus, how like-

ly they are to purchase green technologies

and whether or not they would expect to

pay a premium for those technologies.

This research has also uncovered the per-

ceived and actual barriers to increased

green adoption.

By correlating these attitudes and beliefs

with Strategic Oxygen's INE tool, a brand

can clearly identify where and how to best

communicate with specific targets on

green-related issues.

The intent here is not to solve global warm-

ing. Instead, we are laying out a simple

framework for maximizing the energy and

resources your brand puts toward green ini-

tiatives. If green is about sustainability, so

too should green marketing begenerating

at least enough volume or premiums to pay

for the green marketing programs.

To be or not to be green?

Green marketing is in. And if we believe in

the premise of the green mantra (that we

are all responsible for environmental care),

then there is logically no choice. We must

go green. However, securing the

resources to do so, and using them effec-

tively, is difficult. Producing green

marketing is not as easy as putting a leaf on

a PowerPoint template, as one of our clients

jokingly suggested.

There are three ugly issues we must address

in order to get real traction:

1) the threat of recession tightening not

only ourbudgets, but also our customers'

budgets;

2

ENTER-

PRISENETADMIN

ENTER-

PRISEITM

ENTER-

PRISECIO

MID

MARKETITM

MID

MARKETCIO

SMALL

BUSINESSCXO

TOTAL

U.S.

MARKET

48%

23%21%

34%

14%

22%19% 17%

2008

2007

50%

41% 41%

50%52%

48%

PERCENT OF VARIOUS MARKETS THAT VALUE A GREEN MESSAGE

IN TECHNOLOGY MARKETING, U.S. COMPANIES ONLY

CHART A

PERCENT OF VARIOUS MARKETS THAT VALUE A GREEN MESSAGE

IN TECHNOLOGY MARKETING (U.S. MARKETS ONLY)

SOURCE: Strategic Oxygen GreenFactor Study v1.0, 2008


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2) increased pressure around ROIagain

within our brand and among our cus-

tomers; and

3) a widening set of geographies to reachand manage.

As brands, we must consider these issues

and ask the right questions before we blind-

ly start sending green messages. While

some brands are well positioned to turn

green marketing into brand sustainability,

for others the chance to charge premium or

improve brand value might be limited.

ASK: IS THERE AN UP-SIDE FOR US?

This must be one of our first questions.Few brands can afford to allocate valuable

media landscape, product resources or con-

tent-development budgets unless there is

some form of measurable up-side. Why

market to a target who has already stated

he does not expect to pay a premium for

your green technology, or who is not plan-

ning to adopt enough green products to

make the economics viable? The key here

is to find the targets who are open to the

technology and the potential extra cost, and

market there.

ASK: LEAD OR FOLLOW?

Not all brand perceptions are created equal.

If your brand is seen as a leader in the

development of green solutions, you carry

both an advantage and a liability.

Customers are open to you, but they also

expect a lot. If you are not seen as a leader,

you will need to seriously consider how

much investment is worthwhile at this time.

ASK: PRODUCTS OR PROMOTIONS?Often in new categories, pseudo-associa-

tions can be as effective for a brand as

fundamental investments. For example,

customers are often confused about the new

rules (i.e., what really constitutes being

green?) and are looking for leadership. At

the early stages of a new constructlike

greenfew, if any, brands are capable of

investing in the new, defining products. In

some cases, brands can instead piggy-back

on the movement through marketing com-

munications. In other words, for a time, youmay be potentially proclaiming more green

than your products or services truly offer.

But knowing whether to invest in green

technology or just green marketing

demands a clear understanding of your

brand and your market. It also requires an

understanding of what it will take for your

targets to adopt green technologies.

Knowing how much they might expect to

pay as a green tax is critical.

Developing an amazing green product that

nobody knows aboutor believes you can

delivercan be as irresponsible as using

toxic components. Yet, having a marketing

proposition with no weight behind it, espe-

cially if you are a brand that is expected to

deliver actual substance, can be as compro-

mising as a luxury liner without life boats.

In our work around the world, we have

seen how environmental issues are driving

brand decisions and messaging. (See chart

on page 4.) The risks can be high. Think

how costly it would be to carve out 10 per-

cent of your budget for programs that have

virtually unpredictable outcomes. Crazy!

Yet this is the approach many brands have

so far taken to their green marketing.

3

WHILE SOME BRANDS ARE WELL

POSITIONED TO TURN GREEN MARKETING

INTO BRAND SUSTAINABILITY, FOR

OTHERS THE CHANCE TO CHARGE A

PREMIUM OR IMPROVE BRAND VALUE

MIGHT BE LIMITED.


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The information in this paper should help

you sculpt and justify your marketing

actions, based on:

a) which quadrant of the Green Chart your

brand is inor how close you are to

what we call the Green Zone (see page

6);

b) whether or not the prime targets for

green technology are influencers you are

comfortable communicating with; and

c) whether you have something substantive

to talk about. By substantive we mean

anything from educating and enabling

targets to understand the value of green

investments to promoting your brand's

technological breakthroughs.

It could be that after doing this informal

assessment, you decide not to allocate sig-

nificant funding toward green marketing at

this time, but instead to wait it out for bet-

ter opportunities.

Find the right customers(those who are willing tobuy and expecting to pay)

Why push water uphill? If we proclaim the

virtues of green technology and it falls on

deaf ears, then we have acted with poten-

tially noble intent, but have wasted our

communications resources. Or, if those who

listen will neither adopt nor expect to pay a

premium for green technology, we have

been chasing a red herring. Such are the

dilemmas we face as brands.

The GreenFactor research has proven that

there are some simple dynamics to consider.If a market is willing to adopt green technol-

ogy, we should be offering it. If a market

expects to pay a premium, we should be

charging one. The combination of both of

these factors is the sweet spotthe Green

Zonethat deserves our immediate atten-

tion. Success with this ripe segment could

even justify and fund green investments in

other markets.

The whole world is affected by environ-

mental issues, but we cannot boil the oceanin an attempt to get improvement every-

where. What CMO has the funding to

launch a complete, global, green marketing

program anyway? By focusing on the suc-

cess quadrant, we can build case studies of

success and generate ROI toward future ini-

tiatives.

4

CHART B

HOW GLOBAL MARKETS RATE THEIMPORTANCE OF GREEN MESSAGESIN TECHNOLOGY MARKETINGOUT OF NINE POSSIBLE MESSAGE CHOICES



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5

The upper-right quadrant of the chart above

indicates, by geography, which targetsexpect to pay a premium forandare open

to adoption ofgreen products, versus

markets where premium expectations are

there but high-volume adoption is question-

able.

The truth here is that we cannot assume that

all markets behave in the same way.

THE TRUTH HERE IS THAT WE

CANNOT ASSUME THAT ALL

MARKETS BEHAVE IN THE

SAME WAY.

CHART C

WHICH GLOBAL MARKETS ARE READY FOR GREEN MARKETING



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readily to those in or near the top right than

the lower left.

Following are some questions we must askif we plan to maximize our current position:

THE GREEN ZONE

If we are already in the Green Zone, what

will sustain this position for us? What

types of communications and offers

should we be developing?

If we aren't in the Green Zone now but

targets expect us to become more green in

the future, how can we deliver on that

perception?

Are the brands close to us partners orfoes?

Is the market expecting to pay premiums

on green products? Or are they not ready

for that differentiation yet?

Are we consistent globally? And does that

matter?

THE EDGE OF THE GREEN

What types of marketing could move us

into the Green Zone?

Are we capable of moving to the Green

Zone by developing green products

and/or services?

Could we partner with other brands who

are also in the Edge of the Green to mul-

tiply the value of our activities? If so,

who?

Can we focus on green-believer targets

with whom we already do naturally well,

versus shooting blindly? If so, who?

THE MASSES

Can we differentiate our brand with a

green breakthrough?

Should we just lie low for a while, espe-

cially if we do not have funds or

products?

Are we in the Green Zone or on the Edge

of the Green in any other geographies? If

so, can we lead from there?

Turning barriers intoassets

When asked what is keeping them from

adopting green technology, the most com-

mon answers for business-to-business

influencers worldwide were price and the

unproven ROI.

A key issue here is that brands have failed

to adequately educate targets about the

value and importance of green technology.

This new research sends a clear signal to

brands: Invest in moreand more believ-

ableeducational activities. Committing to

targeted marketing and highlighting realcustomer success stories will help, as we

will cover in the next segment,

Communications as a Weapon.

Another thing a brand can do to improve its

position in the Green Chart is to recruit

advocates from within target companies.

This can be tricky. At Strategic Oxygen, our

findings show that the most passionate

advocates for green tend to be the most

peripheral to the day-to-day technology

purchasing. Line-of-business (LOB) man-agers are common advocates, as are CXOs

(every C-title position except the CIO). The

secret is to empower LOBs to formally or

informally include green requirements in

their RFPs (especially in the largest enter-

prises) and to encourage CXOs to ratify

purchase recommendations only if there is

some sense of green being delivered.

7

WHEN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESSINFLUENCERS WORLDWIDE

WERE ASKED WHAT IS KEEPING

THEM FROM ADOPTING GREEN

TECHNOLOGY, THE MOST COM-

MON ANSWERS WERE PRICE

AND THE UNPROVEN ROI.


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8

Having leverage with these advocates is

tougher for brands in The Masses segment,

but for brands in the Green Zone, it is virtu-

ally a responsibility if they want to sustaintheir position there.

Chart E on the left shows the best compa-

nies to target for recruiting advocates of

greenby countryincluding the number

of employees, and the job title that is most

likely to be supportive of green.

Communications as aweapon

Strategic Oxygen has produced a global

segmentation of green-is-important targets.

As we can see from Chart F, there are clear-

ly cross-regional differences. It would be

foolish, and naive, to assume that all of

these targets share the same communica-

tions needs across the globe. They may all

care about one core issuegreen issues

but their consumption patterns, and even

their reason for caring about green, can dif-

fer greatly. Our tactics for reaching them

must, too.

If there is an underlying theme to this white

paper, it is that we cannot deliver the same

green value toor project green adoption

withevery target in every situation.

Strategic Oxygens toolsets offer brands a

sensible pathway toward profitable invest-

ments in green communications and

therefore encourage further investments. In

addition, Chart G on page 10 identifies key

messages and actions to take based on acountrys current stance on green issues.

IT MANAGER1000+MEXICO

CXO100-999U.S.

CIO1000+BRAZIL

CIO1000+CANADA

HOT

TARGET

ADVOCATES

HOT

TARGET

SIZE

LOB1000+ITALY

LOB1000+U.K.

CIO100-999FRANCE

LOB1000+GERMANY

HOT

TARGET

ADVOCATES

HOT

TARGET

SIZE

CXO1000+JAPAN

CIO1000+AUSTRALIA

CIO1000+INDIA

HOT

TARGET

ADVOCATES

HOT

TARGET

SIZE

AMERICAS

EMEA

APAC

WHERE TO RECRUIT GREENADVOCATES

CHART E SOURCE: Strategic Oxygen GreenFactor Study v1.0, 2008


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9

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

EMEA

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

MEDIUM

HIGH

HIGH

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

US

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

HIGH

HIGH

MEDIUM

HIGH

HIGH

MEDIUM

HIGH

MEDIUM

LA

HIGH

HIGH

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

INDIA

WEBCASTS

VENDOR EVENTS

WWW.VENDOR

WWW.GENERAL INTEREST

VIRTUAL WORLDS/SECOND LIFE SITES

TV/RADIO

PODCASTS

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

TRADE SHOW

SPONSORED SEMINAR

WWW.TECHNICAL INFO

WWW.TECHNICAL PRINT

RSS

WWW.BUSINESS PRINT/NEWS

WWW.MICROSITES

WWW.ROI TOOLS

WHITE PAPERS

TECHNOLOGY ANALYSTS

WWW.SEARCH

WWW.IT FORUM / BLOG

VENDOR PRINT

CONTENT INSERTS

INDUSTRY PRINT

TECHNOLOGY PRINT

BUSINESS PRINT/NEWS

DIRECT EMAIL

EMAIL (NEWS/SUB)

CATALOGS

DIRECT MAIL

EFFECTIVENESS OF GREEN MESSAGINGWITH KEY MARKETING VEHICLES

CHART F SOURCE: Strategic Oxygen INE v6.0


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10

Find a way to persuade that the

green premium is worthwhile

Find a way to persuade that the

green premium is worthwhile

Build consideration of green

Market green offerings with a premium

Focus big on building awareness

and educating on green

Build awareness of green

Wait until proven

elsewhere

Wait until proven

elsewhere

Build awareness & consideration of green

Explain ROI of green premium



Build awareness of green



LATE ADOPTER

OF GREEN

NEEDS CONVINCING

OF GREEN

IN THE GREEN ZONE

OR ON THE EDGE

HOW TO MARKET TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES BASED ON HOW GREEN THEY ARE

CHART G

IF THERE IS AN UNDERLYING

THEME TO THIS WHITE PAPER,

IT IS THAT WE CANNOT

DELIVER THE SAME GREEN

VALUE TO OR PROJECT THE

SAME ADOPTION WITH EVERY

TARGET IN EVERY

SITUATION.


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Recommendations

The flow diagram on page 12 delivers a

simple framework for thinking through

green marketing investment strategies.

Remember, no brand can be green or rele-

vant to all targets in all situations.

Some things to consider:

It may be that your green efforts should

be based on building an image ofper-

ceivedgreen strength. Just the act of

promoting green might help raise your

status closer to the Green Zoneespe-

cially if it is paired with an attempt toeducate on the potential ROI of green.

Your brand may choose to focus its green

offerings on an organizational commit-

ment to green.

Your brand must be in or around the

Green Zone or on the Edge of the Green

to yield some level of medium-term pay-

off to green marketing. This pay-off could

involve an increased association with

green initiatives and/or the ability tocharge a premium for green products.

Your brand might want to start with

friendlier markets firstthose that say

they will be more and more open to green

technologies as the ROI is proven, and

those that expect to pay a premium for

green products.

If you are savvy about your approach,

your brands green marketing program

could, in many cases, become self fund-

ing. For example, consider the pay-off if

a five-percent allocation of marketing

dollars toward green promotion enables

us to charge an additional ten-percent pre-

mium for our products.

Todays technology brands have choices to

make when it comes to how they are going

to respond to the current green momentum.

These choices are interconnected by nature

and will have differing outcomes. We must

realize that targets see a multitude of differ-

ent brands in the green arena. Some makeactual stufflike HP, Dell and Apple

and therefore have practical ways of being

green. Otherslike Google and

Microsoftare perceived as being quite

green even though their products are not

manufactured. This may be because they

are major brands with an inherent and

imbedded reputation as leaders.

While you may discover that now is not yet

the time for your brand to make significant

investments in green, its crucial to makethis an informed decision. Not all brands

are entering the green arena on equal foot-

ing. Knowing where your brand stands, and

where your targets stand, will make every

dollar you spend on green marketing worth-

while.

CALL OR EMAIL STRATEGIC

OXYGEN TO OBTAIN THE

COMPLETE RESULTS OF THE

GLOBAL GREENFACTOR V1.0

RESEARCH. THIS DATA IS

AVAILABLE AT NO COST TO ALL

TECHNOLOGY BRANDS (THOSE

TRACKED AND THOSE NOT

TRACKED). WE ARE MORE THAN

HAPPY TO SPEND THIRTY

MINUTES RUNNING THROUGH

THE DECISION TREE (ON PAGE 12)

WITH YOU AND YOUR BRAND.


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12

GREEN MARKETING FLOW CHART

CHART H


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Strategic Oxygen, a member of the Monitor Group, specializes in making the art of

marketing more scientific. Its marketing-planning tools are produced and used globally.

Based on over 100,000 interviews with technology influencers about their purchasing and

consumption patterns in markets as diverse as Mexico, Brazil, Russia, India, the PRC

(Tier III/IV) and the classic mature markets Strategic Oxygens patent-pending INE tool

provides valuable insights on sales and marketing strategies. Over the last five years, these

tools have been used to model and plan over $5 billion in sales and marketing activities in

BtC and BtB markets for some of the worlds largest technology brands.

Direct Mail

PodcastsTV/Radio

Webcasts

VendorEvents

Industry

AssociationIndustry

Conference

TradeShow

SponsoredSeminar

VAR/Retailer

SI/Consultant

Vendor SalesTele/Email

Vendor Salesin Person

Procurement/GSA

www.Vendor

www.GeneralInterest

VirtualWorlds/SecondLifeSites

www.TechInfo

. www.TechPrint

RSSwww.Bus Print/News

www.Microsites

www.ROI tools

WhitePapers

TechnologyAnalysts

www.Search

www.IT Forum/Blog

VendorPrint

ContentInserts

IndustryPrint

Technology

Print

BusinessPrint/News

Direct Email

Email (News/Sub)

Catalogs

Awareness

Consideration

Purchase

Direct Sign On

Broadcast

Print

Search

Opinion

Online

Events

Sales

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MICHAEL GALE AT [email protected].

Documents

Green Branding and India