Eco-Friendly Packaged Goods are Hot, Hot, Hot
June 25, 2009
According to new research from eMarketer, eco-friendly is hotter than ever for the packaged goods industry in the United States. If you thought the green branding and marketing push was tapering off, you were wrong. This report tells us:
- Between January 1, 2009 – April 15, 2009, 458 new products hit the market with claims of being eco-friendly.
- The number of new eco-friendly product launches are expected to be three times higher in 2009 than in 2008.
- The number of new eco-friendly products launched in 2009 is estimated to hit 1,592.
Look at the chart below and see how the 1,592 new eco-friendly products expected to launch in 2009 compares to the number of new eco-friendly products launched in each of the 5 years prior to 2009.
The green bandwagon is still a very popular ride for corporations to jump on. The problem comes when eco-friendly initiatives tread too close to green washing. Too many corporate executives love the positive publicity that comes with being green, but they don’t take the green initiative to heart and truly live it and believe in it. Hopefully, that will be what sets companies, brands and products apart on the eco-friendly playing field of consumers’ minds in the future.
I’ve written about green branding here on Corporate Eye before in a post called How Important is It for Brands to be Green? I’m reminded of that post today as I look at the huge growth in new eco-friendly packaged goods coming in 2009 to the U.S. Companies are flooding the market with eco-friendly products, messages, Web pages, and programs, but how much of that do consumers truly believe? How much of it do they think comes from the right place and is done for the right reason? That’s what will set “eco-friendly” companies and brands apart from “eco-truthful” companies and brands in the future.
In other words, there is a lot more to being eco-friendly than releasing a product with recycled packaging or holding a Recycling Day in the town where your company office is located. Companies and brands that understand that will prevail in the long run.
What do you think?
Paper Resumes? OMG!
June 24, 2009
First, read or listen to NPR Morning Edition’s story entitled Job Seekers Find New Rules of Recruitment. The gist: Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have much patience with job-seekers lacking LinkedIn profiles, snappy digital resumes, and an established social media presence. “If someone sends us a paper resume folded in thirds, stuffed in an envelope,” opines one CEO, “it’s hard to take it seriously.” And even for job-seekers who communicate via email, the report notes, there are potential faux pas–such as email sent via AOL and husband-and-wife addresses.
Next . . . read the “lively” (not to say vitriolic) discussion of this story. Among the commenters are populists who think Recruiting 2.0 is elitist; sympathists who are concerned for the plight of elderly (i.e, thirty-something) job seekers; cynics who think it’s all about HR laziness; and conspiracy theorists who accuse the NPR reporter of shilling for LinkedIn. Also a few people making thoughtful points.
Takeaways? (a) There are a lot of passionate opinions on this topic. (b) Recruiting 2.0 probably is elitist–but that’s the reality of the current job market. (c) Rising unemployment statistics will shine a harsh light on hiring practices.
For another take on this topic, consider Lou Adler’s article Recruiting Top Talent 2010 – Are You a Traditionalist or a Web 2.0 Free Radical? Traditionalists, according to Adler’s model, may be using niche sites, Facebook, Twitter, and all the other 2.0 trappings–but they are still operating on “the flawed premise that top people will respond to negative, boring, and exclusionary ads if you post them in enough places.”
Free radicals, on the other hand, are “talent-driven,” and their strategy is “nurturing prospects for future opportunities.” The article offers a ten-point test/action plan for assessing/strategizing this shift. For example: “3. Go req-less, using big-target talent hubs,” and “8. Convert your recruiters from screeners and sales reps into career advisors.”
Food for thought: What will happen if or when all major employers are nurturing talent with social networks and wooing prospects with precisely targeted micro-sites? Will that be Recruiting Paradise–or merely passé?
Corporate Websites — Sightings From Around the World
June 23, 2009
More and more companies are coming to the conclusion that their corporate website is an important communication medium. A few innovative companies are using creative methods to communicate with various stakeholders. I took a tour of what’s out there and found some noteworthy examples.
First I will start with a simple yet effective technique. The example comes from a rapidly growing electronics retailer in mainland China. The company is China 3C Group. Their simple technique is to post customer pictures of their stores. Now why didn’t I think of that? This is a low cost but effective way of engaging customers.
Next, I found la Caixa a Spain based financial services company. They use music and changing visuals when displaying their online annual report. Some estimates indicate that only 3% of corporate websites use music effectively.
…effective use of sound (music, speech, sound effects) on a website:
- ‘humanises’ the product, brand or organisation by increasing the visitor’s emotional engagement with the site
- ensures visitors spend longer on a page than they would if it had no audio elements
- converts convergent users (looking for specific information) to divergent users (willing to explore other areas of the site).
OK, you might not like the music so the company gives you the option to turn it off. la Caixa also has a good Economic Research section that offers visitors lots of useful information.
Here is a site with a exceptional use of video and audio (though not a corporate site). Go to Cunard’s Queen Victoria site and get a virtual tour of the ship.
You will get a great tour of what your cruise will look like. There is also a bridge webcam, but it can be a bit boring when the ship is out on calm seas.
Finally, Procter & Gamble displays an innovative timeline that traces the evolution of their technology and products.
If you roll over the blue circles you get a brief explanation of how the integration of technologies resulted in new products. Very nice.
When commercial websites first appeared they were primarily both sources of textual information and art forms. Now because of technological advancements and better operational practices they have the ability to inform, motivate, influence and still provide enjoyment as art forms. Expect the future to bring more exciting developments.
Top image source: Bluestream Media
Gaining Clients from a Visual Perspective Using Webinars, Videos and Photos
June 23, 2009
Slowly count to 10 and look into my eyes. Deep into my eyes.
Well, that would be my computer’s virtual eyes! One perspective of online media that companies often overlook is the visual element. New media has gone the route of social networking, Twittering and instant messaging. The only way now for companies to keep up with their competition is to 1) do what others are doing, 2) do it better and 3) give customers something that would be pressed to find elsewhere.
One very attractive way to gain customers is visually (virtually). Engaging them with your daily activities so that they feel a part of things, in many ways. In other words, why not let your online clients SEE the company they’re dealing with, the people behind the ideas and the tasks that go into making the products that they are buying?
The online world of virtual purchasing and virtual involvement is not very new. Companies use this technology daily when they host webinars and teleconferences. CEO’s often address the employee pool via conference addressing and use podcasts to keep them in the loop on what’s going on with the company. This is one of the main reasons why certain industries are so successful – - because of the visual element that they have available either on their website or as a part of their blog. Webinars, teleconferences and virtual tours are a lot of the cause of success for so many companies, both online and offline and the technology can be magnified in so many ways towards the company’s success.
Imagine visually showing your customers where and how their product is developed. Imagine giving them a glimpse into the meetings and decision-making events that help to shape the ideas that you bring to them. Let them into your back offices to see how things really go and even perhaps the mistakes that you sometimes make.
How-to sites are a hybrid of this type of visual marketing. Some ideas could include:
1.) Virtual bios of your company’s officers. Have them address the audience, if nothing but to say “hello.” Customers like when they can put a face with a name (product).
2.) A visual demonstration of the new widget that your corporation has just developed. Show the customers online how the widget works and other features that it may have.
3.) Photos and snapshots of your new facilities in construction. Go from a “before” to an “after” to give them an idea of your progress.
4.) The taping of the ground-breaking ceremony of your new facilities. Make your customers feel that they are a part of the news.
5.) Instead of written client testimonials, consider visual testimonials, if possible. Interview the client and ask what he thinks of your services. Include background on that client in the video if possible.
There are so many ways that you can use virtual media to reach clients online. Don’t limit yourself to only social networking, but consider the possibilities of other mechanisms of marketing as you reach out to them – - while looking deep into their eyes.
What other facets of media outlook can you use to reach your customers? Is your industry conducive to visual marketing or do you find that you have to be more creative?
Corporate ethics and the art of balancing
June 22, 2009
Chris Milton wrote a thought-provoking post last week, arguing that sustainability in business can be seen as more important than ethics, because a company’s ethical position is inevitably culture-biased, and therefore not globally appropriate.
I don’t agree.
Sustainability is important; I’m certainly not going to argue about that. But I don’t think that sustainability should be prioritised over ethics. I think the ethical stance of a company is a higher-order decision, and must come first.
An ethical choice underpins your business model
The decision whether a company should take a sustainable approach to business or not is an ethical one.
“Does the company believe that sustainable business is right?”
Not just because it reduces cost, or because it is a popular approach, but because it is the virtuous way to behave.
(Words are tricky vessels, and arrive already freighted with cultural import. I’ve chosen ‘virtuous’ here, rather than ‘best’ or ‘proper’ or ‘right’ or ‘correct’. I’m not trying to convey any particular moral theories, but to use a word to describe a company ‘of good character’; a delightfully old-fashioned concept.)
What does the company believe?
- Many companies decide that their primary purpose is to maximise returns for their shareholders, and, for these companies, sustainability matters (if at all) because it can reduce costs, not because of any intrinsic virtue in behaving this way.
- Others decide that they’ll adopt a sustainable approach because it will improve their brand positioning: either their corporate brand or their product/service brands. This too, is a profit-driven motive, and not done out of a sense of virtue.
- And some may decide to create a sustainable business because they believe it is the virtuous thing to do – and, as Chris says, they may make a reduced profit because of that decision.
In all these cases, the end result may be sustainable business, though for different reasons, and we can surely applaud the results.
All three types of company have made an ethical decision about the relative weights of responsibility to their different stakeholders. In the case of the profit-driven companies, they may have decided that their main responsibility is to their shareholders. Others may have decided that their main responsibility is to the wider community; perhaps they operate as a co-operative. Some may decide that their main responsibility is to their employees; perhaps they work as a partnership.
Which stakeholders should take priority? How to balance responsibility to all stakeholders? This is an ethical question and the answer shapes the corporate culture and all its actions.
Ethics shapes the corporate culture
The ethical principles that the company adopts, even if this decision is not explicit, do more than simply dictate the focus of the company. They permeate the company, affecting potentially every decision and every action by all employees: provide a refund for that item possibly damaged in transit? deny that insurance claim? ‘borrow’ that stapler from Supplies? extend your payment cycle for small suppliers? demand your staff work unpaid overtime because you did? …
The ethical principles and culture are set by the senior management, and – assuming that senior management have the strength of will to stand by their principles and act accordingly – will affect anyone who has dealings with the company: all stakeholders.
There is a good reason for the existence of a mission or purpose statement; for the clear identification of the corporate values; for the development of the code of ethics and code of conduct; and for putting all these on the corporate website. These statements are the source of the corporate culture, and also the banks that direct the cultural flow in the desired direction. They are both guideposts to the ‘good’ behaviour and bulwarks against the ‘bad’.
Ethics promotes consistent and directed action
Ethics permeates business – good and bad. The tricky thing is to ensure ethical consistency, and that the ethical choices made by all employees every day are desirable.
So here’s the question: desirable in themselves, or desirable given the end-goal in mind?
Your ethics may not be mine, but if you implement them consistently across your organisation, then your organisation is at least authentic, and true to your principles. If you explicitly communicate your principles, goals and actions, then you’ve taken a step towards transparency, and your stakeholders can then decide whether or not they want to do business with you.
If you have decided that your business will be a sustainable one, then all choices should be geared towards that end.
But you can’t do without ethics.
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