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« Progress, Not Perfection | Main | Communication/Community, what's the difference? »
Friday
Jan082010

Green Is a Dead Brand

DateFriday, January 8, 2010 at 10:34AM

I’ve been wrestling with this post for quite some time. Approaching green branding has unsettled me for a while, but I couldn’t quite articulate why. Then, just a few days ago, James Bedell tweeted a pic of the new Sprite Green – and it hit me what’s wrong with green as a brand. 

Everything.

I may take a certain amount of flack for this post, but I adamantly feel that both the concept and the marketing activity known as “green branding” need serious re-branding. 

Before diving into details, let’s take a step back.

Consider the characteristics of a good, strong brand. It has a clearly defined benefit. It is uniquely differentiated. It has a distinct voice and experience associated with it. It consistently delivers upon its promised benefit to consumers/customers. The great, beloved brands – Apple, Target, Google to name a few – achieve all of the above in spades.

Now consider “green” and all its brand baggage. Here are 4 reasons green branding needs a re-boot:

#1 Green has no clearly defined benefit. First and foremost, the term “green” has been used and mis-used so often, in so many ways, it's lost meaning. Forget greenwashing, the term "green" itself has been white-washed to the point that brand building on green is like branding built on that nebulous benefit called “quality.”

Take Sprite Green, for example. Why is it called “green?” Turns out it’s because the soft drink is produced with an all-natural sweetener (not to mention 5% lemon juice per serving).

So, what is green now? Something made from all-natural products? Something that when used has a positive or neutral effect on the environment? Something produced in a more eco-friendly manner? All of the above?

And to what level of eco-friendliness do brands have to be in order to be considered “green” without being accused of greenwashing? The concepts of "shades of green" personally makes me a little sick to my stomach when you consider the additional brand confusion to an already confusing term, let alone the lack of standardization. Suddenly brands will have to define dark green vs. green vs. lime green? Jump right into the brand nightmare, the water is warm.

#2 People don’t trust green. Because of the effects of greenwashing and continued debate about the imperative to fight climate change and preserving natural resources, 70% of consumers don't think companies are genuine when they talk about how they help the environment and society, according to Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS). How can you build a brand around a message shrouded in doubt and misperception? Which leads us to reason #3…

#3 Green used to suck. Today’s environmentally friendly products, solutions and services have come a long way from what were first brought to market. But sadly, too many people still perceive anything “green” as more expensive, less effective, too complex and requiring too much time to install/implement/etc. The “green” brand experience has been tainted almost beyond repair. Until the market is educated to the contrary, perception will continue to be a very real barrier to adoption…and a huge piece of brand baggage that green needs to check.

#4 Green’s uniqueness has a time limit. As the market becomes more educated and as government legislation/standardization begins to take hold, there will be such demand for environmentally friendly, more efficient and sustainable products/solutions that “green” will become cost of entry for any brand. Consumers want transparency. Employees want transparency. Shareholders want transparency. And all of them want companies to do good and perform exceedingly well. Green will be a major factor in achieving these goals for everyone. So while green holds some facet of competitive advantage now, it will soon become a feature of any good brand, not the primary benefit. 

--

So, what is the re-brand for green brands? As is the case for every company or product, brands must be rooted in a tangible benefit to consumers or, in the case of b2b, businesses. Efficiency. Productivity. Cost savings. Ease-of-use. Comfort. Style. PLUS the most excellent benefit that it’s created of materials and by means that have a positive effect for the planet. Strong green brands must be strong brands in and of themselves. In the quest for the triple bottom line, we can’t forget the bottom line.

Green branding is dead. Long live green branding.

AuthorMichael Ruby | Comment341 Comments | Reference1 Reference |
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Reader Comments (341)

I don't entirely agree with this post. I don't think the green brand is 'dead', I just think it's changing. Marketers need to come up with more unique, creative ways that tie into more specific green issues as opposed to broader ones like climate change. Marketers will also need to work harder to justify the credibility of 'green' products to consumers due to the amount of 'greenwashing' and the overuse of the term. This doesn't mean the green brand is dead, it just means it is evolving. I still think the 'green' label holds a considerable amount of power with the average consumer.

January 8, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJames

Green IS dead; and we know who the killer is...

January 8, 2010 | Unregistered Commentergreenskeptic

Couldn't have said it better myself. As a "green" building consultant I have worked at trying to get folks to look at how a building works not just what is in it. The folks who fill it with "green" stuff are really distracting the owners from what the intention of green building in the first place- energy, health, environmental impact, and the bottom line. The sooner we stop using this word the better off we will be.

January 9, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Michler

Let me add one more to your list.
When I was younger it was a common understanding that the color green was unlucky, at least when you owned a green colored car. Can that be an underlying, hold over perception ?

January 9, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJerry Friedrich

Thank you for the challenging and provocative post, Michael.

In June 2008, I wrote an editorial in Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine, and posted a blog, "When the Green Fad Fades" that echoes some of the sentiments posted here. The green buildings movement in particular needs more performance data to back claims for sustainability, and green communications overall needs to become more cogent and credible. The climate change issue is a big gamble for attaching green messages and strategies. First, Americans are polarized on anthropogenic climate change, and climate change believers are divided on mitigation and prevention approaches. I believe we'd make more progress on energy efficiency and renewable energy if they were approached for reasons of energy, economic, and national security as well as improved public health, improved ground, water, and atmospheric quality.

January 15, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMichael Ivanovich

How about the fact that less and less people really care if its green or not, especially considering the Global Warming fudging of numbers from East Anglia University, and that it is a well known hoax at this point. The number of people who believe that crap is falling at an alarming rate.

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