While other economic segments struggled during the past decade’s downturn, green marketing grew, according to the 2013 Big Green Opportunity survey. The organic food market surged 238 percent, and the National Association of Home Builders projects green homebuilding to expand from $36 billion in 2013 to $85 to $105 billion by 2016. GM and Ford recently traded jabs over whether the Cadillac ELR electric hybrid coupe or the C-MAX Hybrid better represent the face of the American auto industry. It’s an increasingly competitive market, and if you’re promoting an environmental charity, we have some marketing strategies to help your cause rise above the crowd.
Appeal to Your Audience’s Pocketbook
Research from SC Johnson and GfK found that, for most consumers, financial incentives offer the strongest motivation for green behavior. Forty-one percent of respondents ranked economic concerns ahead of environmental ones, and 49 percent said financial incentives and penalties had a greater impact on influencing them toward green behavior than any other factor. Only 12 percent said they would be motivated by a nonprofit organization encouraging them to take action.
To add appeal to your environmental message, include a financial incentive along with it. For instance, in the green housing market, Guild Quality research has found that lowered utility bills and increased energy efficiency and insulation carry the most appeal for homebuyers. Think about ways your cause can deliver tangible, measurable benefits such as saving money on heating or gas or reducing health risks. Having case studies, numbers, validation or certification to back up your claims will make your appeal more persuasive.
Make Your Message Memorable
The Environmental Defense Fund’s website communicates the EDF’s brand eloquently through a timeline accompanied by a picture of a peregrine falcon, summing up the story of how the organization first emerged in 1967 from a quest to protect wildlife from DDT. This exemplifies nonprofit marketing author Kivi Leroux Miller’s advice that the most leveraged way to get publicity for your cause is to make your message “talkable and walkable.”
By “talkable,” she means making your message simple and memorable by attaching it to a strong story or visual. By “walkable,” Miller means making your message easy to share and customize through multiple mediums. Nonprofit online marketer Julia Campbell concurs, offering five storytelling strategies suitable for social sharing. Visual software such as LogoGarden’s online logo design tool can help you give your brand a distinctive look.
Borrow Some Mobile Marketing Tactics
John Patrick’s Organic Clothing line scored promotional success by getting Rihanna to showcase the label in her video “Diamonds.” While you probably don’t have a Top 10 star factored into your marketing budget, any nonprofit can afford to produce a YouTube video for social media distribution. Another social strategy Patrick has used effectively is featuring his products on Pinterest.
Apps represent another mobile marketing opportunity, with GfK reporting that 29 percent of smartphone users surveyed in 2013 had used an app over the last year to reduce their environmental impact.
We live in a culture of consumption, but people do want to do their part. Incorporating these strategies into your marketing plan can help you gain visibility and participation.
