OntheWilderSide

New Research Reveals a Substantial Discrepancy Between What Consumers “Say” and Actually “Do” When It Comes to Living a Green Lifestyle

Sustainable brand development firm, egg, releases new study indicating changes in green consumer landscape

(CSRwire) SEATTLE, WA – March 6, 2007 – Sustainable brands – ones that want to make a difference as well as a profit – depend on the growing population of conscious consumers as their best customers. But a new study by egg, a Seattle brand development firm that specializes in building sustainable brands, suggests that many of these brands are not reaching these consumers and therefore are missing out on their true sales potential.

The survey is an update of a previous study and has significant findings for marketers of sustainable brands.

The first is that conscious consumers now represent up to 70% of the marketplace and can be partly segmented based on the degrees of hypocrisy between their green attitudes and actual green behavior. The key for brand marketers is to know if their customer walks the walk as well as talks the talk when it comes to green.

The second finding is that the ‘green’ core, the Advocates, has grown from 7% to 20% in 3 years. This group believes passionately in doing the right thing and aligns their purchases with like-minded brands.

A third finding reveals a segment – the Skeptics – representing 30% of the market, with no hypocrisy whatsoever: they don’t believe in green and purposefully avoid buying green brands.

The first key finding of the study means that companies trying to sell products/services with a green component need to determine where the discrepancy exists for their brand between attitude and behavior, and how messaging can adjust to convert better sales.

Given these findings, there appears to be more opportunity for green brands, but a tactical approach to communication is required to overcome mixed messages and lack of differentiation.

The marketer’s challenge, as Mike Jaglois, egg Brand Director says, is to “navigate your brand in a way that captures the largest possible audience without losing the core.” egg has done this for a wide range of brands, from food to energy. Melanie Flaherty, Gardenburger’s previous Director of Marketing, says that “egg understood our consumer better than we did. They helped us find our way, reconnecting the brand to the core group and turning double-digit declines around.”

The growth in the size and influence of the conscious consumer market is no surprise to egg founder and Creative Director, Marty McDonald. “My experience working with Stonyfield Farm in 2002 reassured me that consumers would become ever increasingly attracted to brands that do well and do good. It’s a powerful and emotional brand differentiator in the eyes of consumers that will only grow in importance. egg was founded to serve these brands and help them win in the marketplace.”

egg, LLC is a brand development firm that specializes in sustainable brands and the conscious consumer. Clients include Earthbound Farm, Southwest Windpower, the world’s largest producer of small wind generators, Gardenburger, and Portfolio 21, a Portland-based financial group specializing in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI).

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