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Publisher’s Note: Green Brand Extensions
PUBLISHERS NOTE:
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35 Top Consumer Companies With Perceived Eco-sensibility...
Amazon Earthsense Eco-Insights Survey 2008 |
The annual Tipping Sprung brand extension survey is an
insightful and sometimes humorous study that dissects which
extensions are compelling and logical, and which are weak
and dilutive. Here’s a quick overview of this year’s
findings. What’s hot? Coppertone sunglasses, BMW
driving schools, Campbell’s V8 soup, Mr. Clean car
washes, BMW performance driving schools. What’s not?
Burger King men’s apparel, Kelloggs hip-hop streetwear,
Kanye West’s trip-booking website, the Hermes Smart
Car, and Rolling Stones ice wine. More detail in the upcoming
March edition of GDUSA magazine. For today’s
purposes, I would like to focus on one specific area: the
growing practice of extending brands in order to hop on the
“green and all-natural bandwagon.” There are
serious risks and rewards here, as three examples of the
study attest. First, eBay appears to have struck gold with
its World of Good website, which logically extends the
auction service to environmentally responsible
products. Second, AllState Green insurance gets a thumbs
down. As Robert Sprung explains, “the insurance
coverage is basically ‘green’ only in that you
produce the policy electronically and theoretically save a
bit of a tree in the process. With a rather grandiose name
like ‘Allstate Green’ one would have expected
a broader, more strategic ‘green’ tie in.”
A third example is harder to judge. Clorox Green Works,
plant-based household cleaning products marketed in connection
with the Sierra Club, has been roundly criticized and cost
some Sierra Clubbers their jobs — why would an
environmental advocacy group link up with a big corporate
bleach maker? On the other hand, professional marketers see
value in the program because, notes Mr. Sprung, the extension
is exceedingly well executed with first-rate graphics,
packaging and marketing materials, and Sierra Club coffers
have truly benefitted. So let’s sum up: for these green
brand extensions, it’s one win, one loss, one tie.
Riot Atlanta, a creative studio for the advertising and entertainment industries, has
come up with a unique way to call attention to pollution along the Upper Chattahoochee
River and Atlanta’s ongoing water crisis. The group has created a large scale
mosaic made entirely out of recycled refuse and trash collected while they were
volunteering for a river clean-up project. “About 20 of us dragged 2,200 pounds
of trash out of the river bed in just four hours,” says Jeff Doud,
Riot’s executive creative director. The firm plans to use its recycled
artwork to raise money and awareness for the non-profit Upper Chattahoochee
Riverkeeper (UCR). The finished artwork consists of 200 individual, 6-inch
square panels adorned with bits of Styrofoam, magazines, cans, bottle caps
and other debris. Many of the panels contain environmental messages.
Carl’s Jr., known for politically incorrect advertising, has
opened a politically correct green flagship restaurant. The new store
is part of CKE Restaurants’ initiative to green Carl’s Jr.
and Hardee’s 3,000-plus restaurants. Located in Carpinteria CA,
the flagship includes: Energy Star rated equipment, solar reflective
roofing materials, a rainwater reuse system, a smart irrigation system
for the landscaping and LED parking lot lights. Postconsumer fibers
are used in packaging and 100 percent recycled carry out bags will be
introduced by year’s end in all locations.
HartungKemp has designed Pentair’s annual report since 2001. Reflecting
the growing importance of corporate social responsibility reports, this
year the firm was also called upon to report another important
story: Pentair’s first citizenship report. The company is focused on
fresh water accessibility and water infrastructure. But, says creative
director Stefan Hartung, “the primary messages of this report are more
complex than water. Evocative photos that complemented the text were used to
engage the reader throughout the reading experience. We wanted to make the
client’s tagline — ‘improving every day’ —
tangible in a way that was true to the purpose of the report, without
resorting to visual clichés.”
The venerable One Show introduces The Green Pencil. Crafted from
recycled glass by Tittot, Asia’s leading contemporary glass art
maker, this special award will honor excellence in environmental
advertising. Over the past few years, The One Club organizers report
having a concerted effort to minimize its carbon footprint; reducing
the number of printed materials, recycling all digital entries and
entry packing materials. In 2009, The One Club will also recycle all
paper entries.
Unisource Worldwide has relaunched its unisourcegreen.com paper
website. The focus: news, information, resources and access to
environmentally-friendly products and specialized services. A featured
benefit is the ability of printers to sign up for the paper
distributor’s respect™ Printers’ Program, allowing
corporate specifiers, designers and end-users searching for papers
with green attributes to easily locate Chain-of-Custody printers using
the unisourcegreenfinder™ search tool. Says Ed Farley, Senior
Vice President of Marketing and Communications: “Unisource has
made a conscious effort to practice sustainability, provide
environmentally-friendly products, and offer companies information
they need to make their own green commitments.”
Earlier this month, with up to 3,000 athletes going for the gold, the
Special Olympics World Winter Games also went green. With the help of
partners like Wal-Mart and HP, Boise ID invited international athletes
to eat locally, ride green and recycle. The “Greening the
Games” initiative is said too have helped reduce the event's
overall carbon footprint. This included a fleet of buses that ran on
ultra-low sulfur diesel to transport athletes, coaches and supporters,
a recycling program for the games, emphasis on finding local food
suppliers, using recycled papers and environmental responsible printing
for brochures, collateral and signage, and more.