GLOBE-Net May 5, 2010 - Last month OgilvyEarth, the sustainability practice of Ogilvy & Mather, published a guide for successful green marketing titled "From Greenwash to Great." Developed in partnership with a panel of leaders in the sustainability space, the guide presents a set of actionable principles in the context of the overall marketing process for successful brands.

The basic message of the guide was that done right, sustainability-oriented marketing can do more than build brand loyalty and establish corporate leadership; it can change the way people look at the world and ignite much-needed cultural change. In effect, it can change the world.

As in all things, there are problems that get in the way, in this case the problem is that responsible green marketing is being undermined by 'greenwash', the practice of brands making false and misleading claims, which is on the rise around the world.

"It's very hard for customers to know what choices make a difference when some marketers are muddying the waters for all. When buyers throw up their hands in confusion, we all lose."

Andrew Winston, an OgilvyEarth advisor whose articles appear frequently in GLOBE-Net noted in a recent Harvard Business Review blog that "It's very hard for customers to know what choices make a difference when some marketers are muddying the waters for all. When buyers throw up their hands in confusion, we all lose."

While the OgilvyEarth report is focused mainly on practical tips for marketers, it touches on more fundamental issues about green consumerism, which is emerging as one of the most powerful forces influencing today's marketplace.

Loyalty follows transparency

For example, it stresses the importance of making honesty a priority in advertising and why going beyond sales puffery is vital to commercial success.  "There's no simpler story to tell than the real one, but there may be no harder one. Taking a lesson from the political world, we know people will accept progress over perfection as long as shortcomings are declared in full," states the guide.

But this honesty need not equate with dull or boastful. On the contrary, notes the guide, it can allow brands to discover fresh voices and enter a new compact of trust with their consumers.

This is doubly important in today's digital world, notes Ian Higgins a former leader in Greenpeace and an expert in the role communication plays in our transition to a low-carbon economy. "When claims are made about some environmental benefit for a product, be factual, specific and clear." Adds Andrew Winston, "Convey the scale and importance of the environmental benefit when it's measurable and sizable."

Sustainability is for the long-haul

Perhaps even more important than honesty in advertising, is the essential message to marketers that sustainability is much more than a box checking exercise for winning friends and influencing buyers. Sustainability is a long term commitment made to the consumer, a commitment that means being the first to respond to criticisms, and being resolute in perfecting existing and new products to meet the needs of the customer.

"Those taking the high ground and ensuring that their businesses and processes have a low environmental footprint will have instant market advantage."

Sustainability is about driving substantial and authentic change in products and processes up and down the value chain. As Ogilvy advisor Jeunesse Park confirms, "Those taking the high ground and ensuring that their businesses and processes have a low environmental footprint will have instant market advantage."

In the late 1990's consumers began to react against  marketing campaigns that co-opted their buying decisions through advertising hype and the use of media to confuse them about the real and the trivial.

As noted by Lindsay Moore of KLM, Inc., a Colorado-based management consulting firm, this led to the rise of 'Liberation Marketing' where the focus was on using marketing and media to regain and promote authenticity with a message that encourages us to be authentic in our lives.

The simple message of this shift in marketing is that a brand cannot stand for what it isn't for very long, because consumers have become too perceptive. This means enterprises will have to come from far more authentic places in order to survive. And this authenticity will come not from slick advertising . It must stem from meeting the needs of real people in terms that are authentic to them.

May the Force be with you!

In today's rapidly expanding green economy, this focus on authenticity translates into an enormously powerful force for change that  influences not only providers of green consumer products, but also large corporations in the energy, resource development, utilities and manufacturing sectors.

The classic example is GE, which less than a decade ago launched what is arguably one of the most successful corporate re-orientations ever,with its 'Ecomagination Initiative' where every major product and service decision is measured against the yardstick of sustainability. GE is helping to solve the world's biggest environmental challenges while driving profitable growth for its shareholders.

Other major enterprises have become powerful forces for social change by promoting what is good for the environment as also being good for business - Whole Foods, Green Works, Benjamin Moore, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Patagonia, and Frito-Lay' are but a few of the successful brands that have fashioned their messaging on real environmental values.

Along with some of these large corporations, many others companies that place sustainability at the core of their value systems will be on hand at EPIC, the upcoming Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo taking place in Vancouver May 28-30, 2010. Over 300 planet friendly companies will be on hand showcasing fashions, organic foods, personal care products, transportation options and products for the home that are environmentally friendly and healthy.

These companies are the vanguard of the movement that will change the world. EPIC attracts a diverse range of businesses that focus on social and ecological sustainability, allowing thousands of visitors to learn from top eco-educators and make choices that sustain their lifestyles while leaving a softer footprint on the earth.

Do make a point to attend.

The OgilvyEarth report is available here