SB11 - Ogilvy - Graceann Bennett and Freya Williams

Greening
the
Mainstream:

Taking
your
marke4ng
message
beyond
the

LOHAS
audience
to
mainstream
Americans

Susan
Shelton

Shelton
Group

Greening the Mainstream:
Taking your marketing message beyond the LOHAS
audience to mainstream Americans

June 23, 2011

©2011 Shelton Group, Inc. Do not copy or distribute without permission.

About Shelton Group


the


We are the ad agency that brings sustainability to the masses.


Our Clients – We Know Sustainability


Level Setting


2011

2010

2009


In which product categories are you
searching for greener products?

66.6% 65.7% 64.8% 57.1% 54.6% 53.9% 50.2% 46.6%


So why isn’t everybody
buying green?


It’s not about awareness


It’s about connecting to
personal values.

Then it’s about keeping
them motivated.


Let’s start with what we’re
doing wrong


“We have to help Americans see
how the planet is in peril and
then they’ll change!”


Which of the following scenarios would convince you that
climate change is a real, immediate threat, and cause you to
make dramatic changes in your lifestyle?

You wake up one morning and ﬁnd out that…
•  Residents of American Samoa were having to be relocated due to rising tides
•  Shifting weather patterns/lack of rain was turning Nebraska into a desert
•  The polar ice cap had completely melted
•  Warmer winters were making the mosquito population unmanageable
and cases of West Nile Virus and malaria were escalating in America
•  The number of tornadoes and hurricanes had doubled over the last two seasons
•  The average summer temperature for your community has been
5–10 degrees higher than normal for the past three years.
•  Health experts recommend that kids should no longer go outside to play during
the spring/summer due to consistently dangerous ozone/pollution levels
•  There were only twenty polar bears estimated to be left living in the wild


of the non-believers would
not be moved to change.


14.8% 14.1%


3% 2%


“Let’s tell them everything they need to
know on our packaging, and let’s make
the packaging really sustainable!”


“Planet ﬁrst, performance second.”


“People will pay a little more to help
the environment.”


OK…so how do we do it right?


Target the right consumer in a way
that connects to her personal
values and apply the principals of
behavioral science


Understanding the Consumer


Eco Pulse 2011 Consumer Segments

Actives: 28% of Americans


Actives
•  Somewhat more likely to be female
•  Most are aged 45–54
•  Well educated
•  High-income
•  Ethnically diverse
(signiﬁcant Hispanic population)
•  Have children living at home
•  Sustainability is big part of self image
•  Highly sensitive to greenwashing
•  Respond best to themes of innovation
and possibility
•  Health is a driving force—label readers
•  Will pay more for green


Understanding the Systemic Thinker (Gold)
•  They value integrity, competence and sustainability
•  “Life is a system”
•  Their goal is to restore balance and vitality
•  Prevalent in Gen X and younger
•  They join groups to solve problems and see results
•  Have great abilities to understand others and inspire them to a
achieve a higher vision
•  Want to feel connected to their purpose
•  Believe that businesses and individuals need to take responsibility
for being positive and progressive forces for good -- triple bottom-
line philosophy


People who are intrinsically or
internally motivated participate in
a behavior because they enjoy
the work and ﬁnd it rewarding.

They don’t need any outside
persuasion to act—they’re likely
innovators and early adopters.


Synthesis:
•  To tap the Early Adopters/Actives/Systemic Thinkers:
–  Create/build brands that can be seen by this group as authentically
green, particularly in categories where she may not have already formed
a strong brand loyalty
–  Appeal to her sense of personal identity
–  Tout the health benefits
–  Use positive, hopeful, possibility-filled language
–  Build in ingredient and packaging innovations
–  Tie the brand to a greater cause–make this feel like a Big Idea
–  Give her a social media outlet to learn more about how her purchase
helps the cause; connects her to like minded people
–  Reach her online
–  Must be in non-traditional stores
–  Offer free trials to get her to try your product as opposed to coupons


Seekers: 27% of Americans


Seekers
•  Equally likely to be male or female
•  Slightly younger than Actives
•  Average education level
•  White collar and middle- to upper-income
•  Homeowners
•  Married with kids at home
•  Deﬁne green as energy eﬃcient
•  Split on global warming
•  Pragmatic shoppers
•  Looking for green options in lower-priced
categories


Understanding the Humanistic Thinker (Jade)
•  Humanistic Thinking
•  Personal connections and relationships create meaning and happiness
•  Relativistic thinkers
•  Value equality, community
•  Sees the world as a large—and often dysfunctional—family
•  Believe businesses should be more about equality and less about
untamed corporate greed


Understanding the Individualistic
Thinker (Copper)
•  They value personal accomplishment, power and proﬁt
•  “Life is a game to be won or lost”
•  Self-directed, pragmatic individualists responsible for creating their
own lives
•  Believe that tough lessons are part of the growth process—despise
victimhood mentality
•  Can be generous entrepreneurs, optimists, visionaries, persuasive
motivators
•  Chafe at outside restrictions and burdens that limit their potential to
create wealth and success
•  Believe business exists to increase proﬁts as a moral imperative


People who are extrinsically or
externally motivated aren’t
interested in the behavior itself.

They must have a reward for
acting and they only act if the
reward is in place.


Synthesis:
•  To reach the Early-Middle Majority/Seekers/
Humanistic Thinkers
–  Rely on existing, trusted brand names
–  Appeal to family, as in “good for your family”; align the brand with
other family brands
–  Oﬀer a “permission slip”
–  Consider school tie-ins and educational programs
–  Tout the green reputation of the company
–  Be real
–  Be in the regular aisle with conventional products at standard
grocery and big box stores
–  Reach them via traditional media
–  Coupons and promotions; price parity


Skeptics: 30% of Americans


Skeptics
•  Oldest of the groups
•  Predominantly male
•  Average education level
•  HHI: $100K or more
•  Feel no personal responsibility for changing
to positively impact the environment
•  More concerned about comfort and
convenience; ﬁnd comfort in tradition
•  Respond best to a ﬁnancial security/control
message


Understanding the Absolutistic Thinker
(navy)

•  They value discipline, authority and purpose
•  “Life is a test in which I must prove myself worthy by upholding
strict moral codes and laws.”
•  Can’t tolerate uncertainty—need clear, unambiguous answers;
seek intellectual security
•  Only answer to one “true authority” making them hard to
persuade or inspire
•  Like to prove they’re right
•  Hardworking and dutiful, humble, little expectation for personal
gain, work toward a common goal
•  Believe everyone has an obligation to work hard and that
business should take care of them


Synthesis:

•  To reach the Skeptics/Individualistic-Absolutistic
Thinkers/Late Majority:
–  Layer in sustainability messaging to existing traditional
brands, but don’t lead with it. Messaging should focus on
what’s in it for the consumer – hype ROI and comfort
beneﬁts, if at all possible; connote how smart and powerful
he/she will feel for buying your brand
–  Play on tradition, “brand you’ve always trusted”
–  Must have price parity/discounts
–  Must have Walmart distribution
–  Be prescriptive


Messages That Matter (Broadly):

•  Independence
•  Don't waste
•  Control
•  Comfort
•  Convenience
•  Economy
•  Health
•  Brand
•  Ingredients (food)
•  Recycled content and safety (non-food grocery items)
•  Energy eﬃciency and aesthetics (home improvement)


Beyond Messaging:
Keeping consumers engaged and motivated


The question isn’t,

“How can we motivate others?”


The proper question is,

“How can we create conditions
within which people will motivate
themselves?”


There’s no universal way to motivate everyone.
That would be way too simple.


The Challenges of Motivation:
Sometimes it’s a people problem.
Sometimes it’s a situational problem.


People Problem A:
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivations


Rewards are like an addiction.
Stop the reward. Stop the behavior.


People Problem B:
Moral Licensing


“But I ate a salad for
lunch today!”


People who bought
energy-eﬃcient washing
machines used them
more often.


“I will switch my
lightbulbs, but I will not
sell my pickup truck”


Situational Problem:
It’s just too big.


“Be energy eﬃcient!”
“Be green!”


Strategy 1:
Scale down the mission.

i.e., instead of cleaning the
whole house, do a ﬁve-
minute room rescue instead.

Engineer quick wins to
build conﬁdence and keep
momentum high.


Strategy 2:
Script the critical moves.


You can’t just tell people to
be healthier. You have to tell
them exactly what to do.


How Most People Think Change Happens:
Analyze > Think > Change


How Change Really Happens:
See > Feel > Change


To create behavior change, you must …
•  Harness enthusiasm and minimize resistance
•  Engage logic and engage emotion
•  Define a collective long-term vision and define immediate steps
for individuals
•  Move people from automatic behaviors and shift them to
conscious decisions
•  Remove big barriers and celebrate small wins
•  Communicate systemic benefits and progress and recognize
personal benefits/help consumers create a new
“sustainability” identity
•  Praise the effort/build on strengths and not focus only on results/
expect failures along the way


Putting All of This Into Practice


Initial Request:
We must get Americans to understand the
importance of water conservation.


Ah-hah!
Wake Actives and Seekers up to their automatic
behaviors around water so they can make conscious
choices;

Identify the moment when using water becomes
wasting water.


Initial Request:
Georgia-Paciﬁc
Create an umbrella theme that tells GP’s sustainable
forestry, manufacturing and design stories.


Ah-hah!
Give consumers a “permission slip” to buy the quality
convenience products they want to buy anyway.


Initial Request:
American Solar Energy Society
Build an energy literacy campaign to combat
campaigns from the coal and gas industries.


Ah-hah!
Create a national solar movement that allows
Americans to aﬀordably express
their support for solar


Initial Request:
Vectren
Combat consumer perception that we’re an expensive
utility in an ivory tower and build a brand based on
conservation.


Ah-hah!
Tell the truth. And wrap that truth in endearing humor,
delivered at the point of pain.


As you market to the Mainstream Consumer,
remember this:
•  It’s not about the planet
•  Jargon and packaging innovations can hurt you more
than help you
•  Price and performance have to be the same or better
than conventional products
•  It IS about understanding the target consumer,
connecting with her personal values are, and creating
conditions within which she can stay motivated/
engaged


Questions?


Thank you!
Suzanne Shelton
865.524.8385
sshelton@sheltongrp.com


SB11 - Ogilvy - Graceann Bennett and Freya Williams

SB11 - Ogilvy - Graceann Bennett and Freya Williams

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