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05.24.2007

"HartBeat" is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

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The Hartman Report on Sustainability

UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

The Hartman Report on Sustainability: Understanding the Consumer Perspective is the first major integrated quantitative and qualitative study to find out how consumers feel about a world struggling to live in balance today for the benefit of future generations.

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For more Hartman Group articles on SUSTAINABILITY, click here...

05.23.2007 "Sustainability: The Corporate Tie-breaker"

05.22.2007 "Sustainability: What's Green Now?"

03.28.2007 "The 'Fiber' of Organics"

01.24.2007 "What Makes 'Local' Special?"

01.17.2007 "A Nano Trend to Start 2007"

05.03.2006 "Transparency: What's Really Inside the Package...and the Company"

07.14.2005 "Is 'Buying Local' the Real Deal?"

04.27.2004 "The Symbolic Power of 'Organic'"

Archives »
Click here for an archive of past HartBeat articles

Sustainability: Pathways To A Brand Halo

For those searching for the elusive Holy Grail we call "brand halo," the important questions we need to ask ourselves are (a) is a halo even possible, and more importantly, (b) is the pursuit worth the time and effort?

When considering halo as it relates to marketing for sustainable business, we can glean important insight by examining lessons learned from the organic marketplace.

Sustainability 2007» This week we debut findings from The Hartman Report on Sustainability: Understanding the Consumer Perspective. Each day, we bring you new information from our first major integrated quantitative and qualitative study on how consumers view sustainability and environmental responsibility. » Stay tuned for tomorrow's Sustainability: The Corporate Tie-Breaker Sustainability: What's Green Now?

The most important thing gleaned from our research on the organic marketplace is this: No matter what the rest of us may believe or desire as marketers, manufacturers, distributors or retailers, the consumer's perspective and reaction are almost always different and forever evolving - sometimes radically so.

This isn't because consumers have different goals or values than us as much as it is attributable to the fact that these "worlds of understanding" always take on a life of their own. This is a natural social process, and it is impossible to control.

In their earliest incarnations, both organics and sustainability were championed by passionate, ideological evangelists with strong principles and a commonly understood purpose. Because many of these "core" followers shared similar ideologies and spirit, strong subcultures often developed. These were small worlds. These were promising worlds. But most importantly, these were our worlds.

Organic has now diffused to the point that it is mainstream, nearly ubiquitous and in danger of becoming rapidly diluted. While consumers certainly desire organic options, it is simply not a critical point of distinction for packaged goods, produce, meats or prepared foods. And in terms of halo, we see the organic halo being driven largely by retailers (Wild Oats, Trader Joe's, etc.) and barely, if at all, by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods.

In fact, it is precisely because of organic's cross-pollination with the foodie movement, which for years was driving sustained growth in organics, that we are now seeing many leading natural retailers reposition their brands more toward gourmet food and less toward natural and organic. Organic is now a minimum standard rather than a point of differentiation.

Our most recent consumer research reveals that, as in the case of organics, consumers demonstrate a similarly vast and rapidly diffusing set of understandings, practices and beliefs surrounding sustainability. Importantly, only a small percentage of those practices and beliefs are even linked directly to consumer products or services.

Many believe sustainability is about saving water and energy (and money!) on their utility bills - 75% of respondents from our study for our report ">The Hartman Report on Sustainability: Understanding the Consumer Perspective turn off the faucet to conserve water while brushing their teeth. Most believe it is about recycling; over three-quarters of consumers surveyed equate sustainability with recycling household items such as cans, bottles and newspaper. Still others focus heavily on buying only local products or championing small organizations.

Most challenging for the industry, we see no consistent narrative demonstrating a shared understanding of sustainability as it relates to consumer products or services. Some believe sustainability is achieved through composting kitchen and yard waste (27%), while others (65%) believe it is achieved by purchasing compact fluorescent light bulbs. In short, we are finding that the connection between living sustainably through the choice of consumer goods is by no means universal and partitioned largely to a small minority of passionate, ideological, core consumers.

We believe, as interest in sustainability grows, we will see the following happen:

• The distinction will continue to dilute as it comes to mean many more things to many people.

• Nearly every company or product can and will produce a sustainability narrative (i.e., anybody can be "green").

• Simply designating your product as sustainable or "environmentally friendly" will do little to differentiate your brand or drive a brand halo.

• Only a tiny percentage of very core consumers will even be interested in adjudicating between competing sustainability narratives to identify the most authentic sustainable products or services.

• While there always remains the possibility for product and service brands to achieve a sustainable halo, we believe it will likely be easier for retailers, especially food retailers, as they can more easily tap into the "local food" angle.

Lest the above predictions sound too pessimistic, we believe there are two potential pathways to consider for those interested in pursuing a sustainability halo.

1. There will always be a small number of successful entrepreneurs able to generate a sustainability halo through very specific, often technical, innovations. The Toyota Prius would be an example here. While there is no question that this is a desirable space, the fact that it requires groundbreaking innovation is a significant obstacle to those interested in simply offering "sustainable" versions of existing products or services.

2. Curiously, the more conventional pathway toward a sustainability halo may not necessarily even require many of the attributes one might otherwise imagine are necessary to craft such a halo. Our recent research reveals that firms currently generating a sustainability halo have managed this task by generating several key consumer perceptions that can be grouped loosely under the rubric "good person." Companies included in the top ten list consumers most often associate with social AND environmental responsibility include Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Starbucks and Wild Oats.

The specific perceptions hold that the firms are great places to work, staffed by compassionate people, maintain supportive relations with the local community, are more cooperative than competitive, and are concerned about something other than "the bottom line." All told, these brands appear sustainable because consumers have become convinced they are "good people looking to do good things."

In fact, the vast majority of the consumers who respond favorably to the specific brands mentioned above know almost nothing about the specific environmental policies or practices of these brands. As consumers continue to believe that their purchase decisions are more influential for change, acquire more knowledge and look to corporations for leadership on sustainable issues, companies will need to be vigilant about managing their public perceptions not only on environmental issues but also internal management of their company.

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