An article in Sustainable Brands Weekly reported that Starbucks is now rebranding. They are opening the first of a series of coffee shops with a local handle. The first one is 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea and it will open this week on 15th Avenue in Seattle. The next two will have names that reflect their local address. What could be more local sounding than that?

Except that they’re not.

If the CIA were running Starbucks, I don’t think they could have come up with a more deceptive plan than this.  One thing is for sure, it’s not rebranding in any way, shape or form. They are merely trying to capitalize on the “go local”, anti-corporate wave that’s growing across the country. For what other possible reason could this launch be taking place?

They won’t look like Starbucks, they won’t taste like Starbucks, but when the green leaves the cash register at the end of the day it’s going to be heading right to the Starbucks corporate offices and there’s nothing local, small scale or Mom & Pop about that.

I’m not saying that it isn’t a smart business move. I am saying that it’s a sheep-in-wolves-clothing move. And it’s certainly anything but green or locally sustainable.

The whole idea of going local is to keep jobs, revenues and profits in the local community.  To give small entrepreneurs a chance to make a living by delivering a local product.  It’s the chance for a whole string of individual business people to secure a market for their locally-made and locally-sold goods from bakery items to bagels to office supplies to restaurant supplies. But when the Big Guys don the mask of being a little guy, watch out. 

Personally, I go out of my way to do business with the local Java Joes or small green grocer or hardware store, and I try to hit the Farmers Market every chance I get. Maybe now I have to insist on proof of residency, a driver license or something like that to make sure the guy in the local store is a local. Not just someone masquerading as such. To me, it’s the same kind of thinking that created derivatives and credit swap that almost brought down the U.S. economy and banking system.

Here a little thought.  Hey Starbucks, if you really care a hill of beans about local coffee shops then leave a piece of the market on the table for them and don’t pretend you’re local when you’re not.   

Is Starbucks full of beans or not? What do you think?

Irv

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A recent survey revealed that American consumers believe that a natural product is a better indicator of an eco-friendly product than “organic”.

This makes me shake my head and stomp my feet.  The truth is there are absolutely no regulations in place when it comes to using the word “natural”. You can have a mere 1% of your ingredients as “natural” and still say that your product is natural.  Sad but true.

As for organic food, there are strict government standards in place in order to place “certified organic” on your label. Unfortunately, when it comes to other product categories such as personal care products, the word “organic” is misused because HABA (Health and Beauty Aids) is a self regulated industry.  No wonder the American public is confused. And no wonder nearly two-thirds of the consumers in this study answered “don’t know/not sure” when asked, “How do you know a product is green?”

What’s worse is that some companies out there that are so called “committed” to organic food are capitalizing on consumer cluelessness. Horizon Dairy, the largest organic milk brand in America, just announced its intention to launch a line of natural (not organic) yogurts and milk products aimed at toddlers and their confused mommies. These products will be produced “conventionally” (code for: with pesticides and herbicides) but according to the company “without added growth hormones, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup.”

So yeah, the product will be cheaper because you cannot find organic anything on factory farms. But Mom, don’t confuse this natural claim with the healthier, safer, more nutritious food you get with organics. Because it’s not.        

 – Carolyn

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A message to the corner office. Congrats on offering the world a line of recycled paper products.  That’s the good news. The bad news is your message, “Green Done Right,” has got it all wrong.

We say this for a number of reasons. First of all, the green market has matured.  It’s reached the point where you actually have to say something meaningful and not the first thing that comes to your mind. Things have progressed to the point that green products have to stand on their own merits and tell their story to all of us, not just the narrow slice of the market where green began. That’s so 2004.

We’ve said this over and over again, but it still bears repeating. You can’t make your message meaningful if all you do is recycle green clichés.  ”Saving the planet one (whatever) at a time” and “It’s easy being green” had their place once, but that’s ancient history now. 

Of course, we understand the sensitive area you’re in as the paper company that manufactures one of the leading disposable diapers on the market, Huggies. Well, according to the EPA, did you know that18 billion diapers are thrown in landfills each year and they make up 3.4 million tons of waste or 2.1% of all U.S. garbage in those landfills? Not to mention that disposable diapers are made from petroleum by products.

Do you see why your new tag line, “Green Done Right” is so wrong for you, Kimberly-Clark? Our BS meter is way up on this one. 

Instead, why not tell me that all that paper we have been so judiciously collecting and putting in the right bins right next to my cans and bottles are returning as useful products? Why not tell us that your new product line is recycling in action? Why not tell us that you’ve found a way to make disposable products not dispose of so many trees and forests?  Why not tell us that you’ve joined our recycling efforts and developed products that keep landfills cleaner and less stressed? Why not tell us about the tons of paper that has been reclaimed, reused and recycled and how you’re doing it? 

Why not tell me something that actually means something to me and encourage me to do more so you can do more? Then, of course, do it in a clever and memorable way with some real thinking and creativity. One of the most persuasive things you can do is show us your passion for leading an effort not just hopping on the band — or should I say “brand” wagon.

One look at the shelves in most markets today attests to the fact that mass consumer interest is shifting green and that’s a good thing. We even support you cashing in on the trend as long as the ultimate effect helps us all and the planet we all share. But have enough respect for all of us not to leave your communications in the hands of the junior team at your advertising agency who really knows little or nothing about this market. 

Personally, we’re tired of hearing that going green is a sacrifice that we have to make in terms of inferior products and performance.  It no longer is. 

As a long time marketing communicators, we can’t believe that most of us won’t be happy about seeing more and more green products emerge. But our fear is if marketers don’t do green right, they will eventually turn consumers off with empty messages and empty promises and that will set us all back.

So when we see you, Kimberly-Clark, doing something good with all that paper we’ve recycled, we know there’s hope. We just hope you listen and tell it better.

Carolyn and Irv  

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Get ready folks, here it comes the new GM. I’ve even read that they are considering adding the color green to their logo. I’m sure that will do it.

They may have emerged from bankruptcy, but the real question is will they emerge from the bankruptcy of thinking that made them fail to begin with?  No matter how loud they yell, it’s not because of the cost of healthcare. It’s because they went from a product that used to put goose bumps on my arms when I was a teenager, to a committee-driven boring drive. Aside from the passé Corvette, they made “old men” cars. You couldn’t tell a Pontiac from a Buick or an Olds. They forgot something fundamental.  In order to sell your product, you have to make a product that people actually want to buy.

I”m sure for months we’ll all be treated to commercials about the power of the leaner, meaner, “more conscious” GM. But as a former Madison Avenue ad guy, I’m certain they won’t tell any of us what’s really new. My bet is they’ll make the classic Marketing 101 mistake. It will be all about them, and not about you.

Will they suddenly make a car we really care about? One with style and verve? One that gets (heaven forbid) great mileage? Will they make a car that actually fits the needs and wants of today’s (like now) American consumer? Will they do the unthinkable and go all hybrid? Or will they just deflect our attention from the real issues with the Chevy Volt which will take years to catch on?

It all comes down to the same basic issue — which ultimately is relevance. Relevance in the products you make and relevance in how you communicate it. Perhaps instead of showing us footage of cars doing things none of us probably do (of course, all of it legally disclaimed on a closed track with professional drivers), instead they should make cars that save us fuel, get us where we need to go safely and efficiently, come in at a price that most of us can afford, and then perform and last.

Personally, I’d love to buy American and with that purchase help another American have gainful employment. That’s what a healthy economy is built on. Maybe now that we own them, we can force them with our votes or our dollars to come out of their corner offices and enter the real world and make a product we actually want.

All the slick marketing in the world won’t do the job.  I just hope the new GM doesn’t end up like the old GM — with a little green in their logo. And that will do it.

What do you think?

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photo credit: ellievanhoutte

A recent study by the Food Action Group found that 70% of consumers polled would be more inclined to visit green or organic restaurants regardless of price, up from 37 percent in 2007. And while the search engine Google returned 1,467 results for the phrase “green restaurant” in 2006, today a search on that phrase returned nearly 79 million results.  That proves the growing appetite America is developing for better, safer and healthier food.

For any out there who think that green is a passing fad it’s time to put that old thinking to bed. Green is growing in leaps and bounds. And it’s not just to save the planet. One more e-coli scare, one more hamburger meat recall, one more peanut butter fiasco, one more incident where even that staple of American food happiness, the Toll House cookie, becomes suspect, and you can see why consumers are turning green every chance they get.

Help accelerate that shift by telling your customers the benefits of green cuisine. It’s not a hard story to tell if you think about it a bit. Doesn’t a tomato raised on a family farm have more appetite appeal than one grown on a factory farm?  Don’t eggs laid by free range organic chickens sound more appetizing than eggs laid by an imprisoned chicken juiced up on chemicals and hormones? Doesn’t broccoli that comes from  your neighborhood Farmers Market sound way more delicious than broccoli trucked in from 1,600 miles away (that’s how far the  average store-bought veggie travels to your plate)? Marketers, those are gems waiting for you to uncover.

When you strip everything aside, marketing and advertising are really a sound foundation of facts and information waiting to be told well. More than anything, remember that people do not eat pizza to save the planet. They eat it to enjoy it, because they love the taste of it and because it’s a sensory delight. And a story of better, tastier and healthier ingredients should net out as a story of better taste and more enjoyment. 

We really are at critical mass right now. The thought of conventional and industrial grown food and all the little surprises that can come along with it are enough to turn America’s stomachs and turn their purchase patterns to a better way of eating and living. And that’s a very appetizing fact and marketing tidbit for all of us to chew on. 

Got a tasty tidbit you want to share?

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