Even though the dictionary says there are only two E’s in green, when speaking about green marketing, there are actually three.

The first “E” stands for ecology.  Ecology and planetary concerns.  It’s the initial engine that got the whole movement started in the first place.

The second “E” and equally important is economy.  There isn’t anyone standing with a gas nozzle in their hands that isn’t thinking hybrids and alternative energy sources.  Just the other day, there was a package of $2.99 corn I saw in Trader Joe’s that made me think that the price of corn is spiking as quickly as oil.  Then there’s the unknown effects this year’s weather will have on the fall crop yields that we’ll all be paying for soon.

Take note green marketers, the economic benefits of green products is the great story that needs to be told as bank accounts shrink faster that glaciers.

The last “E” in green is efficacy.  Green doesn’t only have to do good, it has to work good.  Think of the clever naming of the new line from Clorox called ”Green Works”.  That makes sense because many early adapters to green products gave up a lot of performance for their conscience.  But that’s no longer true.

If you want to successfully sell green products in a market governed by today’s realities, you have to get your priorities in order and balance your message accordingly.  Grand-dads in trout streams, Kermit the frog, lofty lyrics and make-believe messages aren’t going to do it.

Tell me how you’re going to respect my needs, my values and my intelligence first.  Then we can talk.   

Irv

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In order to understand what green marketing is and how to get your message to resonate with green-leaning people, first you have to understand what green is.

Green is about what you believe in first and what you buy second. Green is about making decisions, taking the time to ask what you really need, not just what you want.  Green people buy from their values but also buy from their intellect.  Being green asks you to think. 

Green is about economy not just ecology.  Green is a statement about respect for the place we live, the leaders we elect, the truths we tell and are told.    Green is the color of trying to do it better.  Dark green people will sacrifice effectiveness for ethics.  Medium and light greens may not.    For them, it not only has to do good, it has to work good as well. 

Green people like to think deeper and longer.  They want to want to make choices for themselves that says something about them self.  Green is about thinking first and acting second.   Green is not a side stream, it’s the mainstream.  Green is for everyone because no one wants a dirtier planet or a more dangerous place to live.

Green is about faith.  It’s about knowing that spring will come and seeds will bloom.  It’s not liberal or conservative.  It’s non-political and should remain that way.  Green is about how we treat each other and how we care about each other. 

Green is about long term thinking not short term.   It’s living as part of something, not apart from everything.  It’s about believing in a future for everyone, our kids and their kids.  It’s understanding that we are a species among other species. 

Green is education, it’s information, it’s making decisions and knowing your choices  make a difference.  It’s about being transparent.  It’s about telling the truth and knowing the truth.  Thinking green is about thinking about the future.   Talking green is about saying what’s so and acting in accordance with it.   Green is not just about the talk, it’s about the walk. 

Green is not about moving off the grid or changing your life.  It’s not even about hugging a tree although that would be nice.  It’s about trying to walk softer.   It’s about thinking about what you do before you do it.   It’s about reusing, recycling, picking up after your self or even after someone else.  It’s about all of us caring about all of us. 

Green is about appealing to the sense not just the senses.   When that hole appeared in the ozone layer it affected all of us.   It was presented as a threat to each living person not just the planet.  And science and government got together to solve it and protect our health.

Green is not about stopping industry or progress.   It’s about creating more efficient industry and progress.   It’s about new opportunities and new jobs, new careers and new technology.

It’s about fostering new thinking not holding on to old thinking because that’s the way it has always been.  It’s about asking all of us to step up and think beyond ourselves to the real values that made America great.  The spirit of pioneering a new road and a new path to the future.   It’s about our intention to care enough about our self, our children, to choose a better way.

When you know all that, taking your message to the green consumer is not an obstacle.  It’s an opportunity.   The key:  Speak to their head AND to their heart in equal measure.   

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