Paris recently hosted a Retail Marketing event called Point De Ventre. Ian Whitney from our Paris office went along, shot some video and made a quick presentation of some of the innovative technology that delivers meaningful shopper engagement.
Great sign-off Ian!
Retailers offering sustainable products and habits continue to grow and gain momentum – and more and more retailers are thinking of innovative ways to engage consumers on becoming Green.
Sam’s Club, like so many other retailers, is focusing their retail efforts around sustainability and Saving Green. They offer great eco-friendly products and tips both in-store and through their catalogue – but are now taking their sustainability efforts to a whole new level, by offering a “for purchase” Eco Home Makeover. For just $44,000 all of your eco-dreams can come true. The package includes solar panels, a wind turbine, high efficiency appliances for your kitchen and laundry, and energy efficient lighting. All of this aside, you also get put up in a luxury eco-lodge in Maine during installation, and you come home to a house-warming party to celebrate your eco-wonderfullness! Now that's what I call a package deal!
"Bundling" seems to be a relatively new concept, at least in its current context. Companies are bundling/packaging their services left and right. What began with vacations is now being offered by companies like Comcast, the largest cable company in the United States. It seems to make sense. As our lives get more and more complex, the more we want (and need) to simplify.
This offer is quite unique, however. Never before have I seen such a 360 degree approach. Comcast is certainly not sending you for a mani/pedi while they sync up your wireless to cable to tv to music. In fact, your schedule is at a disadvantage by opting for their services. Sam's Club, however, has pretty much covered every possible excuse you could think of to not do this. For example:
1. "I don't want their unsightly appliances in my kitchen."
With Sam's Club, you can choose the appliances yourself.
2. "Where are we going to go while they tear everything apart?"
Sam's club will not only put you up, but fly you so far away that the sound of wrecking balls is the furthest thing from your mind.
3. "How am I ever going to clean up the inches of dust they're going to leave in order to show off our new home?"
They're not only going to clean, they'll throw the whole darn thing for you! And bring PBS camera men!
It will be really interesting to see what kind of traction this gets in the marketplace. This is clearly not a "bundle and save" offer, nor is it a "go green, save green" initiative. This is pure convenience for the eco-minded shopper.
In this lies the potential to change the way we offer services. Is there a limit to what people will pay for this type of worry-free experience? Will brands/companies/services be forced to turn into experiencial machines to stay afloat? Time will tell. But it seems as though the gap between "do it yourself" and "have it done for you" is getting wider and wider.
Read more at http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=11606
As a woman just over a month away from having her first child I am continually awed by the strategies marketers use to target new moms; continually taking advantage of their emotional highs and lows, their raging hormones, and their fear that they won’t have everything they need to care for their new arrival – it is no wonder that this is a booming industry. I receive non-stop ads in the mail for the myriad of things that new parents (allegedly) need. How did our parents ever do it without all of this stuff?
Having just completed a trip to Wal*Mart and Babies R’ Us, I was overwhelmed by the back wall of diaper options. From Huggies, to Pampers, to generic brands. Although I did not see any eco-friendly options the choice is amazing. Where does one begin? All of my “green” friends keep asking me if I am going to use cloth diapers, or find an eco-friendly route? As an overwhelmed pregnant women, the thought of cloth diapers is not very appealing at the moment. (Ironically none of my "green" friends have children). But in a time when sustainability and environmentally friendly are becoming everyday terms, what are my eco-friendly options and why am I not seeing them?
There is no doubt that we live in an era and a culture where convenience and time are extremely important. Cloth diapers might not be an option for me, but there have to be some choices out there for biodegradable, or green products that are still convenient and easily available to me. I started searching and found a couple options. My goal was to find things that were easily accessible and didn’t cause me a trip out of my way. Seventh Generation was the most readily available and is a disposable option. They market chlorine free / toxic free diapers. Obviously I have not tried them yet, but if they are anything like Seventh Generation toilet paper or paper towels, then I won’t want them touching my newborns sensitive skin! The price is slightly higher, and there are still conflicting reports on whether they are actually that much better for the environment than regular diapers. The other interesting option available is G-Diapers. The idea around this is that you purchase cloth velcro pants and then insert flushable refills into the pants - making the diaper. The flushables are plastic free and have no toxins. They are marketed around the convenience of flushing them down a normal toilet. The cost is approximately 35 – 40% more than regular Pampers or Huggies, and I can only purchase them online. It is here that the Diaper Dilemma begins!
In the baby category, filled with toys, clothing, swings and all the “must haves” for a newborn, the environmentally friendly diaper options are limited and the marketing for these products appears to be sparse (or, maybe it is just getting lost in the clutter of everything else). New moms are easily overwhelmed and are looking for convenience, cost savings and ease of use. It appears to me that there is a huge opportunity here, one that will make the Diaper Dilemma a little easier to solve.
Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net
- Contributed by Tera Gill
If you've ever felt alone and without a friend, like nobody understands you and the world is out to get you, remind yourself: things could be worse. You could be a plastic bag.
Plastic bags suffer disdain rarely known outside dog catchers and tax collectors. Global consumption of non-degradable plastic bags is estimated between four and five trillion each year. The vast majority are never recycled and wind up in landfill, sewer systems, oceans, lakes and rivers. They are known jokingly as the National Flower of South Africa their ubiquitous discarded presence. The clog waterways, choke marine animals, and take 1,000 years to decompose. What's more, the thoughtless use of plastic bags deepens our reliance on foreign oil: to produce the global supply requires 17 billion gallons of oil annually. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle; Worldwatch Institute)
The problem is, plastic bags are such a common part of our lives that individuals have a hard time conceiving the ruinous effect on the environment. Using plastic bags is one of the few things nearly every human on earth has in common, young and old, rich and poor. Severe, large-scale cultural change seems to be the only way to reverse the trend of plastic bag abuse.
Several countries, including South Africa, Rwanda, Bhutan and Bangladesh have banned non-recyclable plastic bags outright. Individual cities like Paris, Mumbai and San Francisco have recently initiated bans. Progressive countries like Australia, Taiwan and Singapore are considering drastic bag reduction programs.
One of the most successful plastic bag reduction initiatives comes from Ireland, where in 2002 the government legislated a tax on plastic bags at the register. Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped by 94 percent, and people began adopting reusable cloth bags. But then something unexpected happened: carrying a plastic bag became a stigma akin to wearing a fur coat. Irish people became generally more mindful of the role of the individual in creating global change. England is considering a similar tax. (Source: New York Times)
In the United States there are no broad measures in the works, though individual cities have taken their own initiatives. Los Angeles, Boston and Phoenix are considering bag reduction proposals. New York City may soon require stores that distribute bags to recycle them, although this is a pale compromise to an outright ban. A national bag ban would be an excellent statement of environmental leadership but in our legislative system is almost certain to never see the light of day.
Unfortunately, paper bags aren't an environmentally friendly alternative: their production generates 70% more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags, and take up nine times as much landfill space. (Source: USA Today, Environmental Protection Agency)
What, then, are environmentally conscious Americans to do?
For Retailers, the options are many. Some are adopting biodegradable bags made from corn starch or other organic components, but these are relatively expensive and unreliable: a cardboard box corner can create a small tear that will cause the bag to fail and groceries to fall. Many stores offer a credit to customers who bring their own bags; Whole Foods is planning to raise the credit from 5 to 10 cents per bag and plans to stop distributing plastic bags completely by year's end, instead offering 99-cent reusable cloth bags at checkout. Other retailers offer heavy-duty plastic bags that shoppers are encouraged to reuse; still others promote recycling programs that transforms used bags into heavy-duty wood plank replacements for commercial decking and park benches.
For the Shopper, the best option is to choose neither paper nor plastic, but to bring your own bag, box or backpack to shop. Many retailers now offer durable, inexpensive reusable bags; in some places, these bags are even fashionable. Even the best of us will occasionally forget to bring our bags, and in such cases, use as few bags as necessary and make a promise to recycle the bags you bring home. Encourage your favorite retailers to make plastic recycling available. Above all, follow the green mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
(reusable bag images, clockwise from left: King Soopers polyurethane bag; Lunds/Byerly's compact cloth sack; reusable plastic bag from The Coop Advantage, open and compacted)
From a macro point of view we know that we feel good when we purchase a product that helps contribute to a cause. From Susan G. Komen to (PRODUCT) RED, a lot of marketing support is put behind these efforts to make us aware and encourage us to purchase these products.
From an in-store perspective I think this is one of the best executions I've ever seen. Leo Burnett Canada and Campbell's soup teamed together in the grocery channel for local foodbanks. Here is a description of the program from directdaily:
In a grocery store 4,820 can s of Campbell's Soup were used to build an installation piece that spelled HUNGER. Signage beside the piece encouraged shoppers to buy one and donate it to their local food bank. As shoppers bought cans from the display the word HUNGER slowly disappeared. This allowed people to see how their individual effort could help bring an end to the problem of hunger.
This example works on a variety of levels, it 1) increases sales of Campbell's products 2) supports a great cause 3) provides a visual example of the difference one person can make.
- Contributed by Todd Cameron
There has been a lot of media attention lately about bottled water with countless articles written about the issue in recent months.
It seems as though every water-type brand is coming out with a quick save, and now it's water filtration's turn.
Brita's FilterForGood.com is taking a stand against the bottle by asking consumers to pledge against using disposable water bottles. Instead, Brita is making a case for using their filtered water with a reusable water bottle.
Brita has partnered up with Nalgene for this project, who has basically just made a green Nalgene bottle and slapped Brita's messaging on it.
Will a promotion like this really have any impact? Using a water bottle is not a new idea and yet people are out there buying bottled water. To me this begs the question - Why do people really drink bottled water?
If it's really about health, Brita's solution seems to be a good solve. For the most part, home water filtration effectively gets rid of the bad stuff. In fact, filtering at home could be even healthier than some bottled waters. Not to mention the cheap plastic that leaches into your water.
But- what if it's purely convenience? Bottled water is so easy. Unscrew it, drink it, trash it. Water bottles are slightly less convenient. You don't want to lose them. You have to carry them around with you after they're empty. They have to be filled, cleaned, stored. When it comes down to it, are consumers ready to give up the convenience of bottled water?
Asking people to switch their behavior is a huge task. And who should be providing the solution? Water filtration brands like Brita? Local governments? Water bottle manufacturers?
As the media presents the information, we're left to make the final purchase decisions. And let's just say sales in bottled water are not suffering. It will be interesting to watch the issues and see how it plays out in-store.
A few (of many) interesting links to ponder:
USA Today: Bottled water awash in a sea of controversy
Fast Company: Message in a Bottle
MSN: A video from the Today Show
CNN: Aquafina labels to spell out source - tap water
Terrapass: Bottled Water - good for who exactly?
Interesting article found today on Marketing VOX regarding
the world of Green and how much consumers actually care. Based on a new Yankelovich
study, the article points out that despite a glut of media coverage, a relatively small percentage of
consumers are really passionate about being Green.
Yankelovich illustrates the degree to which all consumers - from “Green-less” to “Green-Enthusiasts” - are likely to buy a product based on its green features:
While the largest percentage of Americans are “unmoved”, those “passionate” can still be a valuable niche. At 30 million strong they are nothing to snicker at, they simply should not be viewed as a mass audience.
Further, this is, to a large degree, a corporate driven movement based on good PR, and the reality is that as “organizations are required to meet strict federal and state environmental regulations - often at huge expense - it makes sense to try and leverage “new and improved” green product to consumers.”
As more marketers are finding Green is not just the color of money anymore, it'll be interesting to see which campaigns hit on the right message for the right audience and which just throw it out to the masses , to find the message falling mostly on deaf ears.
