Being sensible about being green.
Back in the day — oh, say in 2007, we all seemed to be living in a pretty happy bubble. Our 401k’s were doing a.o.k. Our house was worth three times what we bought it for in the previous year. Life was good. Our minds were freer to fry other fish. Like the environment. “Gotta get the Prius. Slap some solar panels on my roof.” Stuff like that.
Then came 2008. Not so good. Lots of people experienced a seismic shift. The environment was relegated to the back burner and personal finances jumped to the front. Now the only green that seems to be on everyone’s mind is money. Or the lack thereof.
So is the Green Movement suffering because of this? Actually, we’re shifting there, as well. To a much more common sense approach that’s easier to achieve, yet can still make a giant and positive impact.
“For a large portion of the [American] population, it is much more about what one can do as opposed to what one can buy,” says Timothy Kenyon, director of the GfK Roper Green Gauge Report. “They want…environmental solutions that help them make sensible changes to their lifestyle while still not significantly impacting them financially.” Such as?
Compared to 2008, more consumers are drinking tap water rather than bottled (63% — up 5 points). More are toting their own re-usable bags to the supermarket (39% — up 11 points). Personally, we like switching off lights in unoccupied rooms, and shutting off water while brushing our teeth. Stuff like that.
There’s also been an increase of the warm fuzzies towards corporations’ green claims. Compared to 2008, 9% more folks believe businesses are becoming more responsible environmental stewards.
So what’s the overall takeaway here? As marketers, do we still tap into the consumer’s save-the-planet psyche? At Burns, we think absolutely. Go for the green. Just keep it a shade lighter.
Source: 2011 Green Gauge US Report
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As we’ve continued to track trends in the consumer healthcare, pharma and wellness space, one trend stands out prominently — today’s consumers are yearning to control anything they possibly can in their lives, seeking personalized services and products to meet their unique needs.
This move toward personalized products is pervasive in all realms of society, ranging from electronic gadgets and computers that can be customized completely by consumers to automobiles that consumers can literally build on a touch screen before it goes into production.
Check out a few interesting examples:
- Dell’s “Build it Yourself” option
- BMW’s “Build Your Own” coupe
- Tesla’s completely personalized Super Computer
What’s important to note is that this trend has move full speed ahead into the pharma, healthcare and wellness space, as consumers increasingly seek more personalized options and greater choices across the board. Brands can capitalize on this demand by looking to Build-A-Bear for inspiration.
Build-A-Bear invites children to create a teddy bear from scratch, from a range of pre-designed pieces, thereby providing a mass customizable product.
Similarly, your brands can offer consumers product “menus” featuring pre-designed options, essentially allowing them to select the product/package most applicable to their own lives, and thus providing the power and control they seek.
Burns works extensively in the Healthcare/Pharma/Wellness space, with brands like Novartis, Nicorrette, Juvederm, Glowelle, Jenny Craig and Activia, so we’re constantly delving into buying habits, motivations, etc.
Perhaps some of our findings will prove useful in your next brainstorm.