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ACTION PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING A GLOBAL ECO-LABEL: Media Strategy
Within the United States, GPA should launch a marketing
strategy aimed at:
This advertising campaign will be similar to the “buy milk” campaign, in that the advertising strategy applies to the entire industry rather than one individual producer. GPA should put together an advertising campaign that includes newspaper and magazine ads, Internet banner ads and television ads. GPA should cover the cost of production and make the ads available to its members. Members should be responsible for paying for advertising time. GPA should also coordinate use of the ads in order to avoid unnecessary duplication. Small and medium sized enterprises should be encouraged to pool their advertising resources to contribute towards paying for a newspaper ad or television advertising time.
The Target Market The objective of the marketing campaign is to increase awareness of the global seal among green consumers. Ads should target women and young adults, the populations that are most likely to consider the environmental effects of their purchasing decisions. The marketing campaign should also seek to increase Generation X and baby boomer interest in green products by addressing these consumer groups’ confidence and quality concerns about green products.
The Message of
the Advertisements The ads must convince consumers that the global
eco-label, unlike many others, is environmentally credible. To address consumer concerns over quality issues, the ads
should highlight the quality component of the certification criteria, and they
should include information about the global label’s third party
certification process. Reference to the ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 criteria that
will guide product requirements should also be emphasized. Perhaps most importantly, the ads will need to create visual recognition of the global eco-label. Every Internet banner, electronic newsletter, e-mail, television and newspaper ad must prominently display the eco-label as it will appear on products in stores. Newspaper and
Magazine Ads Because the marketing campaign will need to reach a large number of people throughout the country, GPA should encourage its larger members to place ads in the following daily newspapers.
GPA has also placed Newsweek
and Time on its list of target
publications. The
newspaper ad might picture a young adult trying to convince his/her parents to
change their purchasing habits. The
ad would address issues such as quality, credibility and the selectivity
associated with the seal.
The Internet The GPA should also advertise on Internet banners on web sites of interest to environmentalists and environmentally concerned citizens. The banner might include a picture of the seal and the phrase “Buy Green—the Earth depends on it.” The banner would include a hyperlink to the global program website where consumers can learn more about the seal.
Television The ad might picture young adults asking their parents to change their purchasing habits. The parents would offer some common excuses (quality, fraudulent claims), to which the young adult would respond.
Alliances and Endorsements GEN should be asked to attempt to form alliances with
other environmental organizations in order to obtain their endorsement of the
global eco-label (which will help establish consumer confidence in the label)
and to gain these organizations’ help with education campaigns and “buy
green” campaigns. The organizations will be asked to inform their members of
workshops and provide information concerning the link between environmental
damage and certain production process methods. The organizations that should be approached first are
listed below. These were chosen on the basis of their previous support for
eco-labeling practices, the visibility of the organization and the size of
their memberships. Many of these
organizations run their own voluntary eco-labeling schemes, but many would
likely submit their criteria for certification under the global scheme:
The
GPA should also forward information regarding its “Buy Green” campaign to
the following organizations:
The
following list of organizations will be asked to participate in academic
workshops and conventions:
Lobbying
Strategy Target Audience The
lobbying strategy should target the following members of Congress and
government officials. Senate
House
of Representatives
Government
Officials
Press Coverage The GPA should periodically contact reporters that cover
trade and environment issues to update them on progress toward establishing the
global label. The Education
Campaign The goal of the education campaign should be to increase awareness of environmental problems, which in turn should increase demand for green products and instill consumer confidence in certified eco-labels. The educational campaign should highlight:
This information would be circulated in e-mails to members of environmental organizations and newsletters such as the Eco Newsletter and Guardian Newsletter. The GPA should encourage environmental organizations to post the information on their websites. Workshop GPA should sponsor a workshop in the United States regarding the direct link between certain PPMs and environmental damage. The workshop will include seminars regarding the environmental effect of buying green products, emerging trends in green consumerism, the objectives and criteria of the global voluntary eco-labeling scheme, and the potential health risks associated with certain PPMs. The workshop will include scientific environmental experts, green industry experts, and government officials, such as:
GPA will conduct a press conference at the end of the workshop. Environmental organizations will be encouraged to circulate information regarding the workshop and the links between PPMs and environmental damage to their membership via e-mail. Research
GPA should finance several studies regarding green market
demand:
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