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FROM OUR BLOG

- How about going green to lose weight?

We haven’t tested it yet but some stories we’re hearing are leading us to think “weight loss” should be added to the list of deeper drivers that really motivate consumers to go green.

- Millenials: Just starting to put their money where their mouths are

Young doesn’t equal green. They may have big ideas about living a sustainable life, but they’er just now starting to turn that into purchasing behavior — which means it’s a great time for marketers to connect and establish brand loyalties.

- The Bloom Box: Worth all the Hype?

The Bloom Box could be a game changer. And, according to our research, consumers could be very interested if the price is right. But will the price be right? And will there be a convenient ,reliable way to implement the devices en masse?

Does being green mean buying green? Not necessarily.

Mindsets and motivations of green consumers.

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Green Living Pulse offers the most comprehensive look into the mindsets, personalities and motivations of green product buyers, revealing the messaging that resonates best with consumers on the green spectrum.

Shelton Group probed the 77% of the population who are actually buying green and discovered two distinctly different mindsets: Mainstream Green and Engaged Green. We confirmed that gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status don't necessarily play major roles in where a consumer lands in the green marketplace. For green, it's all about the mindset.

Attitude rarely equals behavior

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The study builds upon data gathered in Shelton Group's Eco Pulse and Earthsense's Eco-Insights™ studies to further:

  • Uncover comparative green product purchase priorities across a broad range of product categories, from cars to produce
  • Measure reactions to a variety of emotional drivers via test messages in several categories
  • Discover important attitudinal and personality differences between Earthsense's top six (in terms of green activities and green purchase proclivity) consumer segments: Enthusiasts, Believers, Strivers, Selectives, Habituals and Skeptics
  • Investigate chemical content, leaching and off-gassing knowledge for home materials, plastics and skin care products
  • Evaluate knowledge of coal-fired electricity production issues along with CO2 impact
  • Differentiate between target markets and interest in green homes vs. energy-efficient homes
  • Measure awareness of and importance placed on water issues
  • Investigate understanding of the differences between organic and other produce and knowledge of regulatory oversight in the category
  • Probe on green activities undertaken at work vs. at home
  • Test impact of do-it-yourself (DIY) propensity on green behaviors recently discovered in Shelton's Eco Pulse 2009 study

Green Living Pulse also tested several commonly held beliefs among green marketers, including the notions that information equals action and children influence parents' green activities.

Unlock the minds of your consumers.

Green Living Pulse offers insights upon which marketing campaigns can be built:

Question: Which personality traits influence green purchase decisions?
Answer: Overall, we confirmed that green engagement is less about demographics and more about mindset, and we discovered two distinctly different mindsets of green consumers: Mainstream Green and Engaged Green.
Insight: Optimists and independent thinkers who like to try new things are more likely to have an Engaged Green mindset rather than a Mainstream Green mindset. Marketers must target based on mindset instead of demographics to effectively reach their intended targets.

Question: What messaging resonates with consumers looking for green products?
Answer: One example—women and respondents age 18-24 were more likely to choose a harmony with nature message as the best message to convince them to buy a green home. However, the same isn’t true for other groups.
Insight: In addition to mindset, there are also important demographic differences in messaging preferences, depending on the product category. This means you must tailor your messaging to the audience you want to appeal to; multiple versions might be needed.

Question: Does consumer knowledge on green issues positively affect their purchase propensity?
Answer: Less than you might think; even people who buy green struggle to define how carbon dioxide affects the environment, and less than half can identify its primary impact.
Insight: People don't have to understand all of the technical aspects of an issue to be concerned about it. While awareness is a critical starting point, you should limit the amount of scientific-sounding names or jargon in your messaging as it confuses many consumers.

So, how does this attitude-behavior relationship impact your green marketing? Education isn’t enough. It’s critical to motivate your consumers through an emotional message to urge them into action. If you want to appeal to the Mainstream Green Mindset, position your company or product as the authority and expert, since those in the Mainstream Green Mindset like to agree with others and prefer to follow rather than lead. If you want to build loyalty from the Engaged Green Mindset, position your organization as a maverick or revolutionary to appeal to these independent thinkers who like to try new things.

What you'll get.

Green Living Pulse studied green consumers to fully profile the range of Americans within the green marketplace demographically, attitudinally and behaviorally and tested specific messaging to determine what is most meaningful to green consumers. This 300+ page report tells you:

  • How green consumers prioritize product categories
  • Behavioral and attitudinal profiles of green consumers
  • Beliefs, misperceptions and actions taken by green consumers
  • Specific messaging that motivates them
  • Media preferences
  • Shopping preferences
  • Market opportunities

Green Living Pulse includes audience profiles and segmentation, cross-tabulations, charts and graphs for each question asked in the survey, and strategies for marketing green products and activities.

(read more)

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