A crush of companies have rushed to recycle themselves into green-focused marketing machines in the run-up to today’s Earth Day observance.
Beverage makers are touting recycled bottles, clothing companies are hyping organic fabrics, retailers are advertising their reusable shopping bags. There’s even a pretzel company promoting the tree they’ll plant for each online signup.
Earth Day – a day designed for promoting environmental issues – has been around for 38 years. But the annual event has been gaining visibility thanks to marketers seeking favor with increasingly green-conscious consumers through ad campaigns, press releases and Web sites that ballyhoo their eco-efforts.
The branding onslaught comes as Mother Earth’s health becomes a red-hot topic. About 34 percent of Americans said they were much more concerned about the environment than they were the year before, according to a 2007 Yankelovich poll of 2,763 consumers.
Yet, with so many brands touting their eco-friendliness, it’s almost impossible for any one effort to stand out with consumers, says Allen Adamson, managing director at branding agency Landor Associates.
“It is a good thing to do, but is anyone going to notice?” says Adamson. “I think no, unless you do it in a big way and extend your efforts well beyond Earth Day.”
Beyond having a hard time getting noticed, marketers without a plan to walk the walk as well as talk the talk face backlash from eco-savvy consumers, says Adamson. He says that to succeed, marketers have to be green in a “meaningful way,” which often means an expensive, long-term business plan.
“Anyone can be good for one day,” he says. “It’s hard to be good all year round.”
The brigade of brands that are trying to tie in with Earth Day actually face more pressure to prove that that they have a strong green record, says Thomas Basile, managing director of the Sustainability Group for public relations firm Middleberg Communications and former director of communications for the Environmental Protection Agency. “You have to be able to stand up to the scrutiny of consumers, media, bloggers and environmental advocates.”
Consumers are skeptical of green promises: Only 47 percent trust companies to tell them the truth in environmental marketing, according to a February survey of 1,080 adults from corporate strategy firm Cone and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.
That makes things harder even for companies with a history of eco-friendly action. For instance, Anheuser-Bush – which tied Green Week-themed promotions with Earth Day for 18 years – has a strong recycling effort and has set up tree-planting programs for its employees. This year, Earth Day-focused TV ads from the brewer have employees touting the recycling program.
