The green movement is still alive and well, but the green consumer is evolving in terms of attitudes and purchase behavior. Your marketing approach should be evolving right along with them. Is it?

Here are seven things to keep in mind as you develop and execute green and sustainable communications strategies.

1. They’re watching.
   Studies show that around 70% of consumers claim to be paying attention to what companies are doing to be a better corporate citizen, and that 75% believe that some portion of companies are green-washing their efforts. The key take-away here is to be transparent and walk your talk.
2. The days of “green at any price” are gone.
   Consumers are looking for econo-green alternatives that provide environmentally-friendly benefits at a nominal cost. Over half of consumers say that they would buy green or buy organic more often if it was less expensive.
3. Build value into your brand.
   You can only charge more for comparable green alternatives if the consumer thinks they are worth it. A recent study showed that while 70% of consumers are motivated to buy green, only 40% are willing to pay more for it. Value is a balance between price, quality and benefits.
4. Organic confusion.
   Most consumers don’t know what organic really means. They consistently confuse it with natural, locally grown and non-GMO. They feel overwhelmed by the proliferation of symbols and certifications being thrown around the marketplace. Help them steer through the clutter.
5. What consumers say is not necessarily what they do.
   It’s about closing the gap between values and behavior. A recent study showed that while 95% of shoppers are open to buying green, only 67% actually seek out green alternatives, 47% find a green product, and 22% actually purchase. You can reduce that gap through education and promotion.
6. Just being green isn’t enough.
   You must be better. There was a time when green alternatives sold regardless of whether or not they performed in a comparable manner to the products they were replacing. Not any more. Green must not only be greener, it must deliver on profit, performance and meet or exceed customer expectations.
7. Being green is more about psychographics than demographics.
   Green consumers cut across all age brackets, races, genders and income levels. When marketing to this group, focus on their core values and beliefs. Look for them where they congregate.

In addition to the dramatic changes we are seeing in the mainstream media environment with social media and interactive, the public relations business is evolving as well to reflect the economic circumstances we find ourselves working in.  Consider these tips to improve your PR efforts and response in these troubled times:

• Take advantage of lower travel, airtime and vendor costs for outside services like matte stories, sponsorships, etc.
• With advertising activity in the toilet, there is less media clutter and greater opportunities for visibility.
• History shows that companies that spend on PR now when others are not, will emerge stronger following the recession. Stay in the game.
• Shift dollars into social media strategies; social media is more affordable, targeted and offers opportunities for increased creativity.
• Many editors are being laid off, and those who survive consolidation are now wearing more “hats”. Pre-packaged stories that require less effort are appealing to them.
• Blogs are growing in sophistication and audience. Increase your outreach to this growing medium. Their viewers are loyal and invested in the content on these sites.
• Offer media “exclusives” whenever possible. With online news at its peak, traditional outlets are looking for a scoop wherever possible to demonstrate their relevance to a scattered audience.

There is a silver lining in every dark cloud, and there are opportunities to be had, even in this challenging marketplace.

More than any single piece of marketing communication you send out into the marketplace, the one most frequently seen is definitely your corporate or brand logo. Have you ever given serious thought to what it says about your company, your philosophy, your people and your attitude?

Maybe its time to give that some deeper consideration. A recent New York Times article cites a new breed of logo emerging in this troubled economic environment we live in. It’s a warmer, fuzzier, more accessible and friendly looking logo. Non-threatening, reassuring, even playful. As the article puts it, “not emblems of distant behemoths, but faces of friends.”

Experts say that logos are becoming less official looking and more conversational. They are not yelling; they’re inviting. They’re more neighborly.

If this is true, then the reasons are obvious. In this era of Wall Street greed and big company insensitivity to the plight of everyman, we all need someone to hate or blame. Big multi-nationals fit the bill just fine. Bigger has become badder, not better. So there may be an advantage to looking smaller and more approachable, right? Plus, we live in an environment of increased transparency, and the Internet allows us a previously unavailable view of the workings and corporate citizenship achievements or infractions of companies both large and small.

So specifically what constitutes a “warmer, friendlier” logo? Less intrusive typefaces. More lower case treatments. Increased use of softer more subtle graphic elements and “happier” colors. Wal-Mart’s new logo is a good example. Less harsh and military looking, it is now more differentiated vs. Target and Kmart’s logos.

Does your logo need a make-over? Food for thought.

An interesting study was issued recently, from GfK Custom Research North America, which sheds some additional light on consumer shopping behavior in our troubled economy.  The study reports that 30% of consumers polled say they are now buying more “store brand products” compared to a year ago.  In fact, the percentage of respondents who say they buy “store brands” frequently increased sharply to 55%, up from 41% in 2006 and 12% in 1991.  Finally, as one would suspect, 3 out of 4 consumers surveyed say that declining economic conditions are an important factor in their decision to buy more private label.

Private label market share has been on a steady rise for years, long before the current recession began.  And store brands are better than ever.  Costco’s Kirkland brand has taken private label to a whole new level.  The implications of this trend for consumer packaged goods manufacturers are significant and somewhat alarming.  They also represent a call to action that smart marketers will heed; specifically that consumers must have a compelling “motivation” to pay more for a branded item when there is an apparently comparable store brand next to it at a lesser price.  As marketers, we are in the business of building value into our brands through quality, convenience, performance, price, science, education and features.

That is how we move our potential and current customers up the ladder from awareness to loyalty, the holy grail of marketing.

So in doing battle with private label, you must always provide the consumer with a value proposition that provides both rational and emotional justification for purchase.  It that doesn’t happen, losses in your market share may result.

April 22nd is Earth Day 2009.  Maybe it’s not marked on your calendar, but some day it probably will be.  On this day we are all encouraged to do something to help preserve or sustain or renew the precious and fragile resources of this planet that we live on.  Unfortunately, the goal of saving the planet is a bit broad and non-actionable and ultimately confusing to most of us.  What exactly should we be doing to play our part?  “For the love of global warming, could someone please help me?” is the plea we hear most often.

Contrary to popular convention, in this particular case it is good to sweat the “small stuff.” And that’s the best place to begin.  Most American consumers think about sustainability or environmental activism in a series of concentric circles, as illustrated below:

It all starts with what I can do to make an impact that will improve life for my own family. That is my immediate concern, before I can worry about the rest of you. Then, as I make some positive changes like reusable grocery bags, recycling and purchasing carbon offsets, I can begin to think about what I could do to impact my local community. So I buy local as often as possible and volunteer time and money toward building support for important environmental causes.  Then, and only then, am I willing and able to look outside my community to think creatively about what I can do as a world citizen to make a difference for humankind.

So the evolution and adoption of these types of “green” values starts small in our immediate environment and expands outward as we take small, successful steps. So don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t a Greenpeace Ambassador. Just take small steps to change your life and the lives of those you love in positive ways. If we all did that, it would bring about an amazing shift over time.

On April 22nd, just do one thing differently than you have in the past. I have been working on this for the last 6 months, and I am making progress. And it feels good. Try it.

Business is nothing if not an investment, right?  Inventory.  Personnel.  Equipment.  These are items we as managers keep a watchful eye on.  We take out insurance policies and provide employee health benefits to provide protection and ensure continued output and productivity.  But what about another invaluable asset called intellectual property (IP)?  What are we doing to safeguard and guarantee a profitable return on that investment?  I fear that in many companies and in most business evaluations, intellectual property is generally undervalued and often goes unprotected in today’s commercial environment.  This primarily stems from two factors.  First, IP is often intangible and difficult to measure or value.  Second, it doesn’t occupy a precise spot on the P&L and as a result seldom gets considered as part of managing the day-to day-business.

There is no question that we are collectively at a critical juncture in the evolution of the food and beverage ingredients supply channel.  The state of the world economy hangs over us like a dark cloud.  Downward price pressure is intense and growing.  Customer loyalty overall is on the decline.  And many raw material suppliers are under increasing pressure to cut costs and compromise on quality due to competition from suppliers of inferior ingredients.  And these situations exist throughout the supply channel in a variety of product categories.  So how will industry continue to thrive and expand under these conditions?  The answer of course is multi-faceted and complex.  But I am confident that a key component of that future success lies in the continued funding and cultivation of intellectual property.  Whether in the form of patents, trademarks, packaging, technology or proprietary science, the supply industry was in essence built on IP and continues to depend on innovation and new technology for its survival.

One need only look around at the business and marketing environment we operate in worldwide to see the signs.  We are competing in an era of expanding “commoditization” where products in many major market segments are becoming increasingly similar and void of unique or proprietary features or benefits.  Soft drinks.  Clothing.  Electronics.  Appliances.  Automobiles.  Innovations are quickly copied and the competitive gap is rapidly closed.  Technology is both a friend and a foe to industry generally.  On the one hand, it allows us to innovate and improve products and services.  On the other, it allows our competition to catch up at light speed.

At its core, intellectual property is “work” created by the human mind.  Defining it can get tricky, which makes litigating infringement as much an art as a science.  There are four primary types of intellectual property:  patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights.  Patents are used to protect procedures or methods (process patents) as well as specific applications for technology (use patents).  Trade secrets include things like ideas or know-how.   A trade secret or know-how is a set of data or information that is generally not known in the industry which provides the user with an advantage over competitors.  Trade secret law, for example, protects the formula for Coca-Cola.  Trademark protection primarily applies to creative products such as brand names, logos, or slogans.  A copyright offers protection for original works of authorship which the author of a copyrighted work can either give or sell to others, or keep for him/herself.

Whatever its form, the unique and undeniable power of IP is that it allows companies to differentiate their brands in the marketplace, and to add perceived value to those brands in the eyes of their customers.  Jack Trout, a popular U.S. marketing guru, wrote a book called “Differentiate or Die.”  His basic premise is that companies that fail to set their brands apart in the marketplace will die an untimely death at the hands of their competition.  And he cites plenty of examples, from Coca Cola to Xerox to Pizza Hut.

And how does this apply to the wholesale food ingredient business?  Let’s consider the average ingredient buyer.  Male.  40 years old.  College educated.  Informed.  Skeptical.  Several sources or suppliers to choose from.  In short, he is in control.  It’s your job to sell to him on his terms.  The critical role of IP is to help create differentiated, value-added brands that offer the customer a compelling value proposition; that is, unique emotional and rational reasons to purchase.  Without IP, brands quickly become commodities.  And commodity purchases are price-driven and non-considered.  Trust me, that is not where you want to be as a serious contender in any market segment.

So, why don’t all brands invest in IP development?  Two principle reasons.  First, amassing IP is an expensive and long-term strategy that doesn’t fit everyone’s business plan.  Second, IP infringement is rampant and the cost of protecting IP is daunting.  When a company’s IP is threatened, it has two options: fight or roll over.  Frankly, it’s a sad choice to have to make.  Most companies would choose to defend their brand, but not all are able.  Policing IP infringement is an emotional and protracted battleground.  And companies who vigorously police their brands are often viewed as bullies, as if they picked the fight to begin with.  It’s really a ridiculous paradigm.  And so as a result, many companies elect to carefully pick their battles, and let the rest go.

There is, however, opportunity for redress.  If you are wronged, you can ask the appropriate court to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent and or stop continued infringement.  Allegedly infringing items or articles can often be impounded while the action is pending and may be ordered destroyed or subject to other disposition if there is an infringement.  An infringer can be liable for actual damages plus additional profits or statutory damages.  In addition, an infringer could be held liable for injury to business reputation or the dilution in the value of a copyright, patent or trademark.  Costs and attorneys fees may also be awarded to the prevailing party.  Unfortunately, getting a successful legal resolution can be an exhausting process on many levels.

One form of IP infringement which is increasingly rampant and often overlooked, is online violations.  Examples of this practice are brand erosion, cyber squatting, typo squatting or traffic diversion.  All of these involve someone unlawfully borrowing your brand equity on the Web for his or her profit or gain at your expense.  A simple Google search on any major consumer brand name will illustrate my point.  Just because the crime is committed online doesn’t mean it can’t be defended or litigated.

Which brings us back to industry growth and prosperity.  Despite the risks and expense involved, it is my fervent hope that companies will continue to invest in building a strong portfolio of intellectual property.  It is also my hope, and frankly my expectation, that companies will respect the intellectual property of others, particularly their competitors.  In an industry founded on entrepreneurial drive and personal integrity, it is tragic to see brands “borrowing” –read stealing– science and hard-earned IP from other brands.  This kind of activity is both morally wrong and ethically unprofessional.  As industry, we must do all we can to create and sustain an environment of zero tolerance for this practice.  It’s amazing what peer pressure can accomplish, and the more we can shine a collective light on those who abuse the IP of others, the easier it will be for media, associations and individual companies in the supply channel to protect their brands and enforce their rights.

Intellectual property rights are violated every day.  Those violations undermine the future growth and prosperity of industry.  It impacts all of us, not just the victims.  There is strength in numbers.  Make your voice heard.