It seems that ads promoting a healthy planet only thrive during a healthy economy. According to three Penn State University researchers, green marketing rises and falls in lockstep with key indicators of economic growth.
The researchers examined 30 years of environmental advertising in National Geographic Magazine and compared it to what was happening with the gross domestic product at various points in time.
“Because advertisers do a lot of research into public attitudes before they create and place ads, we took advertising as a reliable proxy for environmental concern,” says Lee Ahern, assistant professor of advertising and public relations in Penn State’s College of Communications. “We found that changes in GDP do indeed predict the level of ‘green’ advertising.”
Ahern, Denise S. Bortree, assistant professor of communication, and Alexandra N. Smith, a doctoral candidate in the College of Communications, are the authors of a paper in the journal, Public Understanding of Science, which is available online now and is forthcoming in print. Their work was supported by a grant from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication.
They learned that between January 1979 and December 2008, National Geographic ran 692 pages of green ads, defined as “…all ads that invoked environmental protection in some meaningful way.” Most were placed by corporations, though some came from advocacy organizations and business association or industry front groups.
They found a significant statistical correlation between the health of the GDP and the numbers of green ads. This syncs with the long-held theorized relationship between economic well-being and environmental concern (known as Inglehart’s post-materialist values shift thesis). This study is one of few to offer empirical evidence of this connection.
“Marketers have their fingers on the pulse of public sentiment,” Ahern said. “Using the level of green advertising as a proxy for general environmental concern, we can see that economic trends significantly predict this ‘greenness’ indicator.”
Next page: Different messages for different times
be greenfull.. it is great
be greenfull.. it is great
This is a very interesting
This is a very interesting article. However, the findings from the study sadly reinforce the long-held suspicion that we only care when we think we can afford to.
For those of us who are convinced that we are approaching (if we have not passed) a catastrophic environmental tipping point, it’s very frustrating that people’s drive to make the necessary radical changes ebbs and flows with the health of the economy. But it’s also just human nature; of course people will turn their attention from global climate concerns when they’re worried about how to pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads.
The challenge is not to try and change human nature but to redefine what we mean by green marketing. We have to fundamentally re-examine the way we communicate sustainability so that it’s no longer seen as an optional extra but as something that is integral to our everyday lives. We must appeal to human's natural instinct for survival.
The story we need to be telling and the one that people will readily engage with is that greener innovation costs less, works better and/or makes smarter use of limited resources, rather than using green marketing to improve CSR credentials.
We need to show people and businesses that sustainability isn’t something you turn your attention to when you have the time or money to do so. What we should be communicating is that sustainability is the one thing that will see us through difficult climates, both global and economic.
There seems to be a
There seems to be a correlation between the economy and companies advertising green. However, the assumption is made that companies/ advertisers are perfectly rational and only advertise on the basis of great information about what resonates with the public. I tend to think that the amount of green advertising has more to do with relative levels of corporate profitability and willingness to spend on things not seen as absolutely core to their daily/ monthly/ quarterly profits.
Interesting article and it
Interesting article and it makes sense but it is a little disappointing to hear. Being "green" should be the first thing on the mind when times are more difficult.
Go Green!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Green!!!!!!!!!!!