cause-related marketing

Adweek has an interesting article examining environmental corporate social responsibility in light of the latest consumer survey data designed to help companies profit from green marketing. They caution corporations to "realize they're swimming against a turbid current of anti-corporate sentiment. ... This is the backdrop against which greenwashing has become a household word among eco-activists. And it threatens to become part of ordinary consumers' vocabulary as well. ... When you learn that a brand you use" is greenwashing, "it's like getting a holiday card that says a donation has been made in your name to a cause you dislike." On the other hand, a new TNS survey finds what some might call a 'bitter' market segment who do "not respond well to green messaging." These so-called Eco Villiains are "predominantly Midwestern, middle-income family-men in small to mid-sized metro areas. Eco Villains do not believe in global warming, disdain eco-conscious products and suspect that environmental media coverage is propaganda."

Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we look at what Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and Chile's Patagonia region have in common, and how Unilever is adjusting its cause-related marketing. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," we remember one of Burson-Marsteller's old front groups. The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!

From Dove's new websiteIn 2004, the Unilever company Dove got lots of attention for using "ordinary-looking -- in some cases heavyset -- women in its ads for shampoos and beauty products. The ad and public-relations effort, called 'Campaign for Real Beauty,' created free publicity for the company." Now, Dove is "trying to create a new online community for women that offers entertainment, blogs, advice and advertising." The website was designed by the WPP firm Ogilvy, to "strengthen the link" between the Campaign's empowerment rhetoric "and Dove's line of products." To date, the Campaign's "marketing impact has been somewhat blunted by the fact that the social cause hasn't been linked directly to specific Dove products." Dove's new site will face competition from similar corporate-sponsored, woman-focused websites. Yahoo recently launched "Shine," designed to give "the struggling Internet company additional opportunities to sell advertising targeted to the key decision-maker in many households," reports AP. And Kraft has "uPumpItUp," a so-called "cause initiative for the Crystal Light brand."

"I've never been on the opposite side of the NAACP," said Dr. Alicia Fernandez, an associate professor of clinical medicine. "I've been a big admirer of the SEIU" labor union. "But now these drug companies are going to the good guys for cover." In particular, the SEIU affiliate International Association of EMTs and Paramedics (IAEP) recently sent two letters to its members promoting Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor. "IAEP leadership stands behind LIPITOR as the lipid-lowering agent of choice," read one letter, which was signed by IAEP director Matthew Levy and printed on IAEP letterhead, but with a Pfizer copyright at the end. IAEP stated it "does not endorse specific drugs," but refused to say whether the union has any financial relationship with Pfizer. In a similar case, the NAACP's New England branch accused Medicare of racism for refusing to cover the heart medication BiDil. (NitroMed, BiDil's manufacturer, has donated $1.5 million to the NAACP.) BiDil is a combination of two generic drugs that won "patent protection for treating African-American patients with heart failure." Fernandez believes NitroMed's "real goal" is "selling an expensive 'new' pill made from two cheap old ones." Meanwhile, she warned, "the argument over coverage of BiDil deflects attention from the real issues involved in health disparities."

The latest green marketing study from Nielsen Online "calls greenwashing a 'failed corporate strategy' and urges brands to aim for transparency and consistency instead. 'Bloggers are quick to condemn greenwashing when they suspect companies misrepresent their environmental impact with aggressive PR campaigns -- as spurious attempts to be green,' according to Sustainability Through the Eyes and Megaphones of the Blogosphere. ... Jessica Hogue, research director at Nielsen Online and author of the report, called bloggers a highly skeptical consumer group."

"Former vice president Al Gore (through his Alliance for Climate Protection) will launch a three-year, $300 million campaign aimed at mobilizing Americans to push for aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, a move that ranks as one of the most ambitious and costly public advocacy campaigns in U.S. history. ... The climate alliance's initiative, however, will not go unchallenged by climate change skeptics. Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, a nonprofit funded by the coal industry and its allies, is spending about $35 million this election to bolster support for coal-generated electricity. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank that receives part of its funding from oil and gas companies" is attacking Gore. Meanwhile, the Glover Park Group must be laughing all the way to the bank. The public relations firm is working for Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, and also for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers against automobile fuel efficiency standards. For GPG, it's all about billable hours.

In an unprecedented move by one of the Big Green environmental groups, the "Sierra Club's national board voted March 25 to remove the leaders of the Club's 35,000-member Florida chapter, and to suspend the Chapter for four years." What did the chapter do? According to Peter Montague, it was "highly critical of the national board's decision in mid-December 2007 to allow The Clorox Company to use the Sierra's Club's name and logo to market a new line of non-chlorinated cleaning products called 'Green Works.' In return, Clorox Company will pay Sierra Club an undisclosed fee, based partly on product sales." Sierra members outside of Florida are also concerned. "The Club's Corporate Relations Committee examined the proposed deal with Clorox and rejected it, but was overridden by the national board," writes Montague. Grassroots members have pointed out that "Clorox was fined $95,000 for violating U.S. pesticide laws" even as it was negotiating the Sierra Club deal. The Sierra Club told chapter leaders not to "seek public media coverage of this internal board decision," reports the Palm Beach Post. Some leaders said "they fear punishment from the national organization" if they speak out.

Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's commute, bottled water for Africa and when lobbyists say no. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," just how many tragedies has Monsanto helped create? The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!

As more major U.S. cities are endorsing an effort to reduce use of bottled drinking water because of energy consumption and pollution concerns, PepsiCo announced it is teaming up with Starbucks and harnessing the movie star power of Matt Damon to help distribute a brand of "charitable" bottled water called Ethos. The marketing campaign for Ethos calls attention to the plight of impoverished Africans who lack access to safe, clean drinking water. For every bottle of Ethos water purchased, five cents goes to programs that provide African children with clean water. Ethos sells for $1.80 a bottle. Critics of Ethos water say it is a profit-making enterprise disguised as humanitarian relief, that Ethos is exploiting the plight of Africans to sell more bottled water in the United States, and donating directly to a reputable charity dedicated to water projects in Africa is a better way to address the issue.

GM's Bob Lutz, in one of the company's fake news spotsIn January, General Motors launched a new website, "GMnext" (which includes a wiki), to mark its 100th anniversary and showcase "ideas on future automotive technologies." Instead, environmental activists posted critiques of the company. GM called the posts on climate change and other issues "diatribes loaded with propaganda," and shut down the interactive part of the site. "We weren't going to lose control of our own site," explained the automaker. Instead, GM's Brent Dewar answered pre-submitted questions on greenwashing during an online chat on February 6. Rainforest Action Network slammed Dewar for "the large number of questions he ignored and the indirect responses he gave to the most pointed inquiries." Marketing professor Clay Voorhees sees GM's efforts as "part of a new push for authenticity by companies," reports Detroit News. Over the past year, GM has also "invited dozens of bloggers to car shows across the U.S., setting up face-to-face interviews with senior executives."