Saturday 27 September 2014

Green marketing: legend, myth, farce or prophesy? Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005)

Hey everyone. I believe many of you would know about the Hallyu, aka Korean Wave (韩流/한류) (Fig. 1)!


However, many would be unaware of the Green-wave that ensued from the successful banning of aerosols containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). 

As such, my post today would be regarding an article by Peattie and Crane that discusses the journey of green marketing and its failure in promoting sustainability:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13522750510619733

To further illustrate this discussion, I will be comparing and contrasting the successful Hallyu with the Green-wave. 

Green marketing can be defined as marketing of environmentally friendlier products. Its initial introduction sparked hasty pursuit by companies. Modified advertising plans were scrambled to ride on this green wave. Green goods production in USA increased by 114% within a year (Ottman, 1993)! This has resulted in much debacle.

Without contextualisation, misunderstanding of consumers’ demand, improper environmental incorporation and unreliable green claims followed (Peattie & Crane, 2005). Green developers lacked foresight, fallaciously prioritising improvements on the present instead of investing in future projects (King, 1985). Consequently, benefits of green products were obscure, garnering neither appeal nor trust. Companies were also accused of green-washing (Fig .2) (Peattie & Crane, 2005).




Contrariwise, Korean scriptwriters knew the elements that would attract massive audiences to dramas, entertaining viewers immensely while promoting actual Korean culture. Hallyu produced refreshing content like the famous ‘Running Man’, which has since became a long-running series (Fig. 3). Discovery of new talents by scouting agencies also facilitate continuation.


Fig.3 The overwhelming popularity of the unprecedented 'Running Man' series. (source: http://i1.minus.com/iUfnrCdhBrm62.jpg)

Since the initial green spark could not burn on, is the disproportionate significance between this two waves then unexpected?

However, more environmental concerns surface with each passing day and there is a pressing need to revive the Green-wave and grow its market. Successful innovations like energy-saving lamps have started the ball rolling. The onus is now on future green companies to encompass all considerations in their plans and market its green product successfully.


Literature Cited

King, S. (1985). Has marketing failed, or was it never really tried? Journal of Marketing Management, 1-19.
Ottman, J. A. (1993). Green Marketing: Challenges & Opportunities. Chicago: NTC Business Books.
Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005). Green marketing: legend, myth, farce or prophesy? Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 357 - 370.

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