Business 1st Edition by William Nickels ,James McHugh ,Susan McHugh

Exercise 1

Finding a Competitive Advantage in Sustainability

One way marketers are gaining a competitive advantage is by touting their efforts on behalf of the environment. Mars Drinks North America sells its Flavia brewing machines and hot drinks through distributors. Many of the companies that Mars sells to have sustainability goals, and Mars uses its promotions to sell its efforts to promote sustainability. The overall promotional effort is called "Thirsty for Change." Under that rubric, the company promotes its efforts to use less water, send less waste to landfills, and help customers reduce their own energy use and waste. The company uses several means to get its message across: direct mail, print media, and a new Web site that explains the company's position on sustainability and its activities, such as turning used filters into energy.
How do you compete against such well-known and respected companies as FedEx and United Parcel Service? The answer for First Global Express (FGX) was to use "greening" as a promotional tool. FGX decided to cut the number of miles it flew (thus using much less gas and causing much less pollution) by shipping packages to customers on direct flights. Typically, courier packages go through three or four waypoints before reaching their final destination. FGX used print advertising as well as a completely redesigned Web site, e-mail marketing, thankyou cards, and other salesrelated materials to promote its carbon-cutting program. The punch line in the company's ads said, "Ship Greener. Ship Direct." There is also much copy talking about green efforts, including a green thermometer that displays FGX's efforts to make its operations more ecofriendly. FGX also has a ShipGreener blog that talks about environmental and humanitarian topics. The company also helps its customers do a "green audit."
What other companies have you noticed promoting green products and green processes?