How to Stay in the Black While Going Green†

Marketers' Product Focus Can Overlook Important Customer Needs

Advertising Age, April 2, 2008 — Philips launched EarthLight, an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb, in 1994. The bulb had a clumsy shape that was incompatible with most conventional lamps, a confusing package and a price tag of $15 compared to 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. Sales languished. Although it was well intended, the environmental positioning of the EarthLight appealed to only the greenest of consumers.

To be successful, green marketing must satisfy two objectives: improved environmental quality and customer satisfaction. Misjudging either or overemphasizing the former at the expense of the latter — as Philips did with the EarthLight — can be called "green marketing myopia."

Think Big

Prophet, September 14, 2007 — In this article that appeared originally in the Wall Street Journal, Dave Aaker argues that to win market share, don’t try to influence what brand of product people buy. Change how they use the product in the first place.

Say ‘Hybrid’ and Many People Will Hear ‘Prius’

One reason for the success of the Toyota Prius may be that buyers want everyone to know they are driving a hybrid

New York Times, July 4, 2007 — A riddle: Why has the Toyota Prius enjoyed such success, with sales of more than 400,000 in the United States, when most other hybrid models struggle to find buyers?

One answer may be that buyers of the Prius want everyone to know they are driving a hybrid.

Brands For the Chattering Masses

New York Times, December 17, 2006 — FOR many, many decades, successful branding — one of the corporate world's holy grails — involved a clear set of rules.