September 2013 – Kelly Gu

Touch and Purchase?

Sustainability is a growing social trend and it seems companies are trying harder than ever to give its brand a green makeover by creating biodegradable, renewable, and organic products. Consumers are feeling the ethical need to make a switch, however they are still unwilling to pay more and take on risks for the new environmentally friendly products. Are ethical claims from those companies really going to change the consumers mind?

Seventh Generation biodegradable dish soap

Would you choose to use a average dish soap or a natural biodegradable dish soap?

According to a new study from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, there is a theory that better sales are linked to sustainable products consumers have a physical connection with. Another study by Onur Bodur also supports the theory that ethical claims promote sales when consumers have physical contact with the product. It sounds like a strange enough theory; however, imagine walking into a store to buy printer ink and dish soap. Between the choices of normal printer ink, biodegradable printer ink, normal dish soap and biodegradable dish soap, you might choose to save money on the normal printer and spend on the biodegradable dish soap. It makes sense that consumers would care less about choosing the biodegradable printer ink and care more about choosing the sustainable dish soap. The difference is something called the positive contagion effect – consumers do not automatically think about the ink used in a printer because ink isn’t something people physically interact with on a daily basis, whereas dish soap touches the consumers’ hands two or three times a day allowing customers to quicker perceive the increased benefits of the sustainable product.

Consumers are likely skeptical of the new ingredients, the functionality, and the danger of losing money when faced with a new product. Not all firms can increase its product’s perceived value by going green, but for companies selling the types of products that have tactile consumer involvement, it may be worth the money to invest in going green.

References:

(1) http://phys.org/news/2013-09-physical-contact-ethical-consumer.html

Coca Cola’s Grand Promotional Mistake

Coca Cola has always been diligent when it comes to the promotion of its globally known products. Vitamin Water, a popular healthy drink brand by Coca Cola was a part of a contest in which an English word is randomly paired with a French word on each bottles’ cap to collect and create funny sentences. This promotion, although creative, had a problematic issue which caused many loyal consumers to become upset and the public to question the organization’s ethical means.

A few Coca Cola consumers found offensive comments such as “You Retard” and “douche” printed on the backs of the Vitamin Water bottle caps during this promotional contest. Coca Cola has explained this was not at the fault of a disgruntled employee, but a mistake by the random word generator they used to place English and French words together for this contest. Coca Cola has since apologized, however this mistake isn’t one to be taken lightly.

“Edmonton woman Blake Loates shows the Vitamin Water bottle cap she received with the words “you retard” printed on it.”

In French, “retard” means delay and “douche” simply means shower. These are just innocent words in the French language, but are taboo in the English language. Furthermore, it is unacceptable for Coca Cola to be exposing such objectionable phrases to its young and impressionable consumers. Though teenagers and young adults may not find this aberration to be a big deal, this may well negatively affect its family oriented consumers. The simple and honest mistake made by Coca Cola is a costly one; a mistake that jeopardizes the company’s brand image and moral.

In future actions by Coca Cola, meticulous inspection for loopholes and gaffes should be made before public release. This promotional contest would have been a great marketing campaign for its Vitamin Water brand if not for that careless oversight.

–

References:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/canada/130919/you-retard-bottle-cap-causes-coca-cola-pull-promotion-apologize