The Green Thumb Initiative

Universal Pictures will be releasing a new movie, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, in March 2012. Initially, I thought this was another typical heartwarming and family oriented type of movie, but based on this article I read, the movie holds an even more significant and underlying meaning.

On Earth Day 2008, Conservation International, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Random House launched the Lorax Project. This project aims to engage individuals of all ages to do their part to conserve the places and species that are critical to the future of our planet, such as the Brown Bar-ba-loots and Humming-Fish. I found this very appealing because they aim to capture a larger market in terms of spreading the message of being sustainable and conservative when consuming resources. Particularly related to this movie, The Lorax, it shows that they are targeting families, specifically children, to create awareness among them of the planet’s current situation and at the same time, hope that they will be able to influence these children with their actions.

Not only that, one of the leading sustainable brands in North America, Seventh Generation, has created marketing partnership with this movie in order to further spread their message. Through this famous quote by the Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”, John Replogle, CEO of Seventh Generation, thinks this ties in exactly into their company mission. He also thinks this is a one-time opportunity for them to spread their environmental message to a new market and one that they would normally find it difficult to reach. Looking at the green marketing grid, I’d say that Seventh Generation is under “tribal brands” as it ties/partners itself with a cause. This shows that they have an opportunity to strengthen their message, especially with the help of this movie that will be released worldwide, increasing the likeliness of capturing a large demographic. It also says that Seventh Generation will have the Lorax logo and message printed on their products for a couple of months. This would easily attract children when they are out grocery shopping with their moms (example).

Just to reiterate the purpose of this famous quote, it’s trying to say that in order to make a difference, people would have to care first. Both Seventh Generation and The Lorax are trying to invoke its target market to support their cause. I also like how The Lorax has a full section dedicated to their environmental project in the Lorax movie website. It’s also presented in a kid-friendly way, which can easily attract their attention. They have also posted easy to follow tips to follow on how to lower your own carbon footprint.

I think companies should start targeting a larger demographic as well, specifically children, since they are the next generation who will take care of our planet. There is a good chance that if they receive this message, they might influence their parents into thinking the same thing as well, which is to find ways on preserving our environment.