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The Power Of Two-Way Communication

I have personally experienced the power of  two-way communication in marketing.

e-Bike Revolution

For one of my Commerce classes, Applied Project Management, my team and I had to plan and execute an event. We decided to create awareness of electric bicycles by offering the opportunity to test ride one; an event we called the e-Bike Revolution. We wanted to get as many people as possible to pre-register for the event. After coming to the decision that our target market should be UBC professors and staff, we realised that traditional marketing channels would not be appropriate. We could have done what most UBC event organisers do and drown the campus in fliers, handing them out to anyone and everyone who walked by, but 1) this is not particularly earth friendly, and 2) nobody knows what the hell e-bikes are.

Our best approach was to use personal selling. We split the campus up into its various faculties and departments, assigned several to each team member and, over the course of a couple of weeks, directly approached members of our target market to educate them about e-bikes and get them to sign up for our event. In this, we were able address any specific concerns or questions people inevitably had about e-bikes or the event. This is the key benefit of two-way communication: being able to engage in a discussion with your target market and respond immediately to their questions. We were able to establish more of a relationship with people rather than just marketing to them.

The other lesson I learned about marketing (other than the importance of two-way communication) was to keep messaging short and simple. I have a tendency to overcomplicate sentences with superfluous words–see, I’m doing it now. Once I started to simplify my messaging, I saw that people were much more engaged. I’ve used the word a lot now, but engaging people is critical to effective communication.

Paper vs. Plastic

Which is best? The environmentalist is most of us would say paper. Of course we would say paper, plastic is made from that oily stuff that pollutes oceans. What if I told you the answer isn’t as simple as you may think.

We have to consider the entire life cycle of the products. Yes, plastic is made from oil, but paper is made from trees. Is deforestation really better than oil drilling? In addition to this, the production of paper bags is way more intensive than the production of plastic bags.

The good news is that both can be made from recycled content, cutting all of these numbers down a notch. The bad news is that, while plastic bags can be pretty much continually recycled into new bags, paper bags must be downcycled into something that’s pretty much useless. Ever used those absolutely dreadful brown paper towels? Then you know what I mean (I want to get rid of the liquid, not move it around!). You can also reuse plastic bags several times before they get holes and become useless; many people use them as garbage bags. Paper bags, on the other hand, easily tear, which limits their reusability.

This represents a significant issue with sustainability marketing. People are making assumptions on appropriate enviro-socially responsible behaviours based on what they perceive to be typical green attitudes, such as the long held belief that plastic is worse than paper because it is produced from oil. Sustainability has come a long way since then but casual greens are not getting the message. Sustainability marketing needs to be more active in its communication. Old attitudes need to be replaced with new ones.

I know what you’re thinking. Raman, are you trying to convince me that plastic bags are better than paper bags? Are you sure? No, I’m not. What am I sure of? Use a reusable cloth or poly bag.

Innovation By Acquisition

I love Method. They are a true leader in sustainability. Following the “Good first, Green second” adage, not only do their products work well, they are also responsibility sourced and produced. Their bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic (including ocean plastic) and their industry-first, LEED-platinum certified manufacturing plant is a marvel to behold, incorporating wind and solar power and a huge green roof. I was excited about the future of the green leader, that was until they were purchased by a larger company.

This is the concept of innovation by acquisition. Instead of developing a new, green product in-house, where they may not have the necessary competencies, a company can instead purchase another that has already made all the investments and done all of innovating (seems lazy to me, but that’s beside the point). Method’s acquisition is just the latest in a long string of such transactions. The same thing happened to Burt’s Bees and Tom’s of Maine, who were bought by conglomerates Clorox and Colgate-Palmolive respectively. These former acquisitions have alienated fans of both brands who claim that the founders have sold out and given in to corporate pressure. While the acquisition have given both brands access to much larger markets, die-hard fans will never touch them again.

Method, on the other hand, is in an interesting position. It has been acquired by European green-cleaning giants Ecover who have a long history of environmental stewardship (they were green before it was cool). Method owners claim the acquisition is more of a partnership and that the company will keep their values, interesting bottle designs, and quirky humour intact. They two companies will share their latest research and development insights, and allow Method to expand into the European market and Ecover to expand into the North American market. The Ecover Group, thanks to the newly acquired Method, is now the largest green cleaning company in the world.

As a fan of Method, I hope they keep up their good work and don’t lose focus of their core values. I would hate to remove their delightful, tear-shaped bottle from my sink. I mean look at them, they’re gorgeous!