Green marketing toolkit for Wales now available

The Green Marketing Toolkit with Welsh examples is now available. This document collects the experiences of a number of companies in marketing and communicating their green credentials, usually with small budgets and tentatively, to see what impact it will have. We aimed to capture what small firms can do when they get inventive and share …

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Green Gimmicks- to raise awareness or to generate sales?

You can read in Green Lodging News about the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center, who have  launched an offer arguably to attract more green customers- traveling in hybrid and electric vehicles. With its new “Go Green, Get Green” package, guests who arrive at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel in a hybrid vehicle and stay …

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UNEP’s report on sustainable motivation

Do marketers care about sustainability, and should they? You can guess the answer to both. A report from the United Nations Environment Programme helps us to understand better where we are and where we want to go

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Why do you tell people you are responsible?

What are you trying to do? I mean, why are you letting people know you are green? Is your aim to change how people: 1) view the world- the culture of consumption, or 2) what they actually do or buy? Is your aim to satisfy market needs by making them aware of these and turning …

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Where do I start? prioritise your actions against the reasons to be responsible

Too much to do, not enough time- There are many reasons to be responsible, and every one of these has an impact on your marketability- remember marketing isn’t just communication or sales. Here’s a guide to help you prioritise new actions, and evaluate those you’ve already taken.

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Green marketing toolkit for Wales now availableGreen Gimmicks- to raise awareness or to generate sales?UNEP’s report on sustainable motivationWhy do you tell people you are responsible?Where do I start? prioritise your actions against the reasons to be responsible

Apr 03

Green marketing toolkit for Wales now available

Categories:

destinations, hotels, marketing, reasons to be sustainable

by xavierfont

The Green Marketing Toolkit with Welsh examples is now available. This document collects the experiences of a number of companies in marketing and communicating their green credentials, usually with small budgets and tentatively, to see what impact it will have. We aimed to capture what small firms can do when they get inventive and share their passion for sustainability.

All too often we have found that companies are scared of telling customers about their sustainability work, thinking it will be seen as greenwashing. This report provides many easy to follow examples to show there are opportunities for every company, regardless of their size or practices, to engage its customers.

DOWNLOAD THE WALES REPORT commissioned by VisitWales

DOWNLOAD THE ENGLAND VERSION the original 2010 report commissioned by VisitEngland and its Regional Tourism Partners

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Aug 22

Green Gimmicks- to raise awareness or to generate sales?

Categories:

hotels, marketing, reasons to be sustainable

by xavierfont

You can read in Green Lodging News about the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center, who have  launched an offer arguably to attract more green customers- traveling in hybrid and electric vehicles. With its new “Go Green, Get Green” package, guests who arrive at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel in a hybrid vehicle and stay for two nights or more through September 1, 2011, will receive a $25 Visa gift card. It is most unlikely it will attract customers, and I do not believe the package was created for that purpose, but to raise awareness of Wyndham as a brand. So let’s put this in context.

http://www.greenlodgingnews.com/wyndham-virginia-offers-go-green-get-green-package Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug 22

UNEP’s report on sustainable motivation

Categories:

Uncategorized

by xavierfont

Do marketers care about sustainability, and should they? You can guess the answer to both. A report from the United Nations Environment Programme helps us to understand better where we are and where we want to go Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug 22

Why do you tell people you are responsible?

Categories:

Uncategorized

by xavierfont

What are you trying to do? I mean, why are you letting people know you are green? Is your aim to change how people: 1) view the world- the culture of consumption, or 2) what they actually do or buy? Is your aim to satisfy market needs by making them aware of these and turning them into demands? Or do you see your role as in satisfying demands they are already aware of?  The further down this list you go, the easier your job is in a way, but also the less attention you will receive for it is less innovative. Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug 22

Where do I start? prioritise your actions against the reasons to be responsible

Categories:

marketing

by xavierfont

Too much to do, not enough time- There are many reasons to be responsible, and every one of these has an impact on your marketability- remember marketing isn’t just communication or sales. Here’s a guide to help you prioritise new actions, and evaluate those you’ve already taken. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jul 22

Data shows that responsible tourism makes business sense

Categories:

business case, reasons to be sustainable

by xavierfont

The  article from Lluis Garay and Xavier Font  in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, soon to be published, shows that:

  • Businesses that take sustainability actions for eco-savings reasons perform best financially,
  • Businesses that take sustainability actions for moral reasons are happy with their financial performance, but don’t perform as well as the first group, and
  • Businesses that take the least sustainability actions also have the lowest financial results.

The data was collected from 400 accommodation suppliers in Catalonia, Spain. We are now testing with 900 businesses in Europarc destinations across Europe, and I will share the results from this research in the near future.

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Jun 22

The gap between CSR reports and performance

Categories:

hotels, marketing, reasons to be sustainable

by xavierfont

Greenwashing is everywhere, if we are to believe Terrachoice. Their Sins of Greenwashing 2010 report tells us how the number of greenwashing incidents continues to grow, mostly with companies making claims on how they have dealt with some of the less significant impacts, while omiting all sorts of other issues. Companies get more penalised for sticking their head above the parapet and actually dealing with some of their impacts, than for burying it in the sand and ignoring the whole agenda. But how does a company choose when and how to report, so they can be taken seriously for their efforts? What is enough to feel confident about public disclosure? Read the rest of this entry »

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May 22

Can we use responsibility as authenticity to sell crafts?

Categories:

destinations, reasons to be sustainable

by xavierfont

Who can teach small producers about selling added value, from authenticity and responsible practices? Here’s an example from Egypt to reflect on.

Fansina (in Arabic, Sinai Art) produces beaded bags and purses in St Katherine, South Sinai, Egypt. It started as a cooperative employing 300 Bedouin women, and due to the legal difficulties in staying as an NGO, it is now run as a social enterprise.

The products are great, the price is good: the distribution and communication are poor.

The product is not differentiated and is retailed as a standard commodity. The stories behind how the product is made and who makes it, the origin of the materials and the designs is not used to raise awareness of Bedouin culture and the uniqueness of the product. http://www.fansina.net/

YOUR QUESTION: Can you think of a similar local product to where you live or a place where you have been, and how it is retailed: is it sold as unique and special for being local, or is its origin taken for granted and underused?

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Apr 10

Consider joint marketing partnerships

Categories:

destinations

by xavierfont

The fragmentation of supply adds to the marketing costs of each individual supplier. Destination partnerships to jointly market attractions the most common- and necessary. The Mekong Private Sector Development Facility, part of the International Finance Corporation- World Bank Group  has produced a campaign to encourage longer stay in the typical touring destinations in the Mekong which to date has proven very successful Read the rest of this entry »

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Apr 10

Tourism marketing strategic approaches

Categories:

marketing

by xavierfont

Marketing is both part of the problem, and I believe part of the solution. What do you think green tourism marketing is? At one extreme, claims of charitable donations and ecosavings, at the other extreme, hippy cycling holidays carrying all your camping gear (often in wet weather).

Basically, green marketing has been done very poorly because very few marketers understand responsible practices, while few companies that behave responsibly engage well in marketing. Yet marketing professionals have the opportunity, and the duty, to make all of our products greener. The scale of the challenge ahead is so great this can no longer be a middle class niche market issue. All consumers must be engaged in consuming, knowingly or unknowingly, a greater proportion of green products. Read the rest of this entry »

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