sustainable marketing - final version

October 28th, 2016

Sustainable Marketing Mark 440: Mother Earth’s Essentials Marketing Strategy

Alexis Jean Troup

ABSTRACTThis paper is written on the topic of sustainable marketing. It’s aim is to analyze information that relates to this topic and to make recommendation so that me and my team can suggest to Carrie, the owner of Mother Earth’s Essentials, a quantifiable marketing strategy. The paper highlights what sustainable marketing is, factors that are included in this new trend, as well as its growth and impact within the business realm.

Marketing Strategy – Bob Graves

Introduction

This paper is written on the topic of sustainable marketing.

Considering the products and story behind Mother Earth’s Essential, I

believe sustainable marketing has huge potential as a marketing

strategy for this business. My papers aim is to analyze information

that relates to this topic and to make recommendation that my team

and I can suggest to Carrie, the owner of Mother Earth’s Essentials

(M.E.E). The paper highlights what sustainable marketing is, factors

that are included in this new trend, as well as its growth and impact.

Research was pulled from the MacEwan Library Database as well as

books in the MacEwan Library. Some key terms were: sustainable

marketing, sustainable marketing challenges/opportunities, and

politics and marketing. Sources not included in my research were

ones that touched solely on marketing as a topic. My team and I hope

to synthesize our Marketing research and bring our findings together.

In turn, we will provide the Carrie with an organized and tangible

resource that will outline how she can improve her current marketing

strategy. The subject of sustainability is on the rise, and Mother

Earth’s Essentials is the perfect business model to implementing this

kind of marketing strategy.

What is Sustainability Marketing?

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Sustainable marketing is a form of marketing that is different from

conventional business marketing. Sustainable marketing, in contrast

to typical marketing, has its own unique values, objectives, and

strategies. In essence, “sustainable marketing is the process of

creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers in such a

way that both natural and human capital are preserved or enhanced

throughout” (McDonagh & Prothero, 2014).

VALUES

An organization’s values play a key role in successfully implementing

a sustainable marketing plan. In order obtain maximum benefits of

sustainable marketing strategy, sustainability initiatives need to be

adopted at the core of Mother Earth’s Essentials operating model. To

start this shift, employees and stakeholders should be involved in

making sustainability goals; this helps internalize new values and

norms and, when everyone is involved in decision-making the new

initiatives are more achievable (Schroeder, 2015). Appendix B- Figure

7 outlines a step-by-step guide on how to effectively create and

execute a transformation initiative. It talks specifically about making a

brand more sustainable enabling a sustainable marketing plan to

succeed. This step-by-step guide was crafted by Harold Scroder, the

author of Sustainability Branding: Reducing the Risks through

Organizational Transformation. Mother Earth Essentials, when ready,

should use this 8-step guide Carrie, employees and stakeholders to

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decide what their sustainable values and goals will be and how they

will achieve them. These values should reflect ecological sustainability

rather than economic efficiency and the intrinsic value of nature

(Kilbourne, 1998). Some limitations of this could be if staff and

stakeholders do not envision the same things or are difficult to get on-

board with this change initiative. Staff, specifically, pose to be a major

hurdle in creating new initiatives; therefore, having the right team is

of the utmost importance and may require some staff rearrangements.

OBJECTIVE

As stated in the definition of what sustainable marketing is, the

objective is to, as a business, operate and communicate in a

sustainable manner so that future generations are not compromised

by the choices and actions a business takes. To fulfill this effectively,

whilst still running at a profit, Mother Earths Essential’s objectives

should specifically look to equate the same amount of importance to

economics, society and the environment (Praude & Bormane, 2013).

Carrie should not emphasize the importance of one or two of the

above topics, but realize the importance of each and delegate time

and resources equally in order to get the most out of her sustainable

marketing strategy. Reflect to figure 1 & 2 in Appendix B for a visual

representation. A limitation to this is that sustainable marketing has a

long-term view and by making everything of equal importance may

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have slow momentum, leading there to be little or no evidence that

the organization change has been effective, initially.

COMPETITIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES

In Duralia Oana’s (2014) article she had vividly laid out how to initiate

the creation of your marketing strategy:

- Identify marketing opportunities;

- Select target market and market positioning;

- Plan and implement a marketing eco-cross;

- Monitor, adapt and replicate the strategy, if necessary.

When M.E.E begins their marketing strategy plan, this should be the

first step in its development. Additionally, my interview with Angela

Higgins (2016) would contend that the last step (monitor, adapt and

replicate the strategy) is one of the most important. Reason being is

that, one of the biggest struggles in marketing is competition.

Competition is fierce, constantly evaluating their own product, price,

promotion, marketing strategy etc. making the market very dynamic;

therefor, after completing and implementing the strategy, Carrie

should constantly review her company as well as competition in order

to maintain competitiveness.

It is important for Carrie to note that competition extends further

than her immediate business segment (Higgins, 2016) and she does

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not have control over what they do (Cateora, 2011). For Carrie, she

does not just compete for consumer dollars in personal care products

but potentially with spas, which provide the a hygienic service, or

even basic materials for D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) projects that are

becoming increasingly popular. So, apart from developing strategy,

Carrie needs to see how she can maintain competitiveness in the

market. Below, Duralia (2014) outlined a criteria Carrie can use to

determine how competitive her sustainable marketing strategy will

be:

- It is based on at least one environmentally friendly sustainable

advantage;

- It is focused on ecological customers and is attractive to them;

- It is able to counteract competitive eco-friendly pressures;

- It improves the company’s position as an environmental factor

on the market.

If Carries goals do not relate well to the above criteria, some

readjustment will be required. Some limitations of this could be that

the re-evaluation and changes could lead the company to veer away

from the original reason M.E.E was created, detaching itself from the

organizations founding story.

In Appendix B Figure 6 there is a graph, created by Tascioglu (2016),

exhibiting how sustainable Carrie can choose to be and how

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differentiable that would make her company within the market. Lean

green offers cost reducing and increasing efficiencies rather than

marketing green initiatives i.e product development, design and

manufacturing, but does not make her differentiable; defensive green

focuses on product and extends into promoting the product to the

green market segment; shaded green includes product as well

promotion, but promoting the environmental benefits is secondary

and initiatives also extend into pricing the product at a typical green

product price, this is the beginning of being differentiable; lastly,

extreme green focuses on the entire marketing mix, where being

green is the driving force behind the company, they differentiate

themselves on being green and integrating environmental issues into

the business process. M.E.E, I believe, could really optimize sales if

they focused on being a shaded green company. What M.E.E can do

specifically is integrate more bio plastics and other recyclable

packaging, use more organic construction materials as she maintains

her business locations, change and adjust supply chain to reduce

emissions or choose less polluting companies, re-evaluate her

manufactures, especially if they fall out of sustainability scope,

promote her business and products sustainable attributes to the green

segment and continue to use raw organic materials for her personal

care products.

New Trend

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Consumer concerns and political involvement have largely focused on

talking about global warming. Apart from conversation on the topic,

there has been a strong trend and push for more sustainable

practices. This section evaluates what the new trend has for

opportunities, challenges, and outlines the characteristic of target

consumers, denoted as green consumerism.

OPPORTUNTIES

By following the implementation of sustainable marketing there are so

many benefits M.E.E could see. There is huge potential that by

introducing environmentally sound products and manufacturing

process’ Carrie could increase her market share and enhance her

corporate and brand image, whilst also doing the right thing (Ottman,

1993). McHonagh & Prothero (2014) also say that this is a way to

create more value for your consumers and gives marketing a raison

d’etre. Duralia (2o14) notes how there is a change in demand by

various manufacturing, retail, and end users who was safer more

sustainable products; there is potential for reduced costs, diversifying

in raw materials that causes a reduction in cost, which increases

competitiveness in the long run. Ottman (1993) also support the idea

that sustainable marketing can increase market share, namely

because it’s an opportunity to become more innovative. I think if

Carrie were to engage in sustainable marketing, she could see huge

potential in growing her market share and further enhance her brand

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image. An issue with this may be that Carrie does not have the

financial resources to fully execute this strategy.

CHALLENGES

Kilbourne (2013) and Carrigan et al (2013) support the idea that

consumers purchasing habits are influenced by a set of locked in

social norms and values. In addition, Royne et al (2016) notes how

there is an inconsistency, or gap, between what consumers’ strong

environmental concerns are and their weak engagement in

sustainable behaviors. In Appendix B Figure 8, there is a gaps model

that would be useful for Carrie to evaluate how she could potentially

close that gap (Zeithaml et al, 2013) Carrigan et al (2013) describe

that these sets of behaviors need to be ‘unfrozen’. M.E.E will have to

find a way to ‘unfreeze’ consumer habits and make new, more ethical

consumption behaviors, a common practice. My research showed that

there were many ways to do this, many were institutional or

governmental, but what Carrie can do is increase the availability of

her products to consumers. Specifically, she could place her product

in areas with fewer organic retailers or fair-trade outlets, because

increased access to better options is a way of unfreezing societal

norms (Carrigan et al, 2010). For instance, she could choose to

license her products in large chain companies. Althought, it is

important to note that M.E.E’s brand image, if Carrie chooses to

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license her products to third-parties, will be affected by the locations

she agrees to sell her product therefor, she should make sure the

store has some kind of sustainable policy or practice. This is

important because she would not want her brand image to weaken

due product placement decisions. In conclusion, a limitation for this is

that by being selective in licensing her products, and increasing

consumer access points, Carrie may miss out on huge profit potentials

a place like London Drugs or Shoppers may have to offer.

GREEN CONSUMERISM

To have a basic understanding of who green consumerism are, they

are consumers whose actions are aimed “toward the protection of the

ecosystem or environment” (Royne et al, 2016). Therefor, the segment

Carrie should aim for is those whose daily activities and purchasing

patterns reflects protecting the ecosystem and environment. Royne

(2016) notes that it’s important to analyze green consumers based on

their green buying intentions. In turn, intentions show whom true

loyalists are and can be a very profitable niche market. Carrie should

not concern herself with those outside of the loyalty niche. Royne’s

research (2016) also found that women engaged in more food and

recycling behaviors while males concerned themselves with energy-

related behaviors; therefore, Carrie should strongly focus on women

as opposed to men and promote the fact that her products are a way

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consumers can reduce there waste. Royne (2016), again, can support

that marketing the waste reduction is the best method for Carrie to

attract consumers because research showed that that waste-reduction

resonates the strongest with a high-volume of consumers

Growth and Impact

It’s important to know that after creating and implementing a

sustainable marketing strategy M.E.E will actually see a long-term

benefit. Factors such as the impact of sustainable marketing and if

this trend will continue to see growth are important in evaluating the

viability of the initiative. So, in the following, there will be an analysis

of what consumer trends are, how politics plays a role in marketing

and how the global economy influences sustainable business.

CONSUMER TRENDS

With technology and communication methods advancing everyday at

an exponential rate, consumers are more than ever aware of the

products they buy and the companies they buy from. Industry trends

show a strong consumer interest in wholesome, natural and

sustainable products and market data shows that apart from

consumer concerns about what is in a product, consumers also

scrutinize labels and avoid products with unnatural ingredients or

additives. People are enjoying ‘older’ products such as ancient grains

like chia, amaranth, flax and more (Altafer, 2013). Duralia (2014) also

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points out how there are growing consumer concerns about the

products they buy. These concerns encompass how unsafe or toxic

products a product is, the risks of working with dangerous

substances, the costs of intermediaries and how they are impacted

when storing and handling and being exposed to toxicity as well as

the cost for the environment and all the toxic waste resulting from

industrial products. Many consumers now chose to boycott companies

based on what they do or do not do as well as on business operations

and product-lines and ingredient lists. As a result, businesses are re-

evaluating their entire operating system. For M.E.E, growing

consumer knowledge and concerns emphasizes the potential a

sustainable marketing strategy holds for her business and the market

share potential. On another note, “price, value, quality, brand

familiarity, and convenience play key roles in green and ethical

purchasing consideration” (Carrigan et al, 2010). Carrie should keep

mindful of these things as she evaluates her value proposition.

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS

Efficient policies and regulations set by the government can influence

the success SME’s find when promoting the sustainability of their

brand (Tascioglu, 2016). Public authorities need to, not only develop

legislation and normative acts in regards to sustainability, but, grant

proper tax relieves in order to increase the successfulness of a

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sustainable marketing plan (Praude & Bormane, 2013). With the few

last elections, Alberta has seen a dramatic shift in our political

climate. It has gone from being run on conservative values to now

having a Liberal prime minister as well as an NDP premier

representative for Alberta. For Carrie, this offers a huge potential for

impact and growth when choosing a sustainable marketing strategy.

Not only does this political paradigmatic shift support the profitability

of sustainable marketing efforts, but also the idea that ‘sustainability’

and ‘green products’ is not a fade, but a legitimate shift in consumer

preferences. Lastly, with governmental initiatives that are similar to

Carries marketing strategy, it supports the longevity of the

sustainable business model and could allow Carrie to get ahead of

current competition as well as potential emerging businesses.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Carrie should gather employees and stakeholders to set goals that

support the preservation of the ecosystem. There are many different ways Carrie

can chose to implement changes at M.E.E; however, I suggest following the Shaded

Green model with potential in pursuing Extreme Green initiatives.

Consumers are looking for natural and safe options, in regards to work practices,

business practices, and product ingredients. Carrie currently has the perfect

business model to optimize on this trend. There are also many cost saving and

employee satisfaction variables that Carrie could tap into with this initiative. There

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will be the issue of ‘unfreezing’ consumer habits; however, by making her product

more available, consumers will be able to make better choices more frequently.

M.E.E’s target market will most-likely be those who are loyal to their environmental

concerns and purchasing behaviors. As well, women care more than men about

health related sustainability, making women the better target market. And lastly, to

attract all segments, and emphasize on how Carries products reduce waste is the

best marketing tactic to attract consumers to buy her product.

Making this big change would be sub-optimal if there was not going to be any

longevity to it. Luckly, consumers are demanding more pure and safe products. With

Albertas governmental support, these kinds of products not only have their support

but, with the supplementary advertising on emission reduction and pollution

control, consumers will be searching for eco-friendly products.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Altafer, P. (2013). In natural products, everything old is new

again. Functional Ingredients, (127), 14.

This is a scholarly article. It talks about old in the new new, For

instance, the usage of ancient grains is becoming popular again.

The article did not choose to bring about an abundance of

information. What was presented was short and on point; therefore,

much of the information I believe was credible.

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It was useful for me to use this source because it supports the shift in

consumer trends and their desire for safer products. Consumers care

about what is in their products and choose/prefer making purchases

that are less likely to be harmful than alternatives may not reduce.

Limitations of the source could be that there was not a lot of

information, nor was there a lot of supporting evidence. Additionally,

it was very short in length.

Belz, F. & Peattie, K. (2009). Sustainability marketing (pp. 129, 133-

139, 154, 164). Chichester: Wiley.

This is a source from a textbook. The textbook focused on sustainable

marketing and dives into every relatable topic in marketing and

related it back to sustainability. It introduces government, politics,

policies, customer pre-purchase behaviors, examples sustainable

products and services, pricing methods and much more. A useful

figure was Influences on the consumption process: A sustainability

perspective as well as Sustainable consumption behavior change

opportunities.

This source is very credible, namely because it is a textbook. There

are many references through-out and the layout of the book is very

professional.

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This is probably one of the most useful sources in regards to how to

structure a sustainable marketing strategy, how government and

policy plays a role, and how to attract and find the right kind of

consumers.

I don’t think that there are limitations to this resource except for the

fact that it is not a specific reflection to Albertan consumption. Even

then, I still find it is a very useful resource in analyzing the Edmonton

market.

Carrigan, M., Moraes, C., & Leek, S. (2011). Fostering Responsible

Communities: A Community Social Marketing Approach to

Sustainable Living. Journal of Business Ethics, (3). 515.

This is a scholarly article. It exemplifies how, while some companies

chose to leave a punitive legacy, companies can choose to foster a

more curative change. The article says that this curative change can

occur by small firms, not just larger corporations. Some ideas to

create this change could include influencing individuals and their

behaviors, facilitating a change in social norms as well as the

relationship between the organization and consumers.

The article identified some key factors such as; what items will

influence ethical purchasing behavior, where informational should be

inputed because habits are vulnerable to change, upstream

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intervention to target social norms, where the barriers to change lie,

habits and their relationship with situational cues, how the community

social marketing approach can help encourage environment-friendly

and sustainable behaviors.

The article has references numerous other pieces to support the ideas

that they present. In addition, the authors are very credible. Marilyn

Carrigan is a professor of Marketing and her main research interests

are consumer ethics, social marketing and corporate social

responsibility. She has published over 100 journal articles and

conference papers in peer review publications. Caroline Moraes

focuses on marketing and consumer ethics, consumer activism, power

issues in consumer culture, and ethical issues in consumer research.

She has worked within the advertising filed, conducted numerous

research projects and has created a number of research papers.

Lastly, Sheena Leek bring in more expertise on the subjects of

marketing, business relationships, the role of social capital in

initiating relationships and branding. In addition, something I think is

very unique is, she has an interest in consumer confusion in high tech

areas.

This article is very useful in identifying very practical problems a SME

can concentrate on when trying to marketing sustainability and how

consumers can actually reciprocate this information. The article says

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that people are influenced by price, value, quality, brand familiarity,

and convenience and that green products should be more accessible.

In addition, to influence people to be more sustainable, marketing

should give consumers information when they are most vulnerable.

For instance, the benefit of washing clothes in cold water could be

exemplified when they are shopping for laundry detergent. In

addition, behavior change is more attainable when people live in an

area that with an abundance of sustainable choices, increasing

consumer outlets for sustainable retailing, shops and/or activities.

Habits are also influences by social norms. To change this, the habit

must be unfrozen by proper institutional structure and incentives,

which should support pro-environmental choices, grass-root

initiatives, and supporting practices and policies.

Although there is many references throughout the text, it does pull

from data that may now be irrelevant. For instance, support was

received from an article written in 1995 while other supporting

documents had been written in 2010. In addition, there does not seem

to be many articles, if any that were created between 2011 to 2016.

Cateora, P. (2011). International marketing. (pp. 14) [Whitby, ON]:

McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

This is a textbook source. I draw upon a figure that demonstrated

what is within control of an organization as well as what is outside of

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the organizations control. The figure was called international

marketing tasks.

The information came from a textbook, making the information that I

drew upon very credible.

It was useful because it exemplified what is within the business’

control. Additionally, it solidified and outlined what factors are out of

an organizations control and what they should control because on

economics, politics and competition. It was useful in reinforcing

certain points made through out my research. The section of how

politics was especially useful because regulations set by governments

are out of a business’ command, but it was good to be pointed out

because sustainability, especially in business, is highly responsive to

newer regulations coming out locally and globally.

Some limitations may be that this graph was pulled from an

international marketing text book. This business is very local;

however, I do believe the information to still be very relevant to the

Edmonton company.

DURALIA, O. (2014). APPLYING SUSTAINABLE MARKETING

STRATEGIES - THE KEY TO OBTAINING COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGES ON THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS MARKET.Studies In

Business & Economics, 9(3), 21-28.

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This is an industry publication article and it talks about sustainability

in regards to production and consumption. The article exemplifies

what a sustainable society entails, what sustainable production and

consumption en-compasses (namely in Europe), and it also outlines

how to create and implement a sustainable marketing strategy and

how to ensure that this strategy makes.

A useful term from this publication was sustainable society. Useful

outlines include; sustainable marketing strategy, competitive

marketing strategy, rethinking traditional manufacturing processes,

orientating producers towards eco-friendly industrial products,

applying the principles of sustainable marketing. Lastly, the new

market opportunities for organic industrial products were great

insight, specifically in the personal care products.

The publication of Business and Economics has been a published since

2007, giving the source profound credibility. In addition, Duralia has

been very involved in research involving marketing, digital marketing,

consumer behavior as well as marketing research.

What was most useful to my research was the sustainable marketing

strategy that the publication had outlined. It showcased the proper

steps in developing strategy as well as how that strategy can help

maintain competitiveness via marketing. The publication also outlined

how producers/suppliers could be influenced to become more eco-

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friendly to better align with the sustainable initiatives that your

marketing strategy may wish to exemplify. Lastly, considering that

this research will help withhold suggestions in the report, the article

was useful in outlining how organic personal care product are seeing

a rapid growth in demand, which is very inline with the reports topic.

This publication is also fairly relevant as it was published in 2014.

A major limitation of this publication in regards to my research was

that it focused on the European market as opposed to the Canadian or

even American market. This makes the validity of my research

somewhat skewed as this geographic region is of little relevance to

me.

Higgins, A. (2016). Sustainable Marketing. Grant Macewan

University.

This was a interview with an industry professional. Angela has had

many years in industry. She has spent a number of years working for

Coca Cola in a number of different sectors. Our conversation revolved

around marketing in general as well as sustainable marketing. Some

key facts mentioned was that competition makes the market

competitive and difficult to stay static and that a market strategy

should be focused on a solid target market.

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Considering Angela’s years of experience with such a high-end

industrial champion such as Coke, Angela has great credibility. In

addition, she has forgone a number of leadership and skills training

session, giving her the insight and skills to make relevant comments

to questions asked.

This conversation was very useful in realizing the importance of

sustainable marketing as well as some key aspects important to

marketing. Angela had mentioned psychographics being an important

aspect when realizing your target market and that often life stages is

also very useful tool too to ensure you are meeting the needs of your

consumer and able to sell a viable amount of your product.

The time that was able to devote to this interview was a limitation.

Also, the fact that we trailed off in conversation and topic also limited

the depth of information Angela was able to give me.

Kilbourne, W. E. (1998). Green Marketing: A Theoretical

Perspective. Journal Of Marketing Management, 14(6), 641-655.

This is an academic journal source. In essence, this article is very

theoretical. Much of what is talks about isn’t what green marketing is

and how you can optimize your operations, it is more about where we

are as a society, namely politically, technological and socially, and

how these are disconnected from green marketing and how we

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essentially need a paradigm shift in those three topics in order to

actually make some kind of conversion. A concept presented is that, in

the industrial era, sustainable green marketing is necessary as well as

difficult. In addition, it says that socio-economic play a role in how a

societies paradigm is positioned. For instance, it will be impossible to

make a shift if people do not realize the intrinsic value of nature and if

people continue to focus on economic efficiency as opposed to

ecological sustainability. I also believe that the quote ‘the problems

we have created cannot be solved with the same thinking that created

them’ is a great quote from Einstein that helps my thinking patterns

shift when looking to find solutions to these issues or when looking to

market these ideas an concepts to potential consumers.

Unfortunately, this article was written in 1998, making the

information outdated. Considering how quick technology, business,

and society shifts in this modern age it is hard to decide how relevant

the information is. That said, this is a very conceptual based paper,

making claims about current state potentially irrelevant to my

research, but the point about paradigm shifts and how things need to

change in regards to intrinsic motivations and ecological importance

still, today, maintain high relevancy. In addition, many of the

references used are from political and economic sources, which is

what the paper chiefly talks about, giving strong support to the

political arguments. There are also a number of progress and

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enlightenment references, supporting the social arguments; however,

these seems to be substantially fewer references that touch on

technology, making that topic somewhat less credible than the other

two topics. The source also said that a marketer’s function is not to

create preferences, but to satisfy them, which is a very enlightening

concept.

This source was very useful in understanding where society, and the

spheres of business-politics-society, sit in a more theoretical point of

view. This source was very different from other sources; it was almost

the devil’s advocate in comparison. For instance, it does not put green

marketing in the line-light, instead, it analyzes some very important

topics and there state, how they need to shift, and what would be

needed in order to make that shift.

Some limitations of the source was that, considering its theoretical

base, it is difficult to consider some things as concrete facts. The ideas

are only as relevant as the arguments made to support them. In

addition, the language was very vague and there were few claims or

concrete descriptions of ideas that could be taken away from the text.

McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A. (2014). Sustainability marketing

research: past, present and future. Journal Of Marketing

Management, 30(11-12), 1186-

1219.doi:10.1080/0267257X.2014.943263

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This is a scholarly article. This article synthesis’ new research as well

as past research in an effort to critically evaluate marketing’s

relationship with the natural environment. It covers different topics

in regards to sustainability as well as the future of this topic. It also

tries to evaluate how future market research could be use to evaluate

sustainability in regards to marketing.

This article explains what sustainable marketing should do as well as

what it should emphasize on. It also raises a lot of great questions,

which would be helpful in assessing the whole topic of ‘sustainable

marketing’.

This article has huge credibility because of all of its references. There

are over 30 different articles referenced in this paper. In addition,

Pierre McDoangh has a PhD in supervision and supervises student as

they do research, sustainability is one of his areas of interest. Also, he

has done many other research papers on numerous topics, again,

sustainability as well as marketing being some of his major focuses.

The other researcher, Andre Prothero, enhances the journals

credibility. His major focuses include consumer behavior, business

ethics, marketing, advertising and green marketing. In addition, he

has conducted many other academic works.

The article was useful in the sense that it makes you think of game

theory. There are many questions posed that the article does not

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answer because they are contingent on the future. This article was

useful in identifying what makes sustainability marketing important

and that it is a process of creating, communicating, and delivering

value to customer in such as way that both natural and human capital

are preserved or enhanced throughout.

This article has limited flaws; however, there is a lot of reflection of

the past as opposed to actionable items.

Morrissey, J. (2016). Sustainable Marketing. 10370 82 Avenue NW

Edmonton, AB T6E 1Z8.

This was an interview with a marketing practitioner. Unfortunately,

there were no useful models or concepts that I was able to pull from

the conversation just useful information as well as exchanges of

opinion and profiling James in his answers that were outliers from

most of my research as well as the other interview conducted.

James is an award-winning marketing professional with 15 years of

experience leading marketing and advertising initiatives for many

large business’ and institutions. He has accredations in educational

and recruitment marketing and is a graduate of the Communications

and Advertising Accredited Professional program. He is also a past

board member of the Advertising Club of Edmonton. Considering his

past work experience, education, and volunteer time, I would say

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James’ insight is quite credible. However, there is potential that his

views are skewed towards the oil industry considering where he

works and age may play a factor in his responses.

A useful fact that James had presented is that sometimes

entrepreneurs are told to go to market when there is still some

market research to be done. Often, entrepreneurs don’t fully

understand their potential customers pains and that where much of

the research should be done. He had also mentioned that when a

business understands what consumer’s pains are, they should

communicate clearly how they can help alleviate that pain. He used

the example of how insurance companies give peace of mind and give

people the freedom to live their lives worry free. Another useful thing

James mentioned is that companies like The Body Shop who operate

on promoting their sustainable operations

Some limitations of this interview was the interviewees

comprehension of sustainable marketing. Some responses touched the

baseline of the questions; however, conversation trailed off into

different, unrelated, topics, reducing how much relevant information I

was able to pull from the conversation. In addition, time constraints

reduced how long conversation was able to go.

Ottman, J. (1993). Green marketing. (pp. 10) Lincolnwood: NTC

business books.

27


This source is a trade book. The book highlights many interesting

topics within sustainable marketing, and there is much that this book

has to contribute. Some key concepts introduced were the

opportunities that await green marketing, what opportunities the

environmental consumer has to offer, it outlines the challenges of

marketing green or sustainable products as well as how you can make

your product or service more green to appeal to the green consumer

and how to communicate this information to consumers in a credible

impactful way.

This book is highly credible as it has expert praise. In addition,

Fortune magazine speculated it as being ‘the business issue of the

decade’ (Ottoman, Jaquelin, pg. xiii). Also, many companies such as

Coca-cola, Franklin Associates, McGrath/Power, U.S EPA, Natural

Resource Defense Council, and many more contributed their time in

reviewing and supporting the creating of this manuscript. These

sources also provided valuable information as well as case studies,

which lead to the creation of the book.

This book looks at some very key marketing concepts and relates

them very well to green marketing. Useful to know that this is not a

fad but a long-term paradigm that consumers will forever support.

There are many step-by-step articulations of different process’, how to

28


get consumers to respond and how to instill proper procedures and

process’ that will up-hold your sustainable image.

This book, as insightful as it was, did have some limitations. The book

is slightly outdated, 1992. In addition, many of the resources and

business’ that aided in creating the information are located in the

United States, lessening how impactful the information is in

marketing in Canada or to Edmontonians.

PRAUDE, V., & BORMANE, S. (2013). SUSTAINABLE MARKETING -

PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES UNDER PRESENT

ECONOMY. Regional Formation & Development Studies, (11), 165-

176.

This is a scholarly article. This article is very marketing focused and

draws to major components that are exemplified in university

institutions, namely marketing strategy. It also delves into consumer

motivations as well as the challenges that come along with marketing

in such a way. There were five very informative models; main criteria

of sustainability, main conditions for sustainable marketing, and

concept of sustainable marketing.

The article makes use of qualitative and quantitative research. For

their qualitative research, the authors conducted polls, comparisons,

and groupings. The researchers were also the ones who performed

29


the market assessment, market research, comparative analyses and

arranged the results. Also, many of the people who were questioned,

which is what created the data presented, are experts in the field of

marketing. Many of the secondary sources are also fairly modern,

making the information relevant to 2016.

In appendix B, the article draws on five useful graphs that exemplify

sustainability. The first graph demonstrates how a company should

incorporate the topic, what business-level it falls under, as well as

how to analyze the topic within the marketing realm. The second

outlines exemplifies what ‘sustainable making’ means to consumers

and what ideas they draw. The third table shows how companies

should focus on the marketing mix and the fourth table rates the

importance of each element displayed. Lastly, the fifth model is one of

the most useful, it connects the criteria of the marketing strategy with

a certain level of importance. In conclusion, this information will be

very useful in deciding what aspects will be most successful when

branding and marking a ‘sustainable’ product.

The research was not conducted in Canada, making the information

slightly less relevant to my research.

Royne, M. B., Thieme, J., Levy, M., Oakley, J., & Alderson, L. (2016).

From thinking green to buying green: consumer motivation makes the

30


difference. Journal Of Business Strategy, 37(3), 37. doi:10.1108/JBS-

12-2014-0151

This is a scholarly article. The article namely assesses the fact that,

although consumer support green consumerism they do not always

follow through with their purchases. Therefore, the research

conducted evaluates demographic criteria’s, motivating consumers to

make these ethical purchases as well as identifying the gap between

intentions and actions.

A key term within the article was sustainable behavior, which are

those actions taken to preserve or protect the ecosystem or

environment. Another useful term identified was green marketing,

which is the strategic focus of the organizations in creating

environmentally friendly products and services.

Credibility

The supporting documents integrated into the article are, for the

majority, recent. This helps uphold the ideas presented and increases

the relevancy of the information presented. A couple of the authors

also have background in Marketing; Dr Marla B. Royne and Dr Jeff

Thieme. In addition, Dr Jared Oakley and Ms Laura L. Anderson are

well versed in Management and Dr Marian Levy has been involved in

different management journal publications and has been involved in

31


numerous health promotion initiatives. The authors have an

overlapping array of expertise, which helps encompass a cumbersome

of intelligible facets, which is always important in marketing.

Usefulness

The findings within the research were very useful. One finding was

that those who felt that waste, popular issues and environmental

technology were important aspects of environmental concern were

more likely to engage in sustainable behaviors in general. Another

finding was that the more health was perceived as an important

environmental concern, the less likely an individual engaged in

recycling activities. In addition, males engaged in more

energy0related behaviors and females more food-related and

recycling behaviors. Asians engaged in the most energy related,

water-reduction and other eco-friendly behaviors of all groups. As

people aged, they are more likely to engage in food-related, water-

reduction, recycling and other eco-friendly behaviors and education

was not related to sustainable behaviors. Those who ranked health as

more important engaged in significantly fewer recycling behaviors.

Green marketing must clearly present the value based on different

ethnic groups that comprise the company’s customer base. Younger

individuals may not be aware of poor consumer choices; therefore, it’s

32


necessary to inform younger consumers. Concern for waste if the

most significant driver of sustainable behaviors.

Limitation

The research was not able to take into account all consumer habits.

Those who fell between the two extremes are not included in the

research findings.

Schroeder, H. (2015). Sustainability Branding: Reducing the Risks

through Organizational Transformation. Sustainability: The Journal Of

Record, 8(1), 18-20. doi:10.1089/SUS.2015.0011

This is an industry publication This article is mostly a general over-

view of the trend of sustainability. In addition, it reflects on how

customers are reacting to sustainable and non-sustainable business

behaviors as well as how organizations can transform, effectively, to

be a more sustainable business and, in turn, brand themselves as

such. A key concept from the text was that a sustainable approach to

business needs to be holistic, and most be adopted at the core of the

business’ values.

This is a very recent document; therefore, information drawn highly

pertains to modern times. That said, the author of this article has little

searchable background, putting the information provided into

question. In addition, the industry publication is difficult to find, which

33


increases the issue of credibility. However, many of the points and

recommendations, essentially, were supported by secondary sources.

This publication is very useful in regards to how a company can

develop itself in regards to sustainability. There is a 8-step model that

explains how to transform your organization into a more sustainable

business. In turn, transforming your business via these steps will

helps make the brand more sustainable as well, a positive benefit

considering the changing consumer trends. The article also touches

on how more organizations can fail in this transformation. It was also

useful to know that consumers often boycott companies for their non-

sustainability.

Some limitations within the article was it’s length. The points

presented in the text were very informative; however, there was little

explanation as to why these are steps in transforming or other

supporting evidence and specific information as to why consumers are

boycotting. Much of the information provided could be viewed

differently based on interpretation bias. There was also a very limited

number of secondary sources that the source referenced.

Smith, T. (1998). The myth of green marketing. Toronto: University of

Toronto Press.

34


This is a trade book. In summary, the trade book outlines how there

are many different points of view regarding environmental crisis and

reflects on people numerous interpretations and brings these together

into a credible understanding so the information can be more

perceived as common sense. There are not any explicit universal key

facts; however, there is a lot of useful information.

This source has drawn upon a number of resources, all of which

encompass myths of green consumption and consumers, our economic

future in relation to ethics and the environment as well as the

marketing and green industry. The source is very well structured, and

it takes into account many points of view. Considering this, this is a

very credible source.

This trade book is very useful. The simply structure and what each

section elaborates on is very relevant to my research. Specific topics

such as signification of ‘consume’, consumption-centered economics,

and social leveling are some of the most useful topics in regards to my

research. In addition, there is a section, Analysis of Examples, that

helps to understand applying the concepts that the journal has

presented.

TAŞÇIOĞLU, M. (2015). USING CASE METHODS IN THE STUDY OF

GREEN MARKETING STRATEGIES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM

ENTERPRISES (SMEs): A PROSPECTIVE CASE STUDY DESIGN FOR

35


SMEs IN A NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY, TURKEY. Journal

Of International Social Research, 8(41), 1303-1307.

This is a scholarly article. This article was a research paper and

explored green marketing strategies of SMEs. It had a very relevant

diagram as to the levels of green or sustainability a company can

incorporate into its business model, this is figure 6 green marketing

strategy mix. It was interesting to see that depending on the

sustainability of the business in relation to the marketing mix can

influence how differentiable the company, product, or service can be

from others.

This article and the topics presented are not very common. When

searching in Google the four different kinds of green product

strategies and how differentiable that would make your company,

there was nothing. Additionally, the idea of cost reduction and

promotion was sound, information on how to price things was unclear.

In addition, there were few references. This article’s main points

should be under review and should not be taken as fact unless

supporting evidence is found

The information on the green marketing strategy mix was directly

developed on the premise that SME’s would be implementing its

strategies. This makes the diagram very useful to my research. It was

useful to see that a lean marketing mix focuses on product, a

36


defensive mix focuses on product and promotion, shaded green

focuses on product price and promotion and extreme green focuses on

all four; product, price, place, promotion.

A limitation of this article was that the study conducted was meant for

Turkey companies, not for Canadian companies, let alone an

Edmonton SME. In addition, the information was very general and

there were no concrete details on what segments did specifically in

relation to the marketing mix.

Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M., & Gremler, D. (2013). Services marketing.

(pp. 33-48) New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

This is a text book source. The section I have drawn upon is called the service provider

gap models. It has many relevant figures that outline what consumers are receiving as

opposed to what consumers would want or what would make the service the best possible

service. Although it is about service, it is very applicable to products as well because it

focuses on closing any gaps a consumer may feel towards the business and the

product/service they are receiving. The gaps that were displayed included; the listening

gap, the service design and standards gap, the service performance gap, and the

communication gap.

This is a text book, therefor it is safe to say that it is a very credible source.

All the gaps are a useful tool in determining how to be the best business for your

consumers. I think for my research it is useful to to hear and understand what consumers

37


want and then execute. Considering my research is aimed in providing our client a new

form of marketing that is almost unique, I think these tools will be useful when trying to

later evaluate strategies put in place. The gap models provided are great in displaying

where short-falls can be seen and it demonstrates clearly how a business can correct there

short-comings.

A limitation of this source is that it does not focus on products. Additionally, it does not

focus on sustainable marketing practices.

38


Appendix A - References

Altafer, P. (2013). In natural products, everything old is new

again. Functional Ingredients, (127), 14.

Belz, F. & Peattie, K. (2009). Sustainability marketing (pp. 129, 133-

139, 154, 164). Chichester: Wiley.

Carrigan, M., Moraes, C., & Leek, S. (2011). Fostering Responsible

Communities: A Community Social Marketing Approach to

Sustainable Living. Journal of Business Ethics, (3). 515.

Cateora, P. (2011). International marketing. (pp. 14) [Whitby, ON]:

McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

DURALIA, O. (2014). APPLYING SUSTAINABLE MARKETING

STRATEGIES - THE KEY TO OBTAINING COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGES ON THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS MARKET.Studies

In Business & Economics, 9(3), 21-28.

Higgins, A. (2016). Sustainable Marketing. Grant Macewan

University.

Kilbourne, W. E. (1998). Green Marketing: A Theoretical

Perspective. Journal Of Marketing Management, 14(6), 641-655.

39


McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A. (2014). Sustainability marketing

research: past, present and future. Journal Of Marketing

Management, 30(11-12), 1186-

1219.doi:10.1080/0267257X.2014.943263

Morrissey, J. (2016). Sustainable Marketing. 10370 82 Avenue NW

Edmonton, AB T6E 1Z8.

Ottman, J. (1993). Green marketing. (pp. 10) Lincolnwood: NTC

business books.

PRAUDE, V., & BORMANE, S. (2013). SUSTAINABLE MARKETING --

PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES UNDER PRESENT

ECONOMY. Regional Formation & Development Studies, (11), 165-

176.

Royne, M. B., Thieme, J., Levy, M., Oakley, J., & Alderson, L. (2016).

From thinking green to buying green: consumer motivation makes the

difference. Journal Of Business Strategy, 37(3), 37. doi:10.1108/JBS-

12-2014-

0151

Schroeder, H. (2015). Sustainability Branding: Reducing the Risks

through Organizational Transformation. Sustainability: The Journal Of

Record, 8(1), 18-20. doi:10.1089/SUS.2015.0011

40


Smith, T. (1998). The myth of green marketing. Toronto: University of

Toronto Press.

Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M., & Gremler, D. (2013). Services marketing.

(pp. 33-48) New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

41


Appendix B

Figure 1: Main criteria for sustainability

Figure 2:Main conditions for sustainable marketing

42


Figure 3: Concept of sustainable marketing

Figure 4: Importance of observation of internal environmental criteria at Latvian companies according to experts, in percentages

Figure 5: Criteria for marketing strategy of Latvian companies by importance according to experts, in percentage

43


Figure 6: Green Marketing Strategy Matrix

Figure 7: The Art and Science of Transformation InitiativeThe Art and Science of Transformation Initiative

1. Ensure that sustainability goals are clearly defined and that proposed branding is well aligned with these goals

2. Identify potential cultural barriers, such as an emphasis on cost reduction or on short-term financial results

3. Reviewing organizational and processes to identify other likely barriers to change, such as lack of adequate mechanisms for communicating with suppliers, or an absence of sustainability goals in individual-level performance plans

4. Ensuring the organization has the right combination of art and science skills and expertise to undergo successful transformation for sustainability, and addressing gaps or weaknesses through training, development, and recruitment initiatives.

5. Developing and implementing strategies for communicating with and involving employees and other stakeholders in the development of the strategic sustainability initiative and in setting goals for their own areas of work

6. Modify or redesign performance systems, compensation and rewards, etc., to remove barriers to sustainability and to promote the values and behaviors necessary to achieve it

7. Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the changes on the achievement of sustainability goals and making further modifications as necessary

8. Refining sustainability branding messages and content to reflect real performance and achievements

44


Figure 8: The provider gaps

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sustainable marketing - final version

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