Green Side Marketing

Whenever there's a significant change in society's needs, brands must evolve their products or services to best meet them. That is nothing new, and we are now in the midst of such change—a perfect storm brought on by the economic downturn, emerging consumer interest in sustainability, and the power of social media.

But marketers seem to be having trouble figuring out how to meet the resulting societal needs. That's in part why The Social Studies Group and I partnered to study what we call the "Green Mom Eco-cosm."

Whether for reasons of cost savings or family health, women who are moms, write blogs, and self-identify as "green" have exactly the motivation and conviction marketers need to understand right now.

The influence those women wield in the emerging environmental side of brands and products is powerful. The well-being of their children and safety of their homes are crucial to how and why they buy.

Thanks to the blogosphere and the information available online in general, those women have become very educated about what may be harmful to their families and the environment in which they live.

Finally, once they gain that knowledge, they are driven to share what they learn with the large, likeminded communities they have built.