Promotional products can send a green message

Written by Shirley Lichti for The Record, September 19, 2007

Today it seems just about everyone has gone green. And it hasn't taken long for marketers to take notice.

Having first introduced environmentally-friendly products 20 years ago, Loblaw sensed consumers were now ready to do more and recently offered reusable shopping bags made from 85 per cent recycled material. At 99 cents, they quickly sold out.

Reusable bags aren't new. They've been available for decades. However, Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, had a tremendous impact on consumer attitudes, creating the perfect marketing environment to introduce a move away from plastic bags.

It was inevitable that environmental concerns would change other marketing practices. So I wasn't surprised to receive an e-newsletter from a promotional products company touting its "green" products.

Ron Plasschaert, a promotional marketing consultant with M.P. Russo & Associates in Clinton, Ontario, says the firm has embraced eco-friendly products as a socially responsible way to support clients' sales initiatives.

Like the reusable Loblaw bags, eco-friendly promotional products have been around for a while. What's new, Plasschaert says, is that the tide has turned and there is now consumer demand for such products. In this industry he notes it's important "to stay competitive, and adding more green products to our offerings lets us do that."

To qualify as eco-friendly, products must be recycled, sustainable, non-polluting and/or organic. Visit M.P Russo's website (www.mprusso.com) and you'll find products that satisfy all four categories.

For example, products such as business portfolios, water bottles, and key chains, are made of recycled or reclaimed materials. Other products promote reuse, as in the case of cloth shopping bags.

Sustainable products use renewable resources. Unique products range from seeded paper bookmarks to mugs and golf tees made from 100 per cent corn plastic, which is biodegradable.

The third category includes nonpolluting and natural products that contain no harmful chemicals or are battery free. Solar or hand-crank powered devices such as radios and flashlights are innovative examples that fall under this heading.

Lastly, products can be organic, such as tote bags made from 100 per cent organic cotton, bamboo or hemp.

Promotional products - eco-friendly or not - have many strengths for marketing programs. They are targeted, since you have complete control over who receives them. Many offer long-term advertising value, continuing to promote your company for years to come.

There's also a goodwill factor Plasschaert says, because clients appreciate and thank you for the products.

Yet critics many promotional items end up in the trash and the industry is often referred to as "trinkets and trash."

Plasschaert cringes when he hears the term. He says the "trash" perception persists because many consumers aren't educated about how to use promotional products. In his consultations with clients, the most important lesson he communicates is: "Just because you have your name on a product, doesn't mean it's promoting your company."

He defines promotional products as "any item of usefulness that is given away free and without obligation." And to be useful, he says there must be a good fit between the company and the promotional item. So he invests a lot of time to understand the client's business objectives before taking an order.

A client once asked him for computer mouse pads to use as a volunteer recruitment tool. But after a discussion, it became clear they would not be a good fit in meeting the organization's objectives.

A good acid test when choosing a promotional item is to put yourself in the recipient's shoes. How you would react if you were given the product? If you wouldn't use it, chances are others won't either.

Green promotional items cost a little more than their counterparts. Still, many companies buy them because they want to be perceived as good corporate citizens.

Given this, are some industries more likely to embrace eco-friendly products than others?

Plasschaert says no, but notes he has seen a great deal of interest from municipal health units and not-for-profit organizations. Environmental organizations also like green products because of the match with the objectives they are trying to promote.

Is there a return on investment for companies that go green? Plasschaert says it's still too early to tell. However, consumers have clearly signalled a desire to change. The response to an M.P. Russo email announcing its eco-friendly products was almost twice the normal response rate.

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