In a study called RE:THINKING CONSUMPTION by Raphael Bemporad, Amy Hebard and Daniel
Bressler, they write about how brands can overcome common barriers to
purchasing more sustainable products. They list these barriers, some of the
ones they include are: “It didn’t cost more”, “You got rewarded in some way”
and “You had a better idea of what makes products environmentally and socially
responsible.”
Last week, I
wrote about Subaru and their green initiatives. I thought that the barrier that
applied most to them would be the one relating to sustainability, “You had a
better idea of what makes products environmentally and socially responsible.”
So, essentially someone would say they chose one product over another because
they had a better idea of what makes it environmentally responsible.
If I were help
Subaru to position a product in a different way in their advertisements in
order to eliminate potential purchasing barriers, I would make sure it was very
clear that they are making huge efforts as far as sustainability. We will take
the Impreza 2012 for example. Subaru has so many positives that they can use to
their advantage like, the fact that they have set up a vehicle recycling
project team to design future vehicles that are easier to recycle, and that all
Subaru vehicles meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards which
measure the environmental impact of each vehicle individually. Plus they were the first plant to achieve zero landfill status. And on top of
that, the Impreza 2012 is a PZEV vehicle which stands for partial zero
emissions vehicle. So basically, it produces much less emissions than other
vehicles. If I were Subaru, I would focus my advertisements on the PZEV
feature. This is something huge as far as being eco-friendly. If they make
their sustainability efforts known, and make sure everyone understands PZEV
this would be a huge selling point. They could sell a lot more cars and
eliminate many barriers if they were just more thoroughly informed about the
product and company. This video explains the companies story with
sustainability, and this one explains PZEV. Subaru could use these points when
trying to advertise the Impreza 2012 to customers. They would eliminate the
barrier of, “You had a better idea of what makes products environmentally and
socially responsible.” And then they would potentially sell a lot more
vehicles.
Sources:
Love your blog post this week! I think you did a more than excellent job of answering the question posed, adding a good amount of credible information and personal voice. You combined the positives of Subaru you mentioned last week ,with an actual product, talking about how they can overcome a potential barrier. I had a few questions that you may want to expand on in your post to give a more detailed view of your marketing plan. In your personal opinion do you honestly believe that seeing a vehicle has more environmental features will increase sales? Its great that the product does, but sometimes I feel unless you are a "green" enthusiast, this might not mean much. Should Subaru market these sustainable features to a specific target market, such as people who already exhibit sustainable lifestyles (as referenced in the Attitude vs. Involvement article we read)? Just some food for thought!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job hyper linking and adding videos this week. There is actually a way to insert the video into your blog, on your blog creation page, next to insert image button. Let me know if you need help. In addition maybe a works cited in MLA or APA format at the end of your post, plus some in-text citations may add to the credibility and professionalism of your work. Again, great blog this week!
I agree that in order to help Subaru get rid of their purchasing barriers they should use their advertisements. Like I mentioned in my comment from last week, Subaru is great with positioning their cars in advertisements in a way that really grabs the attention of the viewers. By them clearly showing viewers how they plan on making changes in their sustainability, I think it will have a great effect on their business. It’s great to know that Subaru has a vehicle recycling project team because it shows that they really do care about the environment considering they want their cars to be recycled in the future. That’s also great to learn that they do not add to the waste in many landfills throughout the United States. I think you picked a great company because they definitely have many great advantages when it comes to being a sustainable company. Great post this week!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I know just about NOTHING about cars, so I'm completely in the dark about the companies and the features that the different models have, etc. But, one thing that any and every company has something to do with is the conversation on sustainability. So, while i don't understand the company or product, I understand the problem at hand - sustainability. Anyway, I think it's great that they are doing so much to be economically and environmentally conscious. You're right, that barrier could so easily be removed by simply being more openly informative about their practices.
ReplyDelete