Are Sustainable Brands Targeting the Wrong People?
Knowing your audience is one of the most important parts of marketing.
Most sustainable marketing campaigns are geared towards Gen Z and Millennials, specifically females. Surprising? No. Problematic? Yes.
By targeting only a small demographic, marketing campaigns are missing out on large groups of people who do care about sustainability.
Doing this makes people think since they aren’t being targeted with sustainability ads, maybe sustainability isn’t relevant to them.
Obviously this is hugely problematic. Sustainability involves people of all ages and genders.
Studies have disproved the traditional mindset of thinking younger generations are the only ones who care about the environment.
One study done in the UK found that in the over 55 age group it was found that 84% were more likely to reduce waste, and 47% were more likely to buy seasonal produce.
Even here at Random Acts of Green over 70% of our business members are categorized as Gen X or Baby Boomers.
This is likely because older generations care about the planet they’re leaving behind for future generations. They are more likely to modify their behaviour when considering the impact their actions will have on their grandkids and children.
Additionally, Boomers have more disposable income to spend.
Sustainable brands should be marketing to older demographics because they are motivated and action-oriented, and should not be ignored in the sustainability discussion.
Sustainability is a gender neutral topic.
However, sustainable brands tend to market themselves towards women by using “feminine” words such as “caring” for the planet, or “mother earth”.
Inherently, there is nothing wrong with those terms, it’s just that men have a harder time relating to them.
Because men feel they cannot relate to these marketing campaigns, they dissociate themselves from sustainability.
Men make up half the population, and therefore we need to include them in the sustainability discussion.
Sustainable marketing needs to invite everyone to the table.
We can no longer afford to ignore groups of people who don’t fit the stereotypical sustainable image.
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