Green Internet Marketing Fails to Persuade Teens

Today is Earth Day, and much is being written about the various successes and failures of the environmental movement. Though it may seem like environmental messages are everywhere you turn, a new survey by Generate Insight has found that green organizations could be doing a better job of capitalizing on their very positive public image among teens.

The survey targeted Millennials, the generation of people aged 13 to 29, and asked how they perceive the green movement and whether their purchasing decisions mirror those perceptions. Though the top three words associated with the green movement were responsible, smart, and cool, over 70% of respondents aged 13 to 17 said they would buy a less expensive product rather than one that gave back to the environment.

Perhaps not coincidentally, this was the same demographic group that was least impacted by the Internet marketing efforts of environmentalists. Eighty-five percent of 13- to 17-year-olds said school was their main source of environmental education versus 79% of Millennials who learn primarily via the Internet.

Two primary points in the Generate Insight survey could benefit from renewed marketing efforts by environmentalists:

• Just 48% of 13- to 17-year-olds believe they can make a difference, because the magnitude of environmental problems is overwhelming.

• Most Millennials are unsure why environmentally friendly products are more expensive.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.