An investigation of green marketing practices: The relationship between green marketing, competitive advantage and brand image of fast-moving consumer goods
An investigation of green marketing practices: The relationship between green marketing, competitive advantage and brand image of fast-moving consumer goods.
Business and Management- Higher Level
5th November 2012
Word Count: 3986
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to investigate how effective green marketing is in terms of competitive advantage of brand image for fast-moving consumer goods.
Initially, the paper differentiates the use of green marketing and regular marketing for clearer understanding. Next, company profiles of Proctor & Gamble and Unilever, both FMCG companies, were obtained through secondary research. By doing so, a positive correlation was found with the use of green marketing and increase of market share for both the companies. However, the assumptions behind this argument lacked concrete evidence to ensure green marketing was the cause of the increased sales figures and market share.
Therefore, business theories such as CSR processes and brand-positioning maps allow additional input to evaluate the effectiveness of green marketing for competitive advantage. The CSR process diagrams indicate the possible disadvantages that arise with green marketing, such as greenwashing. While the brand-positioning maps show how green marketing may be effective in terms of maintaining competitive advantage in an over-all perspective of brand image. The conclusion of this paper discusses how green marketing can be beneficial for competitive advantage if consumers are attracted to protecting the environment, however it can be detrimental to a firm’s image as well if not implemented in the right way. Yet, when it comes to the brand image of a firm, companies that utilize green marketing tend to have an advantage for an over-all positive perception of the firm compared to companies that fall back on this opportunity by not utilizing green marketing.
Likewise, the conclusion also states the importance of noting
Business and Management- Higher Level
5th November 2012
Word Count: 3986
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to investigate how effective green marketing is in terms of competitive advantage of brand image for fast-moving consumer goods.
Initially, the paper differentiates the use of green marketing and regular marketing for clearer understanding. Next, company profiles of Proctor & Gamble and Unilever, both FMCG companies, were obtained through secondary research. By doing so, a positive correlation was found with the use of green marketing and increase of market share for both the companies. However, the assumptions behind this argument lacked concrete evidence to ensure green marketing was the cause of the increased sales figures and market share.
Therefore, business theories such as CSR processes and brand-positioning maps allow additional input to evaluate the effectiveness of green marketing for competitive advantage. The CSR process diagrams indicate the possible disadvantages that arise with green marketing, such as greenwashing. While the brand-positioning maps show how green marketing may be effective in terms of maintaining competitive advantage in an over-all perspective of brand image. The conclusion of this paper discusses how green marketing can be beneficial for competitive advantage if consumers are attracted to protecting the environment, however it can be detrimental to a firm’s image as well if not implemented in the right way. Yet, when it comes to the brand image of a firm, companies that utilize green marketing tend to have an advantage for an over-all positive perception of the firm compared to companies that fall back on this opportunity by not utilizing green marketing.
Likewise, the conclusion also states the importance of noting