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current branding

Awareness is relatively small compared to the number of customers who are interested in green products.

According to the market research firm Mintel International Group Ltd., the market for "green" cleaning products grew 262% from 2003 to 2008 and is projected to grow 873% by 2013.

Competition for customers is increasing. The Clorox Co. now offers "Green Works" cleaning products that are made from plant-based, biodegradable materials. S.C. Johnson and Son Inc.'s "Greenlist" seal rates the environmental sustainability of the company's products, including Windex.

current branding

When it comes to advertising, Seventh Generation is no Clorox or Colgate-Palmolive, but the 21-year-old green home and personal care products maker has stepped up its marketing efforts as of late.

Launch of "Protect Planet Home," the brand’s first national ad campaign includes spots, via Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, advocating a chemical-free world where "the five-second rule is extended" and "where no one holds their breath while they’re cleaning."

The campaign is part of the company’s mission to raise awareness of environmentally responsible products. With the market for green cleaning products growing - and even influencing larger competitors - the company is looking to increase marketing, new product innovation and brand awareness, to the point where 45% of U.S. households will have heard of, or tried, the brand.

current branding

“The current plan is to inform consumers of the Seventh Generation story about protecting planet home and protecting a broader planet. Competing with the big consumer packaged goods companies, but not like them. We will continue to grow and build the business our way.”- Jeffrey Hollender, CEO

Current outreach: grassroots, our dialogue with national Seventh Generation brand advocate members, social media, digital, and PR,

as well as a broader reach like TV and print.

insights

BW: What’s the biggest marketing challenge facing Seventh Generation?

CM: Almost nine out of 10 consumers haven’t really heard of us. Even fewer have actually picked up and bought our products. We are really a new product for most of the population. The small percentage that do buy us, the turnout is big, but we believe there is opportunity for close to half of the population—that is, we think about 45 percent of households in the U.S. that have an attitude and mindset that should make them interested in our products—and [help close] the gap between our current household penetration of 10 percent.

insights

Competition: Method; heavy focus on design to the point where they are being fashionable as a product. Something to take a page from. Other green cleaners are dropping their price points and doing nothing other than getting to a better value proposition.

Currently, spending less time on design and the cheap and easy route and focusing more on the the customer and living out a philosophy.

This needs to come to the forefront.

insights

New campaign and disinfectant product just launched in Whole Foods: the first ever, natural disinfectant. A disinfectants’ safety and toxicity always comes into play and consumers basically have to make a choice between one or the other, but this is the first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved disinfectant that’s been tested to be safe and effective.

insights

A woman in Oakland, California was frantic because her toddler had gotten under the sink, pulled out the powdered dishwasher detergent, and she saw evidence that the child had eaten some, and frantically called 9-1-1. The operator

asked what brand the child had eaten and she said, 'Seventh Generation.' 'Not to worry, nothing is harmful in

that product. Just give him plenty of water and he’ll be fine,' the operator said.

“”

insights

strategies

Further authenticityCreate a stir that goes one step beyond selling eco-conscious cleaning products by becoming a leader in pushing consumers to demand a chemical policy reform from Congress.

Million Dollar SpokesMothersFind advocates to become official representatives of the crawl and get their city involved with the movement to pass the reform.

Take it to Capitol HillLook for government officials to get involved to build up a government leadership in affiliation with Seventh Generation.

Clear ConscienceCreate branding around not only a clean home but a clean state of mind as well.

tactics

Baby CrawlsContinue the create buzz about the reform through mechanical baby crawls throughout major metropolitan cities.

Arrange crawls within each city. Create one major event. Refer to Rock the Cradle to learn about the crawl and the philosophy of “Protecting Planet Home”. This will lead to a viral buzz that will spread the movement throughout each major city around the country.

Clear your ConsciousCreate a guerilla marketing campaign that is centered on the idea of cleaning up your space by using Seventh Generation cleaning products to clean up a vandalized building.

Diaper CatchTV spot: Catching bad cleaning products in diapers and ridding them of clean homes.

WebsiteExpand upon the website and infuse the political aspect in with the clean.