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Vietnams emerging environmental disgrace / opportunities
Much has been written and said about environmental pollution of
the past 2 years in Vietnam. Considering
that in both 2009 and 2010 TNS Consumer Confidence Poll,
environmental pollution was the number one
concern of Vietnams average consumer.
Environmental pollution 2009 vs 2010
How do you see environmental pollution in the next 12
months?
In 2010 over 60% of Vietnams urban population noted that
environmental pollution would become much
worse / a little worse in 2010, compared to 2009. Now for once
you do not need to commission a survey to
realize that this is true. Just stick your head out the window
and breathe that beautifully petro scented
flavour called air in HCMC or Hanoi, or have a look at our
rivers and waterways and it is easy to see why
environmental pollution has become a genuine cause for
concern.
Since the majority of businesses in Vietnam are either consumer
driven or at least a business to business
model, more and more companies appear to be going green, in an
effort to help market their products and
services to Vietnamese consumers and businesses alike.
Having grown up in Canada, one of the more green countries in
the world and a true pioneer, when it comes
to environmental protectionism, I personally have very strong
views on this issue. So before I begin to
address the key message of this article What do marketers need
to do and communicate to sell their
green products and services, let me point out that Environmental
protectionism is every person in Vietnams
responsibility, not just companies who wish to truly help, or
use green products and services as a sales
mechanism.
First and foremost, education of Vietnams businesses and general
population is a must if Vietnam is going
to tackle this issue in a true sense. Vietnam needs to make this
a priority of its economic policy movingforward, to ensure, we do
not ruin, one of the most beautiful countries on earth.
The Government needs to impose severe penalties, such as fines
and license withdrawals to big polluters
and provide incentives, such as tax breaks and preferential
trade incentives, for companies who invest in
green technology, to begin to truly address this issue.
In a survey TNS conducted at the end of 2008, it became
incredibly obvious that the average population has
a true lack of knowledge of what environmental pollution is all
about. Almost 70% of those surveyed noted
not litteringas being the action they take to protect Vietnams
environment, as well as being the most
important action they could take to protect their own
environment. In contrast, only 20% noted using more
public transportation, walking, bicycling or using more
environmentally friendly means of transportation and
only 4% considered this to be the most important action they
could take to help save the environment.
14
5
3
22
20
9
38
27
24
36
1
1
2009
2010
Far better Alittle better Same A little wors e Far worse DK
Source: TNS Consumer Confidence Poll 2009-2010
TNS Vietnam
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Dist. 1, HCM City, Vietnam
t +848 821 5727
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Hence, before discussing marketing opportunities, an overall
mass education campaign needs to be
implemented before environmentally green products can take off
in Vietnam.
Globally, using green products is indeed becoming a trend and
has been in the developed world. However,
in the developing world environmental product use is indeed up,
but not nearly as high as awareness is. This
is very true for Vietnam, where 7 out of 10 consumers say they
prefer environmentally friendly products and
are now aware of Green Products, but whether they are willing to
spend more money on such products is
another story.
For marketers, the first and foremost issue they face is
educating their consumers on the real issues we are
facing. Secondly, marketers should align themselves with
reputable Green Groups and Associations toensure that what is being
communicated about product X and Service Y can actually be
substantiated.
In the context of green products and services, every little bit
helps. Marketers need to make consumers
aware of how the product and service actually helps the
environment in both the short and long term
sustainability of a clean Vietnam.
This can be accomplished in many ways. For instance, companies
can highlight their actions in terms of
Substituting harmful chemicals / product ingredients with
healthier ones
Can reduce their packaging and the waste materials from
packaging
Energy efficiency initiatives
Green Credits
Recycling programs
Just as with any marketing initiative, those who are able to
break communication down in to meaningful and
easily understood consumer language combined with relevant
connections to their audience will also be the
ones who come out in front. Relevant connections and end
benefits can be more emotive, such as ensuring
a beautiful legacy for their children and the future of Vietnam,
and/or can be made tangible by demonstrating
how being green can also often mean saving/greater value in the
longer term of lower healthcare costs,
even if there is a small premium to pay.
Other ways to market Green is by providing communication about
what the company is doing to support
environmental programs, such as waste management, alternative
fuel exploration and many, many other
69
45
39
34
26
20
17
45
13
5
7
13
4
4
3
51
Not littering
Use less energy (gas, electricity)
Use less water
Less use plastic bags
Recycle/separate waste items for
recycling
Use energy saving bulbs/ solar
power lights
Walk or use more bicycle /
electric bicycle
Use more public transport
Actions Most important
What are we doing to look after the environment?
Current actions vs Perceived most important action
Source: TNS VietCycle 2008
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great causes. It can be as simple as having you and your staff
spending a Saturday cleaning up the sides of
roads or parks or rivers.
As Vietnamese consumers are becoming more brand savvy and much
more aspirational, Green products
and services need to communicate their premiumness, not only as
a product function, but as a global value
system in terms of environmental sustainability . Having a
selective and unique appeal, will certainly draw
Vietnams ever increasing aspirational and demanding consumers
towards environmentally friendly
products.
Green initiatives must come from all of us and thus the best
place to start is in your own office with your own
staff. Initiate energy efficiency programs such as lights out at
lunch, recycling paper and using recyclable
products. The more company owners do within their own companies,
the more the message is received and
the faster Vietnam will catch up to the rest of the world.
However, as noted before, this issue goes way beyond businesses.
Consumers need to be more informed
and need to demand better environmental products and services
from manufacturers. The simplest
message a consumer can give, is to switch to more Green
products, but this requires information, which
nowadays can very often be garnered from the internet.
Marketers can thus use the internet to allow consumers to better
understand what their environmental
policies are and what they are doing to help our Mother Earth.
Communicating the visual effects of
Vietnams environmental key issues, such as littering, electric
efficiency, etc, helps as it addresses obvious
issues. However, marketers need to embrace the bigger issues as
well, as these are the real global
concerns, which will have much longer lasting impact on the
world and Vietnam. Few people know this, but if
Global warming is indeed a fact, Vietnam would be one of the
very first countries negatively impacted, as
both the Mekong and Red River Deltas are well below sea level
and would be lost immediately. Makes you
think doesnt it?
Ultimately, in a country such as Vietnam, which is still
developing and where consumers are still looking to
have the latest and greatest mobile phone or motorcycle, while
others are still looking to feed their families
nutritious meals on a daily basis, Marketing Green, will not be
easy for most, since most environmentally
green products cost more.
We should all reflect on the words of Vietnams first and most
famous environmentalist, Ho Chi Minh, who
said, for every tree cut down, you need to plant two in its
place, which should act as a lesson for all of us.
The Green movement has always been a grass roots initiative and
it is thus the responsibility of each of us
to start with baby steps today, as tomorrow may be too late.
Ralf Matthaes, Managing Director, TNS Vietnam
Vietnamese Brand Perceptions
Source: TNS VietCycle 2008There are no real differences
between
the brands available in the market
I prefer local Vietnamese brands
Vietnamese brands are as good
as international brands
I prefer to buy well-know brands
I like to use the brand which
shows my success
Im willing to pay more for
higher quality brands
I prefer brands with a healthy /
environmental focus
I am equally concerned about
Price and quality
73%
