I received a copy of Jacquelyn Ottman’s The New Rules of Green Marketing for review a few weeks ago, and have been intrigued and engaged about the ideas presented inside since I picked it up to read last week.
The subtitle of the book is “Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding.” It is intended to mean “for those looking to market their brands in a sustainable fashion, here are some ideas, checklists, and practical knowledge to make that happen”. The reason everyone should read the book is that the headline could also easily mean and deliver upon this message: “here are some ideas, checklists and practical knowledge for anyone who strives to build a brand with longevity”.
Ottman’s rules transcend just “green marketing” to “good marketing”.
I should share that I don’t teach a course or have a client currently engaged in specific green marketing efforts. I read this book because it is a growing field, and I wanted to learn more about it. And candidly I read it with a bit of skeptical air – to me marketing is marketing, specific sub-fields are great but are simply focus against particular ways to use the core concepts in a particular way. Rarely do I find a book that stays true to the craft but extends it meaningfully in a particular direction – Groundswell was another of the rare books that met this hurdle.
This book is about being a great marketer, meeting current consumer needs and often demands for responsible brand values and activities, and is a terrific source of great ideas and stories of how to market well. Its big difference is that the stories are specifically green in nature and that the guidelines are exclusive to green communication. That said, woe is the brand of any ilk that doesn’t take these lessons to heart.
Ms. Ottman is one smart marketer. I’d recommend anyone in the profession picking this book up, pouring yourself a cup of tea, and immersing yourself in a fine read that will leave you energized about our craft and with tools to create better brands in an ever-changing world.
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Either you read really fast or it was luck but AdAge just reviewed this book as well. On my reading list it goes
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