Architects Looking For More Than Green Talk From Product Manufacturers
By Nick Glenn, Green Ad Agency
I was in Miami a few weeks ago for the AIA Convention and it wasn’t only the weather that was hot. Architects at a breakfast symposium I attended readily showed their disdain for product manufacturers who think they are playing them at the “Green Game”.
The consensus among those in attendance was that manufacturers typically try to talk down to them and just do the minimum when it comes to sustainable solutions. It’s not about LEED and LEED points. The Architect views sustainability as much more and has moved on. They opined that they didn’t just discover sustainability like most product manufacturers, but rather they have been committed to it for the last eight years and see it as an essential part of the design process. They have leapfrogged LEED and now see sustainability in more macro terms; they see it as an integral part of the environment process and feel obligated to protect it.
They believe product manufacturers view sustainability more as the latest marketing handle and therefore as a business opportunity. They also believe that manufacturers really are still grappling with the challenge of their own individual product qualifications and are not seeing it in the bigger picture. Some pioneering manufacturers have seen the future of sustainability and are embracing it and have an environmental positioning philosophy. One such company to watch and study is Armstrong. Armstrong is not viewing their product offering as just a ceiling application but rather a way to make the total interior environment better. Other manufacturers would do well to take notice.
Architects today want to know what your long-term philosophy is and where you are going. They want to be convinced you are as responsible as they are and have a long-term vision. Architects believe in loyalty when earned. That’s why marketers need to consider creating long-term image advertising to support their environmental positions and not worry so much about just ticking the appropriate box and watching to see how many leads it generates.
I believe that while most companies are still in the throes of figuring out whether sustainability is a technical issue or a sales and marketing tool, architects have already decided. They want to know about your corporate philosophy and see evidence of your commitment. It goes back to what I have discussed in previous articles: most product manufacturers are still viewing sustainability as short-term while architects are thinking long. For manufacturers to be successful they are going to have to change their sustainability thinking. Making your marketing message green while showing your product in an idyllic surrounding, or claiming you’re so green you’ve worn out your Birkenstocks is no longer enough. Time is past for just talking the talk; manufacturers must truly walk the walk. Companies that don’t will eventually see whatever short-term benefits of their green marketing strategy erased.
Nick Glenn is President of The Green Ad Agency, which formed as an offshoot of The Ludlow Group, a Virginia Beach, Virginia based advertising and marketing agency with a 15-year track record of selling into the A/E/C community. He can be reached at (757) 463-4703 or by email: nick@thegreenadagency.com.
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