Author: Drew Neisser

As the 800 pound gorilla of retail, when Wal-Mart embraces something like eco-friendly light bulbs , you can expect a lot of consumers to suddenly see the light. And I mean a lot of consumers — Wal-Mart is hoping to sell 100 million of these bulbs in 2007. According to Wal-Mart’s press release:

With nearly 20 percent of all home electric costs stemming from lighting alone, CFLs can have tremendous benefits. Converting one conventional 60W bulb to a 13W CFL can save: $30 in electric costs over its lifetime; 10 conventional bulbs from being produced, transported and discarded in a landfill; 220 lbs. of coal from being burned; and 450 lbs. of greenhouse gases from reaching the air. The average home has more than 30 compatible sockets, which means even more potential savings.

Despite the fact that these bulbs cost 9-12 times more than conventional bulbs, consumers will soon realize that the savings to themselves, not to mention the environment saving, make the eco-friendly bulbs a better value. I know we will be adding them to our shopping list this year, especially now that they have developed “softer” light versions.

I believe that Wal-Mart’s commitment to eco-friendly products will ultimately help them pull out of their current slump and go along way to lessen the hostility many people have toward this retailing behemoth. Feels like Marketing for Good to me.

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In recognition that resolution making is indeed a team sport, Nike has enhanced one of its websites to help runners and other jocks meet their goals in 2007. As reported by Promo Xtra:

Visitors to the Nike+ site can craft running challenges for themselves or send one to friends. In addition, athletes can track their progress with the Nike+ system, which records miles, pace, time, and calories burned online, according to each challenge set…

There’s a price to pay for not meeting the challenges. Consumers can watch the plight of those who did not live up to their challenges bob for lobsters, have their nose hairs plucked and be duct-taped to a bucking mechanical bull called Helga. After Jan. 31, Nike will post the consequences of unaccomplished challenges on the site.

Seems like a good idea to me. At the beginning of every year, health clubs are flooded with new members firmly resolved to lose weight and/or get in shape. Sadly, by April most of these eager beavers have thrown in the towel, disillusioned because they didn’t achieve their goals and once again fearing the arrival of bathing suit weather. Maybe the Nike site will help fix this reoccurring rut especially if the participants involve their friends. Maybe the Nike athlete is so busy “just doing it” that losing weight and/or getting in shape isn’t even the issue, maybe these folks just want an easy way to track their progress. Regardless, resolutions are best achieved in a team environment in which the multiple participants egg each other onward and upward. (I’m sure there is some empirical evidence to support this. I just don’t have the time at the moment to find it).

My Dad got me started on resolution making several years ago. It helps that we keep the lists short and sweet. It helps more that we share them.  Turns out resolution making is best played as a team sport.  It’s not so fun going it alone and there’s no one to keep you honest when you forget them.  Just to get us all in the mood, I’d thought I throw out a few resolutions for this blog.

I hereby resolve in 2007 to:
1) Post something interesting every business day;
2) Post something inspiring every week;
3) Identify and engage at least 5 other like-minded bloggers to makeMFG more of a dialogue.

Like I said, short and sweet. Of course, when it comes to resolutions, its always easier said than done. Cranking out a daily bit of wit is daunting for pros and based on a couple of last week’s snoozers, I’ve got my work cut out for me. Committing to a weekly dollup of inspiration puts me on par with preachers at other pulpits and the good news is, I don’t have to wait ’til Sunday.  Presumably, if I can’t find at least one inspiring example every week, this MFG thing isn’t as a big as I’ve suggested. As for getting a conversation going with fellow travelers, this is simply a reminder to me to get out and about and make sure MFG is more than a monologue.  And you?

I’ve only been in our local Whole Foods a couple of times but I know a number of die-hard fans who swear by it. My sense is that they will go out of their way to shop there not just because they like buying “organic, natural and healthy foods” but also because of the whole Whole Foods gestalt. Whole Foods is one of the few companies I’ve heard of with a sourcing practice that emphasizes local farmers with each store buying locally and screening out as many as 100 common ingredients that they consider unhealthy or bad for the environment. (By the way most of what I’m telling you here I found in Porter & Kramer’s HBR article on Corporate Social Responsibility that I discussed in the last two posts. As I said, this was a really meaty article.)

What Whole Food fans may not realize is that Whole Foods commitment to natural foods goes well beyond the food. The entire store is made of almost entirely recycled materiaals. The company buys renewable wind energy credits to offset its electricity consumption. Thier trucks are being converted to run on biofuels and transport spoiled food to regional centers for composting. Even their cleaning products are non-polluting. In sum, Whole Foods does not pay lip service to the idea of “marketing for good” they apply it at every possible point of their “value chain” providing them with a clear and sustainable point of difference from their competition.

It is no wonder my friends have no problem spending more on Whole Foods products. I suspect I’ll be dropping more often myself.

Yesterday I mentioned a Harvard Business Review article on the competitive advantages that can be gained from a strategically-driven Corporate Social Responsiblity (CSR) program. The article is now on the Marketing for Good 101 curriculum as a must-read. Just in case you are disinclined to sign up for HBR and take the 20 minutes to read the whole thing, I will highlight a few of the key tenants of author’s Porter & Kramer treatise in upcoming posts starting with this one.

Initially, the authors make the strong case that CSR is no longer just an option it is a necessity. Companies are under the microscope of government and activist organizations and the social consequences of all their business practices are carefully monitored. It took years for Nike to recover from reports of their abusive labor practices in third world sweat shops. Now, Nike has among the most transparent labor practices in the world and has made it a priority to lead in this area.

Time out–I’m afraid my own reporting is putting me to sleep. My main point in going over this article is that it provides a solid strategic foundation for CSR and MFG. Companies can not separate themselves from the societies in which they do business. There is a co-dependence that must be acknowledged and better yet actively engaged. Rather than thinking of CSR as a separate “corporate” activity from more sales-focused marketing activities, Porter & Kramer (and of course, MFG) proposes to bring them together, making CSR a source of competitive advantage. Yikes, it sounds so dull. Clearly, I need to get back to providing examples of MFG in action to keep you all interested. Will do.