We have all been approached with assertive messages that suggest changes in our everyday life to improve on a sustainable lifestyle. These often scream "Don't eat meat" or "turn off your engine while waiting." Sustainable awareness is increasing and it's becoming a factor of new business opportunities and expanding markets. The Journal of Marketing published a study that was conducted to research the impact of assertive communication in green marketing. The study examines how" green" messages are comprised and its efficiency toward the public.
Through three different studies including the use of Google Adwords, it examines how people react to assertive messages versus non assertive messages. For instance do we respond better to "eat less meat to help the environment!" or "Please consider vegetables, it's better for you"?
The study concluded that people with a prior interest to the subject respond better to assertive messages rather than non assertive messages. On the other hand, people with no, or less, interest in the subject are likely to feel bothered by someone telling them what to do (i.e." Eat less meat!") and therefore respond significantly better to non-assertive messages.
The key to this conclusion is that most people today are not interested in global environmental issues but the majority of green marketing messages communicate assertively. This study shows that in order to get people to react according to the objectives, organizations need to consider the public interest and construct message (assertive or not) thereafter.
(Journal of Marketing, Ann Kronrod, Amir Grinstein, & Luc Wathieu, Vol. 76, January 2012)
Journal of Marketing
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