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AdVirtues is a blog to explore positive virtues depicted in advertising. We are collecting information and examples and cataloging the movement toward social responsibility in advertising. Posting is free and open to all. Please sign-up today and contribute. We would greatly enjoy hearing from you and receiving feedback. |
About
Name: Alexandra
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Bio: I am a 1st year Graduate student in Advertising at SMU. I'm not the "typical student" though...since I'm married with two small children and have been out of school for over a decade. I've worked mostly in financial services (for-profit and non-profit) in marketing communications, database management, and public relations capacities.
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2 Comments
October 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
What an interesting and like you said “innovative” concept and medium to share a message with an audience. A bonus is that it is in a sustainable manner as well. You said in the post that this venture began in 2003, and granted I am not a frequent dry-cleaner, but I have yet to see them. I wonder if they are only using them in specific markets? As it is a great idea I feel as far as analyzing the medium as a whole, it has a very small reach only having the ability to get the marketing and “Eco-firendly” message out to a limited amount of people.
However I agree with what you said that it may be a small thing for indivdual consumers but indeed has a big impact on the environment.
What will be the next sustainable marketing effort we will see, and in the future could message effectiveness not only be measured by ROI but how sustainable the medium of use was?
November 30th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I also am not a frequent dry-cleaner, so after reviewing your comments and questions Allie I did a little more research on the Ecohanger product to get a sense of scope on their marketability.The parent company for the Ecohanger product is Vesta Green Marketing Solutions. Company and distribution info can be found at http://www.vestagms.com.
According to the website, approx. 28% of U.S. households use drycleaning services. The average drycleaning consumer is affluent (median income of $87k or more), well-educated (college plus), are aged 21 to 54, and have upscale lifestyle preferences.
Also according to the website, they Vesta has a national (U.S.) network of 40,000 drycleaners, which represent 90% of drycleaners in the nation. These drycleaners reach approx. 35 million U.S. households in 200 DMAs. Marketers can use these drycleaners to target their Ecohanger message by DMA, by county, zip code, gender, or ethnic population (using Nielsen Claritas population data), or even by mapping in a radius around a particular retail location. The DMAs are 38% urban and 58% suburban (roughly). So their distribution planning is very customizable.
So for marketers trying to reach upscale, urban/suburban audiences I think this is a wonderful, sustainable platform to use. It’s much more targeted and efficient than getting a similar message via direct mail. Best of all, it’s environmentally responsible. The site states that for every 35,000 Ecohangers distributed it keeps 1 ton of wire hangers out of U.S. landfills!