Marketing Essentials

Unit 10: Product and Service Management

WebQuests

Green Packaging

When businesses market a product, they are promoting a wide range of associated services as well. A new flat-screen television is more than a way to watch your favorite videos or shows. It is the programming, service, warranty, and delivery that go with the television that may tip a consumer one way or the other when choosing a product. In today's environmentally conscious world, consumers often choose products that are produced and packaged in ways that have as little environmental impact as possible. Many businesses promote their products as being “green” in the hope of gaining an edge over their competition.

1. Investigate Begin the activity by researching three products that use ecologically conscious packaging. Choose products that are not similar in nature. One could be a food product. Another could be a laundry detergent or a type of medicine. Identify the factors in each product's packaging that make it ecologically responsible.
2. Summarize Write a summary of how each advertisement promotes its product's packaging as being ecologically responsible. What claims, if any, do they make about the packaging's impact on the environment? Are any data or other proofs offered to support these claims? Are comparisons made with competing products that do not use ecologically responsible packaging?
3. Assess Explain why you think each advertisement you identified will or will not attract customers to purchase the product. Does the advertisement make the case that buying the product will help the environment or does it only make unsubstantiated claims? Would you be influenced in your buying decisions by any of these advertisements? Explain the logic behind your assessment.