The Tray Way: The Business of Being "Green"

If you watch shows like The Office, The Tonight Show and The Biggest Loser, this you will like see the traditional NBC peacock dyed green in honor of "#Greenweek". According to the company:

We are focused on bringing an environmental perspective to everything we do, informing and entertaining the audience while driving more sustainable practices into our own operations. As one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, we want to participate in and help lead one of the most important dialogues of our time—and build a stronger business and a more sustainable world in the process.

While this movement on NBC Universal exudes social responsibility, the inevitable follow-up question is whether it is good for business. NBC is the weakest of the television networks, however, according to the Triple Pundit:

NBC’s Green Week has attracted upwards of $100 million in ad revenue for the network from companies who want to be associated with all things green. Subaru has been sponsoring Green Week since 2008, and for last year’s ads alone, they are rumored to have spent $10 million. Their investment paid off heavily: NBC’s numbers show that viewers who saw last year’s Subaru’s ads were a whopping 64% more likely to remember the ads if viewed on NBC during Green Week versus another channel. The associative link indicates that consistent messaging of Subaru’s green credentials with NBC’s explicit green programming had a profound impact on the minds of viewers.

Many a multi-national organization has recognized an opportunity to be successful by being socially responsible. This isn't new, but it almost feels unnatural to support a for-profit business that is doing something positive that also happens to be lucrative. At Tray, we pride our self on being "green" in an industry sector that has difficulty maintaining that standard. We do it because we feel it is the right thing to do, but admittedly, it also sets us apart from our competitors, and if that makes good "business sense", then we see it as a win-win for everyone involved.

So, this week, if you are enjoying any television on the NBCU family of networks, look at the green logo and the environmentally-friendly content and appreciate that the organization is trying to do good at the same time as they are trying to do better.

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The Tray PML Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our organization's capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages.