Brand Central Station

It seems like a little side article in this week’s Adweek, but it caught my attention.

Mark Dolliver reported on the findings of a “Buy American” study recently completed by AdweekMedia/Harris Research. The survey indicates that although there is an ever-present interest among US consumers for American-made products, there is a definite drop off as you get into the younger demographics. As Mark reports:

Younger consumers are less susceptible than their elders to a made-in-America sales pitch. Thirty-nine percent of the survey’s 18-34-year-olds said they’re more likely to buy a product when an ad emphasizes that it’s made in America, vs. 60 percent of the 35-44-year-olds, 68 percent of the 45-54s and 74 percent of those 55 and older.

So what does this actually mean? I think it could mean two things:

First off, I believe we’re seeing the “internationalization” of American youth with the rest of the world. More kids are travelling to far away places, they’re connecting with friends in other parts of the world via the Internet and the media they see shows a more diverse culture than the “good old days” of white bread, mainstream, American media. And, quite frankly, I think those are good things.

The fact is that America exists in a world where we have to co-exist with over 190 other nations – each with their own interests, problems and geopolitical concerns. The sooner we realize we’re competing in a global economy, the better.

The second thing these survey results tell us, though, is that marketers aren’t going beyond the obvious, patriotic appeal with their “Buy American” pitch. Young consumers don’t see a great value in patriotic loyalty to an American brand if they don’t see a substantial quality or price difference. The argument that buying American brands keeps American workers employed is harder for this younger generation to buy when Toyotas and Hondas are being manufactured in the United States and for most of them, an American job means working the register at Wal-Mart.

No, marketers need to find another reason to make buying American products appealing to young Americans and I think the answer is simple – it’s better for the environment (or, at least, it should be). The logic is so simple, it’s obvious why most marketers don’t use it: if you don’t have to ship a product across the ocean to bring it to market, you use less energy and its carbon footprint is smaller.

The green appeal to buying American may hold a greater sway with the younger generations of Americans than any attempt to teach civics via :30 commercials.

Not that we all couldn’t do with a refresher course in American Civics. But that’s another post on a different blog.