Is Diversity the new Green?

Some time ago I saw an ad or a brochure or something (I don’t remember what it was or what company it was for) that proclaimed “Green: The New Black.”

The concept, of course, was that environmental awareness and responsibility was becoming in style.  Like black, it goes with anything.  Now it seems like diversity is the new green.

For a couple years now, I’ve been predicting the end (or at least the diminishing) of green marketing.  Lately, it seems like every company is “green,” or pretending to be.  All of this over-exposure will have the effect of diluting the message, and pretty soon consumers won’t respond to it anymore.

And at the very least, since “everyone is doing it,” the best way to stand out as a marketer is to do something different.

But to this point, green marketing has outlived my predictions.  I thought it would have peaked about a year ago.

It’s important to note here that I am talking about the diminishment of environmentalism as a marketing tool, not as a concept.  Taking care of the earth is undeniably a good thing, so don’t send me any hate mail about that.

Anyway, it seems my prediction is finally coming true.

Perhaps (actually, almost certainly) spurred by the election of the first black president, companies are beginning to talk about diversity instead of the environment.  The best example of this is Target’sDream in Color campaign.  It’s very well done, and they use the ads and their Web site to demonstrate their commitment to diversity among their employees, suppliers and customers.

Target may be doing it best (so far), but they aren’t the only ones.  The USA Network ran some ads, and there are probably others.

Will diversity overtake green as the in vogue marketing campaign?  Will consumers start making purchase decisions based on a company’s diversity instead of/in addition to its environmental impact?

I don’t know.  But I do know that marketers who want to be on the cusp of consumer demand should start telling a diversity story – if they have one to tell.

But they better hurry.  Because the next thing to grip the consumer consciousness is coming.  I won’t predict when, but it’s coming.