GETTING THE WORD OUT

Nickel Magazine, March 2007 -- What do you associate with the term “stainless steel”? When we asked this question of 11 people who made up a small focus group organized by the Nickel Institute in Toronto, we got the following answers: kitchen appliances; cutlery; shiny, sleek, durable metal that does not rust.

Were these people -- five males and six females between the ages of 18 and 61 -- aware that stainless steel contains nickel? As it happens, six were not. How aware were they that stainless steel is recycled? Nine either didn't know or else thought it was not recycled at all.

Compare these results with common perceptions of paper, glass and plastic: everyone in our focus group was aware that these materials are recycled, either extensively or somewhat. Only two thought stainless steel is recycled.

Unless buyers of stainless steel products are made aware that stainless steel is perhaps the most recycled man-made material on the planet, the many businesses that produce goods of stainless steel will continue to miss out on an important marketing advantage.

I recently happened upon a furniture ad in The New York Times Magazine which boasted about the sustainable attributes of the materials used to make a sofa. This company, Crate & Barrel, was letting its customers know about the important environmental advantages of their products. There are many such examples in the marketplace.

Likewise, the users of stainless steel need to inform their customers that 80% of all stainless steel products are recycled and that stainless steel typically contains 60% recycled material.

Knowing that stainless steel is one of the world’s most recycled materials would improve its reputation for the end user, thus boosting its potential for sales.

Toward this end, the Nickel Institute and the International Stainless Steel Forum recently launched an advertising campaign of print ads and online videos (see story), and it was in order to gauge people’s response to the ads that the small,
11-person focus group was formed.

After watching our recycling videos, nine of the participants reported feeling very or somewhat positive about stainless steel, whereas the remaining two had no opinion. The nine also said the ads had changed their opinion of stainless either significantly or somewhat.

We took these results to mean we had largely succeeded in making our audience aware that stainless steel is one of the most recycled materials and that it is recycled more than paper or glass. Now it’s up to the businesses that use stainless in their products to do likewise.

Editor

<< Contents page    --   Next >>