Tropicana's New "Tropicana Rainforest" Eco-Friendly Promotion
Basically, you visit www.tropicanarainforest.com and type in the unique code that is printed at the top of the orange juice carton. For every time you do this, Tropicana will supposedly provide the finances necessary to "save" (or at least temporarily preserve) 100 square feet of rainforest.
The web site is easy to navigate and looks attractive, but requires users to register with an account before continuing.
This initiative is, in my opinion, exactly the sort of thing that annoys me. Tropicana uses millions of pounds of paper each year, conceivably, making so many orange juice cartons. Instead of simply donating a certain amount to this initiative, they put the burden on the consumer.
So I cannot simply enjoy my cup of morning orange juice and feel as if I am helping the world at the same time since I chose Tropicana over the other brands. Instead, I have to stop what I am doing, write down the code, create an account on their web site, and then submit it.
My experience with the brand is now cumbersome and altogether negative: never before has a carton of orange juice made me feel a) guilty about my consumption and b) forced me to sign up for something.
Well, of course this promotion is optional, but why is it set up like this? If Tropicana has a real commitment to environmental protection, it would make far more sense to have a promotion like this: "For every carton you buy, we will donate $0.50 to our new rainforest initiative." Or, if they could afford to do so, $1 or more.
If this is too generous in today's economic climate, why not promote a web site where you can donate money online-and where that money is "matched" 100% by the Tropicana company?
This would encourage real philanthropy, rather than simply annoying people. This is yet another example of a perfectly good idea gone wrong. If your company is going to launch something this ambitious, always build the philanthropic action right into each unit sale. Make it so that the consumer already HAS done something great and helpful by purchasing your product. Don't make them sign up for a silly web site or hunt around for a unique serial number on the packaging-that's so 1990's.
Published by David S
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12 Comments
Post a CommentI was all set to enter my code and then realized I would need to submit personal information in order to do that (as opposed to Dawn dish soap, which just asks where one purchased their product before making a donation). My personal information--if it were sold by a marketing company--is probably worth more to Tropicana than the amount they're spending on saving the rain forest. I'd rather just make a donation directly to a charity helping to save the rain forest.
Nice marketing idea. I think Pepsi Co. is trying to lose their bad reputation or at least get some brownie points.
We've been "saving the rainforest" at tropicanarainforest.com for a quite a while now. I just entered our 32 code, which means we've saved 3200 sq feet. That sounded like a lot until I realized that my theoretical plot of rainforest would fit in my front yard.
Tropicana could do a lot more. Why do we have to enter the codes anyways? They've already made their money.
Lame! Tropicana reaps the benefits of green advertising without any serious commitment. Most consumers don't read the fine print and associate Tropica with rainforest saving without realizing that only a fraction of purchases actually make a difference. This is a big greenwash!
The bare minimum sign of commitment would be for a portion of the proceeds from the sales to be donated AUTOMATICALLY. It is also a great way for them to collect info about consumers: where do they live, who cares enough to enter the code (age, location, store of purchase etc.).
Not OK!
This whole promotion is a scheme to get more people to buy their juice while profiting off of our information. They gather stats and info about where we bought the juice and they may use this information to amplify their sales or just to sell it to other companies for market research. Dont be fooled, you're not saving much by entering a code. I think they probably bought a boat load of land down in S. america and theyre simply revealing bits of it to you as if you are the one who bought it or preserved it.
How long will the land be preserved? Are they just growing oranges on the land? Are they replacing the trees after they chop em down to make more paper cartons?
kkfrank22@hotmail.com
The way I see it, it's better than nothing.
Tropicana isn't forcing anyone to partake in their project. My personal opinion is if you want to help, that show you care about what is going on in the world today. It also shows you and Tropicana care about preserving the rain forest. If you don't care, well that's your prerogative. Tropicana might just be interested in how many people really do care about their planet and others.
I have been typing in the serial codes and checking how much rain forest is saved. As of today, the website says 51,557,900 sq ft of rain forest has been preserved. Taking the square root of that and calculating the square miles gives you a grand total of 1.4 square miles protected! What a measly amount! I say Tropicana should do more too!
The point is not what Tropicana can donate to the rainforest acquisition, but each person becomes involved personally by being part of the Rainforest Fund. It takes just a little effort to enter the code. I buy the orange juice because i like it, not for the promotion. More people need to be involved, not less!
I agree. Tropicana: mandate that your company will
give 50 or 75 cents from each carton of OJ sold, to the Rainforest Fund. At the end of this promotion, for ex., publish, nationally, or on TV the amount given to the fund & how much land was saved!!! In fact, more companies that use the paper products which endanger the Rain Forest, should do the funding & publicize the amt. they give.