It had to happen...Less Green for More Green

Yesterday I got a solicitation in email to purchase the new study from Natural Marketing Institute on the Mainstreaming of Sustainability.

 It has been nine years since NMI conducted the first... research study on the Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS) marketplace. In 2002, only a few companies were talking about sustainability. [Now] most Fortune 100 companies have C-level sustainability staff and have infused sustainability throughout the organization so that it is everyone's responsibility to consider the environmental and social impacts of their products and operations.

Today I received an solicitation in email to purchase a Green Deal of the day.  Now, I'm a big fan of Groupon, LivingSocial, ideeli, you name it.  I know, I know: higher consumption... but less gas when buying daily deals online vs at brick and mortars! But check out the Green Deal rationale, which makes sense to ME:

You want that big coupon for that local restaurant or that online retailer that makes you call all your friends because you can't believe what an amazing deal you just got.  But you don't want to get great savings at the expense of your commitment to taking care of people and the planet.

Now you can get a great deal AND support the companies who share your values.

  So, I love that now, instead of all our early cries about mainstream companies jumping on the green bandwagon, now the green guys are going mainstream.  At this point, I'm all for things moving both ways, and finding a good, green middle ground. 

Adjust your Set

I was skimming CSRWire.com - an interesting media platform for social responsiblity content - and came across a post by their CEO, Joe Sibilia, in their terrific TalkBack blog section. Only Joe was writing not about social responsibility but about social media. He wonders if Boomers will adjust to it. He shares examples of those who have adapted and prevailed personally and in business, and others who question the value of sharing...yeah, yeah...the old "what I had for breakfast" content, and dismiss social media with those kinds of digs about it. (I'm so done with that, by the way. See my "Facebook Off" post. Reminds me of that old "Jennifer Anniston's sweater" line.)

Anyway, it was thoughtful post, but with one mistep, I think. He quoted a Social Media Examiner article that suggested a Twitter plan with "up to 20 tweets a day" to grow your business. And those still harping on breakfast commentary content could easily use that as more fuel to justify throwing their hands in the air and stepping away from the keyboard. "I barely have time to email..!" It's not like I have to DEFEND the pervasiveness and benefit of social media (though, that's sort of what I do when I coach executives in it), but I do feel like we are in the middle of a huge sociological shift that we should enjoy observing and being a part of, and not fight the phenomenon.

Here's my comment to Joe's post:

As a boomer who is a social media professional, I can tell you that it IS hard to embrace this world as nimbly and naturally as, say, my teenage nephew or 20-something niece. But as a marketer I see the imperative to keep up with the way the world is going. Debating the very question of "whether we'll adjust" is sort of moot as I think we'll have little choice within the next couple of years. We ARE adjusting, in our own ways. Why, I actually know some boomers with touch-tone telephones! Ha. (or LOL, if you prefer.) There will always be Luddites among us - as there have been for every advancement - but there will always be those like my 80-year old aunt who sends me daily jokes via her WebTV. FYI, the latest research from Comscore shows use of Facebook by boomers up 106% year to year 10/08 to 10/09. And it's sort of a trite research point already that next to teenage boys, moms are the second biggest demographic playing mobile games.

The one thing that I take exception to in your post is that the "be prepared to tweet 20 x a day" was taken a bit out of context from the Social Media Examiners article. They end that article with the reminder that:
"...Although a tweet plan [to schedule and auto-release up to 20 tweets/day] is useful when your schedule gets busy, it’s not a way to avoid real-time tweeting. ...But there are different opinions about scheduling posts. Many people feel scheduling tools take away from the value of real-time interaction on Twitter. And they are right.

You must find a balance to make this work for your business. And you can only find this balance by jumping in, listening to your audience and tweaking the content you share on Twitter to get the best results."

Twitter is just one tactic. But don't forget that you received 20 comments and counting on this blog -- which is another tactic of 2-ways communication. We just each will find the platforms and ways to reach out and find and engage in communities in our own ways. We are a tad starved for human contact, and sadly a lot of us will rely on digital versions of it...boomer or GenXer. The good news is that we are ALSO finding ways, like Tweet-ups and Meet-ups to take our interactions OFFline, too. But we arrange those in-person meetings through...you got it: social media.

Looking good on the Red and Green Carpet

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite designers and pro-social champ, Kenneth Cole. Since it launched I've kept a link to his fantastic blog, Awearness, on the resources page of my site, and now his compilation book of celeb effort in the social responsibility space is out and I got to go to the shindig.

I have to say, it was pretty cool to be at the book party, rubbing shoulders with Diane von Furstenberg and Rosario Dawson, but I was a spontaneous guest of my friend Jack, from that other great site, CSRWire.com, so I was not exactly dressed red-carpet ready. But I threw my shoulders back and put my best foot forward only to have the first person I met be Peter G, president of Bruno Magli shoes. Luckily, he actually complimented my Steve Madden boots.

Then I met the lovely and very nice Starley Murray who slipped me one of her mini mint lip glosses, which is actually part of her "red carpet" line. More important, I learned that most of the celebs and people there are all doing their parts, to greater or lesser degrees, to give back, including Starley, who helps women put their best FACES forward with image classes and donates part of her proceeds to domestic violence prevention. Their mantra is:

"We believe that Image is more than what you wear; Image is how you represent yourself in life."

(PS: There are lots of companies who do good and lots of good companies that are organic. Let me know if you want a download on how sustainability is a subset of corporate social responsibility. For example, if you want a good organic/sustainably cosmetic line also check out Josie Moran Cosmetics.)

At least I WAS wearing my favorite Kenneth Cole watch, which I ungracefully basically shoved in the poor man's face and said, "I LOVE this. And I know I'm not your mother, but I'm PROUD of you!" He kind of sheepishly smiled, trapped in the corner next to effusive me. He does so much, though, I couldn't help but "kvell."

But I embarrassed myself even more when I complimented Stanley Tucci for his terrific talent, when I heard myself also then compliment the good job he did on his body. But come on...didn't you see him in "Frankie and Johnny..." on Broadway?

We all do what we can.

Blue Green?

In the May 5th issue of AdAge, Adam Werbach wants to shift focus to a new BLUE movement to embrace more consumer comfort and eradicate the growing consumer green fatigue:

"Blue is a platform for sustainability that goes beyond the deep, beautiful green of environmentalism. Green puts the planet at the center of the dialogue; blue puts people -- consumers and shoppers -- at the center."

This is a head-spinning topic, and while Werbach makes some worthy points, I hope the dialog doesn't obfuscate the objectives:
In other words...We've gotta get going here!


One article commenter makes a good point:

"If fatigue is prevalent among some circles, it's because we have yet to offer the consumer clarity. Throwing in new terms or words such as "blue" doesn't help move us closer to a common understanding. I would hesitate to guess the average person wouldn't have any idea what "blue" means."

The heads of Corporate Social Responsibility from Discovery, Amex and Price Waterhouse Cooper spoke at a terrific panel discussion from the IABC last week. But the first part of the panel had to do with what the heck we should be calling CSR: Corporate Citizenship? Corporate Philanthropy? Cause Branding? I know that clear communication is key to getting the message out there...and we'd like to be able to have a phrase that we can all refer to for common ground. Like, say, "Green." It's just easier, even if, say, "Green" is a subset of social responsibility.


(FYI: If you are practicing social responsibility as a company, you're most likely going to INCLUDE "sustainable" actions, like not polluting and using up virgin forests for your paper needs. BUT social responsibility ALSO means you're looking out for your workers and being a good corporate citizen by doing things like supporting the local library or whathaveyou. So "green" is a subset -- a PART of doing good overall. If you want more, contact me and I'll share some pages from my eco-education deck.)


Back to my point, since I let the words get in my way: I worry that debating the phrasing too much can get in the way of action. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" As a marketer, I'm all about proper positioning to get a clear and effective message out there.

But, to borrow from that company with a swoosh, let's "Just Do It" already!

Driving (Green) Responsibly

I had an inspiring call with a prospective "green" client today. A couple of reminders and came out of it.

First: In the green scheme, no one (or business) is perfect.
What is perfect is being on the path to making a difference.
I remember when I attended a green marketing seminar last year, speakers from a really worthy company called ICESTONE apologized to the audience for not have a ZERO carbon footprint. Maybe they were, like, a "one" -- or a "two." This company recycles glass into a more eco-friendly countertop material that is BEAUTIFUL. They hire and manufacture locally, encourage employees to bike to work, they are Cradle to Cradle certified ...and on and on. They are doing almost everything right, and what isn't perfect they are aiming to improve.

But they were apologetic. And that was when I realized our potential as a society for throwing stones at glass espousers. C'mon! If only we were all as close to a zero footprint as them! So, I think, if you're not on the path, get on it. If you're on it, take another step, or hopefully three!

Second: There's more to doing right as a company than being green(er).
My prospective client has gotten on the green path; eliminating plastic from the cafeteria, changing their lightbulbs, using post-consumer waste paper...the boss drives a Prius, etc. They've even started an employee green committee to start evangelizing more eco-conscious behavior. They are on the way, and looking to Moss Appeal Green to help them head further down the green brick road. GREAT!

So, in researching some of their stakeholders I discovered that their corporate parent has put extensive support behind supporting economically disadvantaged children and community programs. That's really their calling card. Not a lot of bucks behind environmental causes. But that's okay. (See above.)

Just as PR is one area of marketing, green is one area of social responsibility. And customers are looking to companies to demonstrate corporate social responsibility overall.

This reminded me of something I did some years back in a promotion created for IKEA. It was a cause-related promotion with a green element:

We tied a consumer promotion in to the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. The theme was Improve Your World. We'd help “improve the world” through donations and matching contributions to the national program. We'd help improve the consumer's local world by awarding a dining room set to a winner from each store location and make a contribution in their name to an area food shelter. Finally, we did it all around Earth Day, and held in-store events that taught kids to “Plant an extra row” to help fight hunger.

So, my prospective client can start to impact change in their own back yard by first creating programs that are consistent with its owner's goal of giving back to the community, even if they are only tinted with green...Maybe a coat drive, to recycle for the benefit of area kids, for example.

The point is, any socially responsible program contributes to the greater good, and if honoring the "brand" of the corporate parents will help them get buy-in from the top down for more support, it will lead to respect from the very ground on up.