"Happy Irthday!" Celebrating with Expos, Awards and Trees

I was a tree about a million years ago today... That is, it was my first "stage role" that I recall, in my kindergarten Arbor Day play. Maybe I got that part because of my last name. Or maybe it was what set me on the path to first be an actress, then be a green marketer.

But today is Arbor Day and I am reminded of my affinity for trees every year on this day...and almost every other day...since that early imprinting.

I've been entrenched in a lot of the Earth Day / Arbor Day celebrations and in fact I'm late in getting to the Expo at Grand Central today and tomorrow. I've come across people like Erik Baard who has been encouraging the planting of Newton Pippin apple trees all over NY. And Marielle Anzelone who within weeks of the birth of her new baby was back out there promoting her other baby, the annual NYC Wildflower Week (5/2 - 9).

And last night I went to the Heart of Green Awards, sponsored by The Daily Green and Hearst. It was pretty impressive. The small but very tasteful crowd included one of my first eco-heroes, author and excellent speaker, Andrew Winston. Happily, he told me he has a new book coming out soon! Others in the crowd included, Elizabeth Harrington of the increasingly cool Greenopia, the indominatable Bob Woodruff, Daniel Sieberg, etc.
You can see the list and profiles of recipients on the link, but some highlights included:

Alicia Silverstone was awarded the "Eco-Original" title. She's passionate about PETA and promoted one making any effort they can, even if it's to be an "aspiring" vegetarian. Reducing one 16 oz steak from your diet, for example, she says saves the equivalent water of 6 months of showers vs that watering the cattle! Plus, she says,

"I feel great, got better skin, a better body, and got my heart open as a gift from connecting to the earth."

Maria Menounos was appropriately transparent about her newness to the green cause, but now recycles all the time for the greater good, vs. when she grew up having to recycle cans for the greater good of her struggling family. Gloria Reuben, The Truth-Teller, welled up with pride about receiving the award for her work with, ironically, Waterkeeper.

But there was not a dry eye in the house when the award for best Local Hero went to teacher Greg Perry from Beachwood High School in Ohio who empowered his marketing class to stage the "Green Dream", the largest green products and services expo in Ohio to date, drawing more than 3,000 attendees. (I wonder how many attended the Go Green Expo? And this one was produced by teenagers!) Greg got news of his award while he was literally in bed...in intensive care as part of battling a recurrence of cancer.

He forced himself to fly in for the awards, and needed assistance getting onto the stage. He voice broke with exhaustion and emotion during his acceptance speech. And his message became the clarion call for the event: "It Starts with One." His students came up with that tagline for their effort, and Greg continues to embody that. He said,

"Young people force you to think differently. This is their world. They know they can change it and are not fearful."

Lifetime Achievement award winner, Frances Beinecke of NRDC, echoed that when she said,

"To be in this business you have to be an optimist...to believe you can make a difference.....The planet is in tru crisis. That will only change if every citizen in world takes action in their daily lives to make a difference. ...Leaders won't change without the bubbling up of citizen interest."

We must put the messages out to galvanize those leaders, she said, and concluded with, "All of you are a force in making a difference and you inspire me."

I think that the more people that are exposed to people also honored like Dierdre Imus, Summer Rayne Oakes, Roger Doiron, and the others mentioned above, that the more we'll be inspired by how much extraordinary effort some people make. And perhaps we will be galvanized to take a few more steps ourselves.

We must.

It's a small (green marketing) world after all

We are continuing to see an increase in consumer awareness of and demand for more things green. It's time that products marketing to conscious-consumers moved away from the expected "leafy green" approach and got a little more mainstream.

I just got back from the GoGreen Expo in NYC, and was pretty impressed by the number of booths and the variety of eco-oriented products. A lotta baby clothes and body lotions. Water filters and water bottles. Bags and antioxidants, etc. Hundreds of booths and new products.

But whether at the Expo or at the other events and sites I visit, I'm seeing a lot of unsophisticated design and underwhelming marketing in this space. I know how scary it can feel for a start up or small business to invest in good creative, but it doesn't have to be expensive. And there is everything to gain when trying to reach this now very eager audience.

Even the more established companies (relatively speaking) are using conspicuously similar styles... Check out these three companies -- and I happen to be a big fan of each of them -- but look at their logos!:

http://www.vivavi.com/ -- Leafy "V"
http://www.verterra.com/ - semi Leafy V
http://www.veevlife.com/ - double leafy V

Granted, my logo for Moss Appeal Green could be considered a close cousin of the leafy icon, but I come by my last name by birth! Plus it's a brand extension from my main Moss Appeal logo, which was designed to depict that our work has both "mass appeal" but speaks to the target on a 1:1 basis...AND echoes a type of moss plant, which you can see an image of on my home page. I'm not saying the logos for the above companies are not perfectly fine; I was just struck by the similarity of their looks...as well as the pervasive "beige colors and leaf pictures" at the whole expos.

There's one company doing it really well, and it's paying off: Green Apple Cleaners has a "clean" look, and impressive collateral to match. They're even savvy (and authentic) enough to be aligning themselves with the effort to make the Newton Pippin NY's "official apple." (But even they use a little plant cradled in two hands, with leaves that look like one of the logos above, as one of the images on their site.)

The time is now to start creating cool marketing that speaks to the mainstream more, because eco-sensitive products deserve to BE mainstream! We haven't had the opportunity for as big a change in consciousness as we're going through now in decades. Companies hoping to promote their "green appeal" as I like to call it, really owe it to themselves AND to us to get their good green word out there in the most stand-out way possible.

Call me.

Networking with networks about networking

My blog has always reflected my cross-section of marketing and green work experiences with some personal passions thrown in. More and more those experiences have included social media as I ramp up both my presence and that of my clients in that space. A cross-section -- or lack of -- was never more apparent than at The Cable Show (see #CS09 at search.twitter.com) this year.

It's easy to feel "eco-centric," as I describe my environmental focus, and think that, say EVERYONE knows the meaning of the word "sustainability" these days. But it ain't necessarily so. And when you focus on media and spend time in the SOCIAL network space, it's easy to believe that PROGRAMMING networks would know their way around a Tweetdeck or a follower, too. But you know what they say about the word "ASSUME."

(Reminder - This is a key time to ramp up your knowledge and your efforts since it takes time to build a presence. Give us a call now about letting Sheryl and me (@mossappeal) help. And I must say my overview workshop on Social Media Marketing for Business has gotten rave reviews!)

So I was impressed when Moss Appeal alliance partner, "Marketing Maven" Sheryl Victor, wrote a post today that did a great job summing up our experience at the Cable Show, and probably that of many others who were not tied to a booth. You should read her take on Broadband Nation for good first hand objective observations -- especially as a returning CS alumni after some years away. But her paragraph about Social Media awareness in the cable arena particular really has me jazzed, since we talked to a lot of folks there about tapping our expertise in the Social Media space:

"Social Media is very much in its embryonic stage in most of the Cable industry. Which actually, I was a little surprised at. From a B2B perspective, a colleague and myself were in a panel about 360 Degree marketing. Ann Cowan from CTAM was moderating the panel. When the panelists were asked if they were using Social Networks or Media, you could hear a pin drop…except from the folks at A&E. Mark Garner spoke to their program around the show Hammer, with MC Hammer. Hallmark spoke to how they were dipping their toe, and TV Guide wasn’t using Social Media at all. Then Ann asked if anyone in the audience was tweeting….and out of close to 200 people, only 2 hands went up. Mine and my colleague’s. It actually was incredibly surprising to me. This room was filled with Marketers listening to Marketers. It was just a testament to me how the space is still very much new and uncharted, but is ripe with opportunity!"Sheryl Victor under, Savvy Strategy - Business Development, Marketing and Social Media

Conscious Caretaking

My brother and his family recently had to say goodbye to their cat, Lilah. I was really impressed with the conscientious and caring approach they took:

Poor Lilah had had a sudden decline, had stopped eating and was facing an uncomfortable time. My niece spent her entire spring break from college by the cat's side as opposed to beachside. Betsy, my sister-in-law, solicited help and support by reaching out to her community of friends and family via an email asking if anyone had advice on putting a pet down. This was her way of sharing the news and asking for help in a way that did not disturb or make people uncomfortable -- but a way that also let them know she was facing a tough time in case they wanted to reach out. She was surprised by the outpouring of support and thoughts her fairly straightforward email elicited.

One person in Betsy's extended circle of friends turned out to be a vet who knew of another vet who made housecalls and would actually put the animal to sleep at home. They didn't even realize that in-home pet euthansia was possible, so thank the world of social networking again. Lilah hated going to the vet, or even in a carrier. My brother said he could just point a finger at the carrier and Lilah would bolt from the room. So, they were able to avoid adding to her misery by avoiding a ride to a clinic.

On her final day, the whole family spent time with their pet, taking portraits and created a kind of sanctuary on the back porch with a terry covered set up for Lilah. They all gathered around and had a comforting hand on her as she was put under.

The final loving touch? Lilah's ashes will be returned to them in a seed-embedded biodegrable box which will bloom with flowers in their backyard. Ashes to ashes. Or, as one site guides, "Be a Tree."

You Might be a SM S-head If... (SM Swelled Head)

The whole strategy of tapping social media for business marketing is to listen to what the world is saying about you or your company. Then, by being smart, or funny, or a good resource when you participate in online conversations, earning a good reputation. Just like the popular kid in school. I hate to say it's like the George Burns quote, but it IS sort of like what he said about acting:

"it's all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made."

You work on creating a well rounded perception of your brand, your brilliant thought leadership, your trustworthiness, etc. and you hope you get people to talk TO you and ABOUT you (hopefully in a good way!) -- drive digital word of mouth.

All that is great and helps add some soul to a CEO or more lifeblood to a business. We've seen the success stories of the Zappos customer service, Dell's course correction, and Obama central become over-Tweeted parables of bar-raising expectations.

Where I start to get concerned, and believe me I'm no exception, is when we start confusing our personal value and when we're always thinking or promoting our value as a "brand." We start to measure our own worth by the number of followers, friends and alerts, and turn what should be our more personal dialogues into crafted multilogues.

When did even my personal pages or Tweets become a race to be the first to post the cool link? I mean, heaven-forbid you DON'T include some valuable nugget these days?? Who needs that kind of pressure on, say, Facebook? Can't I just hang out by a wall?

But the world is a great big sheet of cellophane now, so poster beware. (And yes, I WILL stop taking your feeds if you think I am titillated about your lunch choice today.) It's a fine line between being more professional in our personal life online, and starting to drink your own Kool-Aid, believing tons of people are really listening as we try to come across more personally in our professional life.


It's easy to confuse hitting the first few hundred or the thousand mark on Twitter (@mossappeal, ya'all) with real people who will hang on your every word at an actual cocktail party. I've heard lots of stories of groups with hundreds of fans on LinkedIn or friends on FaceBook using it exclusively to post an invite to an event...only to have lots of leftover pigs in a blanket because of no-shows.

It takes time and it also takes a little humility to promote yourself on every platform and remember to find that balance between your personal and professional brand.

So I offer these Warning Signs.

You might be an S-Head on Social Media (Swelled Head, that is) IF:

1. You think you can stop Dating and start D@ing. Worse, you try to set up a first date via a D@.
2. You think your friends want to know your opinion on the state of crude and your followers want to know a crude joke, and you blast all the same feeds to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn .
3. You try to get a reservation at a hot restaurant by assuming they, too, think 1000 followers makes you A-list.
4. You're incensed when no one Diggs you, man.
5. You truly believe your last 23 Q&A answers deserved "Best Expert" status.
6. You are stunned that Mrs. Kutcher isn't following you.

...And the 7th sign you may have a SM S-head?
Your blogs are way too long because you enjoy expounding and are sure that since there are a billion people online now, at least a million will hang on your every word. ...whoops.

And by the way, I hope you tweet this blog or link it to your profile, because I'm -- I mean, it -- is really smart and funny and resourceful, don't you think?

Fueling Disney

In a recent blog, I wrote about a terrific documentary, FUEL, and what I'd learned from it about biofuels.

Yesterday Disney released its most comprehensive corporate responsibility report ever, and in the section on the environment, I saw this:

They are running their little theme park trains on vegetable biodiesel! Go Disney. They also list "Long-Term Goal #7" as:

Inform, empower and activate employees, business partners and consumers to take positive action for the environment Through the years, Disney's environmental efforts have touched the lives of millions of people directly and indirectly. Going forward, we will seek not just to build awareness but to empower and activate employees, business associates and consumers to take positive action for the environment.

It's really key to green from the inside out. Educating employees will make them aware, and influence the changes they make and home, which will educate and influence their families, which will educate and influence friends....and so on. And as we ramp up that eco-education on an ONGOING basis (this is not a static situation), we'll ramp up a new generation of eco-evangelists. And they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends..... (Loved that Breck commercial.)

To get started, bring me in to do an eco-education seminar and/or produce ongoing internal green communications!

A Platinum Letter Day

Last week I did a presentation on green marketing, and in the cab back from the airport (trip somewhat offset with the help of Terrapass), I found a platinum wedding band. It made me a little sad on behalf of the owner, especially since I never got an inquiry to the lost and found notice I posted. Dang... PLATINUM.

The next day, I had another platinum find: the story of the new National Audubon Society headquarters in NYC. I was invited to attend a screening of the before/after video about their office space, which received the highest point total of any commercial interior in the world evaluated for LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The Platinumest of the platinum. Dang!


The teamwork and the thought and planning that went into making this a crown jewel of environmental design was truly inspiring...even the very story itself: the 15 minute video by Grandview Island Productions helped earn them a point towards the rating as an eco-education aspect. But a lot of people put a lot of thought into this project. They had the blessing of building owner Trinity Real Estate, and FXFOWLE Architects went to work with some insights from YRG Consulting on sustainability and engineer brainiacs from Flack & Kurtz.

I think the thing that impressed me most -- more than the raised flooring that accommodates an air distribution system...or the handcrafted conference tables and paneling made from salvaged barns or fallen walnut trees...
... or the lights that automatically dim to adjust to the daylight present -- was the responsibility and innovation everyone on the team seemed to show. Some of the vendors were new to the world of sustainability, but were selected in part for that reason: they learned from experts, and now there are more sustainability pros out there making impact.


I've been a fan of one of the team companies for a long time: Herman Miller, who did the furniture. The before/after video was screened at their LEED gold certified showroom and I was kind of drooling at my surroundings. Happily, though, they are updating their Web site soon, so it should do a better job of showcasing online just how much thought they put into a triple bottom line.

Plus they had some chairs there that looked like something out of Batman VI. I love my vintage 1928 office chair, but my back is reminding me that ergonomics have improved in 80 years. So, in channeling The Secret, I'm just sayin':