Internet Marketing Goes Green

While issues like global warming dominate discussions in governments worldwide, internet marketing is also heading to the same direction.

This year, green marketing seems to be the major byword in internet advertising campaigns. As countries, environmentalist groups, and concerned sectors talk about environmental problems, digital media coverage of such issues seem to heighten the need to articulate such views even in ads.

Also called eco-marketing, green marketing is not really something new. One instance of this is GE’s famous Ecomagination effort, Philips “A Simple Switch” campaign and Michelin’s “A Greener World.” Others may follow their trails as well: there is Organic Valley, Method, Seventh Generation, to name a few.

John Rooks, president of Dwell Creative, an agency that specializes in organizing campaigns based on social issues, said online media appeals to their clients are issue-based, the latest being a transition from demographic to psychographic marketing. “If we have a client that is interested in land conservation, we can pinpoint the psychographic that cares about that issue,” he adds.

With a balanced combination of around 30 percent government contracts and 30 percent non-profits add to that profit-driven businesses looking for grassroots-style, cause-oriented marketing strategies, Dwell Creative is beginning to look into the prospects of online advertising campaigns.

As building relationships with clients are crucial for a company’s growth, Dwell looks into creating opportunities for dialogue rather than one-way broadcast ads. Rooks believes that this shall yield great potentials for web user participation seeking a “greener” market media. This would later make way for consolidations in online green market media.

Discovery Communications’ purchase of TreeHugger.com and Gaiam.com’s acquisition of eco-lifestyles media firm Lime Media and Zaadz are tow recent developments in these area. The move for going online by most companies may come from the fact that more media users are online rather than the boob tube. As Rooks puts it, “Online offers that (dialogue opportunities about brands) to a much greater degree than other media.”

With TreeHugger.com having visitors reaching up to 2 million in June of this year, the website provides a great venue for massive internet campaigns.

President of TreeHugger.com, Ken Rother hits the point better when he said, “When a large organization has made a conscious decision to have a greener footprint or greener products, that’s a good way (online) to tell the audience, because the audience may not be available in other media.”

He adds that it takes trusts to establish a sustained dialogue between client and internet user, believing that advertising must have “similar conceptual values to the content.”

The idealizations of the green media movement have also tapped into websites like Yahoo, Newsweek, and the Washington Post. Just recently, Yahoo introduced Yahoo Green, a campaign that carried the message for consumers to change their electric lights to Energy Star CFL Bulbs.
Other environmental-themed ads include Tom’s, a toothpaste manufacturer and Hewlett-Packard, a respected in computer products and essentials. Going beyond selling, Yahoo spokesperson, Dina Freeman said that there is not one person responsible for selling green on the sales team. “The entire sales team is tasked to meet clients’ standards,” she adds.


From:comcorp

10 Rules of Effective Green Marketing

Seems like everyone’s going green these days. That’s great, at Green Team, we’ve been banging the environmental drum for 14 years, and we welcome the company. For marketers interested in taking advantage of the environmental revolution, here are a few things we’ve learned over the years.

1. Forget “green.” Okay, you don’t really want to forget it, but you do want to think beyond it. Being environmentally responsible is important, but today’s Awakening Consumers are looking for more. They’re looking at how your brand addresses all three pillars of sustainability: environmental impact, social impact, economic feasibility.

2. Walk before you talk. Don’t make any sustainability claims until you can back them up. Completely. This may seem obvious, but you’d be amazed at how often marketers want to cut corners and make claims they’re not ready to. And that’s a recipe for disaster.

3. Just the facts, ma’am. Don’t tell me what a great corporate citizen you are, tell me what you’re doing, and I’ll make that determination on my own. Simply stating the facts surrounding your sustainability efforts allows you to talk about them without coming across as smug or self-congratulatory. No one likes a show-off.

4. Let someone else tell your story. Nothing is better than a credible third-party endorsement. This is where a partnership with a respected non-profit that shares your values is especially beneficial. Allow your partner to tell the world what you’re doing together.

5. Keep it simple, make it relevant. Your sustainability initiatives should feel like a natural extension of your brand. Several years ago, Green Team did a campaign highlighting Jaguar Car’s partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society to save jaguars in the wild. Jaguar helping jaguars. Its simplicity and relevance made it successful.

6. Look inside. It’s critically important to engage your employees in your sustainability initiatives. With that in mind, look to the people within your own organization for ideas. This is how the partnership between Yoplait yogurt and Susan G. Komen For The Cure came to be. The cause was initially embraced by Yoplait employees on a grass roots level, then ultimately adopted by the brand itself.

7. Money isn’t everything. Sure, financially supporting a sustainability campaign is important, but don’t just write a check and walk away. Look for synergies between your brand and the cause. Involve people on both sides. Involve consumers. Be creative.

8. Tell the truth, the whole truth. Corporate transparency is now the way of the world. Consumers, especially Awakening Consumers, don’t expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to be honest. Admit your flaws, and let people know what you’re doing to fix them.

9. Be genuine. Sustainability initiatives and sustainable marketing has to be real and authentic. It needs to be embraced by everyone involved with the brand, from the person who answers the phone to the CEO. It should be part of your brand’s DNA, not some superficial, jumping-on-the-bandwagon gesture. To help avoid this, think long term, and think big.

10. Have fun. We’ve created ads for a global warming campaign that are laugh out loud funny. Humor may not be right for every topic or communication, but how many doom-and-gloom people do you like to hang out with?Hugh Hough is president and founder of Green Team, a New York-based communications/advertising agency. He was recently selected by The Climate Project to be one of 1000 individuals chosen to present a modified version of Al Gore’s global warming presentation chronicled in the film An Inconvenient Truth.

From: mysuccessgateway.com

Ad Agencies Interested In Carbon Neutral Ad Space

Interactive agencies and publishers might be considering ways to promote ad space as carbon neutral, Internet News reports.

The Institute for Sustainable Communications wants to work with groups like The Green Grid and receive funding from ad agencies and other groups to quantify just what computing resources are used to generate ads, content and e-mail.

According to the article, ISC has received calls from four different interactive agencies who want to be able to calculate the carbon footprint of ads.

The idea is that ad agencies and publishers would see value in promoting themselves as certifiably carbon neutral through some kind of offset program they pay into.

From: environmentalleader

Top 6 eMarketing Tips for Reaching Green Consumers

Both green marketing and Internet marketing have been heating up in the last couple of years, and for good reason. They tap into mega-trends to get results as well as serve the greater good. Their popularity is apparent not just in the business world, but in the nonprofit, academic and political sectors as well.

A number of recent studies confirm what has become obvious to many of us who are a part of it -- the rise of an eco-conscious, or “green,” consumer base. A sizable and growing market has developed for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. These studies show that consumers are increasingly integrating their environmental, social, even spiritual values into their purchasing and investing choices -- and are seeking to support organizations that deliver on such values.

Benefiting from these trends, organizations from those as small as Orange Glo and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, to those as large as Toyota and Starbucks, have successfully used Internet marketing to reach conscious, green consumers. But the vast majority of businesses and nonprofits who serve such consumers still don’t know how to effectively use the Internet to reach their target markets.

Here are six tips that can help with reaching green consumers by Internet and email:

• Use paid search effectively. By placing ads on Internet search engines, like Google Adwords, you directly reach thousands or even millions of people specifically looking for exactly what you offer -- and you pay only when they actually click on your ad! This is almost like advertising on TV or radio and paying only for the leads your ad generates -- something no station would ever offer. And research has shown that green consumers love to use search engines as much or more than others. Add this to your Internet marketing mix and invest the time to learn how to do it effectively because it will pay off. For starters, spend at least of couple of hours brainstorming, and saving in a spreadsheet file, all keyword phrases you and your staff believe your customers might use to find you -- before logging into the advertising interface, where you can copy and paste.
• Microtarget your online advertising efforts. Research and find the most-targeted online publishers (Web sites and email newsletters) in which to advertise. There are lots of green Web portals for both B2C and B2B audiences -- those that provide resources and services to green consumers and green businesses, respectively. Many of them offer advertising on their Web sites or in their email newsletters, which often reach many thousands (even millions) of people -- for a fraction of the cost of comparable offline media. Care2 is an example of B2C and GreenBiz.com of B2B.
• Build and use, but don’t abuse, a good email list. Despite spam, the numbers indicate email is still very effective at building relationships, organizing events, and even selling when done right. Fortuitously enough, green consumers especially like having good relationships with people they buy things from. Invest the resources into building your own list, even if you rent others. Make it completely permission-based. In other words, don’t ever send bulk commercial email to anyone who has not requested or acquiesced to it -- period (usually in return for some information or something of value). Try starting your own email newsletter or Web log. But focus on providing the best content you can, that provides value to your target audience, with minimal self-promotion. Then promote the newsletter itself as hard as you would a new product or service.
• Specially design your landing page. Whatever Internet marketing tactics you use, be sure that the page you bring visitors to on your Web site -- your “landing page” -- is designed specifically with them (and the offer) in mind. Make it easy to read and understand your offer; build trust with a link to your privacy policy and your contact information provided at bottom; minimize distractions by removing your menu links; and tell them who you are and why your organization, product or service is good for the environment, their health, or society.
• Track your efforts. It’s now easier than ever to track your efforts. The main search engine advertising programs (Google, Overture) offer free tracking tools, and powerful, independent tracking tools are now available elsewhere for little or no money as well. Check out ConversionRuler, for example, for a free trial. By tracking all your e-marketing efforts, you’ll always know exactly what’s working -- what to stop doing and what to continue doing. It will save you a LOT of money over time.
• Use online PR effectively. Many of those same publishers with whom you’ll want to advertise in Tip 2, you will find, are good folks to develop relationships with for effective public relations as well. Find out who to contact at these online publications about a newsworthy event related to your organization, product or service. Build a list of these media contacts and then send them well-written press releases only when a truly newsworthy event arises (of course, one that works to your advantage somehow). Don’t forget to follow with a phone call and offer assistance -- an article, an interview -- or something else to make their job easier. You might also try distribution services for your press release targeted to green consumers and companies, such as eWire or CSRwire.

In determining what’s best for your company when using Internet and email marketing, it’s important to develop a written plan. It doesn’t have to be War and Peace, but should at least include the steps necessary to effectively execute your strategy. Testing out approaches and making improvements quickly, often in real time, is a major advantage of Internet marketing. So include more tools in your plan, including the tactics mentioned above, than you would intend to use over time. As you test them, you can weed out the ones that don’t perform to your satisfaction and continue with those that do.

If you try these tools and others identified here in your marketing mix, using best practices, you are likely to find at least one or two that provide an outstanding return on your investment and help you meet your organization’s toughest goals.

From: Greenbiz - Excerpted from "Conscious Clicks: A Guide to eMarketing for People, Planet & Profit," by Perry Goldschein