I can hear the Hollywood pitch now. “Think of this epic 3.5 minute video as The Discovery Channel’s ‘Planet’ meets ‘Spinal Tap.’”
Heal the Bay produced this poignant mockumentary capturing the miraculous journey of a wayward plastic bag. It’s improbable but true migration begins in the parking lot of a Southern California Safeway and ends hundreds of miles off shore in the Pacific Gyre.
“The Majestic Plastic Bag” is brilliant green marketing: the must see, feel bad hit of the summer. It draws attention to the destructive nature of this seemingly harmless plebian bag without getting all eco high and mighty on us. But really, bags don’t kill sea life. People do.
Their plea:
“Help stop our 19 billion bag-a-year habit in California and put an end to plastic pollution.”
The short film educates by being entertaining. I think, after watching this clever production, even the most cynical consumer that throws environmental caution to the wind can appreciate the impact a feather-weight plastic bag has on the environment.
If this fun film doesn’t convince you, then check out these horrific images by Chris Jordan.
So what’s it going to be: Canvas, paper or plastic?
THE most powerful brand strategy in green marketing is not found in what you say, but in what you do!
Goodwill International’s new “Donate Movement” is a model of online efficiency for consumer engagement. “Waste not, want not.”
They don’t doddle around trying to explain their differentiation over other important “green” causes and sustainability programs that compete for your attention. The “D Movement” website involves you immediately by enabling you to donate and recycle NOW!
Goodwill’s new “D Movement” is a partnership with Levi Strauss to make donating a more conscious decision. Their plan is to make the “D” the universal symbol for donating, like the recycling logo is to recycling. Would you really expect anything less from America’s first real recycler?
You always hear about “Search optimized” websites. Goodwill has “People optimized” this site.
For starters, you can quickly see the impact your donations have with Goodwill’s Donation Impact Calculator prominently featured on its homepage. The three pair of jeans I just donated to Goodwill of Central Arizona will support 34 minutes of on-the-job training. The two jackets I’m not going to need in our 112 degree weather just bought 1.2 hours of training. What do you think one lamp is worth in training? See for yourself.
Goodwill’s Thrifty Social Media Strategy Includes:
Goodwill makes it easy to “Like” the Donation Impact Calculator by locating the Facebook “thumbs up” button as part of the calculator’s interface.
The site uses Google maps to help you quickly find your nearest Goodwill donation center.
A live Twitter feed captures on-going chatter about the campaign.
A real-time digital counter tells you the poundage of usable items being saved from landfills.
You’re encouraged to show your support by adding the donate button to your Twitter and Facebook profile photos through the use of Twibbon. They pay you back with immediate gratification as you pop up as a “Recent supporter” on their site. Great engagement tool that compounds the reach of their campaign. Smart!
Goodwill invites you to join their blogger network. They request a post about why you donate, and ask that you include their donate button on your site. I’m joining, are you?
“Make a commitment to de-clutter… and donate your gently used clothing and household items to Goodwill a few times this year,” is their last call-to-action in the support section on the Donate Movement site.
Goodwill & Levi’s Nifty WOM Promotion
All great green marketers know that a sustainable word-of-mouth marketing strategy happens both online and off. That’s why I love what Levis is doing with the campaign right in their britches.
They’ve created a care label that tells you how to have the least impact on the planet with the washing of your jeans. The final tip is to donate your Levi jeans to Goodwill when no longer needed.
What the “D Movement” means by the numbers:
Goodwill diverts some two billions pound of useful product from landfills each year.
The revenue generating through the resale of donated items helped 1.9 million people in a variety of industries in 2009.
What do you think? After touring their site, does it push your donate and recycle buttons, or does it push you away?
It’s not enough to just run ad campaigns anymore. Your customer has WAY more control over your brand story than ever before. And your brand story must mean more to your customer than “Low price leader.” It’s critical that your brand resonate emotionally and deliver physically to actually make their lives better.
If you’re really good, your brand will even promote change for the better in your customer.
To survive in today’s market, the person, product, company or cause that you’re marketing has to turn their advertising campaigns into movements. I asked the folks at Park&Co to recommend 10 organizations that are great examples of turning a brand into a movement that matters. At the core of these consumer brands are the drive to educate customers about healthier choices, while filling their needs with their products and offerings.
BeTrulyYou.com – They offer glass water bottles, and recently did a big campaign to encourage consumers to Fall in Love with Their Tap. All the packing products are made from recycled materials and are, themselves, recyclable and biodegradable. All their items are designed to inspire and contribute positively to the environment. They don’t have the leverage or impact of a Walmart, but sometimes it’s the small guys that I think are truly the mighty ones.
Method – Their sustainability philosophy starts with the brand mission to “Inspire a Happy, Healthy Home Revolution,” and is centered around using innovation to create positive change.
Terracycle – TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage.
SunChips – I’ve written many times about SunChips and how Frito-Lay has completely structured its business model around a healthier snack chip that strives to make the planet healthier through the use of renewable energy and the first biodegradable snack bag. They even incite their customers to adopt the SunChip brand of friendly consumer environmentalism: not the Birckenstock kind, the Vans skateborder shoe kind.
Pepsi is trying to turn their soda into a movement with their “Refresh Everything Project.” I mention it because it has the DNA of exactly what I’m talking about. They’ve taken a commodity product and are trying to make it stand for something bigger than colored sugar water. I’m just not sure how well it’s working for the big guy. What do you think? Can a soda save the world?
Volkswagen, on the other hand, is doing a better job of inciting change within its customers as an extension of its brand. Check out The Fun Theory, a site dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. I love the musical keyboard stairs to promote taking the stairs over an escalator for exercise as an example of how The Fun Theory is a brand movement.
Adelante Healthcare – We practice what we preach, as is seen in the sustainable healthcare movement we helped create when we rebranded Adelante Healthcare. The organization’s three pillars of sustainability include sustaining individual patient health, sustaining the availability of healthcare, and sustaining healthy households, communities and planet. Their brand has grown from a 30-year-old community clinic to a leader in sustainable healthcare: a movement their patients can actively participate in and benefit from.
Red – Our creative director, Luis, chimed in with Red. “Like a lot of people, when that campaign first emerged I dismissed it as a clever marketing ploy. But 4 or 5 years later, it’s still growing and making a difference. Talk about sustainability…”
So who or what would you name as #10? Tell us about your favorite sustainable brand that has made a movement out of a mole hill.
16-foot pyramid comprised of 136 one-gallon water jugs is a striking demonstration of how much water each Arizonan uses every day.
The best stories aren’t written. They’re experienced. And when you’re selling sustainability, sometimes you need to startle people, grab them by their lapels, and shake them awake.
One chapter in our Water – Use It Wisely campaign story about water conservation is a painfully true tale about water waste.
It’s told through this precarious 16-foot pyramid of 136 one-gallon milk jugs: the average amount of water used per person, EVERY DAY, in Arizona.
And what do you think is the first thing we hear every time a passer by passes by?
“…there’s NO WAY I use that much water everyday.”
Wanna bet?
The Water – Use It Wisely water pyramid travels to the city halls, libraries and community centers of the towns and cities that make up the campaign partnership. It’s a green marketer’s story about sustainability that you don’t read or watch. You stand under it, look up, and think, “No way!” And the experience always leads to the same question…
“How can I possibly use all that water in one day?”
The answer is found on the website when you take the home water challenge. That’s the other part of powerful storytelling that all good green marketers know: Involve your reader. In this case, captivate your customers and prod them to act.
Go to the Water – Use it Wisely website and see for yourself exactly where your water is used and wasted. What you find there will probably surprise you.
You don’t have to live in Arizona to benefit from the information. Because chances are, you’re using as much or more than 136 gallons of water per day in your own life. Don’t believe me? Take the home water challenge.
Brands are incredibly complex. They are not about marketing. Great brands are about action. I think all of us marketers can agree with this sentiment from Owen Rogers, a senior executive at international design firm, IDEO. Here are the five essential attributes for sustainable brands from his presentation at the ‘09 Sustainable Brands conference.
1. Brands Thrive on Passion
He asks, “Do you remember where you were when Obama did his inauguration speech and how it made you feel?” Obama became a brand overnight because of his action. It’s about excitement, drive, emotion, connection and relationships. It’s about the things we feel. As marketers, it’s what we need to tap into, but is difficult to quantify. “Infectious” is another way to view the passion surrounding a brand. Is your brand infectious?
2. Brands Have Many Voices
He uses Comcast as an example. They are a classic technology infrastructure brand. All they used to talk about was their technology, bundled services and and price. Typical behavior for a commodity. But here is how they repackaged and repositioned their technology into emotions their customers can relate to and buy, and at a more expensive price than the commodity players.
3. Brands Create a Point of View and Express it Honestly
Who would you rather be next to a dinner party; a wallflower or a conversationalist? Target is a great example of a brand that has a point of view. They are consistent and loud, even if not everyone is on board with their point of view. Sustainability is a point of view that is ripe for the taking if companies would look at it as something more than just their CSR efforts. To own it – and few have done a great job at it – means creating something that is real.
4. Brands Are About Participation
Companies understand the value of bringing consumers into the conversation, but few brands do a good job of actually engaging the customer in participation. They’re still learning how to engage. There is an interesting study about the power struggle on Wikipedia that demonstrates consumer participation perhaps better than most, because you can see and measure the participation real time.
5. Brands Never Stop Evolving No one likes change, but it’s such a positive attribute for a brand to have. It speaks of innovation, conversation, movement, learning, and many more positive attributes. It keeps you thinking about the possibilities of what you can be. IBM is a great example. They started with punch cards, then to copiers, then to increasing your business efficiency, and now to creating a “Smarter Planet.”
Can Sustainability Be Thought of as a Brand?
Branding sustainability is about what you do, and not about what you say. Here are five examples of companies that demonstrate their actions with sustainability as a brand attribute.
Sustainability Thrives on Passion = Starbucks: Through its “Shared Planet” initiative
Sustainability Has Many Voices = Honda Insight: While Prius sells it’s miles-per-gallon benefit, the Insight captures the emotion of being green in this spot.
Sustainability Has A Point of View and Expresses it Honestly = Muji Rushi: They sell by showing consumers all of the things they don’t need.
Sustainability is about Participation = Patagonia: The original tin shed where this outdoor retailer got its start is home to one of the most engaging sites on the web.
Sustainability Never Stops Evolving = Nike: The shoemaker began making Jordan 23’s 23 years ago, and have evolved the product line to demonstrate its sustainable manufacturing.
“Sustainable brands sing when they are delivered with passion, speak to their customers in an appropriate voice, when they embrace true participation, and they never stop evolving. If you think of sustainability as a brand, it will free you up to new possibilities.’
SunChips
