Does anybody really get the term “carbon footprint?” I know I’m a resource-consuming, carbon-spewing organism on this planet, but making me aware of my carbon tonnage, in the words of the famous robot from Lost In Space, “Does not compute.”
That’s just one example of the problem with green marketing. It’s too distant, intangible, confusing and filled with empty promises. And sometimes a little creepy, like Dr. Smith.
It’s enough to make you want to blog. I’ve spent 15 years in the green marketing business and I’m not crazy about where it’s headed. Green is losing its luster because:
- Corporations toss it around like a buzzword without backing it up. See Coke’s latest environmental oopsydaisy.
- Marketers either weigh too heavily on “soft, feel good” messaging or harsh scare tactics.
- Engineers and bureaucrats make it too esoteric for us commoners to relate to. Carbon calculators do the math for us, but give me a backdrop or reference point to what those numbers really mean.
Let me ask you, by creating this blog, what does it cost the earth and what’s my impact on you relative to my carbon footprint? Environmental marketing and messaging can be so intangible.
Corona has a ball selling beer. It’s one of the most distinctive consumer brands out there. Why can’t we have as much fun encouraging consumers to rethink their environmental habits. Why do corporations have to sound like corporations when they’re trumpeting green causes? Is it really so hard to make environmental messaging human?
These are the kinds of questions and subjects I will be exploring in my new blog. I’m a typical ADHD entrepreneur. So to keep it simple and focused for me, and hopefully for you, I have five categories for my deeper-shade-of-green blog.
Consuming Green Stuff is a look at the environmental marketing consumers are being fed, and what is actually resonating with them.
Corporate Enviro Causes will be a collection of best (and worst) environmental messaging practices. I’ll be looking at companies large and small and commenting on how they walk their green talk.
Green Marketing focuses on the growing trend of creating environmental messaging that’s more tangible and consumer-friendly. IBM, for example, has done a nice job in this area, combining cold, blue capitalism with warm, friendly green in their current Disneyesque campaign.
Happy H Wisdom are articles about my background and the influences that guide this blog, starting with my formative years as a kid growing up on the “Happy H” in Woodinville, WA., my folk’s 12-acre spread just above the beautiful Sammamish Valley.
And finally…
My Social Media Odyssey, where I will document and archive my learnin’s, using social media as a tool to promote smart green messaging.
So welcome, and please feel free to comment and share. Who knows, maybe I’ll even offer some carbon credits to offset your time on line.
Cheers!
Tags: carbon footprint, conservation, environmental communications, Green Marketing
Posted in: Consuming Green Stuff, Corporate Enviro Causes, Green Marketing, Green Social Media, Happy H Wisdom, Sustainable Marketing
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