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Responsible Marketing LinkedIn group is heating up

By on November 28, 2011 in corporate responsibility, social media, socially responsible

Did you know there’s a Responsible Marketing Group on LinkedIn? Yep, it currently has an international membership of 866 members, and the conversation has recently heated up recently. Check out a great conversation we’re having about Denny’s Maple Bacon Sundae, and feel free to join us as we discuss where commerce and conscience collide and/or [...]

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12 examples of marketers that have exploited 9/11

By on September 10, 2011 in advertising, ethics, hall of shame, socially responsible

Last year, we inducted Courrier International into the Responsible Marketing Hall of Shame for their insensitive exploitation of 9/11. This year, Euronews has listed a dozen more examples in Marketing and the exploitation of 9/11 that are every bit as disturbing.  Here are the images: The exploitation of 9/11 by marketers is disrespectful, irresponsible on every [...]

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Another recycling award for Outsource Marketing

By on June 25, 2011 in announcement, corporate responsibility, environmentally responsible, socially responsible

We’re proud to receive recognition as a King County’s Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction once again this year. We are honored to join five other Issaquah businesses that were recognized for their sustainable efforts including  The City of Issaquah, The Issaquah School District, Timber Ridge at Talus, Rowley Properties, and Pogacha. This marks the fifth [...]

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KFC’s shameful attempt at Responsible Marketing

By on June 22, 2011 in cause marketing, hall of shame, promotion, socially responsible

A Utah KFC’s recent attempt at Responsible Marketing via this hair-brained cause marketing campaign has left us speechless: That’s right, buy a jug of high fructose corn syrup-powered soda pop—one of the primary causes of diabetes and childhood obesity—and we’ll donate a dollar to juvenile diabetes research. Our take: absolutely shameful and completely irresponsible. What’s [...]

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American eagles and flags coming soon to an ad near you

By on May 2, 2011 in advertising, commercialization, ethics, message responsible, socially responsible

Osama Bin Laden was a bad man and the world’s a better place without him. And I’m just as patriotic as the next guy.  But mark my words, soon you’ll see ads with American eagles and the American flag popping up, just like after 9/11 as advertisers aimed to capitalize on American emotions. With thousands of [...]

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Graphic warning labels on cigarettes proposed

By on November 11, 2010 in deceptive marketing, socially responsible, truth

I won’t bore you with all the reasons I hate cigarettes, but childhood migraines due to passive cigarette smoke is where my disdain for the stuff started. Given the shocking facts regarding the health risks, I’ve always thought cigarettes should be even more heavily regulated, if not banned outright here in the U.S. Imagine my [...]

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9-11 Courrier International ad

Hall of Shame: Courrier International exploits 9/11

By on September 7, 2010 in advertising, ethics, hall of shame, socially responsible

We’ve been pretty quiet on the blog lately, taking some of our own advice and trying to stay focused on some great client projects and our upcoming office move. But we simply couldn’t let this pass without saying something. French newspaper Courrier International‘s tagline is “learn to anticipate.” Really, this is a decent tagline that [...]

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Outsource Marketing receives recycling award for fourth consecutive year

By on June 24, 2010 in announcement, corporate responsibility, environmentally responsible, socially responsible

Each year, King County recognizes organizations that have made recycling and waste reduction a priority, so we’re honored to make the “Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction” list once again this year. Instead of us telling you how, here’s an excerpt from the webpage listing this year’s recipients: Outsource Marketing is a fourth-year Best [...]

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Can Responsible Marketing help fix BP?

By on June 18, 2010 in boycott, corporate responsibility, socially responsible, videos

The live streaming video of the oil spill turns my stomach, so I’ve been struggling with this question for weeks: “Can Responsible Marketing help restore BP?” My gut says “never!” but my brain says “maybe.” The fact is, trust requires both competence and character—two things BP lacks. I know it’s early to ask, but if BP [...]

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Can Responsible Marketing help fight childhood obesity?

By on May 19, 2010 in advertising, ethics, marketing to kids, socially responsible

From the The Wall Street Journal: The White House is calling on food makers to curb marketing of unhealthy foods to children, part of a broad assault against childhood obesity. The recommendation is part of a 120-page report released Tuesday that outlines steps to fight the national epidemic. One in every three children ages 2-19 [...]

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Motivation? Try purpose instead of money

By on May 17, 2010 in corporate responsibility, creativity, socially responsible, videos

The carrot or the stick? Neither. Research has shown that for knowledge workers, using money as an incentive actually hurts performance. You read that right. If you want your team to really shine, give them a purpose: View on YouTube We’ve been talking about the marketing benefits of adding purpose to an organization since the [...]

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Apple puts social responsibility up front

By on March 17, 2010 in corporate responsibility, message responsible, socially responsible

Anyone interested in the Apple iPad has no doubt been to the Apple homepage lately and discovered this nice surprise bottom-center: That’s right. At a time when Apple could be cross-selling any number of their new offerings, they are using one of the four sandboxes on their homepage to share their supplier responsibility practices. You [...]

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The Pepsi vs. Coke social good smackdown

By on March 4, 2010 in branding, cause marketing, socially responsible

When Coke and Pepsi start being judged by their social responsibility as much as their taste (and their ads), you’ll know Responsible Marketing has arrived, right? Well, that time has come. The Huffington Post recently ran an online poll pitting Pepsi’s Refresh Project Vs. Coke’s Live Positively campaigns. The associated article does a great job [...]

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The 7 Keys to Responsible Marketing in 2 Minutes

By on October 21, 2009 in casting responsible, environmentally responsible, execution responsible, fun, message responsible, movies, roi responsible, socially responsible, strategically responsible, videos

Want to know what Responsible Marketing is about but don’t have the time to read our white paper on the topic? Well, here’s “The 7 Keys to Responsible Marketing in 2 Minutes,” featuring the characters you’ve grown to love (or hate) in our Responsible Marketing web shorts. View on YouTube There ya go—with a video [...]

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Climate hype? Where there’s hype, there’s $

By on October 15, 2009 in environmentally responsible, socially responsible, videos

For Blog Action Day, I started crafting a post regarding the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December, but then I realized, hey, this blog is supposed to be about Responsible Marketing! Here’s an interesting Google Earth tour on the topic. Right after I’ll get to my real post. View on YouTube Okay, so I’ve [...]

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Is your “Green Czar” an angel or a devil?

By on October 2, 2009 in casting responsible, environmentally responsible, fun, movies, socially responsible, videos

In 2006, we decided we needed get serious about greening Outsource Marketing after years of agreement about having an environmentally responsible workplace but no real plan to make it happen. Since then, we’ve been recognized for our efforts and have even won a few workplace recycling awards. The two secrets to our success: Everyone at [...]

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Are we giving PSA’s a pass?

By on August 31, 2009 in message responsible, socially responsible, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

By now, you’ve probably seen or heard about the following PSA warning of the dangers of texting while driving produced by the Gwent Police Department in the UK. View video on YouTube The nearly unbearable gritty realism of a head-on collision features heads snapping back and forth on impact, gushing blood, a child crying for [...]

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Call us small minded

By on August 31, 2009 in announcement, corporate responsibility, environmentally responsible, socially responsible

We believe small things can have a big difference. That’s why printing on used paper and offering our guests a ‘glass’ of water, not a bottle, are all part of Outsource Marketing’s Green Pact. This year Outsource Marketing is pleased to once again receive the award for Best Workplaces for Recycling and Waste Reduction 2009 [...]

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Is responsibility the Holy Grail of marketing?

By on April 3, 2009 in cause marketing, interview, socially responsible

Gennefer Snowfield at the Triple Pundit interviewed me earlier this week and asked me a host of questions regarding Responsible Marketing, including— Where the Responsible Marketing concept came from; The impetus for this blog; How I define Responsible Marketing; Where Responsible Marketing fits with cause marketing; Which brands are leading in Responsible Marketing; My predictions [...]

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Shut off your lights at the office this weekend.

By on March 27, 2009 in environmentally responsible, socially responsible

In support of Earth Hour, all our lights will be shut off at Outsource Marketing this entire weekend. Mostly because I don’t want someone to have to come in and shut them off at 8:30 on a Saturday night. Here’s what it all about: On Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm millions of people around the [...]

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