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.
Everyone at Outsource is required to sign our Green Pact. The Pact is our personal vow to abide by a list of rules we developed as a team regarding paper use, bottled water, use of cleaning supplies and such.
While several people were passionate about the idea, one person, dubbed our “Green Czar,” was given the responsibility and authority to lead the charge.
Some team members were perfect for the role: They motivated us to do what was necessary and made us feel good about the work we were doing.
Others? Well, let’s just say some people can drive you to drink.
So, what are some of the best practices you’ve seen in workplace recycling programs?
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 world will turn off their lights for one hour, Earth Hour to join the largest call to action on climate change in history. Through every flick of the light switch you are voting for our elected officials to take immediate and lasting action on the climate crisis.
We all have a stake. We all have a voice. We all have a vote.
Turn Out for Earth Hour. Vote Earth
So, send out an email now to everyone in your office right now.
Don’t leave it up to the cleaning crew to shut off all the lights. Do it before you leave the office today.
It’s easy, and I guarantee everyone in your company will be happy to participate.
And of course, you can shut your lights off at home tomorrow night, too.
At least, that’s the question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.
We printed and mailed holiday cards to key clients and sent digital versions to friends of the firm and the folks we communicate with regularly in social media circles.
But I wasn’t sure if should send printed holiday cards.
Every card we sent had a carbon footprint: Printing uses energy, and though we print green every one of those cards traveled by truck, and some by plane to ultimately end up the reception desk somewhere, to be hopefully recycled sometime between today and January 2nd.
Still, digital holiday cards just don’t feel as usable or special to me. Even the really cool ones. Color me old-fashioned.
When we’re doing marketing strategy and planning for our clients, we ask the same questions. With shrinking budgets, should we consider a simple PDF instead of that printed brochure or flyer? At certain volumes, multimedia and video are an option, as well.
But if you are trying to build trust, just how permanent does a PDF feel?
It would be easy for me to create a table that lists the advantages of print vs. digital—and I’ll do that eventually.
But I’d like to know what you think.
What do you believe the advantages of print vs. digital are, and vice versa.
Great packaging can be the difference between success and failure for some products. As marketers, it’s our responsibility to make sure the products we are marketing are packaged in a way that merchandises well, is easy to display, and showcases its best features on the shelf—especially when stacked up against the competition.
Creative packaging reinforces and in some cases is the primary contact point for a brand. Unique shapes, sizes, formats, structures and materials are all in the mix when you want your product to stand out in the crowd and get people talking.
But as marketers, we’re also responsible for the perception of our brand—and most consumers hate excessive packaging. The fact is, excessive and frustrating packaging gets people talking too.
Here’s a product we received from Amazon.com today. What do you think when you see this?
The world’s smallest wireless mini USB adapter came in a box 25 times larger than necessary, and the Amazon box the product package came in was at least three times larger than it needed to be.
While I’m picking on Amazon, they are actually working to address the problem with Frustration-Free Packaging:
Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging, a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate “wrap rage,” features recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties. The product itself is exactly the same—we’ve just streamlined the packaging.
I hope packaging absurdities like the one we witnessed today will become a thing of the past, but kudos to Amazon for taking a step in the right direction. That said, I’ll reserve the right to “un-kudo” them in the future if they act too slowly.
Will reduced packaging hurt merchandising? Possibly, but not for online purchases.
Should marketers be responsible for the amount of packaging used on a product? If we care about your brand perception and the environment, I say yes.
Enough of what I think.
What do you think of the reduced packaging versus merchandising dilemma?
In an innovative public-private partnership, Fuel Outdoor has donated 600 Solar powered bus shelters to the City of Miami.
It’s “a revolutionary model at work—corporate advertising dollars are being used to clean the environment,” says Miami Mayor, Manny Diaz.
Michael Freedman, CEO of Fuel, describes their unique business approach:
We have a triple bottom line when assessing any new property. One that looks at our own bottom line, the people in the communities we’re working in and how our decisions impact the green initiative. The Miami deal shows how well this can work.
Our donation of bus shelters to the City of Miami ensures safe, clean illumination and security for nighttime passengers while making virtually no impact on Miami’s environment.
The 20 year contract will eliminate over two tons of carbon dioxide emissions per advertising panel, per year. That a lot of Co2!
Hats off to Fuel and the City of Miami for blazing new environmentally responsible trails in the outdoor advertising space.
How can you make marketing environmentally responsible?
Full disclosure: By sheer coincidence, Outsource Marketing serves two Fuel Outdoor vendors—one that manufactures the shelters and outdoor furniture, the other provides them with their solar panels.
We do not, however, have any relationship with Fuel Outdoor.
As a teen, one of my favorite comedies was The Jerk starring Steve Martin. It’s a classic filled with unforgettable lines: “You mean I’m going to stay this color?” and “I’ve found my special purpose!” come to mind immediately. Navin Johnson’s excitement when the phone books came was unforgettable:
Navin Johnson: The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!
Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Navin Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 – Johnson, Navin R.! I’m somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity – your name in print – that makes people. I’m in print! Things are going to start happening to me now.
Sorry Navin, but I’m with Harry on this one—but not for the reason you might expect.
The Yellow Pages aren’t the problem. If your customers find you there, you need to be there—like it or not. You need to be media neutral, and I’ve recommended eliminating all Yellow Pages advertising for some clients, and encouraged others to increase their annual spend.
You see, the problem is with the way the content of the Yellow Pages is delivered—the phone book itself.
My personal phone book experiences
At home, we get three or four books from different providers
At work, we receive a stack about three feet high – this year we were to keep the delivery person from dropping them off
Before starting Outsource Marketing in 1997, my employer’s office received so many phone books they were delivered on pallets
Like many people, I haven’t used a printed phone book in over a decade, but I use the Yellow Pages online all the time.
The environmental impact
Over 540 million phone books were printed and delivered last year. Here’s the impact according to YellowPagesGoesGreen.org:
To produce 500 million books:
19 million trees need to be harvested
1.6 billion pounds of paper are wasted
7.2 million barrels of oil are misspent in their processing (not including the wasted gas used for their delivery to your doorstep)
268,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up
3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity are squandered
Sobering statistics, but if you think eliminating the Yellow Pages is going to be easy, think again.
The Yellow Pages are big business
Even though though there is a transition to online Yellow Pages advertising, the money is in the printed books. Here are some Yellow Pages industry statistics from PaperlessPetition.org, a group working to scrap the phone book:
Global Industry Revenue: $26 billion
U.S. Industry Revenue: $14 billion
Revenue from printed directories: 97%
Revenue from online directories: 3%
What can be done?
PaperlessPetition.org has a reasonable approach.
Their first option is to make all phone books strictly on-demand. If you ask for a directory, you get one.
Their second option is to create an Opt-Out Registry similar to the Do Not Call Registry or the DMA Choice program from Direct Marketing Association that lets you control the types of direct mail you receive.
I’d recommend that all books should have a URL and a phone number you can call if you’d like to stop receiving printed phone books, or if you see phone books littering your neighborhood.
So, do you use a printed phone book?
How would you like phone book distribution to be handled?
An embeddable collection of Fortune 500 logos, tagged with words like “logotype”, “symbol” and “acronym” to make it helpful to sort through different variations and approaches to design.
A useful tool for creative inspiration and competitive intel:
There’s something new at Starbucks, but it’s not on the menu and it doesn’t cost a dime.
The GOOD Sheet, a weekly “graphical exploration of some of the major issues facing us in this election season and beyond,” appeared in all Starbucks nationwide yesterday.
The goal of the GOOD Sheet is to stimulate conversation during this all-so-important election season regarding real issues that really matter.
It’s being produced by the folks at GOOD, “a collaboration of individuals, businesses and nonprofits pushing the world forward.” Their website, videos and magazine are at once visually and intellectually stimulating. I’ve subscribed to GOOD magazine for over a year now and have enjoyed some fascinating articles regarding the environment, health care, China, education and more.
Issue No. 001 focuses on Carbon Emissions. Here’s the inside spread:
