Category: sustainable marketing

  • Sustainable Marketing in 3 Steps

    Sustainable Marketing in 3 Steps

    I may have mentioned a time or two, I pretty much love Earth…leaves, butterflies, oxygen…love…all of it. So, yes, I’m pretty passionate when it comes to sustainable marketing practices.

    Before I became the CEO for @redbridge, I was a marketer of energy-efficiency programs. I called what I did, saving the world one kwh at a time. Anyway, when you promote energy-efficient products and choices you need to lead by example or people get skeptical. Nobody wants that.

    My 10+ years of sustainable marketing practices can be boiled down into 3 simple steps. Here they are:

    1. Think “green” brainstormy thoughts!
    2. Design to make green “the new black”.
    3. Buy green. It’s just nice. :)

    Have I wowed you with my brilliance yet? Well…I hope NOT because I can talk about this ALL DAY! So, here I go, the 3 secrets revealed in 5…4…3…2…1…:

    1. Think “green” brainstormy thoughts!

    In my perfect world, a marketing plan serves as a road map for upcoming marketing activities. You’ve planned out as far as a year in advance. Relaxed brainstorm sessions happen in the quarter prior to the deliverable’s deadline allowing you to glance out further in the timeline to see if there are other materials forecasted that can be combined. I also have a pet unicorn in that world.

    In my real world experience, you plan out as far ahead as possible and stay flexible. So the more you can think green thoughts on the fly, the better Earth is going to get. Whether your next item is well-planned, or a marketing emergency, consider what you’re trying to accomplish and how the end result can be created, greenly. For instance:

    • Email vs. Direct Mail: Get email addresses for your target audiences and send email campaigns versus direct mail. They have similar return rates, AND e-mail can be re-purposed easily for a follow-up emails. It’s also got analytics for capturing data and saves paper and ink.
    • Web ad vs. Print ad: Think about it…you can be more targeted, include animation and capture analytics. I’m giddy just thinking about the possibilities! Animate a .gif, or better yet, add flash or link to a video that shows your audience how much you love them. Expand your advertising dollars by linking your ad to an even more targeted page inside your website etc., etc. That’s…uh-mazing!
    • Web-based contest vs. Print: Printing can be both beautiful and expensive. Why not create a wildly exciting web-based contest solutions and encourage users to forward their invite to non-participants? Use Scvngr and create a web-based n hunt and get your participants interacting in all sorts of picture-taking, webby goodness. Or, maybe create a video contest. Here are some cool samples of how others like are doing it. Go @Zappos!Web based contests can increase activity without increasing budget. You could have a full-fledged viral contest without adding labor resources or printing dollars. Analytics provide direct return on investment results. And, by letting technology do the work, your resources are freed up to focus on the next great thing.
    • Online forms vs. Printed forms: This one should go without saying…direct input to database…genius and earth-friendly. And think of the paper you’ll save! You stand to benefit from real-time data and your customers will love that you’ve sped up rebate processing times. It’s a Win-Win. Even Steve Covey would love that!
    • Less deliverables vs. more: Why create a multiple pieces that serve the same purpose as one. Sustainable marketing encompasses more and lasts longer. Think “timeless content and multi-use materials” and watch your marketing dollars stretch.
    • Online events vs. In-Person events:Cloud computing has enabled conference hosts to stream live audio, video and collaboration of events.  Companies like Social 27 have created full-fledged ways to share valuable knowledge over the world wide web while saving attendees travel expenses. It’s the ultimate “green” conference.

    2. Design to make green “the new black”.

    You know black. It’s always in, always sexy, and always in demand. Well, let’s bring green’s sexy back, yes?

    There was a time when making green materials meant spendy and with some quality sacrifices. But great news…those days are history. There are so many cost-effective and beautiful marketing alternatives that are eco-friendly. And not just digital solutions, marketers have an opportunity to take green marketing to a whole new level. From concept through production, there are tons of things that can be considered.

    • Size to maximize paper usage. Yes, bigger is big, but take creativity to the next level. Instead of producing a single sheet 8.5×11, consider minimizing content at half the size. Work with your printer to find out what sheet size the project is printing on in order to get the most from one sheet. If you can get two by reducing the size by a 1/2″, why not? You’ll save materials and cost. :) Uh…yay!
    • Paper materials. Recycled paper stocks are available for all sorts of things. Eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean that your materials look like chipboard, even though chipboard can be pretty, too. @NewLeafPaper produces Reincarnation paper stocks that print beautifully, and feel like velvet…velvet. Recycled paper is available in cover and text weights. There are also biodegradabe substrait substitutes for Banner materials and event very beautifully done event displays – all earthy-goodness. Whoda thunk?
    • Design for long-life. As you’re developing your marketing plan, look at the current materials, but also see what you’ll be developing further out to see what you’ve got on the radar. Consider what materials could be combined into multi-use items.

    3. Buy green. It’s just nice. :)

    Everyone says buy green, right? And it means a LOT of things to different people. Here’s my interpretation…

    • Use recyclable materials. If you’ve got a short-term promotion, create marketing materials that can either be reused or will easily break down into the environment. Vendors usually have recycleable substrate options on hand or easily accessable, so ask for an environmentally friendly option.
    • Consider environmentally friendly promotional products. Think about what products can be both useful and and memorable to your end user and work with a vendor to see what sustainable products are available that fit your needs. Stress balls and those little flashlights are inexpensive and fun, but when we’re 100, there’s a pretty good chance, they’re still going to be in a landfill.
    • Give love to local. Local vendors mean a few things…support for local businesses and no shipping. And, look for FSC Certified vendors…that’s gold star worthy. Establish ways to dispose of used materials in sustainable ways. Include messaging on your materials to let users know where they can recycle.

     

    So there you go — 3 steps — planet…saved. Feel free to comment with additional ideas! And if you’re interested in greening up your marketing, let’s connect! Ooh…and if you want to know if I’m paid to promote the companies/products mentioned my answer is…Nope. I just love what they do and how they do it. Earth does too.

  • Product Review: The Starbys App Makes Me :)!

    Product Review: The Starbys App Makes Me :)!

    Sooo…it’s Peppermint Mocha time at Starbys and I love love looooove red cups. Imagine my sheer glee when I realized that I can not only pay for a venti with my phone, BUT that I can send one via the world wide web to a high school friend who lives 10 hours away…Neat-o!

    Starbucks App InterfaceYup, Starbucks has an app. (Well, actually they have three, but I’ll go into that later.) Two of my favorite things combined — technology + coffee =  download ASAP.

    It’s free and it’s in the App store. The interface is very user-friendly and does a little bit/LOT of everything. Here’s a list of features:

    1. Drinks: Create and store your favorite drinks AND those of your friends
    2. Favorites: Create and store locations, coffee types and foods
    3. Coffees: Get full descriptions, photos and recommendations for the entire line of Starbucks Coffees
    4. Food: Find nutritional, allergens and calorie info for foods available at Starbucks
    5. Drinks: Create and store customized drink builder with nutritional information using a step by step process
    6. Jobs: They have a pretty green brand…
    7. Settings: Your profile
    8. Help: Help
    9. Scanner: Hellooooooo, QR Code scanner…LOVE
    10. My Card: Store card and transaction history, PLUS allows easy balance reload by storing card info
    11. Rewards: Birthday Coffee?! Yes… I’m so in!
    12. Gifts: Brighten someone’s day – no matter how far away they live!
    13. Stores: Location, location, location…
    14. It’s sustainable – no cards, no paper, just environmental goodness

    Starbucks App Gift Long story short, if you love coffee or know someone who might enjoy getting a coffee, you might want this app. You can gift, buy and discover all things Starbucks Coffee. I am a Starbucks maniac and had heard about the app from a friend a few months ago. Since I first downloaded, I’ve tracked over $100 in purchases, reloaded and surprised a friend with a free coffee on his Facebook wall.

    Aside from Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks seems have the coffee company app market cornered. In comparison, the Dunkin’ Donuts app is limited to locating stores and feedback via a discussion forum, versus the fully customizable interactive app from Starbucks.

    A word of caution, as I mentioned before there are three Starbucks apps available; the actual Starbucks App, the Starbucks Card App, and the interactive Christmas Starbucks App, for the real brand enthusiasts.

    To locate and install the correct app, just search for Starbucks and look for the green mermaid. Or, download right now.

    (Oh, and if you want to test it out, feel free to send me a coffee…shannon@redbridgeonline.com…yes? No?)

     

  • Product Review: Postcard on the Run App (genius!)

    Product Review: Postcard on the Run App (genius!)

    The absolute greatest thing EVER happened! My, now fiance, Eric asked me to marry him…on the red bridge*…and I was wearing a SpiritHood…and there were sea lions down below the bridge…swimming. And we have pictures of THAT moment!

    Attention Selena Gomez, you just invested in the best company EVER!

    Postcard on the Run preview

    So…after the magic moment, naturally I posted and shared with all of my social media accounts. Hmmm, I’ll be honest, in my excitement I didn’t immediately call my family and they were less than pleased. But…crisis averted, calls made, people forgiven. Except, my grandma. She’s 86 and hasn’t realized the magic of #Apple and the world wide web just yet. She prefers mail to calling.

    So when I heard about the FREE Postcard on the Run app on Twitter I downloaded right after I sent a “woohoo” text to @POSTCARDing expressing my gratitude (to which they promptly responded with a thank you). It might’ve taken two minutes before I was opening the app and gearing up to send my grandma the best postcard of my LIFE. Oh…for $0.99. Postcard on the Run is the perfect solution to the busy techy with moments to share and not enough time in the day.
    (Download now at http://postcardonthego.com/)

    Postcard on the Run previewUnfortunately, I wish that I could have a LOT of moments for life (shout out to @NICKIMINAJ1Luv). My phone was packed with 10,000 pictures. Everything from Norbert, the Gnome on his epic vacations to the view from the 86th floor on the Empire State Building gets shared with random @Foursquare, @Instagram and tweeting people. When I touched the “Use Existing Photo” button the app froze. I sent a reply back to @POSTCARDing about what had appened and they responded right away reassuring me that they wouldn’t sleep until the problem was fixed. We sent a few emails back and forth and agreed that the number of images might be causing the freeze. It turns out 10,000 great moments on an #iPhone will not only cause your phone to randomly rebuild the image library on occasion but will also freeze the Postcard on the Run app like nobody’s business. Aside from the initial freezing on behalf of my picture hoarding there wasn’t a downside to this app.

    On the cup half full side, Postcard on the Run is a low cost way to send personalized postcards to people you care about. The interface is intuitive, the app is available on the app store. It’s fast and it’s easy to download and use. The attention to detail and level of customer service is amazing. On the security side, your information isn’t stored. In terms of quality, if an image is used that isn’t high enough resolution, the app will reject it, ensuring that when your reader gets the card, they see a sharp and professional looking postcard that you can sign, add a personal message to and preview before sending. My grandma’s going to be super excited!

    I’m probably going to be an addict so, send me your address. I’ll send you a postcard.

    And, if you love that wolf hat, you can buy one at www.spirithoods.com.