Announcements:

Co-op America Green Business Conference
May 14-15 Chicago, IL.
November 11-14 San Francisco, CA

Starving for a green connection?
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to bite into the green business revolution at this hands-on conference. You can build the marketplace for green businesses. You'll connect with like-minded business visionaries and you will learn how green businesses succeed.

Interested in learning more, then get all the details at: coopamerica.org/

Sustainable Brands Conference 2008
June 2-5 Monterey, CA.

The global move toward innovation for sustainability is alive and well, and companies big and small are capitalizing on this new opportunity to build sales and brand equity.

If you are responsible for your company's brand or sustainability strategy, there is no more important conference to attend this year. To find out what this conference has to offer your brand, go to: sustainablelifemedia.com/

The Green Marketing Conference, Presented by Discovery Communications
Good And Green
December 3-4 Chicago, IL.

At Good And Green you’ll learn how to increase your brand’s emotional, cognitive and financial connection in today’s “greening” consumer markets.
More and more consumers are embracing green initiatives
Want to know if this is the conference for you, check out goodandgreen.biz/

News:

May 9, 2008
Runaware TestDrive a “Green” Marketing Alternative
Online software demo company Runaware creates "Green" alternative to marketers' boxes, CDs and brochures.

Read the full story

Tips & Tricks

Be aware and make Green efforts in your own office

Studies have been done again and again to gauge the impact of “green” claims on the likelihood of consumers to purchase these products.  Some claim that more than 200 million Americans consciously purchase green products; another study claims that more than 37% of consumers are more likely to remember advertising with green messaging.  However, it has also been shown that a majority of consumers are also skeptical of green claims made by companies when promoting their products.

You don’t always have to push green marketing as a benefit of your product, but when possible you can push green practices in your own marketing tactics.  Below are a few items to keep in mind when planning your marketing campaigns.

1. Redesign Your Materials. One of the most effective ways to go green is to consider the potential environmental impact of your printed material at the design stage. That means taking into things like paper weight, item size, and mailing format at the beginning. A smaller, lighter piece will not only reduce the amount of paper you ultimately use, but also the emissions of the trucks delivering your pieces. Self-mailers eliminate the need for envelopes. And, of course, always use both sides of the paper. The official term for this process is known as Design for the Environment, or DfE. For more about it, see EPA’s website http://www.epa.gov/dfe/.
2. Select the Right Printer. Select printers that practice sustainability. Look for providers that use Energy Star printers and copiers; soy- or vegetable-based or recycled, filtered inks; and solvents free of toluene and methylene chloride. Check to make sure they use alcohol-free printing processes. Ideally, look for printers that employ green practices throughout their plant, such as a comprehensive recycling program, energy and water efficiencies, and purchase of renewable fuels.
3. Send Effective Emails. Despite spam, statistics show that email remains an excellent way to build relationships with your customers and promote events and products. Build a solid email list of your customers that you can also break down into specific audience segments to better target your message. Ensure that your list is permission-based and that any email you send out has a prominent opt-out link. Include only the highest quality content and provide value to your target audience with minimal self-promotion.
4. Leverage Your Website. Make sure to design the landing page of your website with your promotion in mind. Whatever Internet marketing strategy you use, be sure that the page that brings visitors to your website is designed specifically for them and clearly highlights what you are promoting. And don’t forget to post absolutely every document you can rather than mailing it.
5. Promote online demos – CDs may never go away as some consumers still do not have the means to quickly download large software files to use on their own system.  However, to save cost and impact on the environment, you can first promote the use of online demos and downloads with the offer to ship a CD as a last resort.  Both of these trial methods avoid the impact caused by having to manufacture and ship materials.