There’s something about full-size cars stacked in a dumpster that really makes a guy stop and ponder. I imagine that was the idea behind the display I saw at Nanaimo’s Galaxy Motors on the weekend. As a nifty take on the ‘cash for clunkers’ program, this piece of street art works quite well, practically screaming, ‘Trade in the old piece of crap!!’
But on another level, it makes a statement about our disposable culture that might not reflect too well on the entire automotive industry.
First off, these cars are not antiquated rust buckets. At least, not to my increasingly old-fogey-ish sensibilities. So just what is the lifespan of an automobile supposed to be? Five years? Ten? At what point does increased efficiency of a fresh vehicle make up for the embedded carbon in its manufacture, and the energy required to recycle the old beater?
Moreover, when you decorate your dealership with a garbage bin full of cars (which were once shiny and new on a lot themselves not that long ago) what does that say about the quality of the product on the outside of the dumpster? You’re next?
Now, if the lot were selling only plug-in electrics and hybrids, the dynamic changes entirely. Heck, you could make the car-in-a-garbage-can your LOGO for an auto dealership like that. Perhaps Galaxy is just ahead of their time.
I figured Detroit would invent the Disposable Car someday. I just didn’t think it would be all of them.
If you are reading this online, you have no doubt seen those motion-graphic info-style videos that redefine the boring statistical approach with hip soundtracks, shoot-from the hip voiceovers and hipster animated graphics.
Well I’m pleased to tell you about a local company who is not only producing these top-quality motion graphic vids, but is pioneering a for-profit/non-profit business model that is quite interesting, indeed.
The company is Thought Bubble, and I had a good chat with founders Jonathan Corbiere and Suzanna Brusikeiwicz, (Pronounced Broo-See-Ke-Vich, as we all know) to find out more. The basic idea is that they do commercial motion graphics projects, for eco-friendly & sustainable companies, (as much as possible), then use a portion of the proceeds to fund similar projects for non-profits with important stories to tell. This could be a charity, a community organization or an author.
To get an idea of the power this medium projects, check out their Thought Bubble demo. It not only describes the ‘information graphic’ approach well, it also tells a nice tidy brand story with the Thought Bubble name as metaphor.
As a majority of respondents in my Green Briefs survey indicated that online video was going to be a top trend for them in 2010, this resource could come in pretty handy.
If you like this style and want to find out more, drop me a line or check out the Thought Bubble website directly.
Last year I wrote about Burnaby-based New World Foods, a solid local contender in the organic granola category. A few days ago I got an email from their Vice President, Rajinder Bagga, asking me to spread the word about their fundraising drive for Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief. They are donating 50 cents from every bag purchased, from now until February 28th. It should be noted that the smaller a company, the more difficult it is to absorb a profit hit from such an initiative. Which to me, makes it worth that much more.
The mess in Port Au Prince will take years to clean up, so I encourage you to stock up on some granola and help keep the aid flowing. Even if you have already given in other ways.
What the heck. Buy a few bags for your own earthquake kit while you’re at it.
Look for New World products at London Drugs, IGA, Planet Organic, Whole Foods, Stongs, Sweet Cherubim, Famous Foods and many independent food stores.
For more information email newworld@telus.net.
It’s every green CEO’s nightmare – convincing the board to invest in sustainability only to see the competition rise with the tide of public opinion for doing nothing. This is one of the potential scenarios painted in an interesting report called MapChange 2010, released this week by Change and Angus Reid Public Opinion. (Change is a ‘Green Innovation Brand Agency’ based in Vancouver. Angus Reid – well, 98.9% of you know who they are, 19 times out of 20)
The study used two distinct measurements to gauge actual and perceived leadership in addressing climate change. To measure actual brand sustainability they used Climate Count’s newly released 2010 corporate climate scores. To measure consumer brand perception, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey of 2,032 American adults.
Some surprising results: Kellog’s has a perceived climate leadership score of 82. Their actual – just 42. Compare with Stonyfield Farm whose score is almost directly the inverse, with a perceived leadership of only 44 and an actual score of 81. Ouch.
For more details, why not just go download the report yourself. It’s free. And well worth reading if corporate sustainability and public perception are important in your world.
Now I wonder what would happen if Change and Angus Reid applied that methodology to INDIVIDUALS…. hmmmm.
I’m hoping that I will be lambasted by irate backers of BC’s newest Aboriginal Marketing Certification program, pointing me to the obvious websites and supporting information I missed. I really am.
When I read yesterday’s Globe & Mail article showing off the new ‘Authentic Aboriginal’ logo and certification program I was impressed. It is a clean image and a good idea. I would much rather buy goods that I know are supporting legitimate local businesses and artisans, rather than art thieves with connections to Asian factories. It is also a testament to hard work and community thinking that allowed 60 native organizations to come together under one seal. (Perhaps they should give seminars to our Provincial Government leaders)
But when I went looking for more information about the program, my enthusiasm wilted. There was no link to a website for more information in the Globe, so I Googled the term, only finding more news articles from the same PR release. Looking further to the beautifully art-directed Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC website, (mentioned in the newspaper article as providing the ‘rigorous screening’ for the program), there was not even a mention in the news section, let alone a page or two devoted to this important initiative.
So please, make me wrong. Show me where I can link to more description on the screening process, the marketing minds and designers behind the program, and better yet – a list of approved products and services. And while you’re at it, a place where I can sign up for an e-newsletter to keep me informed.
If that doesn’t exist yet, give me a call. You have a great story to tell, and I can help you find at least one Authentic Aboriginal writer to get it done.
I stood dumbstruck, looking at the latest poster campaign for our Green Capital campaign. Type only, a headline with no direct involvement for the reader, copy with no specifics, and generic web addresses buried at the bottom as a half-hearted call-to-action. How did such a dull poster possibly get made with these ingredients:
1) Vancouver – jewel of the Pacific Northwest, a city many say is the most beautiful on earth.
2) A bold new vision from our City Council aiming to make us ‘The Greenest City in the World’ by 2020.
3) Hundreds of individuals, businesses, and events that are already getting us well on our way.
4) A creative community bristling with under-recognized designers, artists, marketers most of whom (yours truly included) who would give up some very useful left parts of their anatomy to help tell this story.
Now, I don’t want to throw stones at anyone’s work. I have certainly turned out my fair share of turds, driven by deadline, client intransigence, surplus of alcohol and/or lack of caffeine. But is this really the best we can do to inspire our citizens and get them involved?
My regular Green Briefs readers will know that I firmly believe it is easier to criticize than create. It is therefore my practice to provide some solutions along with the brickbats. (In fact, in an earlier blog post on the Green Capital Campaign I offered several ideas for engaging the public in this worthy vision) So once again, unasked and unpaid, I humbly offer a few suggestions for Mayor Gregor and my hard-working colleagues at the City of Vancouver.
Green Briefs Marketing Recommendation
1) Be specific. State some goals. The Green Capital report is full of bold, visionary specifics that are much more intriguing than the generic and somewhat hazy ‘Bright Green Future’. Use them.
2) Recognize people who are already doing their part. Like maybe, Oh I don’t know… transit riders???!! Extend the Green Capital branding with the term ‘Green Capitalist’ to engage our citizens. (Note that it is quite possible to make a successful type-only campaign if there is no budget for visuals. The copy just has to work harder)
3) Paint a visual picture of the future. Let people imagine what being a ‘Green Capital’ would be like. Tease them with some specific parts of the plan. In all cases, make the call-to-action bolder and specific to this campaign. That way not only will people find answers to these specific issues with one click, you will be able to track the campaign’s success.
So there you have it. A few short hours with Photoshop, Google Images and a PDF copy of the Green Capital report is all it takes. Call me.
I spotted ‘Vancouver’s 2010 Streetcar’ on a testing run at the Granville Island terminus today. Aside from the visual stopping power of this sleek modern Bombardier train, an equally sleek transit advertisement on its side is what caught my eye.
“The climate is right for trains.” it boldly proclaims. I like this statement. It’s quick, clean and leverages the Global Warming issue without being heavy handed. And I couldn’t agree more with the logic. But some of the largest transportation decisions by the Province would seem to indicate that our leaders think otherwise.
We can begin with the Sea to Sky Highway. Though a beautiful piece of asphalt to drive, it would have been a much more forward thinking decision to upgrade the rail line and provide a high speed link that would enable car-free recreation and commuting for all the bedroom communities that are springing up along the route.
The twinning of the Port Mann bridge is another example of trainless decision making. Although it has been claimed that this solution offers ‘room for future rail’, one UBC study points out that we could have a whole regional rail network for the same price. http://www.thetyee.ca/News/2009/03/25/LightRail/
So cheers to the new streetcar, even though it only travels 1.8km, (a distance the average person can walk in about 20 minutes)
What do you say we take up “The climate is right for trains.” as a new rallying cry, and try to get Victoria on board?
To find out more about our new streetcars, (and get even more jealous of municipalities that have a real rail system) go here: http://www2.bombardier.com/Vancouver/index.html
Ever since I first laid eyes on the Orion Slave Girl from the original pilot episode of Star Trek, I knew. Now the research backs it up.
A study recently called Eco-Insights, released by Earthsense, identified women as the green market’s most important movers. If you have a green brand, take note:
“Women are more likely than men to take actions such as donating money or time to an environmental group and boycotting products/brands with poor environmental reputations.” says Earthsense in their Echo e-newsletter. “They also are more likely to … go out of their way to buy brands they believe in.”
A few more highlights on the greener sex:
Top reasons for buying green food products: Taste (49%) and Ingredients (40%)
Top reasons for buying green personal care or household products: Ingredients (22%) and Health Concerns (20%)
Top three sources women trust for green info: Friends/Family/Colleagues (55%), Online search engines (50%) and Television (41%)
Social Media ranked 10th at just 19%
Percentage of women who think companies are not taking enough responsibility for the environment: 70%
When it comes to saving planets, Kirk and Spock might be well advised to let the Orion Slave Girl take the helm. If you are marketing a green product or service ask yourself if you are doing enough to communicate with this important species.
Want to know more? Visit the earthsense.com or give them a call at 866.237.9108 / 315.579.0015.
This holiday season, Vancouverites may have noticed a trashy little ad campaign from Metro Vancouver encouraging them to re-think their holiday waste. These are transit ads at my local Canada Line station spied on my way to Oakridge Mall (OK, I’m busted – not all of my shopping takes place at the local handmade craft fair) The city also assembled an over-sized garbage-bag tree on a busy corner downtown. Here’s a link to a nice YouTube video they produced on that bit of street theatre.
In all, it’s a simple message, and one that resonates with me every year I see store shelves groaning under greater loads of tacky stuff I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Yet, it appears not all Vancouver shoppers agree. More on that presently.
First, a few Green Briefs Thoughts on the ads themselves.
The image of the Christmas-bow-clad garbage bag is a decent idea. It’s very direct and easy to see. It’s a bit stark on the white background though, and a cheerier font for the headline would have created even more contrast between the charm of the holidays and the reality of our garbage situation. I’m not sure the multiple bags execution works. It certainly looks a bit weird side-by-side as posted above. The real garbage tree downtown was a nice touch – assuming they didn’t use real bags fresh from the back of a truck.
On the whole, though, they could have made the campaign much more powerful by adding a human element. Imagine a small, cute child posing with the ‘trash present’. This would not only make the image more of a stopper, it would allude to the fact that waste is a long-term problem we’re literally giving our children every year.
“Hey METRO VANCOUVER – hows about keeping your nose out of my business?” quipped one, (presumably unaware of the fact that garbage is everyone’s business)
Another reader went further afield. “Spent weekend Christmas Shopping in Seattle… no City Hall Humbugs…they closed main streets to have a parade and … handed out mulled wine in plastic glasses, right on the sidewalk…” (Add carbon emissions to that person’s Christmas list)
If anyone from City Hall is reading this, please let me know what the response was to the campaign from your point of view. I’ll follow up with a few calls in the new year to see if there were any measurable results in garbage volume.
In the meantime, desr green Briefs Readers, have a very Merry Christmas, recycle what you can, drink the rest and remember that even the Grinch finally figured it out:
“And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
You clicked, you voted, you commented. Then I procrastinated. So before the data is dated, (not to mention the iPod prize) I am happy to present some of the more interesting findings from the Unicycle Creative Brand Survey 2009. And of course, reward one lucky clicker.
The objective was to find out where my readers think the marketing business is going, and learn a little more about where Green Briefs (and parent corp Unicycle Creative) fits into that picture.
First of all, this is not a statistically-perfect survey. For instance, we didn’t have a single “Big-Screen-Lovin’ Frequent-Flying Hummer-Driving UFC Fan” log-in. So our data is skewed more heavily toward the “Mostly Recycling Own-your-own-Starbucks-Cup Guilty Commuter” point of view.
Most of you thought “the cost of going green” is going to be the big sustainability challenge ahead, followed closely by “consumer education”. One of you said the biggest challenge would be to “Walk the talk when trying to stay in business.” That kind of summed up 2009 for a lot of sustainable companies, I suspect.
58.3% think the small agency model is ‘Alive and kickin’, while only around 30% give that status to the big agencies. And in a bottom-of-the-barrel race, 41.7% said the Infomercial business is also in fine shape – while almost same number said Telemarketing is dead as a doornail. Somebody tell those losers who keep interrupting me at feeding time.
A majority get business-critical information from trade-specific publications and business websites, though blogs rated fairly well in third place.
One of the most telling statistics was around emerging media. Almost 70% of you think rich media – Online Video, Flash, Webcasts, Podcasts etc – will be the most important to business moving forward. Second choices were split between mobile media, sponsorship and experiential media (street teams etc). One astute reader summed it up nicely: “ I see the MOST important as having a strategy in place that considers the vehicles above. Without strategy your can waste a ton of time and $…”
There was less common ground, however, when looking for companies who are doing ‘green marketing’ well. Some responses:
“I think Mountain Equipment Coop is doing a good job because they have made it a core value of the company rather than an “initiative” of the company.”
“…VanCity is doing some things right… as is Whole Foods (although very exclusive price-wise), and BC Hydro”
“E squared = 0 !! When everyone is crying, “look at what a fabulous green job we’re doing”….no-one stands out!”
“I do appreciate the brands who ARE green vs. the brands who are jumping on the bandwagon. Method cleaning products vs. P&G product extensions.”
“Patagonia–walking their talk, full-product life cycle masters.”
“Green marketing is, buy and large, a scam. We need to reduce our consumption of virtually everything. “Marketing” by definition does move us down this road.”
On the Unicycle Creative agency services front, it looks like you get the most value when I’m working on strategy and the Big Creative Idea. Moving toward more rich media creative development also looks like a good direction. But I may have to have another look at a career in busking. I got more votes for “Drunken guitar playing at parties” than “Production / Computer Design”, and “Angsty home-recorded green garage-band songs by Lorne” was the #1 choice for iPod content. Hmmm.
Jaxon Craig handles the Official Draw duties with his usual impartiality and impeccable hair.
Speaking of which it’s time to announce our iPod winner. In a time-tested analog process, entries were placed in a hat and one chosen at random by a neutral party.
The winner is… Arno Apeldoorn, designer and computer wrangler extraordinaire. When reached at his offices in trendy Kitsilano, Arno was at a loss for words… “Wow. I want to thank all the people behind me – wait, that’s a lame speech. I’ll just take the iPod and go.”
The rest of you should be pleased to know, that although you didn’t win, at least you were recycled.
The online survey was produced through SurveyMonkey – a very cost-effective service for getting quick feedback. Please email me if you’d like more info about it, or want to delve deeper into the data.
Last year 
I’m hoping that I will be lambasted by irate backers of BC’s newest Aboriginal Marketing Certification program, pointing me to the obvious websites and supporting information I missed. I really am.
One of the most telling statistics was around emerging media. Almost 70% of you think rich media – Online Video, Flash, Webcasts, Podcasts etc – will be the most important to business moving forward. Second choices were split between mobile media, sponsorship and experiential media (street teams etc). One astute reader summed it up nicely: “ I see the MOST important as having a strategy in place that considers the vehicles above. Without strategy your can waste a ton of time and $…”