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.
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