2008

Good Words. And Great Names. Green Lipstick and the Environmental Pig. How it Feels to Live in a 650-year-old Wooden Home. The Key to a More Productive Workflow. Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference. New Year’s Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Sweet Successes.

2007

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip Alcoa CSI “Uncorks” a New DVD to Introduce its Unique Wine Seal. Cook for the Cure 2006: Record-Setting Sauces Cook for the Cure—Spoil Your Dinner! Green What? Integrate, Segregate, Reformulate? Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor” Miller Brooks Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Online Media Measurement See What’s New at Miller Brooks! The Shock of the New. What is a Brand Touchpoint? What We’re Reading: Made To Stick Word of Mouth Marketing

2006

Brand Washing. Branding in the Blogosphere. Cook for the Cure: A Souper Time Cook for the Cure Invite How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? June Blitz: Largest in Habitat History Making the Most of Your Online Advertising New Look, Easy New Access. New Year's Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Peter Drucker: Thoughts on Business from "the Man Who Invented Management." Trade Shows. Afterthought or Forethought? Why Marketing Matters

2005

Are Employees Speaking Your Brand Language? Conducting a Brand Audit: An Energizing Experience. How to Justify Your B2B Budget. How to Watch TV for Your Brand. You Can Learn a Lot. Less is More: Refining Your Brand's Print Materials. Patience. Is it the Missing Ingredient in Marketing Innovative New Products? Personal Accountability in Branding. Taking a Cue from Reality TV: Is It Time to Pimp Your Brand? The Sound of Branding. Triangulation: Three Views into Your Brand. Value Proposition. Positioning Statement. Are They Really Different? What's an Elevator Pitch?

2004

Are You Over-Hyping your Brand? Brand Understanding: Developing a Great Positioning Statement. Brand Warfare: 10 Rules For Building The Killer Brand. Good News/Bad News: Your Brand Made Headlines. How to Recover from Bad Press. Marketing B2B, Products vs. Services: Is There a Difference? Media Management: The Value It Brings to a Brand. Measuring Marketing ROI: Holy Grail or Myth? Mosaic Branding: A Way of Thought? The Right Media To Drive Your Brand. The Value Of Market Research For B2B Brands. Trade Show PR: Remain True to the Brand. Writing a Marketing Plan: Taking the Hassle Out and Putting the Value In.

2003

Brainstorming: How To Get The Most From Your Ideation Sessions. Brand Crisis? What Crisis? Brand Messaging: Why You Need It, And How To Develop It. How Do Customers Touch Your Brand? Understanding What's Important Can Make All the Difference. How To Get Your Brand Into Show Business. Is Your Brand a Product, Organization, Person, or Symbol? Keeping Your Brand Look and Message Consistent. Project Management: Working Behind The Scenes To Synchronize Your Brand. Putting The Web To Work For Your Brand. The Art Of Innovation: What Every Brand Can Learn From Inspired Product Design. When Do You Need Another Brand? Who Cares About Paper?

2002

A Brand's Functional Benefits vs. Emotional Benefits. An Electronic Brochure? What Is It and When Is It Needed? Collaborative Branding: When Agencies and Other Suppliers Work Together, Brands are the Big Winners. Creating A Direct Response Campaign? Think Like a Fisherman. Expand Your Brand: How to Make Your Brand Speak to Media and Analysts. How Long Should It Take to Produce a Brochure, a Website, an Ad? The Purpose Of A Corporate Brochure. The Softer Side Of Branding: Understanding the Nuances of Brand Personalities. What Color Is Your Brand? What's The Personality Of Your Brand? Try This Simple Brand Association Exercise. What Is The Value Of Your Brand? When Does A Brand Need A Logo?

2001

All Aboard: How to Get a Greater Return from Your Direct Mail. Brands, Channels, and Customers. Building Your Brand in a Tough Economy? Give Your Brand A Spring Cleaning. Is Your Brand Ready for the Internet? Get a Clue from the Cluetrain. It's A Brand New Day. Branding with Strategic Public Awareness. Justify Your Marketing Budget. Lights, Camera, Action! Tips for Launching Your Brand on TV. Photography: To Stock or Not to Stock? Is This Really a Question? SIC vs. NAICS: Understanding the Difference. What Business Are You In? What's an Elevator Pitch? Wolverine: Building A Brand That Works.

2000

Bingo Cards: Are They Dead? Creating a Harmonious e-Brand. e-Branding: How To Embrace It. e-branding: Sometimes Simpler Is Better. How to Strengthen Your Lead Management Process. Maintaining Your Brand's Image. Making Taglines Work. Managing Visual Assets In A Digital World. Mapping Your Web Site. Messaging: The Foundation for Good Communication. Miller Brooks: Growing with the Changing Times. Naming: Will It Play Around the World? Project Management: Necessary Evil or Strategic Advantage? Top 10 Steps to Taking a Brand Overseas. Why Every Brand Needs a Brand Architecture.

Green What? 2007 Qtr 3

Green what?

Green What?

Take a moment to build your envirocabulary.

Can’t get a handle on all the info about living, being and going green? That’s completely understandable. The rapid burgeoning of all things ecological shows no signs of dwindling—nor does the proliferation of colorful green analogies, descriptions and turns of phrase.

But before embarking on a survey of the more outlying language at play in the sustainability landscape, it may be helpful to begin in a place familiar to everyone: the built environment. Looking to the building industry for an example, a green or sustainable structure is generally defined as one designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource–efficient way.*

The building industry itself is surrounded by several entities that provide research and promote standards to help guide businesses and consumers alike in achieving sustainable goals. Among them are the Leadership in Environmental Education and Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH), and ENERGY STAR,® just to name a few.

Turning from the building industry, where could we go next? Nearly anywhere, it appears, as green is permeating more and more aspects of our lives. While the following excursion is by no means exhaustive, it nonetheless presents some thought–provoking touchstones.

  1. Green Wave
    This picturesque term is used to describe the forces—including natural, cultural and governmental—being brought to bear on businesses. The wave is in motion, growing and unavoidable. Is your business (small, medium or large) ready?
  2. Green Hawks
    The fact that U.S. military leaders are talking about energy conservation signals just how well–placed green thinking has become. To members of the “Green Hawk” movement within the Pentagon, energy savings is a strategic national imperative.
  3. Green Guilt
    In a recent poll, 20% of Americans report to having “green guilt.” It seems that while we have seen prices at the pump, and maybe Al Gore’s movie, and perhaps we’re feeling somewhat in a blue funk about it all—we still love those SUVs. In other words, approach environmental marketing strategies with care. People may be touchy.
  4. Green Button
    When should you push it? Is it the new end–all be–all hot sales button? Companies who have successfully marketed green products—from food to clothing to cars—have done so by pitching green after, or along with, quality and features. Green won’t go it alone.
  5. Green Protectionism
    Eco–labels around the world provide good information to a global public increasingly attuned to environmental concerns. But look closely. In certain cases, environmental standards have become unfair trade barriers and obstacles to market entry.
  6. Green Ghettos
    According to Andrew Shapiro, founder of environmental business– strategy group Green Order, “If you create a green ghetto in your company, you miss it. You have to figure out how to integrate green into the DNA of your whole business.” Amen.
  7. Green to Gold
    Talking green doesn’t equal being green. That’s certainly a primary takeaway from our reading of Green to Gold by Yale professors Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston. Not only is the book the inspiration for what you’ve just read, it may be just the Green Primer you’re looking for. Or, perhaps the book’s publishers describe it best: “The essential guide for forward–thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from it.”

If the definitions we’ve just provided read more as inside commentary, the goal is honest and intentional: To help you make meaning of a lively and ever–evolving issue, no matter where you’re approaching it from.

FOOTNOTES: References
*Maynard, Nigel F. “Greener Pastures.” Building Products. (March/April, 2007).
Terms 1, 4, 5, 7: Esty, Daniel C. and Winston, Andrew S. (2006). Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Terms 2, 6: Freidman, Thomas L. “The Power of Green.” The New York Times Magazine. (April 15, 2007).
Term 3: “Polls: Water, Warming, Travel, Youth and Green Guilt.” Retrieved May 3, 2007, from http://www.ens–newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007–04–23–03.asp.

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