Highlighting the good things people are doing with marketing

Monthly Archives: October 2008

Separating the “good” marketers from the really “good” companies?

Posted on October 30, 2008 in Social Entreprenuers

Have you heard of a B corporation?

The good folks at B Lab have developed a new certification that will supposedly help to separate the companies who are really, really trying to “walk the enviro & social talk” from those that are just playing the green marketing game.  The certification process is basically an audit of a company’s operating practices to provide a standard for Corp. social responsibility claims.  To date, they have certified 100+ small/mid-size businesses as B corporations.

As there are already certifications and standards out there (and none seem to have really done that well)…what makes a B corporation any different?  Well, it does seem that a B Corp. cert. requires a company to go a bit farther than normal.  As a recent Financial Times article points out:

“A B Corp has what co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert calls a “gut check”. Having scored sufficiently high on an initial survey, a B-Corporation must then amend its articles of incorporation to require its board to take into account the interests not only of shareholders, but of “current and retired employees, suppliers, customers” and “the communities and society” in which it operates.”

So, the B corp “stamp of approval” requires companies to actually amend their articles of incorporation to embed their core values into the company…nice.

In addition, it seems that B Lab asks companies to sign up for a pretty expensive process -(annual license fee of 10 basis points of sales).  But, the founders are banking on the idea that this certification could finally help folks separate the good marketing from the good companies (as the mentioned on their website).

This is a pretty good idea and it has some heavy hitting investors behind it (e.g. Rockefeller Foundation).

If you get 5 minutes, hop over to the webpage.  And check out their Declaration of Interdependence in the about me section.  I really like their vision of a new, more sustainable world and I wish them all the best in getting this movement going.

1 Comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Testing 1.2.3., Testing, anyone?

Posted on October 28, 2008 in Marketing

As I scan the new marketing blogoworld, it is all too rare that I come across a post that discusses online creative testing.  Of course, testing (and creative qualification) are not the most exciting topic areas to talk about, so my observation should not come as much of a surprise to anyone.  When I do see posts on testing…most of the discussion revolves around how to test using Google adwords or usability testing for websites.

So as there seems to not really be a lot of chatter going on out there, I wonder how well companies are really testing online media creative (banners, videos, etc.).  When companies decide to run online media campaigns, are they really going online with well qualified creative?  Or, do they develop several different versions at the beginning of the campaign…and then wait to see which ones garner the highest click through rates–switching to the “highest clicked” creative once the campaign goes live?  How much does testing really play are role right now?  And, if online creative was tested more rigorously, would we (as consumers) see better (and less annoying) stuff from companies online?

As more and more marketing dollars shift online over the next few years, I am sure rigor in the creative testing process will finally become commonplace.  Online creative will finally be judged to be as important as TV/Print and execs will finally get back to relying on measures that they are comfortable discussing (e.g. brand recall, purchase intent etc.).

What do you guys think about the state of online media testing today?  Is it fully “there” or do we still have a long way to go? Or am I just wrong & not looking in the right places in the blogosphere?

2 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Arty Laundry detergent that cares…?

Posted on October 23, 2008 in M-products

I just found this cool, very upscale, eco-friendly laundry detergent called Care&s on a great packaging blog/website called The Dieline. I tried to find out more about Care&s their website, but it seems that they are keeping their concept in semi-stealth mode for now.  Care&s claims to have a new formula with an organic enzyme that is eco-friendly.  I wanted to add images, but I am having trouble uploading images tonight on wordpress.  So, I recommend that you head over to The Dieline to check this product out.

According to The Dieline “Care&s is brave new detergent aimed towards people who love their clothes and care for the environment. It is neatly packaged in pill-form to avoid the biggest problem in laundering today, the overdosing that simply destroys your garments. Care&s does not have ten sides and bleach as their active ingredient, but an organic enzyme, which it’s why it is very kind to mother nature and it’s inhabitants. Care&s is available in selected fashion stores across Europe.”

Not too sure how this product will fare as we churning through an economic downturn, but definitely an interesting concept and packaging…though I must admit, there seems to be a LOT of packaging in this product, which may offset any eco-friendliness they are touting via the mysterious organic enzyme.

In any case, hats off to Care&s for putting out some cool design…

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Nau is the time? Will fashion lead the way in the adoption of eco?

Posted on October 22, 2008 in M-products, Purpose Products

Eco clothing company Nau based out of eco-trendy Portland, Oregon is working hard to break into the outdoor clothing market–in a different way.  This “haute-nature” start-up opened for business in 2007…got some great reviews for its high-end outdoor look and deep dedication to sustainability, but then ran out of money.

But wait…they’re back! Nau has re-opened for business.   Santa Barbara, CA based Horny Toad purchased Nau after they announced they we’re unable to secure further financing five months ago.

I really like Nau as they beautifully fuse sustainability and design…they seem to put a huge amount of effort into ensuring that their clothes are recyclable whenever possible.  And, they give 2% of every sale to a charity of your choice (their partners for GOOD are Ashoka, Ecotrust, Mercy Corps, Breakthrough Institute, & Kiva).  Note:  Before the financial difficulties, Nau sought to donate 5% of revenue to their partners.   The Nau website is also pretty engaging (though I think they could do more here) and they have an integrated blog on their site.

Interestingly, Nau clothing is also “logo-free”.

So, with the emergence of edgy, eco-trendy companies like Nau…will we find that fashion brands lead the way when it comes to mass adoption of eco?  This question is explored a bit more in depth in Rob Walker’s Buying In, which I recently discussed in this post.  Only time will tell…but it is great to see Nau pushing the envelope as one of the few companies out there really trying to take a stand.

Nau, we should all be interested in supporting this cool start-up…shouldn’t we?

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Causes Facebook application gaining traction behind leadership of serial entrepreneur Sean Parker

Posted on October 19, 2008 in Causes, m-cause facebook 15

What causes are getting the most attention on social networks? What causes are mobilizing groups to push for positive change in institutions, governments, companies, etc.? What causes are getting people excited, arousing passion & prompting engagement?

The M-CAUSE FACEBOOK 15 tracks “cause activity” on one of the world’s biggest social networks.

I put out the first edition of the MC FACEBOOK 15 in August, using just the normal group search.  This time, to make things a little more interesting, I decided to use the Causes Facebook application for the list.

A GOOD Facebook Growth Story:  The Causes Facebook application is seeing some nice growth since it was launched in May 07.  According to Tech Crunch Causes reported (in May 08) that they’ve registered 12 million users supporting more than 80,000 non-profit causes worldwide with $2.5 million raised for 19,445 different 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. Facebook reports 60,000 daily users of the application, and MySpace reports 25,000.

Causes, is applying some nice viral marketing principles to “nudge” people toward altruism and social causes.

I think the Causes application has potential…it definitely has some savvy backers behind it.  One of the founders of Causes (Sean Parker) has already had big start-up success with Napster, Facebook & Plaxo.

Admittedly, I have not donated anything yet through the causes application.  I prefer to keep my donations private at the moment…but perhaps I will do an experiment to understand the application better.

As a reminder, this ranking is based purely on volume of members in the group. So, causes that started leveraging Facebook earlier will probably have an advantage until I come up with a more sophisticated algorithm. Side Note, If you are have a great idea for such an algorithm, please let me know and perhaps we can partner together to come up with something better.

CRITERIA

1. English: Causes must be in English for now.

2. Language/Overtly offensive/Rant Groups/My discretion, etc.: There are a couple of pretty large groups that could be offensive to folks reading m-cause, so I left them out of the list.

As you scroll through the list, you will observe that several health & child related causes made the list.  Cancer prevention had 3 big groups in the top 15.  Surprisingly groups like Stop Dog Fighting Now were ahead of large NGOs like WWF.

Here is the list.

1. Support The O Campaign for Cancer Prevention - 3,615,953 members - $74,418 donated

2. Stop Global Warming 2,116,103 members - $27,017 donate

3. Animal Rights - 1,627,103 members - $30,780 donated (PETA is behind this one it seems)

4. Society against child abuse - 1,389,392 members - $19,586 donated

5. Save Darfur - 990,575 members - $73,228 donated

6. THE RACE TO END CANCER - 892,229 members - $7,609 donated

7. UNICEF 853,137 members - $37,575 donated

8. Stop Dog Fighting Now - 713,393 members - $23,550 donated

9. End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes 658,755 members - $6,338 donated

10. Stop Child Abuse 565,106 members
11. Invisible Children 548,867 members - $24,093 donated
12. Fight Animal Cruelty 467,218 members - $9,792 donated
13. To Write Love On Her Arms (Suicide prevention) 358,571 members - $4,009 donated
14. Cervical Cancer Awareness 319,685 members - $1,598 donated
15. Amnesty International: Support & Defend Human Rights Worldwide 308,640 members - $15,388 donated
Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Computers = Crack? + other Friday linkage

Posted on October 17, 2008 in Uncategorized

Hello everyone…I have been a bit slower out of the gate with my posts as of late.  I will get back on blogging track soon.  In the meantime, here are a couple of links.

The new face of giving:  Digital natives are giving differently…moving forward, non-profits and other cause organizations will need to continue to adapt to the giving habits of the neXt generation.

Is Advertising the New Graffiti ? The subway system in NYC is planning to wrap entire subway cars with ads, just like graffiti artists used to do (or still do in some cities).  They are also creating ads inside subway tunnels that create amazing animations as the car passes by (check out the video).

Computers = Crack?:  This article on PSFK was a bit scary!  Technology is literally changing how we think according to a book called “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind,”

Apparently, new research shows that Web surfing triggered reward pathways that are linked to addiction…in the book, the authors theorize that the loads of digital stimuli received by our modern brains lead to social dysfunction.

So when do we all start going to Computerholics anonymous?

Hello, my name is Ryan and I am a Computerholic…yes, admit it, you are too!  I am not alone here!

When will Apple & Dell start attaching warning labels onto their laptops?  It is just a matter of time…

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

A Crowdsourcedworld…Jeff Howe & the power of driving crowds

Posted on October 12, 2008 in Future of Marketing

Below is short post just to let you know what I am thinking about at the moment.

Crowdsourcing is hot right now & it is on my mind.  I just picked up a copy of the highly anticipated Crowdsourcing book by Jeff Howe.  I also like his blog which continues to examine the crowdsourcing topic in real time…indeed, it seems that as technology progresses, more & more activities in more & more categories can now be “crowdsourced”.  Jeff even had his own book cover design “crowdsourced”, which I find pretty cool (you can find the designs that didn’t win his contest in the back of the book).

Here is a quick definition of crowdsourcing:  The act of taking a job traditionally performed by agencies/employees & outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call or contest

Jeff mentions in the book that one of the interesting things about crowdsourcing is that it provides answers to questions you didn’t even know you were asking.

I intend to write more on this topic at a later stage, however, I will leave you with Jeff’s 10 rules for crowdsourcing.  Some are obvious, but others are pearls of wisdom.

1. Pick the right model (crowd wisdom, crowd creation, crowd voting, or crowdfunding)

2. Pick the right crowd

3. Offer the right incentives

4. Keep the pink slips in the drawer (e.g. don’t fire everyone just because you can outsource it to the crowd)

5. Remember the benevolent Dictator Principle (crowds can turn into mobs…someone needs to provide guidance & strongly lead the activity)

6. Keep it simple

7.  Remember Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap)

8.  Remember the 10%, the antidote to Sturgeon’s Law

9.  The Community is always right

10.  Ask not what the crowd can do for you, but what you can do for the crowd

3 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Change & HOPE vs experience…

Posted on October 9, 2008 in Randomness

Recently, I saw a 2004 documentary called the Persuaders (Frontline PBS).  The is a great documentary and I recommend it to anyone wanting to take a critical look at the inside of the persuasion industry.  Part of the documentary is about political advertising…this piece spurred my interest in what ads and rhetoric are currently being fed to the American public in 08.   That led me to the Living Room Candidate–a great site that documents all the ad campaigns since the 1950s (1952 was when the age of the TV soundbite started). Note:  I recommend that you check out the first Eisenhower ads. They are quite fun.

Back to 2008

McCain the Maverick stands for experience (while Obama tends to take the higher ground via his message & cause for change.  Such “overall equity statements (Obama-Change, McCain-Experience)” put a long-term vision in the minds of people.   Sadly, during my reel viewing “experience” the tone of the ads have not really “changed” and this does not really give me a lot of “hope”.  While both candidates promise different politics, they still produce a lot of attack ads that are probably not thoroughly tested & created at the last minute (it seems they are all trying to achieve the proverbial Willy Horton breakthrough).  I must admit, the most entertaining ad in the reel is the “celeb” ad with Britney & Paris Hilton…this attack ad attempts to use Obama’s popularity against him & it made me laugh a bit.

Without endorsing either candidate in this blog post (I am an independent minded voter) the longer-term message of hope & change is probably more aspirational than experience during these difficult days…especially as McCain’s “experience” overall equity does not really line up against the most pressing issue of the last month in the campaign (the economy).

As we watch the presidential elections reach their pinnacle and the economy go down the tubes, you would think that the Democrats just about have the game won…but alas, the last month can provide all kinds of surprises.

It will be an interesting Oct.

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Marketing Jedi Mind Tricks and Buying In by Rob Walker

Posted on October 3, 2008 in Marketing

Over the past week I have been thinking a lot about the commercial persuasion industry and how people are relating to brands.  I guess this is because I have been reading Rob Walker’s Buying In. I have also been enjoying his Murketing blog recently.  And yes, I am one of the 93% of Americans who think that “we are too focused as a society on working and spending and not enough on community” (see page 219 of the book).

93% of us are probably somewhat hypocritical…

Walker’s Buying In walks us through a bevy of interesting Guerilla marketing or “murketing” case studies (e.g. Red Bull flying events, the launch of Scion, PBR resurgence, etc. ) from an investigative journalist perspective.  And in that context, he dives into the relationship between who we are and what we buy in a “post-material” world.  Walker tries to get behind that “million $ forbidden fruit trigger” that all marketers want to find…he calls this “the desire code” (I confess that I read this section closely as a marketer).

So what Walker tries to refute is the idea that we as consumers have all grown immune to marketing messages (as the “experts” tell us) and that we as marketers should probably give up because there is  nothing we can do that works anymore in the “post-brand” world.

Is this “rhetoric of the all-controlling consumer” just plain false?

Yes, says Walker.  We are no more marketing resistant today than we were yesterday. But, in a sort of weird “jujitsu-esque” or Jedi mind trick way, we as consumers have started to embrace brands more than ever before.  We are, in fact, complicit with brands now when we spread funny or provocative brand messages virally online or join a brand fan page on Facebook…when we do such things, we are kind of shouting “hey, I am with this brand”.  I identify with it.

I admit to doing this myself…I even have an m-products area on m-cause.  I write about brands I like, and then I categorize them as “m-products” when they seem to somewhat fit with the values that m-cause champions…so in effect, I am also doing exactly what Walker discusses on m-cause. hmmm…

So maybe, like Walker says, brands don’t have to simply shout their meaning out to us as often anymore; rather, we as consumers (more than we want to admit) are consciously giving meaning and helping brands thrive in this new “user-generated” and post-consumer world.

Go out and get the book…it is a pretty entertaining read, and a good mix of anthropology & biz journalism (as the Time magazine quote on the back of the book notes).  The book made me stop and think about the implications of “pitching in” to help build brands on my own blog & Facebook profile.

3 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Calling all enlightened capitalists…

Posted on October 1, 2008 in Uncategorized

The President of CSR Wire put out a call on Sept. 30th for a new code of conduct to establish “incredible transparency”  within companies.  In the article, he asserts that too much of debate on the current crisis focuses on the “credit crisis” and the political nature of the bailout.  He believes there has not been enough talk about systemic change.

Indeed, I believe those in the Corp. Social Responsibility world now have a big opportunity to lead the discussion around the development of even more transparent social, environmental and financial measures…though I am not sure if we can ever fully rid the world of greed & incompetence (two things at the heart of this crisis). Douglas Rushkoff notes the record number of foreclosures, credit defaults, and, now, institutional collapses is not the result of the churn of random market forces, but rather a series of highly lobbied changes to law, highly promoted ideologies of wealth and home ownership, and monetary policies highly biased toward corporate greed.

I highly recommend checking out Doug’s post…it is a MUST read.  For Doug, it “all came together” while attending a pretty sick “house flipping” seminar, presided over by none other than our ex Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan & George Foreman (to name a few).

And, building on Douglas’s quote above, some commentators are even pointing the finger squarely at American consumers…George Will had this to say in a recent gloomy roundtable on ABC that I picked up from this blog post :

We’re coming dangerously close to the truth, which is the sainted American people are the problem here. That is, they have 105 billion credit cards, that’s nine per cardholder. Self-reporting, they have about $12,000 credit-card debt per household; household debt is 139% of household income. I mean, they can’t go on like this. The refusal to defer gratification is a fundamental attribute of childishness.

What do you think about all this??

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us