From the look of things out there on the wild wild web today, you’d think everyone and everything has gone green (okay maybe it’s not that widespread, but I’m trying to write a relevant & timely post here). It is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day. Here are a few of the “greenified” logos I’ve seen so far:
You know, if this keeps up we might just as well rename St. Patrick’s Day “Green Day”. We could make it a national holiday and hold festivals across the country featuring everything from green vehicles to green tofu (does that seem as disgusting to you as it does to me?). The official music would of course be provided by Green Day. And just to keep it traditional, we could still have shamrocks, leprechauns and the like. So, what kinds of promotions or direct marketing tie-ins are you or your company doing this St. Paddy’s Day? Share with us!
Posté par Eric Welch le February 17, 2009 – 2:37 pm
We’re all looking for ways to cut costs, go green and boost efficiency these days, but the folks over at Design Can Change have really elevated this to an art form with their Green Paper Guide (PDF file… hmm, it’s actually red), Sustainable Design Checklist (PDF file… ooh, this one’s white!), and many other handy dandy downloads that can help you achieve your sustainability goals. But whatever you do, for Mother Nature’s sake don’t print them! Save a tree and view them on your screen… you know, the one with the big carbon footprint from leaving it on standby all night. The one that was made at that toxic chemical-spewing electronics manufacturer overseas. Energy Star® my eye. More like Death Star!
And speaking of outer space…
Once we clean up our act on the ground, we need to figure out what to do about the thousands of pieces of space junk orbiting our planet and stop those mysterious flaming objects from raining down on Austin, Texas. Anyone want to come up with a low-cost, sustainable cleanup operation? Wait, I know! We could build a fleet of space garbage trucks and call it the United Galaxies Sanitation Patrol! Get it?
Aw, come on! Am I the only one who remembers that show?
Posté par admin le January 12, 2009 – 9:59 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: Content Is King for Email Delivery
…the use of “free” (or any other term) in the subject line, does not operate in a vacuum and is dependent on other factors as to its effectiveness. If you send any email to a list of recipients who have not agreed to receive emails from you and are not interested in what you have to say, then the chances are high that anything you put in the subject line will be ineffective…
Chief Marketer: Five Green Ways to Grow Your Marketing in 2009
Even in a belt-tightening market like this one, being green matters. And if you think price alone will bring your profit margin back into the black, think again. It’s time to take a closer look at the other green on everyone’s mind.
MediaPost: Get Your Email Marketing House In Order
Is it just me — or is it time again to pull out the time management videos, newfangled task management systems and motivational tapes that have been gathering dust in the center console of our automobiles? Every Jan. 1, I get the urge to “refocus and realign” my personal and professional goals. I think the self-inspection is healthy and helps set the tone for a productive start to the New Year.
ITWeb :Gartner names Xerox in Leaders Quadrant in printer report
Xerox has been positioned by Gartner in the Leaders Quadrant in the “Magic Quadrant for MFPs and Printers” report.
Posté par admin le December 23, 2008 – 9:29 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: Santa Might Skip the Homes of These ‘Bad’ Direct Mail Marketers
Nonprofit group ForestEthics recently published its third annual list of ‘Naughty and Nice’ direct marketers. The list focuses on sustainable practices in direct mail/catalog marketing and highlights who’s doing a great job at thinking green and who’s not.
Nova Scotia News: Marketing needs the numbers
Direct marketing has become more popular because it can be measured based on bottom-line impact, using campaign costs. It is time for more firms to use similar metrics to measure both marketing effectiveness and efficiency.
BusinessStrata: Use direct mail to create a brand image
Direct mail can help to create a favourable brand image, claims one industry expert. That is the word according to David Jeffries, writing on a blog on ZDNet.co.uk, who claims that small businesses can use direct mail to help establish and sustain their brand.
AdWeek: Nationwide Insurance Goes Into Play
The client spent more than $180 million in measured media in the first nine months of this year. Nationwide also uses WPP Group’s Wunderman here for direct marketing duties…
Nonprofit group ForestEthics recently published their third annual list of ‘Naughty and Nice’ direct marketers. The list focuses on sustainable practices in direct mail/catalog marketing and highlights who’s doing a great job at thinking green and who’s not.
The list ranks companies based on four categories:
- Where the materials came from to make the paper
- If the supply chain, from forest to paper mill to printer, is FSC certified
- How much post-consumer recycled material is used to produce direct mail pieces
- Effort taken to reduce overall paper waste and consumption
Patagonia, Williams-Sonoma, Victoria’s Secret and Dell were among the ‘greenest’ direct mail marketers, receiving a prancing reindeer (that’s good) in every category. Companies that earned a lump of coal (that’s bad) in every category included Sears, Neiman Marcus, Eddie Bauer, Capital One, Chase Bank, Citi and American Express. You can see the complete list here.
I don’t understand why some direct marketers are still sending out 100-page catalogs and un-targeted direct mail. With great technologies now available—digital printing on demand, prospecting tools for targeting a precise audience type, eMarketing for companion marketing, etc—there’s no need to waste money or our natural resources.
Direct marketers, don’t be afraid to talk to your vendors, printing and fulfillment houses included. Work together and come up with green, targeted solutions for your advertising and marketing plans that will ultimately save you money and offer a better return on investment. Best of all, you’ll be able to ensure that you won’t be getting a lump of coal in your stocking from Santa next year!
