The fishing village of San Giovanni, along romantic Lake Como in the Italian Alps, is about as far removed from modern influence as you’re likely to find in the first world. Some streets are too narrow for any but the smallest cars, the church (dating from the 10th century) is only open for Sunday mass, local fishermen still supply the restaurant with hand-caught lake trout for their daily special and the town only has two taxi drivers: a father who doesn’t like to drive after supper, and his son, whose busy social calendar seems to begin at about the same time.
So it came as quite a surprise to find a significant public recycling station right at the entrance to one of the main streets. Yet this was not the overflowing dumpster variety of recycling backlot, but rather a series of sleek mini-towers which led to underground storage cisterns of some size (if the length of time my wine bottles fell before hitting bottom was any indication).

The lids are pedal operated, and simple categorization of paper / plastic / glass made it easy for even the most lackadaisical of tourist renters to make the effort. The underground location makes it tidy, and the scale of storage likely makes it worthwhile for even a small village to be on an efficient collection schedule. Other resort municipalities could take a cue (hello Whistler) as this operation also has the additional benefit of being animal-proof.
Now, of course it just needs branding…

On a recent Unicycle Creative business trip to Toronto, I joined some industry colleagues for a round of golf. Sort of. As we were all pressed for time, we elected to try Inner Golf, a golf simulator located in the warehouses of the King West Village area.
Designed for the dedicated golfer who wants to keep the game in shape without missing too much work, Inner Golf offers a unique and interesting experience. (Here’s a review from a real golfer if you’re interested) But I wonder if they haven’t missed the boat on their branding and target a little. More on that later. First, to the tee…
You stand on a plastic grass mat, facing a large screen, which features one of a number of world-famous courses. In our case, Pebble Beach. You line up and give it your best whack – real club, real ball – all the satisfaction of a good, solid hit, if that’s your thing. (I’m more of a random slicer, and the simulator let me play my usual game parallel with the fairway in the rough and trees to the right)
The real ball bounces back gently from the screen, as a ball image appears in the air, arcing, bouncing and landing just like on TV. You can even get a nice crisp bounce off the trees. (A sound I sampled more than once) There are a lot of buttons and features for boys to play with, such as course flyovers and ‘advice’ from the velvet-voiced golf announcer.
Naturally, they are licensed to serve beer, which you enjoy from a comfy couch as you heckle your friends. All in all, it’s a fun experience. Especially when you consider the carbon footprint of your average golf course. (According to Blue Planet Run, based on the average water use of US golf courses, approximately 3,350 gallons of water is used to water the grass for every round of golf) Inner Golf has a lot to offer the eco-conscious golfer, if that’s not too much of an oxymoron.
What’s more, as a dedicated hacker, I don’t benefit so much from all the technology used to analyze my swing or read the break on the digital greens. I’d much rather amp up the social experience of the game. For instance, the ‘advice’ button generated little more than generic comments on the lie and the shot. I’d like to see a setting there that would generate random abuse comments whenever shots were duffed. Better yet if they came from a golf celebrity. Or Bill Murray. Now that would be fun.
So overall, why not market Inner Golf to the green community? At the very least they would get a lot of trial. Combine that with some more off-the-wall party experience enhancers and they could take their target market a lot further than the core golf niche.

Green marketing isn’t just about products and services. People working to further the cause of sustainability become their own brands, and need to communicate their values, objectives and personality as effectively as any bricks and mortar company. Earlier this year, I was introduced to Adriane Carr, former leader of the Green Party of BC, and now deputy federal leader and candidate for Vancouver Centre. She impressed me with her honesty, enthusiasm and grasp of sustainability issues. As I researched the platform of the Greens, I discovered a depth of policy that went beyond the issue of environment for its own sake. As a result, it wasn’t long before I was working on her campaign, with long-time colleague Darren Darcy of Lemonade Tactical Marketing.

We began with strategic brainstorming sessions to cull through issues, priorities and challenges. Which messaging would resonate most with BC voters? Saving salmon stocks? Food security? Developing alternative energy? We ultimately decided it was important to make the Green Party feel more mainstream, remind people of the growing momentum for the Greens and convey it all with a sense of urgency and opportunity. The positioning ‘It’s our time’ was designed to empower the voters as much as the party.

We redesigned Adriane’s website and print materials with a cleaner look, using black & white photography for its journalistic, newsy feel, and choosing photo locations within the riding to illustrate Adriane’s connection with the community. (She has been meeting voters on the street and at the door non-stop all summer, beginning long before the election was called) We kept the navigation simple and encapsulated complex issues with a link to the party’s platform document in PDF form, focusing on Green Economy opportunities that voters may not equate with the party as they have known it.

To introduce Adriane, we also created a 5-minute YouTube video and posted it on the website. We elected to forego rigid scripts and instead let Adriane introduce issues in her own words.

As the election writ dropped, Lemonade Tactical Marketing produced buttons, vests, banners, election signs and e-mail marketing design post-haste. We also covered Adriane’s events with local businesses, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and local supporters, helping keep the web site up to date and information flowing to voters.

Polls show Adriane Carr can win in Vancouver Centre, and this riding has probably the best chance in Canada to elect a Green MP. It will be nice to know that she gets there on the strength of a campaign designed to let her personal brand character and benefits show through.

It’s a product whose time has come. Overdue, actually, if you consider how many restaurants, foodservice establishments and food packagers are still stuck in the world of plastic and Styrofoam. Vancouver based BSI (Biodegradable Solutions Inc) has been steadily growing in this market since 2002, and they now offer a whole line of 100% biodegradable and compostable food service ware, food packaging and flatware products. Earlier this week I met with Sales Manager Scott Smith to discuss the ins and outs of building a solid brand for products that are designed to break down.
It’s a deep field, actually. BSI sources products from the western hemisphere, Europe and Asia. Materials include corn-based PLA (polylactic acid) a plastic-like derivative of the material used to encapsulate pharmaceuticals for gradual release into the body. The Ecotainer™ by International paper, is a biodegradable paper hot beverage cup that performs on par with plastic-lined competitors.
Beyond the benign disposability of their products, BSI goes further, working to analyze the product life cycle of their suppliers and manufacturing. This not only benefits the planet, but helps ensure BSI customers will not face unpleasant surprises from bad eco-policies down the supply chain.
This academic diligence is explained by BSI’s origins. The company itself was founded by Susanna Carson, a graduate of the UBC environmental science program, and many of its employees come from the same source. It’s a pedigree that will serve BSI well, if they can successfully bring it into their branding and customer-facing messages.
For in biodegradables, like many other eco-business niches, the major players are beginning to flex their well-honed muscle with all of the brand psychology, design and communication resources at their disposal. Smaller brands like BSI have to evolve to express that bigger-player style without losing their principled roots and customer relationships. The biggest challenge will be to condense their complex technical benefits into a singular brand focus. Then upgrade their logo and look to express these values in everything they do, and outflank the competition with a market advantage that won’t break down over time.

There’s something very personal about a pen. It’s what you use to sign your name. Get used to your favorite one and you’ll search the whole house for it, even if a tacky logo mug full of crappy ballpoints sits within easy reach. That’s why from a green marketing perspective, it’s critical to tell the green pen story from the point of view of the writer.

Personally, I like a rollerball pen, for its frictionless speed across the paper in a rabid idea jam, and the scan-ability of its fine jet black lines. So I was pleased to discover that Pilot has a Green Pen version of this very item. The BegreeN GreenBall, has a case made from 89.2% recycled plastic, and refills are available in black, blue or red. Yet Pilot has missed a huge opportunity to tell this story. First, a Google search for Pilot Begreen Greenball does not lead quickly to their site. More search variations lead to a purchased link which simply goes to their home page. By digging around I finally find the BeGreen page, with nary a green benefit in sight. Obviously Pilot just doesn’t get it. Skip the Pilot site and buy it from Frogfile.

For the ultimate eco and ethically responsible pen, I turned to Saul Brown, owner of Saul Good Gift Co, an expert on the subject, having compiled market research on the subject of green pens for the Net Impact CESR Challenge held in Vancouver in March 2006.

“People like specific pens because they are comfortable to use and also for specific attributes like how fine the point is and how smoothly it flows over a page.” Saul says. “If a ‘green’ pen doesn’t meet these needs then people won’t want to use them, even if they want to support sustainable business.”

Saul takes these attributes to heart, offering pens handmade from recycled hardwoods by TradeWorks, a Vancouver-based manufacturer who helps employ and train disadvantaged women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The pens feel beautiful, are made locally, are refillable, can be custom laser-engraved, and help offer hope for Canada’s poorest neighbourhood.

It’s an eco product with performance and an unbeatable story to tell. Now there’s something you can feel good signing off on.

It’s a war of words out there, even in the green world. We all know that search engine optimization (or SEO) is a hot topic  these days, with everyone competing to get their sites onto page one of a Google search. So what are people searching for when it comes to all things green and sustainable? For an insight into this I turned to Google Adwords, the on-line auction of pay-per-click search terms. There is a great tool on Google Adwords that lets you see at a glance what the average number of monthly searches are made for certain terms, and the amount of advertiser interest (willingness to bid) on these valued words. With this it is possible to judge the effectiveness of potential keywords, to use them in website copy or purchase them through Google.
In my usual unscientific-and-yet-not-quite-random way, I entered various ‘green’ terms and tabled them to see if there were any trends worthy of note. I ended up with a list of 85 terms, which I categorized into four groups:
1. Search words that were hugely popular with both Googlers and advertisers (I usually recommend against clients trying to break into this territory, as the cost per click would be very high)
2. Words that have high search numbers, but are not yet completely overrun by bidder popularity (These words are worth including in your web copy to rank well in searches)
3. Words that have high search numbers but for some reason have not reached advertiser popularity (This is the gold. Fill your site with these and you’ll probably rank well on a purely organic search, or bid low on these key words for an affordable pay-per-click campaign)
4. Words that are dogs – they seem like they should be popular but are not. Stay away.

Below are some highlights from the findings. E-mail me if you’d like a PDF of the whole set.

Organic is hot. The term ‘organic’ by itself was number two on my list with almost 4.1 million monthly searches. ‘Organic Products’ netted 74,000 monthly searches, , while ‘Eco Products’  garnered 18,100 and ‘Environmentally-Friendly Products’ only rated 5,400. ‘Organic Baby’ was at 165,000 searches,  ‘Eco Baby’ only attracted 5400, while ‘Environmentally Friendly Baby’ rated only 520. I didn’t look up ‘Green Baby’, because that was just too freaky.

Green Shopping vs Green Shop. The term ‘green shopping’ was searched an average of  22,200 times a month, and had an advertiser interest level of about 80%. Probably fairly expensive territory. Interestingly, the term ‘green shop’ had higher results (27,100) but lower advertiser interest (55%) A bit more homework reveals the terms ‘Shopping Green’ (22,200) and Green Store (27,100) as even better keyword bargains with 0% advertiser interest listed. Buy now!

The Battle of the Products. The term ‘Natural Products’ rated best by far in my test, with 201,000 monthly searches. ‘Green Products’ was a distant second at 74,000, ‘Eco Products’ at 18,100,  ‘Earth Friendly Products’ at 9,900,  ‘Environmentally Friendly Products’ at 5,400 and ‘Ethical Products’ at 2,400.

Green is still Big. ‘Green Home’ was searched 201,000 times a month (and I can’t imagine that’s for a paint colour) ‘Green Energy was searched 74,000 times, ‘Green Design’ 49,000 and  ‘Green Business’ and ‘Green Market’ at 31,000 each. A huge spike came for ‘Green Hotels’, at 301,000 searches a month. Yet advertiser interest was only 50% for this term. Which says to me that there is a major consumer demand here that is not being filled.

The Future Looks Bright… or not. It appears lots of people are Googling ‘Climate Change’… averaging about 301,000 a month. ‘Sustainable Development’ ranked even higher at 450,000. When it came to some more specific issues around the environment, however, the search tallies seemed dismally low. ‘Green Economy’ was only searched an average of 3600 times monthly, ‘Low Carbon Economy’, Low Carbon Society’ and ‘Low Carbon Future’ all netted less than 500 average searches each. Compare this to the search for ‘Shoes Green’ at 110,000.  This could be interpreted as the mainstream only being interested in the issues at a surface level of understanding.

Obviously this is a big topic. And it could be studied to death. So take what you will from it, and tweak your site and search terms accordingly. Just remember there are other interests out there besides the environment. 823,000 people a month are searching for Green Tea.

Looks like the classic world of railroads, real estate, mortgages and high rolling is getting a makeover, and more sustainable utilities are on board.

Of course, it’s Monopoly® the board game we’re talking about here. This standby has undergone a worldwide transformation, under the name Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition, featuring 22 cities from around the world in lieu of the old streets and avenues. Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto are all featured – not a bad average, considering China was the only other country to get three burgs on the board. 

But what’s really interesting, from the sustainability perspective, is that the old utilities of “Electric Company” and “Water Works” are being replaced with “Wind Energy” and “Solar Energy” to reflect the growing emphasis on worldwide environmental concerns.

Unfortunately Hasbro Inc blows it by reducing four railroads to one and including air, cruise and space travel as the other transportation options, all of which contribute significantly more to Global Warming than trains.

I guess it is still a microcosm of capitalism run amok, after all.

The future looks as bright as the August sunshine, even if all the power fails due to air conditioner overload. Because the Vortex Hand Cranked Blender will create any variety of blended concoction with nothing more than the power of your own bulging biceps. But can it handle the crushed ice, toxic tequila and caustic lime mixture that helps us hang on? Apparently it can. The good folks at TerraPass (carbon offset and general green product distributors) gave it a try one Friday and put the video test on their web site. Very convincing.

Curious, I followed my web nose to the GSI web site, makers (or at least primary distributors) of this unique device. Here I found their version of the product’s story:

“Increase your popularity. Make new friends. Pick up ladies. These are just a few of the hidden benefits of owning our hand-cranked blender. This amazing little unit is an outdoor party in the making. And it also mixes up healthy smoothies, sauces and pancake batter…” 

Hmmm. OK. But the margarita video was way more convincing for me. Now that product demonstrations are just a YouTube away, why not let some of your most rabid fans go wild with your green products, and get the word out there in a fresh, tart, tangy way.

Now we’ll just need the pedal-cranked freezer to make the ice.

The logical vs. emotional question has been debated in smoky ad agency back rooms since back room smoking was actually allowed. So what does this have to do with marketing a solar-powered beer fridge? Well, that’s really just a fake product ad I created to illustrate a theory I discovered in a recent online article that explored the link between age, time perception and ad creative.

The article, (from MarketingProfs, one of many secret online strategic resources I use to help me sound smarter) focused on a research report done in 2005, called “Age-Related Differences in Responses to Emotional Advertisements” by Patti Williams and Aimee Drole. They tested variations of ad copy with older and younger participants to investigate how “time horizon” and the emotional versus rational appeal of an ad affect consumers’ interpretation of a marketing message.

They found that when consumers see their time horizon as expansive, (I am indestructible, I will live forever! More beer!!) they remember and feel more positive toward advertising that is rational.

But when they see time as limited, (A new Porsche for my 40^th?! Gee, thanks, ME!!) they are more favorably disposed to and remember advertising that appeals to their emotions.

Further, consumers who see time as expansive prefer ads that focus on achieving positive outcomes, while those who see time as limited are partial to ads that focus on avoiding negative outcomes.

Obviously, the consumer’s age plays into this as well: “We find that older adults generally prefer and have better memory for emotional appeals,” the report states, “In contrast, younger adults tend to prefer and have better memory for more rational appeals.”

So what might this mean for messages related to, say, climate change?

When communicating to a younger audience, a rational appeal focused on a positive outcome should work. Appeal to their sense of planning. Show how steps taken now can logically affect the future. Perhaps the creative use of statistics, appealing to the need to save money, and other stodgy tricks usually reserved for the balding boomer set would be more useful than we might imagine with kids these days.

With the older demographic, an emotional appeal focused on avoiding a negative outcome should be the winner. Live in the now, don’t put off today what you may not be around to do tomorrow. Oh, and of course, you can never go wrong with cute animals and kids here.

In short, the wacky, devil-may-care advertising we usually aim at the younger set, and the late-night fact-filled Ed McMahon infomercials we force upon sleepless seniors may be the wrong messages for the wrong people.

Check out the PDF of the study if you want to get more information with less glib creative commentary.

Thinking about creating a corporate video to post on YouTube? Think ahead and you’ll thank yourself later.

In 2007, Unicycle Creative produced a video presentation for Inhance Mutual Funds – a DVD called Return on Responsibility™, that featured Dr. Marc Garneau (Canada’s first main in space) highlighting the beauty and fragility of our earth as seen from space. For 2008, the video has now been uploaded to YouTube, making it even easier to communicate to potential customers interested in responsible investing. Because the video was produced using Inhance representatives as well as our celebrity spokesman, it was a fairly straightforward task to re-edit the footage for YouTube and avoid any potential issues with talent rights.

So if you’re creating your corporate video masterpiece and want to put it in the realm of YouTube (and who wouldn’t) make sure before you shoot that your talent contracts cover unlimited usage online. If not, be sure to also cover any important messages using graphics or company spokespeople, to use in editing for online purposes.

Got an older corporate video production you want to repurpose? A fresh edit for YouTube, with a little fresh content (and a keen eye on the usage rights) could be just what the Doctor ordered.