firefly180 - Building brands that spark change.

A change of scenery can change your branding perspective.

June 19, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

I just returned from several sun and sea-soaked days in the LA area and realized once again how a change of scene can quite literally change you. As a creative director and brand strategist, I make my living with words. Ideas. Concepts. And perspective.

Since my agency is virtual, I can (and do) work from any and everywhere on the planet. And I’ve found that nothing recharges creativity and leads to more expansive thinking than travel. It’s impossible not to be profoundly opened and altered by new experiences, people—and especially the dazzling sun as it reflects light on the Pacific Ocean.

My green and wellness-centric marketing agency specializes in social and environmental change. My clients are mostly sustainable businesses and organizations that are passionate about creating a better world through organic food, yoga, alternative medicine, holistic practices, inner transformation and more.

As a leader in wellness marketing and sustainable advertising, I’ve found that the best way to continue offering high impact, memorable and jaw-dropping creative is to stay open to the jaw-dropping, perspective-changing experiences that happen all around us every day. Like the egg I found nestled among native plants as I walked to my office this morning— or a sparkling day amidst the boats, sea and sand of Corona Del Mar.

Lisa Proctor is the president and creative director of firefly180 marketing—a Minneapolis-based branding and advertising agency that specializes in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green marketing and renewable energy marketing.

Filed Under: Green Advertising Agency, Minneapolis based advertising, Wellness marketing Tagged With: brand strategy, green marketing, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing, positive change marketing, Sustainable Marketing, wellness advertising, Wellness marketing, Yoga Marketing

Sustainable Marketing. Seriously?

May 30, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

While walking to dinner in Houston, I was struck by these amazingly, delicate and abundant red blooms spilling onto the street.

After what seemed like an endless Minnesota winter, I stopped right there and buried my nose in the scent of spring. I had to laugh as the homeowner watched me quizzically as he carried out his recycling. (I was a strange sight, I must admit.)

He laughed too as I explained how long it had been since I’d seen flowers in bloom. In that moment of spontaneity—then awkwardness and laughter, I felt so grateful to play in the moment and be able to laugh at myself.

As the head of firefly180 marketing, a Minneapolis/St. Paul agency that specializes in green and sustainable marketing , eco advertising and wellness brands, I find that some believe mission-based advertising and marketing is heavy. Heady. And very serious.

But the truth is, there is much to be gained by being willing to laugh at ourselves. To be vulnerable. To explore. And to admit that as much as we know, there is still much to be learned.

Life, like marketing is an experience. It opens us. Enlivens us. And reminds us of all the discovery that is available when we don’t take ourselves so seriously.

Filed Under: Advertising Green, Eco Advertising, Green Advertising Agency Tagged With: brand strategy, green marketing, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis Marketing Agency, Sustainable Marketing, Wellness marketing

Magic, Minneapolis & LOHAS.

May 9, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

While most LOHASIANS gather in Boulder, Colorado yearly for the international LOHAS Forum, LOHAS came to Minneapolis this week as kindred business spirits chatted over glasses of organic wine and uniquely delicious appetizers.

Uniquely delicious is exactly what LOHAS is. A nearly $300 billion market psychograhic that unites the powerful consumer force that’s made recycling,hybrids, organic food, energy-efficient lighting and more mainstream—LOHAS is all about experience.

That’s what you get at the LOHAS Forum June 18 – 20th as progressive, earth-and life-changing business leaders gather to inspire and get inspired.

As a pioneer in green and wellness marketing, I was one of the first marketers to begin speaking LOHAS in the mid ’90s. I’ve been fluent ever since, bringing this unique brand of experience, passion and positive change to organizations like Green Mountain Energy, Utne Reader, The Organic Center and more.

Having known LOHAS president, Ted Ning, for more than a decade, I can tell you with certainty that he is a passionate force for change. His level of commitment, innovation and dedication to all things experiential is part of the alchemy of LOHAS. So join me and Ted at the LOHAS Forum. It’s only once a year. And it’s pure magic.

Filed Under: Advertising Green, LOHAS marketing, LOHASIAN Advertising, Marketing Agencies in Minnesota Tagged With: green marketing, LOHAS FORUM, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis Marketing Agency, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing, Sustainable Marketing, Wellness marketing

When it Comes to Cloud Cult, Love is the New Green.

May 1, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

I’m not necessarily a follower. But I’m proud to announce that I’ve joined a cult. Cloud Cult, the indie band, originally from Minneapolis, that now lives on an organic, geothermal- powered Wisconsin farm.

At First Avenue a few nights ago, playing to two sold-out shows, this amazing group of artists put on a show that was pure magic.

Their new album Love, is beautiful, insightful, mystical, wise and takes listeners on an inner odyssey that is guaranteed to rock your world.

The band’s label, Earthology, is committed to greening the music industry, offsets carbon from tours and developed the first 100% post-consumer recycled CD packaging in the U.S.

As a leader in the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability) space, I know the power of music as a vehicle for change.

Working with green artists that include John Denver, Kenny Loggins, Jack Johnson and the Dave Matthews Band, I know that music speaks to the soul and touches the heart in ways that words alone can’t. Music and lyrics are the ultimate integrated marketing campaign. Songs become doors that open the mind to action. And for environmental artists, music can be a platform that becomes a springboard for change.

Cloud Cult doesn’t just write and perform music. They literally shower the world with love. Just like all of us in conscious businesses. Although not all of us can sing and compose music, our voices are heard just the same.

Filed Under: Advertising Green, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis based advertising, Minnesota Marketing Agencies Tagged With: branding, conscious businesses, Dave Matthews Band, green advertising, green artists, green marketing, Jack Johnson, Kenny Loggins, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing, music and message

Plant Your Feet on Earth Day.

April 22, 2013 By Lisa Proctor 1 Comment

While most of us are celebrating Earth Day in offices today, I invite you to join me in stepping outside.

Plant your feet. Get grounded. Scatter new seeds of intention. And action.

While Earth Day is celebrated just once a year—it is in fact a 365-day holiday.

In 1990, I became one of the first marketers in the U.S. to specialize in green branding and advertising. Then my clients included recycling companies, green lawn care services, green retail stores, organic food companies, non-toxic cleaning products—even musician and icon John Denver, who was a passionate environmentalist.

Today, it seems that not much has changed. And yet everything has. Much that has become mainstream; recycling, buying recycled, organic food, plant-based cleaning supplies and more were once new ideas. This I experienced first-hand, since as a green marketer, my job has been to educate consumers about their power to effect change.

Today will be marked by tree plantings, parades, speeches, news reports and actions big and small. Much will be said about how much more is needed. I am celebrating Earth Day by looking back. And looking forward.

Looking back, I see that as consumers we have created the demand for hybrid cars, new wind farms, double-digit growth in organic food and energy-saving light bulbs of all kinds—where once these products didn’t exist. And looking forward, I see a galvanizing force of open-hearted, committed people who are passionate about doing all they can to walk lightly on our Earth.

So as you take off your shoes and plant your feet on sand, soil, concrete or snow, remember that today we stand together. It is our collective actions that will continue to create the change we seek. And it is our willingness to pick up our feet, and move one step at a time forward, that is forging a new path for our planet and for generations to come.

Filed Under: earth day 2013, Green Advertising Agency Tagged With: brand strategy, branding, green marketing, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing

The In-Between of Marketing

April 12, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

Waking up to thunder, lightning—and snow yesterday, I realized that here in the midwest, we are experiencing the in-between time.

Not quite spring. Not quite winter. But a time when lines blur and shadows form. As the head of a LOHASian (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) advertising agency based near Minneapolis, I realize that this in-between time moves through business in rhythms that mimic nature.

Those times when projects sit in limbo due to budgetary review. When new hires are postponed until venture capital is raised. And when proposals for new initiatives are passed back and forth through decision making chains.

So as I sat at my desk listening to thunder and watching snow fall while organizing files, I came across this photo from last summer. It was a bit of a shock to see leafy green trees and Russian sage just outside my office door, when the trees now are still bare and ground is covered in snow.

It was such a perfect reminder of new growth that awaits. Winter is a time for rest. And spring carries the knowing that what was frozen will once again flow.

Filed Under: Advertising Green, LOHAS marketing, LOHASIAN Advertising Tagged With: green marketing, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis Marketing Agency, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing

Springing into Green Branding.

April 1, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

I’m not an especially patient person—and often find myself wanting to leap ahead. Yet like the parable of the farmer who tries to tug at tiny, green shoots in hopes that they’ll grow faster, only to kill the entire crop—the same is true for much in life. Especially branding.

As the head of a Minneapolis-based LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) advertising and marketing agency, I find that the extraordinary process of building a brand is much like planting seeds. While brand architecture and strategy is being created through process, meetings, collaboration, refinement and data-weaving, for those looking in from the outside, nothing much seems to be happening.

Like seeds buried in dark rich soil, this is where brands take root. It seems that the fundamental and foundational aspects of branding take place below ground; yet provide all the essential components that bring forward the colors, text, brand ID, web presence, e-blast campaigns, direct response, print and web ads, brand voice, community and full-on experience that brings businesses to life.

So at this time of year, when the ground is still frozen, yet the light and longer days hold the promise of spring, remember to honor the below-ground time. Be disciplined about rushing the process. Allow the seeds you’ve planted so carefully and so strategically to work their magic before tugging at their shoots to bring them to the surface.

You’ll be rewarded as your brand comes into bloom.

Filed Under: Advertising Green, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis based advertising Tagged With: branding, green marketing, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing

The Beauty of Branding.

March 18, 2013 By Lisa Proctor 1 Comment

Brands are beautiful.

So are the people behind them. So when friend and client Leah Simon-Clarke extended her brand via a Joynoelle fashion show in Minneapolis recently, the result was as luminous as a Hollywood movie premier.

Whether in her role as visionary and founder of Linden Hills salon Extrados, or traveling to scout celebrity stylists in Los Angeles, Leah’s approach to beauty is more than skin deep.

As creative director and president of a Minneapolis-based advertising and marketing agency that supports businesses and organizations that effect change, I couldn’t be happier to be working with Leah as we peel back the layers of her brand.

Beauty of course begins with what’s inside each of us. Hers is an approach that starts with celebrating physical beauty as a vehicle to reveal the true radiance that’s been there all along.

It’s the same with a brand. Colors, graphics, images, type faces and voice are the outer elements that allow consumers to connect with a business.

But it’s the heart and soul of a brand…that god particle that resonates with clarity, transparency and authenticity, that shifts consumer attitude from interest into deep relationship—that makes brands shine.

Leah’s clients in Mpls as well as beauty industry trend-setters in LA agree that she is a star-maker. At firefly180, we are honored to be the spark that helps send her brand to the sun, the moon and beyond.

photo credit: http://www.shariflemingphotography.com

Filed Under: Minneapolis based advertising, Wellness marketing Tagged With: Beauty, brand strategy, Extrados Salon, LOHAS marketing, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing, wellness advertising, Wellness marketing

People v. State of Illusion—seeing is believing. Or is it?

March 1, 2013 By Lisa Proctor Leave a Comment

Sanskrit teachings dating back 5,000 years tell us that life is an illusion. So if all is an illusion. We have the opportunity to perceive whatever illusion we’re living as either very, very good…or a prison of our own making.

Austin Vickers, a former trial attorney and now documentary filmmaker, is presenting just that case in his film People v the State of Illusion. Playing this weekend in Minneapolis and St. Paul and sponsored by the Continuum Center,this film explores the frontiers of neuroscience, the nature of reality and our infinite capacity to imagine the kind of life we want to live into. “Imagination” Vickers says, “Is one of our few renewable resources.”

As the head of a progressive advertising and marketing agency that specializes in working with clients who create positive change in the world, my team and I get paid for our ability to engage our imaginations. To see beyond lines that have already been drawn. To discover new color and life in images and words. And to uncover powerful ways of engaging hearts and minds. Fortunately for us, when it comes to imagination, there truly is an infinite supply.

Imagination opens doors to different ways of thinking. And new ways of connecting with each other. In our world of instant communication, the internet has become a neuro inner-net, working like the brain to transform thought into action. It’s become a gateway for acts as ordinary as purchasing a package of peanuts—to as extraordinary as bringing millions together in peaceful protest.

Whether through neuro-wiring or electric, we are all connected. The way we perceive the world is a choice. The illusion is believing all that we think we see.

I think you’ll love this film. So go see for yourself!

Filed Under: LOHAS marketing, Marketing Agencies in Minnesota Tagged With: continuum center, Lisa Proctor, Minneapolis/St. Paul marketing, mn marketing, mn movies, people v.state of illusion, progressive advertising

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