Food can fight flu. So to help shift consumer behavior, I recently created a campaign that encourages Americans to open their refrigerators instead of their medicine cabinets.
Where was it launched? In our most undervalued natural pharmacy. Produce aisles.
To help shift the perception that flu can only be prevented through pharmaceutical means and to boost sales of fresh roots, fruits and vegetables, I recently created a campaign that spoke directly to consumers where they shop. In the produce aisles.
As the head of a marketing firm that specializes in wellness marketing, organic marketing, social change marketing and the LOHAS consumer, I'm happy to say that this effort was a resounding success. Stores loved the marketing support. Consumers stocked up on produce. And shoppers felt a whole lot healthier.
Fruit and vegetables as a natural remedy. Now that's a way of life I can really sink my teeth into.
Lisa Proctor is the president and creative director of firefly180 marketing—a branding and advertising agency that specializes in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green marketing and renewable energy marketing.
What if we turned our city rooftops into solar power plants?
The
Wall Street Journal takes the city of Austin as a case-in-point in a recent article,
Solar City: Austin Sees Huge Potential for Solar Power, Thanks to Satellites
For most Americans, energy use is invisible. The only time it comes to mind is when we pay the
power bill. We turn on a light and give little thought to climate-change-causing emissions from coal or the radioactive nuclear waste that will stick around for thousands of years. But that may be changing. It's about time.
As the owner of a green marketing agency who specializes in green energy marketing, organic branding, social change marketing, green advertising and the LOHAS consumer, I know I'm as much a part of the problem as I am part of the solution. But I am conscious of my power use. That's why both my home and office are heated and cooled with geothermal energy, solar lights keep outdoor paths lit, compact fluorescents reduce our energy use and I drive a car that gets 50 mpg.
Each of us leaves an environmental footprint. But it's up to us how light or how deep it will be.
Lisa Proctor is the president and creative director of firefly180 marketing—a branding and advertising agency that specializes in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green marketing and renewable energy marketing.
Will sex sell to to apathetic guys? The new eco website www.angrygreengirl.com certainly hopes so.
Targeted at
men who might be cajoled into taking eco action by self-described "hot" babes, this site isn't for everyone. But as a new launch in the green scene, the brand is clearly unique.
As the head of a green advertising agency and an expert in the categories of organic marketing, green online marketing, sustainable advertising, social change marketing and eco communication, I've worked with a lot of eco businesses to create advertising and marketing strategies that build movements and garner millions of media impressions.
But I have to admit, I've never recommended launching a new green site with the offer of free, eco, waterless car washes for hybrid drivers by bikini-clad models. But then, I've never worked on a brand like angrygreengirl.com.
Will this new venture make it? Who knows. But the market will soon decide whether this site is sexy. Or just silly.
Lisa Proctor is the president and creative director for firefly180 marketing—a branding and advertising agency that specializes in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green marketing and renewable energy marketing.
If you ever doubt that the
actions of few can change the world, take a look at the Peace Wall in Prague.
But take a good look, because tomorrow, the wall may look entirely different. This living piece of art, which began as a kind of protest by a few who dared to speak their truth as the Berlin Wall was falling, continues to spread the message of hope, change, self-actualization and empowerment.
Like the
ultimate brand, this wall is alive. Evolving. Responsive. Meaningful. Lasting. Aspirational. Authentic. And unique.
As a leader in LOHAS marketing, environmental advertising, social change marketing, alternative advertising and eco business, I've spent my career creating advertising strategies and campaigns that empower consumers to live in alignment with their values. But just as importantly, my work has been about supporting the growth and profitability of businesses and organizations that create positive change.
The Peace Wall is an organic piece of art. It stands as a testament to the power of the written word. The power of creativity. And the power of the human spirit. Just like a good brand.
Lisa Proctor is the president and creative director for firefly180 marketing—a branding and advertising agency that specializes in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green marketing and renewable energy marketing.
For nearly a decade, I've nurtured a native prairie grass restoration on the property around my office. Which is to say, I planted the seeds and let nature do its thing.
Out of astonishingly sandy soil has sprung wild flowers and native blue stem grasses with roots so deep and penetrating, they withstand frigid Minnesota winters and summer dry spells that could rival the Sahara. At firefly180 marketing, we look at brands much the same way. We build them with deep roots that remain strong in any kind of business climate.
Because we specialize in creating advertising and marketing for wellness companies, green marketing companies and focus on social change marketing, wellness promotion and wellness marketing, my team and I are perhaps more in tune to the natural ebbs and flows of business cycles than most. Many of our clients started their businesses with a passion to succeed and not much more. So we build brands deep. We build them to last. And we build them to stay green regardless of economic drought.
While at my desk this morning, a turkey walked past my door. A real, live, wild turkey. 100% organic and free range.
As the president and creative director of a green marketing company that specializes in social change marketing, wellness marketing, wellness promotion, social change marketing and who works with a wide array of wellness companies, that turkey got me thinking. The fact is, there are a lot of turkeys out there.
Are you doing business like a "turkey?" Or are you delivering the real deal? Is your messaging pumped full of artificial fillers, antibiotics and growth hormones? Is it tightly sealed in vacuum-packed plastic? Wild turkeys are quite rare and beautiful. Watch what happens when you let your your brand out of its cage.
In the world of advertising and marketing, there are plenty of buzz words. The latest and greatest marketing guru is always at the ready with his or her brand of can't-lose, sure-fire ten steps to guaranteed genius. Categories like wellness promotion, wellness marketing and social change marketing flutter in google key words searches like sparks from a bonfire on a dark summer night.
Wellness companies and green marketing companies founded with the intent to do well and do good, compete in the broader business landscape amidst the latest marketing, trend-tracking, attitudinal survey, data-driven prophesies that promise quick results.
But the truth is, good advertising and marketing is more than the sum of its quantifiable parts. The best, most effective, most award-winning brands are founded on three tenants:
1. Complete transparency
2. Sincere intention to be of service
3. Knowing, listening and responding to your audience
There you have it. The magic. The formula. The underpinnings for success on personal, financial and planetary levels. Now you know as much as the next green guru.
New research shows that consumers use a plastic shopping bag for only about 12 minutes before tossing it in the trash. And even though I stock my trunk with plenty of canvas shopping bags, the truth is, I don't always remember to bring them into the store. Let me introduce you to my new best friend—the Chico Bag. Made from 99% recycled content (seven plastic bottles), this bag comes equipped with its own built-in carrying pouch so you can tuck it away easily into a purse, messenger bag or pocket.
As a leader in social change marketing who works with green marketing companies, wellness companies, wellness promotion and wellness marketing, I met the founder of Chico Bag at the LOHAS Forum in Boulder a few weeks ago. I can't say enough good about this guy or the bag. Not only do I always have a reusable bag handy, it's really fun when the bagger at the checkout lane says paper or plastic, I now say, "Chico."
I read a great section in
Mother Jones last night, titled, "Waste Not Want Not—We're burying the planet in garbage. Here's how to dig out." As an expert in social change marketing, wellness promotion, wellness marketing and wellness promotion, I've spent much of my career working with green marketing companies and wellness companies to create campaigns designed to inspire Americans to reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink and respond.
In the last twenty years, we've done much to raise awareness and spark action, but as the
mounds of disposables continue to stack up in landfills and incinerators there's still much to be done. One of the unsung vanguards of this movement, New Yorker, activist, classical singer and blogger Juli Borst, who is profiled in the
Mother Jones section, is leading the way. While I'm sure that Juli's dedication, which goes so far as to collect plastic bottle caps from sidewalks and walk them to places like Whole Foods who "take No 5's," strikes most as a bit over the top. I think she's on to something. Besides educating about the fact that tiny recycling numbers are printed on the insides of plastic caps, waste-reduction activists like Juli are stretching the boundaries of basic and fundamental recycling methods like curbside recycling to move us as a culture into a deepening awareness about the consequences of a "wasted" lifestyle.
Several years ago, when hybrids had just begun to enter the market and were very difficult to find, I launched into exhaustive research to determine the best car for me with the least environmental impact. I ended up with a low emission diesel. Was it the best choice? Almost a decade later, I still struggle with that question—even though I worked with several energy-related non-profits to run eco-comparisons for me.
My thinking at the time was that my Jetta TDI did not contribute to climate change, maintained an impressive 50 mpg, could run on bio diesel and the engine was designed to last 200,000 + miles. Plus, I admit I was seduced by the fact that it had heated seats. As the head of a social change marketing firm who works with wellness companies, green marketing companies, wellness marketing, wellness promotion and has an extensive expertise in renewable energy marketing, you would think the decision about what car to buy would come a bit easier. But still, I experience hybrid angst. Did I make the right choice?
Today, Audi ran a tower ad in the New York Times online proclaiming, "Di*sel is no longer a dirty word." All my old questions and doubt came raging back. Which goes to show you, when it comes to buying green, the answers are not always so black and white.
Every time a purchase is made a consumer asks themselves three questions:
1) What's in it for me?
2) How is your product unique in the marketplace
3) Why should I believe you?
When it comes to organic advertising, environmental marketing, social change marketing or sustainable marketing—each of these three essential questions needs to be addressed before a consumer will buy.
Here's the good news. Each of these questions is easier to address when you have a product or service that speaks to personal or environmental health. Whether you're promoting organic produce, green lawn care, sustainably made furniture, an eco spa or energy efficient appliances, you have a story to tell that more conventional products can't touch.
It gets even better. Consumers of products like yours (generally LOHAS consumers) don't want to be sold. They don't want to be advertised to. They want the back story. They are hungry for data, information and proof. They want to know they can trust you. They are leery of being green washed. So you don't worry about "selling," your job is to "share." Remain fully transparent. Be authentic. And the sales will come.
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