If you haven't seen
Food Inc., move it to the number one position in your Netflix queue or rent it
now.
This amazing and engaging documentary
lifts the industry's veil of illusion and shines a light on the truth about how food is grown, processed and sold in this country. As a lifelong advocate for organic and locally grown food, I loved this film. And I applaud its makers for being catalysts for change.
As a leader in the areas of organic branding, social change communication and the LOHAS consumer, it's exciting to see this message play out on the big screen. While much has been made of the H1N1 virus "pandemic,"
it's food related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity that are killing our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors in record numbers.
Science has long ago established that we are what we eat. The good news is we can
vote for change every time we check out at the grocery store. The more we demand locally and sustainably grown fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and meats, the more products will become available. And with scale, the price will drop. Making healthy eating available to all.
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.
Government is often criticized for being too big. Too slow. And too late.
Not the case for the wildly popular
Cash for Clunkers campaign. In fact, according to one of my favorite eco news sources,
Environmental Leader, this program which is one part
green public relations, two parts sustainable marketing strategy and seven parts economy-boosting eco business brilliance—has resulted in a 58% increase in fuel efficiency.As a leader in LOHAS marketing, organic branding, green energy and sustainable marketing arena, I love the fact that
700,000 gas guzzlers were traded in for more fuel efficient models. I also love the fact that this quick cash infusion has meant that many auto industry jobs from salespeople to line workers were saved. At least for now.
The beauty of good green business strategy is that it is based on a model of inherent sustainability. That means both profit for a business and low impact on the planet. U.S. car makers, buckling under pressure from shareholders, have for too long focused on short term gains. This was not only arrogant. It was bad business all around.
Now that U.S. car makers have been forced to reap what they have sown, I only hope that they have seen the light. And that they launch a course correction that is not about big and bigger. But green and greener.
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.
In today's edition of
Environmental Leader about McDonald's creating prototypes for green restaurants, the issue states:
"...The restaurant is treating the 10 locations as “learning laboratories,” said McDonald’s V
ice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Bob Langert, in a Q&A with DailyFinance. One of the green prototype stores, in the Chicago area, uses 25 percent less energy than similar locations. Energy savings and waste reduction are central to McDonald’s corporate social responsibility strategy, Langert said. Globally, the restaurant consumes $1.7 billion annually in energy and it spends another $1.3 billion handling its waste. McDonald’s has more than 31,000 locations worldwide..."
Does this new effort amount to greenwashing? Or a super-sized step forward? While it may be too early to tell, as an expert in natural advertising, organic advertising, organic promotion and LOHAS marketing, I've worked on many leading-edge advertising strategies and attended more than a few green energy conferences.
When a company the size of McDonald's initiates a move in a more sustainable direction, the outcome can only be good. While the franchise is far from perfect and their desire to reduce waste and energy consumption is all about increasing their bottom line—what's wrong with that?
The beauty of green and sustainable marketing is that doing what's right is generally rewarded with doing well. Who knows? Maybe a McOrganic menu is right around the corner. I would be lovin' that!
Recently, in a tiny West African village in Guinea, opportunity knocked.
This remote and steamy mountain village where residents live in one-room, windowless huts on communally-owned land saw an influx of workers looking for a place to live when a mining company boosted its labor force.
Since this community, with no housing market had no homes available, they began to move in with their neighbors and rent out the family-owned huts. Then using rent money, the villagers began to build new huts. As workers poured into the region, rents exploded and times were good.
Then the price for iron-ore plummeted and the new workforce was laid off. Now with hundreds of empty huts, the villagers are not wringing their hands in despair, rather they are preparing for the day the miners return. (And they know they will.) Bringing with them rolls of rent money.
As an expert in LOHAS marketing, wellness marketing, green communications, natural advertising and organic advertising, I've worked with my clients through several challenging market shifts. Each has ushered in a time of introspection. Followed by stunning reinvention.
The path to great sustainable marketing strategy or exceptional award-winning work is never a straight line. It curves, it swerves and it loops around until settling solidly on track. That's the creative process. One that brings with it rich and meaningful rewards. And like the Guinea village, the knowledge that good planning brings with it future prosperity.
As an expert in sustainable advertising, wellness promotion, eco business and wellness marketing, I am often surprised that the meaning of sustainability is still so misunderstood. It is not uncommon for instance for corporate executives to balk at the term—since they believe it means their business is about to do something really good but lose a lot of money doing it.
But the reverse is true. Sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe true sustainability is the measure of how well you do by doing good. It doesn't matter whether you work for a publicly owned company or non-profit, goals and objectives must be met. Money must be raised. Revenue increased. And quantifiable progress measured. (Even if that "progress" means the number of activists who have signed a petition.)
The practice of sustainable marketing brings us full circle. It
sustains us. Sustainability is about giving and receiving. It's like breathing. We breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. In return, trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. It's reciprocity at its finest. And it's a practice that keeps people and the planet as healthy as our bottom line.
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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