Energy
A Wind Farm in our Urban Back Yard?
A new “green” parking garage is being built around the corner from our offices in River North.
Named “Greenway” it includes a lot of the typical features of LEED construction, including: renewable materials, maximum energy efficiency, minimal waste, plug-ins for electric cars, etc. To this point it all seems good, but somewhat standard.
Then last week they installed something truly surprising – vertical wind turbines. We’re told they will provide enough electricity to power the building’s exterior lighting and also contribute to the overall power grid.
To persuade…quantify value
While we all think about energy conservation now and then, it’s not top of mind for most. Businesses and consumers still take electricity for granted. 1E is out to change that. 1E is a software company that pioneered the concept of IT Power Management. They have a mission to address PC energy waste, and have developed products to address the issue.
But engaging energy buyers can be a real challenge for marketers. To get their attention, you have to quantify value, and when it comes to this, 1E is a true artist.
This company came to my attention when I started to wonder what it costs to leave my home computer on overnight. An online search turned up their PC Energy Report 2009. What an eye opener. In their report, you’ll learn that half of US employees don’t turn their computers off every night, and companies with over 1000 computers waste about $26,000 per year in energy. They project that if every single PC in the world was turned off for one night, we’d save enough electricity to power the Empire State Building – inside and out – for more than 30 years. Wow.
1E’s report draws from the research of Harris Interactive, and consciously speaks to the wide variety of individuals who may be in a position to influence a sale…the IT leader, general consumer, corporate energy buyer, social responsibility officer…every audience gets something functionally relevant. They use their research data to great persuasive effect, cutting through any conceivable objection or complacency.
By the time you finish the scannable 17-page report, you’ll want to join the cause and turn off your PC at night. But you’ll also have a model for a very persuasive whitepaper that uses research to quantify value…and elicit an almost visceral response.
Leafy Green Viral Marketing
Nissan has been pushing its latest technological breakthroughs in lithium ion powered cars with a video posted on YouTube. The name of the car is Leaf. It’s an interesting move that will hit car lovers, environmentalists and the general populace with equal emphasis. I like the simple, creative way the message is portrayed and the heightened sustainability prowess it gives Nissan. Viral works, to prove it, watch the video.
Matching your advertising expenditures to your target’s media consumption habits
It’s that time of year… everyone’s planning their budgets for 2010. We all hope and pray that the recession will be over by then, but in the meantime most organizations are lean and mean. Just today eMarketer reported that in order to improve overall marketing effectiveness, 70% of marketers are moving budget from traditional to digital media.
So is it time for you to create a high impact online marketing program? You know that your targets are online, but where do I start?
Two primary ways come to mind – targeted media buys and search marketing.
The carbon footprint in your wine
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Newsweek reports that if you’re a New Yorker, you leave a much smaller carbon footprint drinking a French wine shipped by sea over the Atlantic (2.93 pounds of carbon per bottle) than you would drinking a Napa vintage that was air shipped or trucked in (7.05 pounds per bottle). Interesting factoid, and a good reminder that the method of transportation matters as much as the distance when calculating carbon. Shipping by sea generates less than half the emissions associated with planes and tractor-trailers. Of course, this is not a problem when you drink locally-made beverages. Here in Chicago, we love our beer. CBDers have chimed in with our favorite Chi-town brews: Goose Island’s 312 and Matilda , Half Acre and Two Brothers. Though not a beer, my personal favorites are the amazingly delicious organic liqueurs made by Koval, a boutique distillery in the heart of the city. Chime in with your local favorites.
Dark clouds of crisis have a shiny silver lining called alternative energy
There are strong signs of a rebound for the alternative energy sector, but how soon will green jobs start impacting the U.S. job market? Though the U.S is surrounded by economic, security, and climate crisis – can green technologies really save us from ourselves?
Some say alternative energy could spark the next “industrial revolution”. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get dirty. Click here for a must-read article from Manufacturing.net that just may provide some fuel for thought!
