Dressing bottled water up in a TetraPak

I caught this post in a newsfeed I subscribe to, Environmental Leader. A water-selling company plants a tree for ever pak (TetraPak, that is) sold. Hmm. This marketing genius greenwash is brought to you by Plant It.

Claiming to use the most ‘eco-friendly’ packaging available to the bottled water industry as a response to learning about how many plastic bottles end up in landfills, this company sure is making a big splash in sustainability!

Cleaning up what I put on my skin

I can’t believe I never made the connection between chemicals going into the environment and chemicals being absorbed into my body, through my skin. I’m not talking about second-hand smoke or nasty tail-pipe emissions… I’m talking about the beauty care products I smear on my face and body. 

Here comes the Electric Vehicle… again

In the last few months, more and more media has cropped up about the next gen electric vehicle. Not just specifically about the vehicle technology itself, but about the supporting infrastructure, and what it would take (network effects, behavioural change) to get the EV to stick. Latest post I’ve seen is from Dot Earth, one of my favourite blogs.

Simplicity is beautiful

There’s been some buzz about a new breed of consumer, the ‘simplifier’. Simplifiers are described as emerging middle-aged shoppers that realize they have too much STUFF, and are now re-evaluating their notions of status, success, and space.

Simplifiers sound a lot like ‘awakening consumers’, which I had the good fortune of learning about from The Green Team‘s Mr. Hank Stewart at this 2008 Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference a couple weeks ago. They also sound a bit like my Gen X lot, a generation of floaters who didn’t really see the value in their parents’ (the boomers) material success… except with more money in the bank.

… I’m back

October was a time of reflection and evaluation. This blog was started as a class assignment; when the class ended I had to ask myself whether I had something worthwhile to contribute to the blogosphere.

I think so. Yes I do! That’s the spirit!

So cracnatic will be about the following things, in no particular order:

• responsible consumption
• trying to live a sustainable life 
• environmental marketing (not green marketing)… think behavioural change through social media

Hope you enjoy the new cracnatic!

Getting Naked (BAMA 513 Project)

naked, according to Merriam-Webster (sixth definition):

“devoid of concealment or disguise”
 

To be able to converse with customers without concealment or disguise would be a marketer’s dream come true. To really listen to what customers want, and be able to respond without hesitation or worry about the official company ‘line’. Imagine that.

Listen your way to the top

Some fantastic submissions have been compiled by Forrester for their 2008 Groundswell Awards. In the ‘Listening’ category, one submission that caught my eye was The Local Scoop from Omni Hotels.

Unlike other tourism blogs or social communities where seasoned travellers offer up advice, The Local Scoop doesn’t just tap in to what travellers are saying. Residents from each destination contribute to the forum, in effect enabling visitors to experience the city “like a local”. Travellers staying at an Omni Hotel are invited to join The Local Scoop, and can create a customized package during their stay.

Harsh times… how’s your brand doing? (My ten minute blog)

Following the AIG bailout, this NY Times article discusses how advertising agencies are now turning their attention to promoting messages of trustworthiness, long-term vision, and financial sustainability. 

If your brand isn’t already established as something tried, tested, and true, is it really going to make a difference to start promoting this kind of message now? And by the time your campaign is ready to launch, will the message still be relevant in context to the future market environment?

What’s a strong brand that says trust? For the past hundred or so years, BCAA has been a trusted brand in road assistance, insurance, and travel. Perhaps you don’t think of BCAA as being fun or sexy, but you do feel like you’re in trusted hands.

Why less is more… and why marketers need to understand this

The paradox of choice

Barry Schwartz is a professor of social theory and action, teaching courses ranging from basic psychology to economic rationality and decision-making.

His 2004 book, “The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More” (Harper Collins) pulls together several years of musing and research over why we, in democratic societies, are fervent advocates of choice and freedom, yet are not any happier with our decisions when we are given many options to choose from. All the choice in the world, and we do not seem any better off than those living in places with fewer perceived freedoms.

Tell me something I don’t know

I’ve been at this blogging thing for a few days now, and it has given me a new appreciation for some things:

1. Blogging is time consuming. It is energy consuming. Good bloggers have their facts straight, and I find that I will trust some bloggers’ words but not others. Checking facts makes bloggers credible, but by golly can it be time intensive.

2. Good bloggers have something to say, and don’t just regurgitate the news. I can regurgitate the news. My stuffed monkey can regurgitate the news. Tell me something I don’t know. Tell me your opinion on something. I might agree or better yet, I’ll disagree and look into it.