green america presents the open brand: beyond green washing
DESCRIPTION
Sustainability Marketing in a World of Radical Transparency.Social media technology is driving the shift towards a more open culture, a more open government, and most notably, a more open way of marketing. People are Twittering about your brand right now and the way you respond today will determine the future of brand management.At the same time, corporate sustainability marketing initiatives are getting labeled as green washing because they lack transparency that is foundational to building authentic brand trust.In this talk, you will learn how to leverage social media technology to be an Open Brand leader, transcending green washing and building trusted relationship with your customers. See current case studies of corporate green initiatives that have succeeded and failed. Learn how to show your green, authentically.TRANSCRIPT
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About the Speaker
• Joey Shepp, Green MBA
• Principal at EarthsiteWeb Strategy for Sustainable Brands
• Founder of Open BrandsSocial Brand Monitoring
• Internet Marketing Director for Green Festival
JoeyShepp.com
The Open Brand:Beyond Green Washing
Sustainability Messaging in a World of Radical Transparency
Roadmap
1.Trends2.Case Studies3.Principles4.How To5.Questions
Green WashingMaking environmental marketing claimsthat are not true or stretching the truth.
Chevy FAIL
Fuji FAIL
7 Sins of GreenWashing1. Hidden Tradeoffs
2. Lack of Proof
3. Vague Claims
4. Irrelevant Claims
5. Worshiping False Labels
6. The Lesser of Two Evils
7. Outright Lies
So, Where next?
Social Media Is the future of Sustainability
Marketing
What is Social media?
•Social Networking
•Online Video
•E-Commerce
•Online Advertising
Interactive Marketing Growth
Facebook Growth
Facebook has grown from 100 million to 200 million users in less than 8 months.
If it were a country, it would be bigger than Brazil.
Twitter Growth
The number of visitors to the site in March more than doubled to 9.3 million, up from 4.3 million in February.
Social Media is aDisruptive Technology
Old School New School
Top Down Bottom Up
Closed Open
Advertisement Conversation
Print Media Digital Media
One to Many Many to Many
Privacy Transparency
OpenCulture
Open Governmen
t
OpenSoftware
OpenBrands
An Open World
So,Who controls
a Brand?
Yesterday:Marketers
Today:Community
What do people Trust?
• 81% trust word of mouth
• 56% trust media editorial
• 25% company advertising
• http://bit.ly/Dtn7S
Power Shift
The Connection toSustainability Messaging•Social Media is based in transparency and openness.
•Sustainability Messaging requires transparency to be trusted.
Radical TransparencyCase Studies
Chevy VideoContest• What happened?• Chevy launches a YouTube campaign to
submit user generated videos promoting the Chevy Tahoe.
• Backlash• Activists seize the opportunity to voice their
feelings about the Chevy Tahoe.
• GM Fast Lane Blog• “Early on we made the decision that if we
were to hold this contest, in which we invite anyone to create an ad, in an open forum, that we would be summarily destroyed in the blogosphere if we censored the ads based on their viewpoint. So, we adopted a position of openness and transparency, and decided that we would welcome the debate.”
#AmazonFail• Friday: Authors discover that Amazon.com is delisting their gay and lesbian titles in book search
• Saturday: Word spreads around the Twitter like wildfire
• Sunday: Amazon provides a few vague responses about it being a glitch.
• Monday: Stocks have dropped by 2%
Skittles puts Twitter on their Home Page
• home page into an online portal featuring a live Twitter feed alongside Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube content
• so many hits the first day it brought down Twitter
• But just two days after its launch, Skittles was forced to rethink its social media strategy after users deluged the site with inane and often profane "tweets," the messages sent by Twitter users.
Source Link
jetBlue in the Beginning…
• Joel blogs about how it was creepy that JetBlue followed him. Moments later, JetBlue direct messaged him apologizing and explaining their human approach to connecting with their customers.
jetBlue Today
Intel PublishesSocial Media Guidelines• Be transparent.• Be judicious. • Write what you know. • Perception is reality. • It's a conversation. • Are you adding value? • Your Responsibility• Create some excitement.• Be a Leader. • Did you screw up? • If it gives you pause, pause.
Zappos CEO on Twitter
“I think the way to succeed in today’s world is to make your business more personal. Twitter is also a great way of doing that.”-Tony, CEO of Zappos
•CEO, Tony, talks about his company, but also shares his personality.
• Massive following• Early success story in using Twitter. Jumped on the new technology early.
Many CEOs on Twitter
Patagonia documentsproduct lifecycle
• GoodGuide provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.
Community PoweredCustomer Support
Companies Customers
1. Be human 1. Be understanding
2. Use real names and be personal
2. Use your real identity
3. Anticipate problems will occur, and set clear, public expectations in advance for how you will address issues.
3. Recognize that problems will occur and give companies the information and time required to competently address issues.
4. Cultivate a public dialogue.
4. Share issues directly or through a forum.
5. Speak plainly, candidly with customers.
5. Give companies the benefit of the doubt.
A call for SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Social Brand Monitoring
Open Brand Channels
How do I make my business Open?
Thinking Open
Open Brand Principles
• Embrace Transparency
• Meet People Where They are At
• Customers Trust Customers
• Befriend Influencers
• Social Currency
Benefits of being Open
• Customers do marketing for you.
• Gain innovation from your customer feedback
• Quicker response time to customer concerns
• Real time insights to customer needs
• Build loyal customers
How brands should prepare
• Don't Hesitate
• Prepare For Transparency
• Connect with Advocates
• Evolve your Enterprise Systems
• Shatter your Brand Website
Social Media MarketingBasics
Start with Listening
•Google Reader
•Google Analytics
•Google Alerts
•Tweet Beep
It’s like a user profile, but for your business
Create a Facebook Page for your business and start collecting Fans. Post photos, videos and links for your Fans to check out and comment on. Build an active customer community.
Page
Social Networking for Professionals
Have your employees build full Profiles on LinkedIn, which in turn will build a powerful profile for your company. Many features support company business development: Join professional groups, get advice from peers, hire new employees, and get introductions to key contacts.
How to TwitterBasic How to Guide
What is Twitter?
•Microblogging
•Real Time
•Public
•Always On
Basic Twitter Use
•Personal Updates (tweets)
•Responses to others (@user)
•Sharing Links (tiny URL)
•Retweeting (RT)
•Direct Messages (DM)
Best Practices
• Get your user account NOW
• Tweet consistently, 1-6 per day
• Provide value to your community
• Increase ‘signal’ by using #hashtags
Deeper Implications
1. Speed of learning
2. Ambient intimacy
3. Increased authenticity
4. Customized attention networks
5. Increased individuality
6. Tracking global concerns
7. Personal connection to our heroes and heroines
By Stephen Dinan
Go Further
Web Strategies for Sustainable Brands
• Web Design and Development
• Social Media Marketing
• Consulting
Fairfax, CA415.259.4546
Follow us on
@earthsite
@joeyshepp
@openbrands
Questions?