Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Milk jugs to envelopes

Conformer Expansion Products recently launched a plastic expansion envelope made out of 75% post consumer plastics, particularly recycled milk jugs. Multiple colors, sizes and custom imprinting available. Maybe not the best option for shipping milk, but cool none-the-less.

Labels: direct mail, green

Monday, August 11, 2008

Freecycle.org

In our town we have to pay for garbage pick up. It's not included in our taxes. So twice a year our town has "bulk pick up day". It's a special day that everyone gets really excited about 'cause you can finally get rid of all the stuff you've been saving since the last pick up. Its treated with the same anticipation as a holiday. The broken chair you realize you're not going to fix, the role of fencing wire that's been in the garage since you moved in, all will be put out by your street curb for the town trucks to haul away for you. But before they do a cavalcade of pick up trucks and panel trucks systematically, and with army like precision, take all the interesting things leaving only the really useless, unrepairable stuff. It's a semi annual occurrence, like something out of National Geographic. Instead of our local land fill getting piles of junk, it gets recycled.

This brings me to Freecycle.org (thanks Becky). This is a grass roots nonprofit organization started with the idea that the best way to keep our landfills clean is to create a network where people who have stuff to dump can get in touch (via the web) with some one who's been looking for that exact thing. There a chapters all over the US and it's free. It's like a giant electronic swap meet.

Labels: green, nonprofit

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

USPS has great Green creative

Props to Katie Geraci here at RMI for passing this along to me. Two great items from the USPS.

The first is a self mailer with the word "en*vi*ron*mail*ist" on the back. Inside is packed with great food for thought for mailers to use to be "greener". Even a BRC which you fill out and get a free Environmailism Handbook and a cotton t-shirt. There are even cute punch-out cards you can use as coasters... I think.

Second is the USPS magazine, Deliver. Totally redesigned with some issues, like this one, all about Green. Again, full of facts and figures the activists don't tell you. I think it's great.

Labels: green

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Shame on the Old Gray Lady

The New York Times ran an article which of course was all but flattering to DM'ers. The author quotes a member of Kawasaki's marketing team who, in almost child-like manner, apologizes for not being able to define goals and frame works for "greening up" DM. It's really a horrible article. Not well written and especially not well researched. One simple phone call to the DMA to get a hold of the "Green 15" or "CCC" initiatives and there would have been some balance.

This was just more "dreck" as my dad would have said.

Labels: DMA, green

Thursday, June 5, 2008

More from CatalogChoice

A number of the online news services for direct marketers have written reports on the latest comments from CatalogChoice. This activist organization is taking a different approach to targeting direct mail. A kinder, gentler, more grandfatherly approach. They don't want to kill direct mail, only to help us do a better job at what we already do. They are out to help us make more money, improve our businesses and clean up the world all at the same time. How noble... Not!

Actually, the tone of their message is so patronizing it's almost transparent. For decades brilliant direct marketing companies have spent millions of their own dollars developing systems to better market and communicate with their customers and potential customers. They have developed state of the art computer systems to cut waste and increase ROI. It's an insult to our industry to say that they know our business better and can do a better job for the consumer. I wonder if they have read this months issue of Target Marketing where the cover story outlines how Consumers' Union's mission of going "Green" is from the grassroots to the top organizationally?

Labels: catalogs, direct mail, green

Friday, May 30, 2008

Hats off to Consumers Union

If you haven’t seen the article in this month’s Target Magazine yet, you have to check it out. It explains how Consumers Union has made “going green” a top priority. And they’re not only helping the environment, they’re saving money! I can personally vouch for the team effort referred to in the article, having been of part of the seasonal strategic meeting. It’s just like we always tell our clients…we want to be part of your team!

Meta Brophy and CU should be very proud (as I am to be a part of it!)

Labels: client, green

Monday, May 5, 2008

Debbie & Justine spend some time in the trees

Last weekend Debbie and Justine (the ladies of our ADF account team) took an adventurous journey to Nebraska where they spent two whole days with the Arbor Day Foundation crew celebrating National Arbor Day (and doing really important, highly confidential executive things which we don't talk about).

Of all the special outdoor activities they offered, these gutsy ladies favored the Canopy Tree House, which features a climb 50 feet above the forest floor to look over the Arbor Day Farm orchards, hazelnut fields, Lied Lodge, and natural sanctuary. Their least favorite? They opted for more grounded entertainment when they were asked to put on a harness and learn how trim branches while hanging among the tree limbs. They decided to leave that to the professionals; they'll take care of the direct marketing instead.

Labels: client, employees, green

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Help cool the earth

National Wildlife Federation has created a pretty neat online campaign called The Good Neighbor Pledge which coincides with Earth Day and National Wildlife Week. A visitor to the site responds to a series of energy saving tips and for each of the tips they can check off they get points for. With 20 or more points and a donation of $15.00 you are a member of the Good Neighbor Program. You then receive a Good Neighbor Kit with more information on how to cool the earth and as a premium you get a nifty water bottle.

Very cool way to generate more awareness and some dollars for the cause.

Labels: environment, fundraising, green, nonprofit

Monday, March 31, 2008

NWF pushes green marketing

A nice round number is $40 million. That's the amount National Wildlife Federation has committed to "green marketing".

Jamie Matyas, NWF COO and EVP of Marketing, announced in a DM News article yesterday that the organization has hired the services of two "green marketing" agencies who are partnering to develop a variety of campaigns, all directed towards their core constituents. To name a few, advertising initiatives will revolve around Ranger Rick and Your Big Backyard kids' magazines, the Great American Backyard Campout, and a college campus program that teaches alumni and faculty how to reduce their carbon footprint.

This goes to show just how dedicated NWF is to our environment. A tactical effort not only to encourage our generation's "green" decisions, but our children's - instilling values that they will carry on with them into adulthood.

Labels: fundraising, green, nonprofit

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A nice DMCNY event

Last week the Direct Marketing Club of New York hosted one of their monthly luncheons. The centerpiece of the day was a presentation by the DMA's staff: Jerry Cerasale, Patricia Kachura, Alan Kuritsky and Terri L. Bartlett. For those of us who regularly attend DMA meetings much of the information was a repeat. But there were a few nuggets to take away:

+ Alan Kuritsky reported that the Direct Marketing industry's overall revenue will show a modest growth again in 2008. It is expected that as the gas prices go up, DM/email will also increase in growth.

+ Jerry Cerasale stressed the importance of adopting the DMA's guidelines on Commitment to Consumer Choice (CCC). He warned against allowing a "third party to take control over your customers". Adding that we want to avoid the "leave me alone" feeling by over mailing to consumers.

+ Patricia Kachura highlighted the progress of the DMA's efforts and marketers in general, siting many interesting fact about how much is saved by utilizing direct mail.

A good question was raised by an audience participant; is there anything the DMA will be doing to go directly to the consumer to educate them about Green 15 and CCC? The answer appears to be what I blogged about a while ago. The DMA is putting the responsibility of educating the public on the members' plates. If an opportunity arises for some one to address the issues in a public forum they will, but no campaign is planned......too bad.

In any event I urge you all to go to the DMA's website and download the information on Green 15 and CCC. Some very good talking points for us all to be aware of.

Labels: DMA, DMCNY, green

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Online "green-ness"?

Great article in DM News this week. Thanks to Debbie McLain for pointing it out. Sara Holoubek compares and contrasts just how green digital marketing is. With all of the electronic gadgets around, most of which aren't reusable or recyclable and use a huge amount of energy manufacturing, digital marketing isn't very carbon neutral. So now the big push is on to create more environmentally friendly gadgets. But just as we in the direct marketing industry must inform the public of our environmental efforts, the onus is on the online industry to follow suit.

Labels: green, marketing

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Recycle Please, please consider

Last year the DMA developed a Recycle Please campaign asking direct marketers to include their blue bin logo on outgoing mail pieces, encouraging its recipients to recycle. A good effort put forth by the DMA. But what if they were to go beyond just encouraging the general public and develop a strategy to get all DM'ers to recycle internally?

Here's my proposal: devise a extension of the Recycle Please campaign asking all DM'ers themselves to install recycling programs within their building (like we did in November). For each company that does, the DMA would partner with Arbor Day Foundation to plant 100 trees (or whatever amount) in a national forest.

The DMA could showcase logos of all participating companies on their microsite and include numbers of the amount of trees planted to date, and the amount of trees saved through recycling. The DMA could have a splash on their home page with the tallied figures. And, if the numbers are strong enough, they could site how many trees were used for mailings in 2007 countered by how many were saved and planted.

DM’ers would be encouraged to join in because a) it’s coming from the authoritative DMA b) they don’t want to be singled out and c) for the honorable exposure/advertising.

The DMA could get the movement going by surveying to find out how many companies are already recycling and plant the trees retroactively.

Press coverage on this could be substantial. And at that point, who could say that we're not doing enough...

Labels: DMA, green, recycling

Thursday, January 10, 2008

What do Bear Naked cereal and Arbor Day have in common?

In 2007 the cereal company Bear Naked, brain child of two Connecticut entrepreneurs, partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation and planted 50,000 trees in fire damaged forests.

I'm seeing more and more of this type of partnering recently.

Labels: fundraising, green

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I can't wait for December 17th

That's the date the DM News will release the results of it's joint report with Pitney Bowes on what consumers really think about direct mail and the impact it has on the environment. This is mentioned in the editorial Eleanor Trickett wrote in the Nov. 26, 2007 edition of DM News Online.

Labels: direct mail, green

Friday, November 30, 2007

RMI's on the green bandwagon

Back in April of '06, we began issuing the majority of our reports and invoices online, easily saving over 30 thousand sheets of paper a year. Today we're taking our green initiatives a step further and have begun recycling all disposable paper products through Shred-it, a document destruction company. It's secure, convenient and amazingly affordable. Together Shred-it and their clients have saved more than 9 million trees each year! I encourage everyone to take a look at their brochure.

Here's another tree friendly idea: for the holidays (or any occasion for that matter) check out the Arbor Day Foundation's Give-A-Tree card program. For every greeting card purchased, a tree is planted in a national forest.

Labels: green, nonprofit, recycling

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

News from National Arbor Day Foundation

With an eye towards the future the National Arbor Day Foundation is now Arbor Day Foundation. The Foundation's mission of inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees continues to grow, now broadening to global outreach for global causes. Visit their web site for more information.

Labels: fundraising, green, international, nonprofit