Creative campaigns find new ways to “go green”

Over the past few months, green initiatives have given birth to some very interesting campaigns and programs. The latest from Al Gore’s “non-profit, non-partisan effort,” Alliance for Climate Protection, brings political rivals Reverend Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson together for an unconventional public service message. The video, available at wecansolveit.org, features the unlikely pair urging viewers to work together in helping our planet.

The Green is Universal website from NBC Universal features programs and tips, as well as an extensive “Green Glossary” of related terms. The site provides a portal to its other company websites, including NBC. The network’s television prime time schedule has also adapted to the growing movement. Shows such as The Bionic Woman and Scrubs have tailored their storylines to promote green living.

Another notable program closer to home is Green Enterprise Toronto, a site dedicated to helping businesses and consumers “become greener” and “think locally.” Its site offers a directory of Toronto-based, environmentally-friendly businesses - featuring everything from health spas, landscapers, restaurants, and specialty stores geared to women.

Aside from local activism and consumer awareness, the green movement has motivated people to look at almost every aspect of their life and health from a different perspective. An article on CanadianLiving.com offers tips on “how to have a green baby”, including preparing organic diets, how to avoid everyday toxins, and making your own baby food.

Are women loyal to loyalty?

All this talk about loyalty programs and it begs the question; are women loyal to loyalty programs? Where are marketers missing the mark? And, where is loyalty when you need it?

Take a particular Canadian telco that will remain nameless. For now. In the last year, I have switched over both of my business phone accounts, set up a new business Internet account, switched over my home phone account and upgraded my wireless data account. In all, between my businesses and my personal and household telecommunications and data use, we hold 6 accounts with this telco.

Now, what would make good sense is that I would be rewarded and recognized for the total sum of business that I have with this company and will bring to this company over time (lifetime customer value). Yet, when I call, I wait on hold for more than 30 minutes (on my cell phone!), they often cannot find my account at all, and the technician doesn’t show up for scheduled appointments making me waste countless, valuable business hours waiting to give them business. I have complained many times with no acknowledgement.

Now here is my prescription for an ideal rewards and recognition program that would work :

· Discounts on monthly fees based on total business value (across all accounts)
· Consolidation of accounts- single view across call centers
· Front of the line service and recognition flagged for call centers (key codes reducing waiting time)
· Prompt resolution when problems arise

Are women loyal to loyalty programs? Essentially we need to separate the brand from the program. There are programs that we have an emotional connection to where a loyalty program may be icing on the cake but won’t ultimately affect the brand love. Then, there are brands that we tolerate and sometimes like where a great loyalty program can make all the difference. In short, loyalty programs need to:

1. Be highly usable (not creating extra work at uptake or for ongoing use)
2. Show immediate reward ($ off, front of the line recognition, other redemption opps)
3. Bring the consumer closer to the brand (increase switching costs, increase frequency of purchase and increase brand favour)

Gender differences. The quote of the day!

This morning, my four year old daughter shared with me what I found to be quite an accurate statement which transcended and true stereotyping when it came to gender differences. As she was packing her favourite book-- Fancy Nancy-- into her knapsack she said to me "Mommy, boys are stronger but girls are fancier." I reflected on the accuracy of the statement, and as usual, had to smile.

Marketing to Women Online: Attracting Your YouTube Audience

Female vloggers (video bloggers) and personalities have relied on the ease and accessibility of popular video sites to build and sustain significant audiences. Many users can produce engaging, entertaining content at little to no cost. But with so much content out there, how can women just starting out reach their audience?

Most have turned to YouTube as their default video hosting and community site; and while it may be easier than ever to upload and share your clips online, drawing people to your content can be a challenge. Is there a set formula for creating a “viral video”, or does the organic nature of the web make it difficult to reach your potential audience directly?

YouTube and other hosting sites such as Yahoo! Video, Metacafe, and Revver offer similar features (search by category, user comments, embedding), but can one site generate a greater audience than others? Like traditional media, content is key – and while YouTube may offer an extensive catalog of videos, a lot of the good stuff can get lost in the mix.

Taking advantage of the reactive nature of the internet means more than just uploading a video and waiting for people to watch. Engaging viewers is just as important. In an August 2006 interview with Wired Magazine, comedian Dane Cook describes how social networking and video sites helped to garner a mainstream audience by maintaining an open and immediate online dialogue with his fans.

Users often produce outstanding content that never makes it to Time’s Top Ten, but there are ways to enhance your view count. Second party services such as Vodpod and SplashCast allow users to showcase and embed selected videos to a customizable, personal video channel. These and similar sites not only optimize organic search engine ranking, but also incorporate your content into their own exclusive communities.

Some may be hesitant about levering open source tools and community sites to establish an online presence. Those now taking advantage of Web 2.0 may express concerns over privacy, security, and public perception; but as internet culture and technology extends its reach across other media, new users are quickly adapting. Lee Gomes of the Wall Street Journal, for example, studied how users engaged YouTube and determined growing trends amongst specific groups. However, as online content continues to grow at a seemingly exponential rate, reaching your audience early becomes increasingly important.

Holiday shopping online?

Where are you shopping online this year? With the dollar in an on-par place it makes cross border online shopping that much more desirable. What Canadian e-tailers are grabbing your attention and reducing your holiday stress? For the creative gift seeker, try www.orangefish.ca for unique gifts designed and crafted by Canadian artisans. How much of your shopping are you doing online this year?

Women at the expense of men?

David Menzies wrote an interesting article in this month's Marketing Magazine titled "Excuse My Gender" where he laments about men and their negative portrayal in recent ad campaigns by Rona, Rogers and Royal Bank to name a few. I can certainly relate to the sentiment of the article. Perhaps the pendulum has swung to far for marketers trying to wave the flag for the female gender. As an agency who specializes in marketing with women I can sympathize and agree that good quality marketing and communication strategies do not have to come at the expense of men.

That said, is the message getting through at the retail level? With all of the mega bucks being invested by North America's big brands in search of winning the female favour, is this translated at all customer touchpoints of the sales experience? Sadly, I say no. Just walk into a retailer selling consumer electronics, try signing up for a new small business phone system or even purchasing a car, home or a vacation membership package and as a woman you will still have to sustain some good old fashioned gender discrimination.

So, perhaps these ad budgets should be allocated to gender specific sales training and operationalization of communication strategies across all customer touch points. Just a thought.

Are women moving up in the workplace?

Are we making progress? Are there more women in senior decision making positions at Corporations across Canada? Well, perhaps we are seeing marginal differences in the percentages at the top two teirs but is that really the issue? Perhaps it is that we need more female role models and leaders at all levels of the organization. Do you have to be senior to lead or make an impact? As employment models are changing and flattening, there has never been a better time for leadership to be present at all corners of a company.

As employers are starting to re-think performance-based measurement, employee engagement practices and grappling over how they are going to attract top talent and fill the female pipeline, it is also a great time to be acknowledging leadership potential in different areas of the business and rethinking the leadership definition.

Having a flexible organizational mindset and flexible employment practices will improve your access to top female talent. Make it easier for women to engage with you, to stay with you, and perhaps.... to move up with you. But don't make that the only measure of success.

Looking to reach women online? Try You Tube

Women are moving the needle in the YouTube demographics. And we are taking full advantage. This is not just women in the 18-35 year range either. We all know that boomers are the fasted growing segment of Internet users, but they are now becoming great social networkers too, embracing personal and professional networking sites like FaceBook, Linked In, photo sharing sites and posting videos to sites like Video Jug .

eMarketer recently cited heavy social network users as also being big online consumers of apparel and books. Another key indicator that women are moving more of their consumer and leisure activities online.

Women. The advertising engine of influence.

Women are savvy to advertising. We know what we like. We know what we trust. eMarketers' recent consumer stats tell that 78% of us trust recommendations from other consumers, 63% of us trust newspapers and 61% of us trust opinions posted online. Popular ones recently cited in an eCommerce Minute article were www.buzzilions.com , www.pissedconsumer.com and www.my3cents.com . Of course there are also the more industry related ones like www.tripadvisor.com . Which consumer opinion sites do you trust?

With TV, Magazine and radio ads moving down the list of trusted sources, what ads are making an impact now? Check out this video spoof on advertising. You are going to love it.