By Posted on Posted in Diversity, Peace and War, propaganda, Social and Economic Justice Tagged with , , , , ,

Stupid idea of the Week award to (drumroll, please)…Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, an evangelical church in Gainesville, Florida. Jones and his 50 members want to commemorate 9/11 by burning a Koran.

Here’s what General David Petraeus had to say about this idiotic idea:

It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems, not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community…Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence. Such images could, in fact, be used as were the photos from [Abu Ghraib]. And this would, again, put our troopers and civilians in jeopardy and undermine our efforts to accomplish the critical mission here in Afghanistan.

The same Washington Post article quotes a statement from the U.S. Embassy:

Americans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds reject the offensive initiative by this small group in Florida. A great number of American voices are protesting the hurtful statements made by this organization. Numerous interfaith and religious groups in America are actively working to counter this kind of ignorance and misinformation that is offensive to so many people in the U.S. and around the world.

To these 50 extremists who falsely call themselves Christian, I’ve got a few other things to say:

  • Christ’s message was one of tolerance of differences, acceptance of diversity. Consider as one among many examples the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were a despised ethnic group in Christ’s day, as this post on Bible.org makes clear.
  • What makes the US different from (and better than) totalitarian governments with official state religion is that we were founded on the bedrock principles of justice and equality, even for those who are different from us. While it’s true that as a country, we certainly haven’t always lived up to these principles, they are part of our founding heritage and part of why I am proud to be an American. Bigotry is anti-American, and this is an act of bigotry.
  • As General Petraeus points out, your action inflames the passions of the zealot/terrorist faction within Islam–and while they are a tiny minority, they can do tremendous damage, especially with you doing their recruiting for them. You are putting the lives of every American soldier in Iraq (still 50,000 left, in so-called non-combat deployments) and Afghanistan at risk!, not to mention the lives of all of us on the home front. Are you willing to have the blood of these brave soldiers on your hands?

    Advice to the better selves hiding behind that racist front: don’t do it. You want to do something constructive to commemorate 9/11? How about an interfaith Christian/Muslim/Jewish dialog group?

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    By Posted on Posted in Demographics/Psychographics, Diversity, Energy & Sustainability, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies Tagged with , , , , ,

    Would you use the same marketing strategy to sell a Lexus and a Smart car? I certainly hope not! Market segmentation, and then marketing differently to those different segments, is a pillar of marketing strategy and has been for more than 100 years. And in our technological era, it’s so easy to do, you’d be a fool to try any kind of one-size-fits-all marketing.

    This is equally true in any sector of the Green market. Example: the affluent suburbanite who shops at Whole Foods is going to have different wants and needs than a just-getting-by urbanite who’s a member of a food co-op for economic reasons…or the rural farmstand shopper who values the freshness and health benefits of just-picked organic produce. And with each of those slices, you want to slice again: a parent of young children needs a different approach than an elder living alone. Market to them differently, or fail to market.

    Just as in B2C (Business To Consumer) marketing, in the B2B world, you have to understand not only your own motivations, but those of your clients. Are they motivated by a desire to lower carbon footprint, a desire to reach the Green market themselves, an EPA mandate to clean up their act, or simply a desire to shave 30 percent off their energy bill?

    There’s a good article on the Strategic Sustainability Consulting blog on this, which I found through Carolyn Parrs’ blog.

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    By Posted on Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility, Energy & Sustainability, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies Tagged with , , , , ,

    The latest research proves the need. In a wonderful article for Sustainable Life Media, “Measuring the Value of CSR Communications,” Perry Goldschein notes that “80% of consumers had no idea that sustainability leaders (e.g., HP, Intel, Cisco, Unilever) were participating in any sustainability practices at all.”

    If the sustainability efforts of these leading companies are so under the general public’s radar, what does that say about the rest of us and our visibility?

    This is why I wrote my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), why I do Green marketing consulting and speaking, and why I’m starting an international trade association for Green marketers: to provide the tools businesses need to tell their Green story to the world, and to take full marketing advantage of the edge that gives them if told properly.

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    By Posted on Posted in International Association of Green Marketers Tagged with

    With one hour and ten minutes left to go in the month of August, I’m going to squeeze out one last #blogboost post. Thanks, Michelle and Michele for organizing this.

    It seems I’ve touched a nerve in stating my intention to launch the International Association of Earth-Conscious Marketers. I’ve had responses from Indonesia, Dubai, and the UK, among other places.

    Last night, we had our second Steering Committee conference call. A vibrant discussion centering on our roles and our funding. We decided for now we’ll try to obtain funding from Green companies in whose interest it is for us to be viable, because we in turn will attract more customers for them as the Green message starts to get out. It’s exciting.

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    By Posted on Posted in Advertising Tagged with , , , , ,

    One of the things I enjoy about travel is the chance to dip into the world of big-company messaging and watch for trends. At home, I tend not to buy a lot of the mainstream brands so I don’t know what they’re up to.

    My breakfast this morning included items from General Mills (Cheerios) and Lipton, both of which left me scratching my head in wonder that in this day and age, and with all the resources at their disposal, so many big companies still don’t have a clue.

    General Mills greets me with a big banner on the front of the box telling me that I can win a free box of Cheerios if I turn over the box.

    On the back, it directs me to go register on a website, and hints that there’s some connection to heart health (which Cheerios has used as a marketing point for many years).

    I give General Mills points for figuring out how to reach the target audience. Presumably, pretty much everyone reading the back of a Cheerios box is a consumer and/or purchaser of the product. Also, General Mills scores points for attempting at least some weak level of consumer involvement.

    But the offer is too weak. Let me get this straight: you want me to take time out of my day, type in a 21-character domain name, and then register on your site…for the possibility (not certainty) that I might be lucky enough to win a $3 box of cereal? For that, I’m going to take time away from productive work and expose myself to marketing messages from now until Doomsday?

    The offer is not compelling enough for me, at least. The benefits are theoretical but the cost to me is real. You want my registration for a giveaway? Make it worth my while. A chance to win an iPad might coax my name and e-mail out of me. A sweepstakes for a box of cereal, not so much.

    Oddly enough, the site itself makes a better offer: $4 in coupons for everyone registering, AND the chance to win a cereal box.

    Part 2 of my breakfast: a cup of Lipton peppermint tea. On the teabag tag: this trademarked phrase: “Lipton tea can do that.”

    Huh?? Now I’m the one who has no clue. What can it do? For whom? Who cares? This one was not even compelling enough to get me to click over to lipton.com in the interest of research (to write about what I found there in this blog). It is so lame I’m not even going to bother.

    Adding to my resistance: on the tea bag envelope, it says “Feel everything becoming alright.”

    First of all, proper English is important to me. “Alright” is not proper. When discussing making things better, it should be “all right.” But again, there’s nothing here to convince me to click. Where’s the call to action? Where’s anything that relates to me as a peppermint tea drinker, an herbal tea drinker, or even a tea drinker? Where’s the differentiation?

    Not to pick on these two companies–I could name hundreds of examples of companies whose marketing departments utterly squander their chance to move the discourse forward. But to have two in the same breakfast struck me as worth writing about.

    (Cheerios and the Lipton slogan are trademarks of their respective owners.)

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    By Posted on Posted in censorship, Democracy, Diversity, Peace and War, propaganda, Protests and Crackdowns, Shel's Personal Life Tagged with , , , , , , ,

    Today marks the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington, and of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Right-wing extremists Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin will dishonor King’s memory by having a rally on the same site, opposed to all the values King held dear.

    I’m okay with that, actually. I’d never go, other than to hold a counterprotest sign—but I believe strongly in the 1st Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. As did King, by the way.

    I think Beck and Palin are despicable. I also think they have every right to hold their gathering of the lunatic fringe. And I’m aware that I’ve taken plenty of stands over my career for which others would paint me as “lunatic fringe.” Some of them are now mainstream, such as aiming for zero waste, repurposing rooftop space into food and energy collectors, and getting the heck off fossil and nuclear power sources—but they sure weren’t 30 or 40 years ago. I would not have granted then, and don’t grant now, the right of others to tell me how to think, and I don’t claim that same privilege against others whom I disagree with. The right to try to convince them, certainly—but NEVER to dictate what is or is not acceptable thought.

    I remember holding a lone protest in front of the local courthouse when the U.S. bombed Lybia. The first day, I got a lot of middle fingers and angry shouts. By the second day, a few people had joined me. On the third day, with a larger crowd, we were getting mostly thumbs ups and supportive honks. It was hard, on that first day. But I remembered my favorite Abraham Lincoln quote, “It is a sin to be silent when it is your duty to protest.” Taking an unpopular position didn’t take the burden off me to take a stand.

    And some of my positions are still out of the mainstream—so far. One such is that a Muslim group has every right to practice that other First Amendment right, freedom of worship—even two blocks from Ground Zero. As Keith Olbermann pointed out recently, there’s already been an Islamic center coexisting in that neighborhood since before the World Trade Center was even built. But even if there weren’t, this country was founded on the principle that people can peaceably assemble, worship the God of our choice (or no God, if we choose), and say what we want to say even if it makes others unhappy. That’s what made us the shining light of Democracy for the world, the example that so many other nations wanted to follow. Those are American values that I hold dear. And I predict that they will once again return to the mainstream of an America that seems to have forgotten its proud heritage.

    It means the right to build an Islamic Center—a gathering place for peaceful worship and community activities—on an abandoned site a few blocks from Ground Zero, and it means that Beck and Palin are appropriately permitted for their disgusting festival of intolerance. The appropriate reaction is boycott or counterprotest, not an attempt to silence those we disagree with.

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    By Posted on Posted in Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Uncategorized, Web 2.0/Social Media Tagged with , , , , ,

    My latest article, 10 Ways to Make Your Message Resonate with Green Consumers, was published today on GreenBiz.com (Joel Makower’s very well-regarded enviro site).

    For anyone into Green marketing, I recommend this. (Of course, my book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green, goes into far more detail.)

    Creating original articles is one among several marketing and visibility strategies I’ve been using regularly for many years. In the last several months, I’ve posted quite a bit of original content (articles and guest blogs) on major environmental and PR sites—part of a strategy to become a go-to person for commentary on Green business. This doesn’t count making comments on others’ blogs or being interviewed frequently not only by bloggers, but by traditional media as well. If you’re trying to get known in your own industry, these strategies can get you there, and they cost nothing but time. Here are a few places of the places where you can see my articles:

    Triple Pundit:
    Coffee Activist Dean’s Beans Brews the Perfect Blend for Change

    GreenMarketing.tv
    Why Green Consumers Make the BEST Customers

    Fast Company
    At least 77 articles, 2008–2010.

    Bulldog Reporter (a trade journal for PR)
    Green Consciousness Creates Fresh — Often Unexpected — Opportunities for Savvy PR Professionals (I can’t get this link to load so am not including it here)

    Now, the next goal, is finding markets that will pay for content. That’s harder, but not impossible. When I was actively freelancing, I got paid for as many as 87 articles in a single year. The publications I was writing for back then didn’t pay much, but they didn’t pay. It wasn’t a living, but it was part of one.

    –>This is post number 10 of the ten posts I committed to writing in the last third of August, as part of Michele Scism and Michelle Shaeffer’s #Blogboost Blog Challenge–and there are still several days left in the month. I may keep it going through the end of the month, or even beyond. It’s good discipline.

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    By Posted on Posted in Advertising, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, People Helping People, privacy Tagged with , , ,

    Guest post by Steve Ostrow

    [Editor’s note: I was sent a review copy of this book, and enjoyed its playful approach to an intimidating subject. So when I was asked if I’d give Steve a forum during his launch, I gladly agreed.]

    Congress has spoken! Anti-telemarketing legislation has been passed. Under reasonable restrictions, certain tactics by telemarketers are prohibited and court actionable. Violations can be enforced by the State via the attorney general’s office, the public via class action lawsuits or private lawsuits, and individuals via the small claims court.

    The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) started the ball rolling. Congress was torn between the special interest lobbyists and the people’s vote. The green cash of the lobbyists stalled the legislature for numerous years, but eventually the annoyance of the telemarketing industry became too much. The door opened and the unfettered invasion of free speech was outweighed by the consumer’s right to privacy. After strong objection and outrage by consumers groups, the common sense legislation protecting the privacy of one’s own home was long overdue.

    The 1991 original law was pretty weak and without sharp teeth. A free bite at the apple was given and the first offense by a telemarketer to a residence was forgiven with only a simple apology. A second offense was required in order to make an unsolicited commercial call actionable. Basically business did not change under the original law. In 2003, over great objection from the special interest groups, came the National Do Not Call Registry. Yes, 2003 was a great year for the peace and quiet in a consumer’s home. Instead of a consumer requesting individual companies from not calling the home telephone soliciting their service, a residential consumer could sign up at one location and prohibit almost all telemarketers from calling the home phone number. The burden shifted to the telemarketing companies to check “the registry” rather than having the consumer contact the merchant and opt out. Penalties were instituted which are collectible by attorney generals, lawyers, and individuals through the small claims process.
    Under the TCPA and the Do Not Call Registry, there are several different violations which are collectible. The most popular ones are:
    1. Calling a residential telephone number that is on the National Do Not Call Registry;
    2. Using a pre-recorded dialing device to initiate a commercial sale;
    3. Using a blocked telephone number when initiating a commercial sale;
    4. Soliciting a consumer before 8am or after 9pm;
    5. Failure to provide a copy of the company’s Do Not Call Manual after demand for a copy.

    Each violation is actionable separately, or can be “stacked” together when multiple infractions are incurred. Even though the courts are supposed to punish each violation with a $500 penalty, different judges will approach cases differently. Some judges will allow you to “stack” as many violations into one case as possible. Others may limit you to one, two, or three causes of action. Regardless of the amount of the judgment, you are able to prosecute the invasion of your peace and privacy in your home through the small claim courts.

    Penalties under the TCPA may be “trebled” when the court finds that the violation is intentional. It can be tedious to understand when a telemarketing violation is intentional and when it is not. Rationally thinking, all solicitations by telemarketers are intentional; they are intentionally picking up the phone at their boiler rooms and randomly telephoning as many people as possible making their commercial pitch. It is not accidental that your number may be called, just random bad luck. I guess the easiest way to understand the intentional tripling of damages is using the playoff basketball foul analogy. Some fouls are hard basketball fouls, some are flagrant one fouls, and others flagrant two. Sometimes you just shoot free throws, other times you get ejected from the game. Sometimes the court awards you $500; sometimes the atrocious call telephone solicitation can be awarded $1,500. It’s all up to the ref.

    If you are a Democrat and you get a telephone solicitation from a Republican candidate, slow down before you start licking your lips about bringing the opposing political party to its knees. Under the TCPA, certain types of speech are exempted from lawsuits under the Act. Always remember, the violations under the TCPA were balanced with the First Amendment Right of Freedom of Speech. Certain solicitation exceptions are specifically carved out:
    1. Tax exempt non-profit organizations, including political parties and campaigns;
    2. Organizations with which you’ve had a prior business relationship;
    3. Organizations with which you’ve given prior written permission and not expressly revoked;
    4. Calls which are NOT COMMERCIAL.

    Convenience is a big part of our lives. All of us would like to nail these pesky telemarketers; sometimes it is easier just to hang up the telephone. However, if you are in the mood to make some cash and fight back against these commercial parasites, the good news about small claims court litigation is that it can prosecuted in our home backyard. Since the violation occurred at our telephone, the proper jurisdiction for the action would be our local court.

    Steve Ostrow is an attorney, celebrity impersonator and the author of the new book How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual for Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time. To date, Steve has successfully sued, or settled, won and collected, over 10 judgments against telemarketers. To find out more and order his book, go to www.howtosueatelemarketer.com

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    By Posted on Posted in Demographics/Psychographics, Marketing Trends/News, Web 2.0/Social Media Tagged with , , , ,

    I just read a “sleeper” article that may be one of the most important trend pieces of the year. If you have any interest in future trends in marketing, demographics, consumer culture, advertising, or where our society might be headed in a few years, go and read “Is Starbucks the Most Dangerous Competitor to Facebook?” by Jay Baer and Clinton Bonner. Appropriately enough, I found this article via a Tweet, from Olivier Blanchard, a/k/a @TheBrandBuilder.

    The article posits that Starbucks is working to reposition itself as an in-store information portal, with all sorts of goodies available to those who go to the stores and log on to its network—and that ads on this network could become the premier place to reach certain consumers, as well as the favored online community that could displace Facebook in our affections…

    I’m not sure it’s going to unfold exactly as they see it, but I suspect pieces of it will play out that way. That’s a future that leaves me with more than a little discomfort. It’s like a vertical and horizontal integration of the mind similar to, say, General Motors’ vertical and horizontal integration of the car market starting at least in the 1930s. I don’t like to see so much energy concentrated in one company, whether it’s GM, Google, or Starbucks.

    Of course, competitors can arise. But it won’t be easy.

    What do you think?

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    By Posted on Posted in Web 2.0/Social Media Tagged with

    I came across a real wasted opportunity today. A twitter profile with exactly two Tweets. One said “at work” (3 months ago) and the other, “bored” (21 months ago).

    Three very uninteresting words in 21 months. And somehow, this person has managed to get 180 people following back. Not me, however. (Now, do you see why I think autofollow is pointless?).

    Twitter is such a powerful tool! I’ve used it to connect and reach out, to learn about trends and issues, to amplify messages from people who are putting out great content, to build my network, to ask for advice and favors, to support people I wanted to do favors to, to give advice, to publicize events and products, to get speaking gigs and book sales, and simply to chat up with friends.

    Of course, I’ve been doing social media for over a decade. I am very naturally comfortable in the Twittersphere after 15 years on e-mail discussion groups. My wife, novelist D. Dina Friedman, (@ddinafriedman) finds it a struggle, and limits her participation. But when she posts, she posts good stuff.

    It’s possible my new follower is getting tons of value by lurking on over 900 Twitter feeds. But even if this person can’t think of anything to say, it would be only a couple of clicks to retweet messages that were especially compelling. Not to do so is leaving most of Twitter’s value on the table. In Twitter as in life, you gain much more value when you give as well as get.

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