Green Game Changers

Ever since the economy went off the deep end, the mainstream media has been spending much less time covering the climate change discussion. Now there are certainly a number of other important issues that deserve the attention, but it's amazing to me how much this topic has faded.

When it comes to marketing, I see a similar trend. Less than two years ago everyone was trying to figure out how they could be 'green' and now the pervasive question is what to do with social media. Companies will soon realize, if they haven't already, that social media will place even more attention on their corporate social responsibility.

HuffPost recently published a diverse list of Green Game Changers including local businessman Gary Hirshberg. Interestingly this piece is also an example of another growing trend in the online world - branded content. The feature is presented by Toyota.

Hybrid Placements

I’m fascinated by the product placement and branded entertainment industry. I remember the first time I recognized an overt example of paid product placement in the second Austin Powers movie. They were almost spoofing the concept, while at the same time pulling in serious dollars from Heineken and others.

DVR technology has also become more popular, forcing advertisers to look beyond the traditional TV spot. This has increased the number of product placements and spawned an entire industry bringing brands and entertainment content developers together.

I recently came across this video highlighting all of the product placements that Brand Arc, a dedicated branded entertainment agency, secured or created for Toyota. How much would you pay to have Ellen cuddling up with your product?

Culture Club

Climate Culture has built a virtual community that combines gaming with environmental education and real world implications. When a player signs up they are asked a number of questions so their virtual world reflects their personal environmental impact. Through a series of actions a player can reduce their carbon footprint, help friends do the same and improve their status in the community.

The company is exploring partnerships with many different organizations and may even develop a program where state governments certify these energy savings and sell the offsets to energy suppliers.

From a marketing standpoint, the site is extremely slick and the intro video makes it easy to grasp the concept. With that said, consumers may be looking for more tangible benefits so they may want to link positive activity with discounts on real world green products.