Being Green Direct Marketers: Going the Extra Step

We've talked about the whole concept of Green Marketing from time to time in our posts, and it's interesting to track this idea as it continues to evolve.

I found an article today that says that it's Not Easy Being Green. In the DM News article, author Melanie Tuazon discusses the importance of practicing what you preach. In essence, if you tout the fact that you want to take part in saving our planet, you've gotta prove that what you do in your business reflects that to the people or businesses in which you target with your marketing efforts.

Here's an example that better explains this from the article: "To create the right perception, mail­ers and coupons must also be green in both message and medium. “We knew we wanted to do a high-impact piece to get the target's attention,” says Sam Henning, management supervisor of Rapp Collins, regarding a green campaign he worked on for Lipton. “But we thought about how people interested in green living would perceive getting mail. We knew it was a must to use recycled paper.”

See, it isn't just enough to say that you're a green marketer, you've got to prove it in all of your business efforts. This applies to the paper that you use in your direct mail efforts, the coupons that you send to your customers, and the catalogs that you print and mail to your customers. In fact the greenest media are digital -- as you would expect. From the article: "For many, a Web site complements other methods and educates the consumer through games, contests and measurement tools that make green living more accessible. Mobile campaigns are also being explored."

It's interesting to see what companies are doing to demonstrate their ideas for being Green. It's an interesting balance . . . because consumers are going to be wary of any effort that smacks of taking advantage of a passing fad or trying to look like you're green when you're not. The bottom line is that for those for whom this is important, they'll be able to sniff out the real Green direct marketers from those who are simply posing. It'll be interesting to watch how creative our industry can get to achieve Green-ness!