Random thoughts on green campaigns.
by asi
I’ve been busy the past few weeks with two very interesting (and very different) “green/sustainable” projects, which I hope will be fully blogable soon. So part of what I’ve been doing is reviewing different green digital / offline campaigns/services that’s going around and there are quite a lot of them. Here are some random thoughts….
1. Apart from ‘green’ there is no unifying, consensual word/term that encompasses everything environmental / ethical / organic / responsible / recycling / sustainable and so forth.
2. While the ‘green movement/trend’ is getting bigger and bigger, currently there is not a single, definitive ‘leader’ in the category. Unlike other movements, rather than one or few authoritative biggies there are dozens of what you can call ‘agents of change’. What I find more interesting, is that these agents of change can come from anywhere – big media, niche, indies, personal blogs, businesses, NGO’s, governmental organisations and so on.
3. The ‘small-actions/do-your-bit’ repertoire is the dominant model in campaign communications. This involves asking a large number of people to do small things to counter climate change. It usually something like “10 cheap and easy steps to save the planet”. While this seems to be the right route to get people on board there is a danger or trivilisation of the challenges we are facing as all too easily mundane, domestic and uncompelling, which lead to the next point:
4. There’s a growing need for a lifestyle change personal coaching approach. Just like any other lifestyle change (diet/fitness is the obvious analogy), one size doesn’t fit all. People have different levels of knowledge, engagement and motivation to change their ways. Apart from the WWF carbon calculator (which is by far the best in category both in terms of functionality and design) no one has cracked the personalisation and feedback mechanisms that are crucial in this context. No one yet have come up with a winning formula of providing context —> suggesting actions —> and giving repeated, ongoing feedback.
5. There’s a great challenge / opportunity in providing an accurate, comparable information on individual – local – national levels. (nike+ for sustainability anyone???)
6. Digital green campaigns reach is fairly low. It usually around the thousands. FRIENDS OF THE EARTH – THE BIG ASK has signed up 170000 people, by far the most successful. The Energy Saving Trust I Commit campaign is also doing well but both are running for around 10 months now. I have to admit that i doubt these numbers – they might add on numbers from other channels?
7. My favourite campaign is the nag. It’s really simple and comprehensive. I just love their tone of voice, simple design and the balance they offer between ‘alarmism’, optimism and pragmatism. They managed to step away from the “5 cheap easy steps to save the planet” and motivate people to take bolder steps on a range of issues – environmental, fashion, money, food, water, flying etc. And their monthly crap prize is absolutely hilarious! kudos to them, i hope to see them growing massive.
8. Hopefully this is just the beginning and we’re going beyond awareness campaigns and in the direction of social media facilitating green lifestyle. As a smart VC recently said, “We are at the beginning of The Green Web which will provide individuals within our society a leveraged way to positively affect the planet. So hopefully we’ll see more and more services that facilitate car-sharing, waste-minimizing and more sustainable business ideas.
i’ve just finished a research project in this area. there is a lot of media attention in this area, a lot of talk amongst certain web communities, and you’ve started to see the trickle down effect into marketing and advertising, with Citroen, M&S, HSBC, Virgin etc, all leveraging this issue in different ways. we thought it would be interesting to see what the consumer is making of it all…the findings were very interesting, and ultimately very disappointing. people are a long, long way behind and are going to be difficult to move along. if anyone was expecting a grassroots-style, upsurge in interest and action, then forget it.
there were lots of interesting findings, but one thing, just picking up on your point, is that there is a real danger in the ‘do one small thing and it’ll make a huge difference’ strategy. i can see why that feels like the right place to start, but people are becoming trained to expect that they can ‘do their bit’ and not have to change their lifestyles. any concept of sacrifice is completely rejected. Goods like the ‘low energy lightbulb’, oddly enough, have meant that people now expect products to be better for the environment, and generally better.
given the huge changes that are needed of people, be it car sharing, less travel, or simply less consumerism, it feels like it’s going to be a rocky road ahead.
it would be interesting to swap notes on this if you are into it. i’m away for a week but you can email
I also did a little research on that subject recently and these two are my favorite:
1) This one has a great concept, a great design & some amazing animations:
http://letsgreenthiscity.com/
2) The Yahoo! green pledge
http://better.yahoo.com/planet
good points sidekick. email me when you back, let’s hook up for drink.
tal – cheers for the links.
A.