Back in the era of AOL and dial-up, Web sites were a much different breed from what we see today. Sites served a different, simpler function. Limited by technology, most company sites were online business cards, a way for those savvy enough to be online to find your phone number and ultimately call you for more information.
This simple function inspired a rash of Web sites that seem to exist only to exist. There was no goal in creating the site, no consideration of how it may integrate with other marketing efforts. And make no mistake, a Web site is your most important marketing tool.
Today, Web sites have evolved into a variety of functions. Some sell product. Some sell service. Some are technological exhibitions whose purpose is driven more by aesthetics than function. A good deal of architectural firm Web sites fall into this category. Many are Flash driven and thus sacrifice benefits such as search engine rankings. Technologies such as Flash are great for showing off products or projects, but, in most cases, shouldn’t dominate an entire site’s structure.
Seth Godin wrote an insightful post about the difference between Web site form and function in which he asks, “Do you want the people visiting this site to notice it?”
In the construction industry, the answer varies.
Architects are viewed as the creative, artistic group in the industry. I would expect action scripting or flash-based sections from an architectural firm’s site. An firm’s site should be an online extension of their offline creativity and using technology will help us notice your vision. But it’s easy to get carried away with bells and whistles and negatively impact the usability or marketability of a site.
On the other hand, a manufacturer may not need to be as fancy. Most visitors come to your site knowing what they want. Whether it’s downloadable specs or simple product information, streamlined function trumps extravagant presentation. By making it as easy as possible for visitors to find the information they are searching for, you have to essentially make your site less noticeable and free of distractions.
Ultimately, a site’s design should be focused around it’s purpose. Is a site only an online brochure or is it an evolving marketing effort? Find the purpose of a Web site, then starting thinking about design.
Just wanted to let you know about a webinar coming up on April 24th at 6 am EST (why?!?) titled, “The Ten Signs of Greenwash (and how to avoid them).” It will be presented by Ed Gillespie, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Futerra.
The webinar is hosted by BrightTalk as a part of their Green Week. I’ve attended a bunch of webinars through BrightTalk and many are hit or miss, so you may not want to wake up for a 6 am webinar. Most webinars seem to be recorded and posted, so you’ll probably have the opportunity to view it at your convenience.
So I had planned to cover another topic today, but then this just came up in my Twitter stream– 98% of Green Labeled Products are Actually Greenwashed. Treehugger, who published the tweet linking to a post on their site, can be a little over the top sometimes, but here they are just citing a study by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.
TerraChoice has its own green product standard, EcoLogo. My questions is, as “North America’s largest, most respected environmental standard and certification mark,” is EcoLogo responsible for any of that 98%?
Greenwashing is prevalent, sure, but to say 98% of all green labels are greenwashed seems a bit on the high side. If this data is accurate, then what’s the solution?
What do you think?
Okay okay, so this is a traditional billboard and not the incredible energy-producing Windvertising billboard, but I still have to point out the well-executed messaging and placement from Mythic Paint.
It’s not everyday you see great marketing from a paint company, in fact some may even draw criticism for their green messaging. Even better that Mythic Paint seems to be the real deal and committed to removing all toxins from their products, not just VOCs.
Kudos to you Mythic Paint.
Greenwashing isn’t black and white. If there are different levels of being green, then there must be different levels of greenwashing. I’ll be the first to admit that I have a hard time seeing through the marketing slogans and clever copy. I don’t know all the chemicals I should be looking out for in products. Sometimes, I’m unfamiliar with the recyclability or manufacturing process behind a material. Sometimes, I need help or a second opinion.
Well, my best friend, the Internet, does not let me down. Enter The Greenwashing Index, a site promoted by EnviroMedia Social Marketing with the help of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. The smart folks behind the Index understand the idea that greenwashing isn’t cut and dry and have devised a one-to-five rating scale accordingly.
In true Web 2.0 form, users on the site can also comment and rate ads posted by other users. I used to rely on the green blogosphere to call out examples of greenwashing, but now there is a centralized system for the sharing and rating of these examples.
The site seems to be starting off slow as far as traffic goes, so I’d like to take a second and ask you to check it out. Hopefully, over the next few months, The Greenwashing Index will gain enough popularity and begin to positively influence green marketing.
Disclaimer:
I have no connection at all to the site or the organizations behind it. I think the site fills a needed gap in green marketing and want to see it do well.
It’s easy for me or anyone to criticize the abundance of greenwashing in the world. Examples are everywhere from mainstream TV to trade publications. So today, I’d like to take this space and highlight a few examples of green marketing that prove this niche can set the bar high.
I apologize for not embedding images into this post, but WordPress seems to be hating everything I upload and won’t show the images.
GE Digital Hologram Ad
Say you’re GE. You have all the money in the world to spend on marketing your windmill technology. What would you do? How about create an unbelievable interactive digital hologram? Will this tactic engage a large audience? No. There’s too much required participation and technology. But it’s an innovative idea and it’s used for a sustainable cause.
MTV Global Warming Outdoor/Ambient Advertising
I love well-executed ambient advertising. MTV does a great job promoting their corporate sustainability with this well-placed ad.
Denver Water
In my opinion, Denver Water’s recent campaign to promote the conservation of water is one the best green-related campaigns so far. From billboards to grocery store conveyor belts, Denver Water really did a wonderful job.
Volkswagen
Can a car company be green or is this issue comparable to the saying about the bear and your friend– you don’t have to be faster than a bear, just faster than your friend next to you. As long as your car company is greener the most others, you’ll be okay. Volkswagen seems to be a step ahead of the competition by spreading the message about the company’s sustainable initiatives and not just best-in-class mpg.
What are your favorite pieces of green-related marketing? Post a link in the comments and let us see a few more examples of those doing it right.
I attended an event yesterday afternoon sponsored by the International Association of Business Communicators of Pittsburgh titled, “Going Green: Communicating Environmental Messages.” Between greenwashing, half-truths and just poor communications, green messaging is for the most part misunderstood by traditional marketers. I expected this event and its panel members to address this issue, but instead it seemed to only reinforce how to ‘be green.’ The only key takeaway common to all three panelists was one word, LEED.
LEED is great. It’s the benchmark, the mainstream, well-known rating and certification system. LEED is the lighthouse for all those floating off shore uneducated about green building. If our clients’ products contribute to LEED certification, you bet we convey that in our messaging. But LEED isn’t the end-all-be-all, and I have to question the longevity, validity and long-term marketability of LEED-related messaging.
One of the panelists from the Green Building Alliance of Pittsburgh hit the nail on the head when she said that it may be great that your product contributes to LEED certification, but there are other factors that make your company or business green. Is your manufacturing, packaging or shipping processes cleaner or more sustainable? It’s great that your windows are more energy efficient and made of recyclable aluminum, but so are many other manufacturers. What else are you doing?
I think we’re almost past the point of simply noting the recyclable properties of metal products. If your company wants to be green, tell me where that metal comes from. China? Fail.
I also think we’re rapidly approaching another level of greenwashing, one comprised of only product based green messaging. Any manufacturer can revise their messaging to include LEED benefits, but are they considering revising their products and corporate sustainability? This will be the next level of green messaging.
Unfortunately, the demand for the new green messaging will be market driven. Like LEED, it will take a few years before corporate sustainability becomes the new standard when choosing products. Currently, it’s sufficient to choose a product that contributes to LEED certification. But also just like LEED, this will end and manufacturers will have to find a new way to ‘be green.’
Vik left a great comment in response to my primer on print advertising last week, asking if print advertising is still relevant for the building and construction industry. This is a question that we as marketers constantly battle with. If the answer is no, then we need to transition to other forms of media, most notably online media.
However, if the answer is yes, as I think it is, then why are we still stuck with print ads while other industries are moving on? The answer is in Vik’s comment:
I find that regardless of where advertising is placed in our industry it’s pretty poor. It’s like the contractors, designers, whomever decided to make the advertisement up themselves.
I’m going sort of off the record here for a minute and speaking from my personal opinion of our industry. We’re behind the marketing curve. Big time. Why? Because the building industry has been exactly the same for the past 50 years, and no one has been forced to adapt to survive. This, in turn, leads those contractors, designers and engineers running companies to believe they can execute their own marketing. Because of this unchanging monotony, marketing has never really driven the building products industry. So why would manufacturers find any value in it?
As someone who battles every single day to convince manufacturers of the value in other forms of marketing, trust me when I say it’s an uphill battle. Most manufacturers have just recently established an online presence, and it’s usually just as poorly executed as the print ads Vik criticizes.
Vik ends his comment with another question, asking if print advertising is sustainable. Unfortunately, I think print advertising is sustainable in our industry for the near future. This will not change until a few things happen.
1. The down economy forces manufacturers to realize the value in proper marketing. Everyone’s tightening ship. Is your product at the top of everyone’s list? If you run the kind of ads Vik references, probably not. If you’re not online, probably not.
2. Green revitalizes building manufacturers. Green may be the industry’s saving grace. I say this because so much of the green movement’s influence and information is online. The fact is, print is behind on green news. If the industry can recognize the success of the online green movement, maybe something in their heads will click and realize the same can be done with our industry.
3. A younger generation takes power. Perhaps more than any other industry, building and construction relies on leaders in their 60s and 70s who, in turn, rely on marketing methods and business models from the 60s and 70s.
4. A trailblazing manufacturer proves the value in new marketing. The minute one manufacturer shows an increase in sales due to great online marketing, you can bet there will be a flood of manufacturers wanting to do the same. I can’t stress enough how much influence and exposure this trailblazer will generate.
Times have changed, manufacturers have not.
Last week, I expressed my frustration at the lack of inspiring, effective or noteworthy green advertising. To take last week’s post to another level, I’d like to reference the January/February issue of eco-structure, (one of my favorite pubs) and point out some tips on print advertising.
If you’re already advertising in trade publications or are pondering the thought of doing so, the following breakdown may help point you in the right direction. Or, maybe you’re just the people these ads are trying to reach. If so, speak up and let us hear your thoughts.
This issue contains 29 product related ads. Eleven of the 29 (38%) are for roofing products, more than any other building component. This is bad news if you’re one of these manufacturers. So, how are you supposed to stand out among 10 competitors?
First things first:
Just create a nice-looking ad. Is your ad visually intriguing? Is it easy to flip past and ignore? Sounds like advertising 101, and it is, but flip through this issue and tell me if there’s a single roofing ad that captures your attention. If you create ads in-house, hire a designer to streamline and touch up the ad, it’s worth the money.
Keep it simple.
Ad copy should be absolutely minimal. Too many ads have too much copy. How is your audience supposed to find key messages when they’re buried in a 150-word paragraph? Keep it simple visually too. I’m a writer, not a designer but the same rules apply. Don’t add more shading boxes, images or cutaways than necessary. Show one project, not five.
Call to action.
This is the single most important element of ad, yet so many hide it from the reader. Within two seconds of looking at your ad, I should know exactly what you want me to do. It can be as simple as visiting your website. Guide the reader to the URL and instruct them to take action.
Test the ad.
Hold the ad an arms length away. Can you tell what the ad is for? What the key benefits/advantages of your product is? Does it look like every other ad in the issue?
Show a draft to a few different audiences. Someone with no knowledge of your product or industry will offer a different view than someone from the audience you’re targeting, yet both criticism may be equally as important.
Be honest with yourself
If you’re not experienced in creating ads for your audience, consider finding someone who is. There’s a reason a marketing industry exists and it’s because there are measurable differences, in appearance, effectiveness and value, in professional advertising and marketing.
Your ad will serve as your company’s first impression to many, what is it saying?
How Trade Publications Can Adapt to Online Media
by Mark Wanczak on March 13, 2009
in Marketing
I picked up the latest copy of Metropolis earlier this week with the intent of flipping through to check out the ads, see what’s new in the industry and ultimately get away from my computer screen from a few minutes. We’ve all heard the reasons why online media is replacing print– convenience, up-to-date, daily news, easy to find information, and permanent placement.
While every pub is scrambling to find the answer to these issues, Metropolis seems to be a step ahead of other magazines. Take the image below for example. If you view the enlarged version, you’ll see a cue taken from online media.
Across the top of the magazine page reads three topics (Industrial Design, Free Broadband and Alpine Capsule) the article below covers. However, these topics aren’t standard editorial topic groupings. Instead, they represent a print version of the tags you see attached to most blog posts (see the bottom of this post).
This is an interesting example of print taking a page from online media’s book, but Metropolis doesn’t stop there. Further along in the issue, the pub interviews soon-to-be grads about their career plans. Instead of the aged, text-based question and answer format, Metropolis again uses online formatting as a design cue. Featuring an avatar, name and brief info, the student’s reactions appear visually as many blog comments do:
The magazine even takes it one step further and includes an online call to action at the bottom of the page, asking readers to visit their site for more student responses. Unfortunately, everything Metropolis does in print to adapt to the online world seems to be forgotten in their Web site design.
Without going in great detail, the site’s home page is clustered, confusing and overwhelming. It’s hard imaging a pub clearly on the edge of evolving print design with an online presence that resembles quite the opposite.
I really enjoyed Bruce Sterling’s article, “Product Panic 2009″ (see this post’s first image) and wanted to email it to a friend, but it’s impossible to find on the site. Is this because Metropolis won’t put new content online, worried that readers will just turn to the Web site for information and drop their subscriptions? Every major newspaper in the country publishes new content even before it appears in print.
Print may be dying in our industry, but it’s not dead yet. Metropolis is proving that pubs have options, but if you can’t provide the whole package, print and web, you’re still behind.
Ultimately, trade pubs need to adapt only as fast as online media fulfills the immediate needs of their audiences. So far, I don’t think this is happening in our industry as quickly as it has in other elsewhere, but we’re running out of time.
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