Is Earth Day the new Christmas? That was the headline question of an article in AdAge [1] this past week, leading the cynicism brigade with the opening line: “It's nearly Earth Day: Time to consume more to save the planet.”

It’s true that marketers are “jumping on the Earth Day bandwagon in record numbers. This year it seems that just about everyone has found a way to attach themselves to what is fast becoming a marketing holiday that barely resembles the grass-roots event founded in 1970.”

But with more marketing muscle thanks to today’s cross-platform messaging and digital word-of-mouth, that grass roots event of 1970 has the ability be a global village in 2008. So it’s not surprising that this is a brand new version of Earth Day. And call me a cockeyed optimist, or a True Green, but thank goodness! I love seeing the plethora of mainstream companies adding fuel to the awareness level. It’s a start. If ONLY Earth Day 1970 had resembled this one. We would have been that much more ahead of the game.

According to Stephen Leahy in “CLIMATE CHANGE: The Future Is Now [2]”,
“Annual emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) are three times higher today than in the 1990s. Even if the impossible could be done -- cease all CO2 emissions today -- the average global temperature will continue to increase ... And that new global average temperature would remain higher than normal for the next 500 years because of the time it will take for the warming oceans to cool.”

The four articles [3] in his series on isp.net offer clear explanations and analogies, which is the kind of messaging needed to make data like that relatable and motivating:

“Just as an iron skillet will stay hot and keep cooking after the stove's burners are turned off, heat held in the oceans will keep the climate warm even as the heating effect of greenhouse gases diminishes. Adding more greenhouse gases, even at a rate lower than today, would worsen the situation and the effects would persist for centuries...”

It is a basic advertising premise: awareness creates familiarity, which hopefully breeds trust, which helps drive purchases. Why then are we chastising companies for contributing to awareness and familiarity with Climate Change, equating this familiarity with breeding contempt? Instead of being so quick to criticize companies for bandwagoning on the green message let’s concentrate on communicating more clearly about what each individual can do and the positive impact, and what each company is doing and how.

In his clear style, Leahy discusses the need to get the word out simply and clearly to overcome this resistance to change with, coincidentally, an example from the energy crisis of the ‘70s:

“Driving your car at 50 miles per hour optimises gas mileage and cuts CO2 emissions, but most people can't do it when everyone else on the road is driving 70 mph...(e)ven when you know you'll save money...”

Role models and regulations are needed to shift what's perceived as "different" behaviour so that they become the "new normal". Simple explanations of why such a shift was necessary gained traction during the U.S. energy crisis of the 1970s, when highway speed limits were lowered to 55 mph. Newspapers and television broadcasts were filled with reminders to conserve energy. ...The U.S. government told automakers to boost fuel efficiency. Everyone knew the reason why and complied.”

The thing is, no one likes change. We don’t even like to use the description, “Climate Change,” instead calling it “Global Warming” to encompass everything from shifting temperatures to wild weather. The challenge is really exacerbated by consumer cynicism, which is pervasive today in general, but is fueled by our human resistance to change too.

Ad Age also reports in an article [4] on the effectiveness of Green Ads in that same issue that,
“... a Burst Media online survey in April of more than 6,000 consumers ages 18 and over about their perception of environmental marketing [finds that more] than 70% of respondents recalled seeing green ads at least occasionally, yet more than 20% said they never believe the claims. And a whopping two-thirds say they only believe the claims "sometimes."

I’m with Ken Rother, president-chief operating officer of Tree Hugger and VP-operations of Planet Green Interactive, also quoted in that same Ad Age article:

"There are some companies that are still feeling their way around and probably greenwashing to some extent...This is the problem of our times, but anything that raises awareness is good."

Raising awareness is the pathway to change. The impetus to actually make those changes happens when the threat or benefit is relatable.
“What if climate change were a rising river near our street...” writes Leahy. “We'd share our food, enjoy the camaraderie and remember forever our individual and collective effort with pride and satisfaction.

With a flooding river, the risk is visible and imminent, and people know what action they need to take, said Glynis Breakwell, a leading psychologist...who just published a book titled "The Psychology of Risk".

Climate change is invisible or distant for most people. It's melting ice in the Arctic -- too bad for the polar bears, but it doesn't affect me or my family.”

So bring on the awareness, bring on the familiarity, and bring on the consumer demand for more socially responsible goods and services! Even the United Nations Conference on Climate Change [5] recognizes this:
“Lack of demand slows innovation and technological progress, while heightened interest accelerates it. The key here is ‘interest.’ If customers and citizens, especially in industrialized countries, become strongly interested in combating global warming and are willing to buy products that cut emissions, new processes and technologies could well be invented that would greatly reduce or even solve the problem. Enormous technological breakthroughs in the past have occurred because of such pressures.”

And here, at last, is some good news about continuing the green messaging in the “Green Ads...” article:
“... there is a group that does appreciate marketers' sustainability ad efforts. That group is the most dedicated green consumers ... and they are the biggest cheerleaders of the ads. For instance, 44% of the self-described completely green consumers think advertisers are doing an excellent or good job at providing information on green claims...”

Most of us in this space know the LOHAS demo contains a great number of those most conscientious consumers, and want to pursue their power of persuasion. That’s the kind of audience that is “rooting for the brand marketers to get with the green thing," said Jarvis Coffin, president and CEO of Burst.

"That's true of advertising in general. If you find your best, most invested audience, speak to them and -- providing your claims hold up, of course -- those people become your champions in the marketplace."

The skeptics will keep us honest with scrutiny and the “deep greens” will help support the worthy claims. So, call me the best, most invested consumer or call me idealistic. But let’s not bail on the progress we’ve made, because there are miles to go and lots of opportunities...and necessities...to get this right.

About E.B. Moss

E.B. Moss has been creating brand-driven promotions and communications primarily in the cable television and radio industry for more than 15 years. She launched Moss Appeal [6]in 2001, extending her specialization in sales marketing to consumer promotions, B:B campaigns, and social media marketing. In 2006, she launched Moss Appeal Green to help companies promote their "green appeal.” Eco-conscious companies can rely on Moss Appeal Green [7] to identify media outlets targeting socially conscious consumers, and for the messaging and promotions that showcase their sustainability efforts.

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