Communicating Green Policies - An Introduction

The move towards eco-friendly practices is not a new fad – in-fact Green Marketing began in Europe in the early 1980s when certain products were found to be harmful to the earth's atmosphere. The trend towards supporting green initiatives, products and services has seen a substantial increase in recent years as consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change.

What is a ‘Green Policy’?

Like any formalised policy drafted for your business, a Green Policy (also known as an Environmental / Sustainability Policy) is a document that details your commitment to environmentally friendly operations and your activities which uphold them.

A comprehensive Green Policy is measurable and will detail your current green activities, your objectives for the future and the steps you plan to take in order to reach your goals. Ideally any claims to green practices should be substantiated with evidence which may include scientific and targeted investigative reports where necessary.

Why Communicate Green Policies?

While Green Policies need to be drafted for the good of the environment and not to generate more profit from increased marketing activities, communicating Green Policies to clients and consumers does assist to build awareness around environmental issues and favourable green practices. As organisations add weighting in terms of suppliers green practices to their procurement decisions, suppliers who actively undertake to operate in a measurably green manner will find themselves more competitive now and in the future.

How should Green Policies be communicated?

How Green Policies are communicated to clients and consumers is worth a good deal of genuine forethought specifically as younger generations (X & Y) display the highest level of concern over the environment, yet are the most cynical in response to green marketing messages they receive.

When communicating Green Policies and practices, organisations should always seek to deliver information that is indeed measurable, constructive and accurate in order to develop and sustain client and consumer trust in the ethics of the organisation.

Green Marketing must satisfy two objectives:- improved environmental quality, and customer satisfaction. Where specific products and services are concerned, the same marketing technique of communicating benefits (for the client) first must be adopted and followed by detail regarding measurable benefits to the environment.

Green Marketing is a subject for hot debate at present and it certainly requires more sensitivity and thought than virtually any other form of marketing strategy and communication. In future posts, we will delve deeper into the practical applications of Green Marketing and the more specific dynamics of this fascinating subject. We welcome any ideas and questions that you may have in the interim.

Banner Advertising – Achieve Measurable Results!

Businesses are feeling the pinch in an ever increasingly cash strapped economy and it follows that marketing budgets are monitored closely with marketing professionals called upon to look at tools which will achieve measurable results. In 2009, online advertising has been cited to grow exponentially due to its low cost and easy measurability.

Still, in order to make sure online advertising works, careful planning before actual advertising is essential.

I always advise clients to look at the most simple, strategic message to attract customers – no matter what the advertising medium. This sentiment couldn’t be closer to the truth in banner advertising.

The internet today is highly commercialized and consumers are continually bombarded with advertising messages both online and through traditional media such as magazines, T.V. etc. It is for this reason that banner adverts need to bear a clear, simple message within a dynamic design, targeted to the desired audience, while ensuring the ad is placed in the right location. Applying these simple principles will maximise your chances of achieving the results you seek.

Now for some Banner Ad basics:-

Here are some basics regarding the why’s and what-for’s of Banner Ads. They can be relatively complex – the level of which is largely dependent on your budget and desired outcome.

What is a Banner Ad?

A Banner Ad is a graphically appealing advert embedded into a web page. The ad can (but doesn’t necessarily need to) carry animation – which in its simplest form will be made up of 2-3 frames bearing a sequence of messages and graphics. More complex animation can be applied, but this is of course at additional cost. Usually the advert carries a link – know as a hyperlink which in all probability takes the reader to your website.

What are the overall benefits of Banner Advertising?

- Excellent brand exposure
- Highly affordable
- Easily measurable
- Ability to drive traffic to your website
- Easy to target specific potential clientele
- Easy to manage (advert placing, changing & removing)

Who designs a Banner Ad?

One would usually employ a graphic designer to compile the advert if you don’t have an in-house designer to use. For animated adverts, the graphic designer would utilise an HTML or animation specialist to insert the advert into the required format – and yes, i-literate can do the whole lot for you.

Where are Banner Ads placed?

Banner Ads can be placed on industry / interest focused websites who provide Banner Ad space. By identifying a website your target audience or potential client is likely to visit often you are able to ensure the right people are seeing your message.

How much do Banner Ads Cost?

The cost of a Banner Ad will vary according to the size, complexity and location of the advert. Generally speaking, Banner Ads are by far cheaper than print adverts to place and run. There are three areas that need to be considered:-

- Design/Copywriting/Strategy
- Animation (not always applicable)
- Cost to place ad (variable depending on where you place the ad)

How are Banner Ads charged for?

Ad Impressions (CPM)
Banner Ads are usually charged for according to ‘impressions’ – that is the number of times the advert appears to each unique visitor. Based on the stats of the site you intend advertising on, you will be able to calculate how much on average you will be spending. You will usually be charged per 1000 impressions.

Pay per click (PPC)
Not very widely used anymore, PPC is based on the site charging you every time the advert is clicked on (which usually takes the reader to your website).

Once the reader has clicked on an Ad, where do / should they go?

In the case where a Banner Ad is generating interest relating to a specific promotion, the information regarding the promotion should ideally be located within the usual layout of your website. This allows the reader to navigate the rest of your website and learn even more about your products and services, thereby building true brand awareness, a lasting impression, quicker conversion from browser to client and therefore more sales.

How big is a Banner Ad?

Most websites follow basic sizing standards, calculated in pixels rather than millimeters (your designer will know how to calculate this) although some may differ very slightly from the standard sizes below:-

Skyscrapers120 x 600 pixels.
Located on the right hand side of the website.

Small rectangles
120 x 60 pixels
Can be located at any position of the page.

Square banners
125 x 125 pixels.
Can be located at any position of the page.

Large squares
250 x 250 pixels.
Located directly under the header of the page.

Anchor banners
468 x 60 pixels.

Located at the top of the page

Leader board
728 x 90 pixels.
Located above the header of the page at almost the entire width of the page.

How do you track Ad response?

The easiest way to check how many readers have responded to your advert is to check your website stats. Most web stat report programmes will provide you with detailed information as to where your visitors have come from. The site where your ad is situated may also be able to provide you with details.

How are Banner Ads Managed?

Unlike other more traditional advertising mediums such as print advertising for example, Banner Adverts are exceptionally easy to manage effectively. Although it is important to book your spot with your selected site, placing the ad is quick and easy. After tracking the results of your advert through your website stats, you have the added advantage of removing the ad and replacing it with another one, or removing it entirely and advertising elsewhere should you wish.

This article provides the most basic information to give you an idea of what Banner Advertising is, in future posts we will delve into more specific information regarding the latest trends and dynamics of this potentially powerful marketing tool. If you have any questions whatsoever – feel free to go ahead and ask – we will respond to your query as soon as possible.

Helen Zille to attend the Cape Town Toy Run!

Completely off the subect of marketing, but nevertheless - I just have to report this!

The Toy Run , a national event held on the last Sunday of November each year, is aimed at collecting toys for underprivileged and orphaned children for Christmas and is attended by more than 50 000 motorcyclists nationwide. This year in Cape Town, I am thrilled to say that our Mayor, Helen Zille will be leading the run from the Ottery starting point (Pick and Pay) Nowehere else do officials become involved in a run like this for kids so 50 000 big thumbs ups to Helen Zille - what a legendary thing to do!

Mobile Marketing - it's here and now!

In this particular posting, I am not going to go into the technical detail of the why’s and what-for’s of Mobile Marketing – we are just going to look at some of the overall advantages for you in your marketing efforts by way of introduction to this incredible marketing tool that is on the brink of an absolute world-wide boom!

Although Mobile Marketing is becoming increasingly popular due to its low cost and highly targeted appeal, within most companies it is still perceived as a bit mysterious and inaccessible as a professional marketing tool.

There is no doubt that for many South Africans, their cellphone is something they just cannot leave home without. The cellphone of today is becoming more and more of a portable all-in-one device that can wake you up in the morning to begin with, keep you entertained with music and games, enable you to take really incredible photo’s, allow you access to the internet and still provide you with increasingly advanced voice and messaging options – honestly the list of modern cellphone attributes just seems to go on and on…

Having stated the obvious, it is interesting to note that over 80% of South Africans own and use a cellphone, the average cellphone user carries his/her phone around with him/her for on average 14 hours per day and an increasing number of us are enjoying easier access to the latest in cellphone technology (few of us still use a phone that isn’t at least MMS enabled).

So the question is – what could mobile marketing mean for you in your promotional activities?

Let’s first identify and briefly discuss two of the major ways in which you can market using mobile technology.

1. Direct sms marketing

Here you will access your target audience directly – as marketing messages are delivered directly via sms to the potential/existing client’s phone. The challenge lies in developing a database of opt-in readers. Generally speaking, sms marketing is hinged on your ability to offer the reader something useful – in essence you need to make their lives easier in some way, whether that be delivering information to them that they would otherwise need to go and look for, like InContact from FNB where you can track account activity on your cell, to ticket confirmations, booking reminders and notifications of special promotions. As mentioned the key here is to be able to develop that database of subscribers – privacy is a big issue in cellphone marketing. As with email marketing, you need to ensure your readers can unsubscribe at any time. Note that MMS is an great option as you are able to include colours and graphics – but you would need to first think about whether your intended recipients are in all likelihood MMS enabled.

2. Mobile Websites

Although relatively few cellphone users utilise their phones to search the web (primarily due to current cost and download speed issues), Mobile Websites are due to become a prominent marketing tool in the next few years. As a incredibly inexpensive (you can have your Mobile Website hosted for free) shop window for your company, a Mobile Website provides you with a fantastic way to access potential customers who don’t have regular access to the internet. Once you have established your Mobile Website, your advertising and corporate material should carry links to both your Mobile Website and Internet Website – you will be able to reach just about everyone in this way!

So how do you target your mobile marketing efforts?

Today’s mobile phones are seen as an expression of who we are! While there is no doubt that the younger generations X and Y are going to be more open to mobile marketing, you will be able to ensure a greater likelihood of success if your marketing efforts have been targeted to the user profile of a particular handset type. For instance, someone with a Blackberry is more than likely to be a business person/corporate, probably on the go and out of the office a lot and possibly sitting with extra cash to spend – this user profile will be very different to that of someone using a Motorola razr, or a Sony Ericsson walkman. In developing your opt-in database of message recipients, it would be prudent to try and establish what cellphone the individual uses. This of course would also assist you enormously in deciding whether to go for funky MMS type advertising or just plain text.

The opportunities are endless – and in further postings we will go into more depth into more specific areas that require discussion as there is really so much to cover regarding mobile marketing. It goes virtually without saying that mobile marketing is most definitely here and now. In 2009, companies are going to want to start looking at ways of engaging their target markets through this inexpensive, highly targeted marketing tool.