According to new findings from the 3rd annual Edelman Consumer Study, 57% of consumers globally say a company or brand has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes, with Asian countries coming in highest with China at 85% and India at 84%. 67% globally also say they would switch brands if another brand of similar quality supported a good cause, peaking in Brazil at 83% and Italy at 74%.

The study also found that 83% of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, indicating a startling consumer shift and trend away from traditional status markers like big houses and luxury cars and toward identification with social purpose brands. The findings overall show that

• More than twice as many people (67%) would rather drive a hybrid car than a luxury car (33%), with Japan (89%) and France (84%) preferring hybrid cars most.

Globally, the study found that

• 70% of people would prefer to live in an eco-friendly house than merely a big house (30%)
• 68% also now feel that it’s becoming more unacceptable not to make noticeable efforts to show concern for the environment (rising to 82% in China) and live a healthy lifestyle (87% in China)
• 69% globally would rather have a brand that supports the livelihood of local producers than a designer brand (31%), North American and most European countries in the study, as well as Brazil, overwhelmingly prefer supporting the livelihood of local producers, with each indicating more than 80% preference

The study results suggest that in both harsh and rebounding economies, brands will continue to benefit from identifying and contributing to a positive social purpose that makes sense for their business, with 64% of people globally saying they would recommend a brand that supports a good cause (up from 52% in 2008, and in the U.S., up 16 points from 47% in 2008 to 63% this year). In addition, 63% of all respondents are looking to brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference, with Brazil having the highest expectations at 86%.

Mitch Markson, Edelman’s chief creative officer, president of its brand consulting group, notes that “…People are demanding social purpose, and brands are recognizing it as an area where they can differentiate themselves …not only to meet governmental compliance requirements, but also build brand equity… “

• Brazil proved to have the highest expectations on brands with 89% of Brazilians expecting brands today to do something to support a good cause, and 61% are most likely to say they are more involved in good causes this year
• More than seven in 10 Consumers in India and China say they would switch brands if a different brand of similar quality supported a good cause
• Japan fell short of many of the global results, with the exception of choosing social purpose over social status, overwhelmingly preferring hybrid cars (89%) and eco-friendly houses (87%)
• More than three out of four people in the UK, France, Germany and Italy were willing to change their own consumption habits if it can help make tomorrow’s world a better place to live
• Americans, too, overwhelmingly indicate they are willing to change consumption habits to make the world a better place to live (85%) and are looking to companies and brands to make it easier for them to make a difference (65%)

While the global recession has created limitations, with 70% of consumers saying their ability to give money to community causes has been limited, people are still giving of their time:

• 33% have given less financial support due to the current economic downturn (rising to 51% among U.S. respondents)
• 31% are more involved in good causes than a year ago
• 53% have given more time in support of good causes this year because they have not been able to give as much money
• 56% have tried to do more to support good causes in the past year because charities and other nonprofit organizations have suffered in this economic environment

While the study reveals that social purpose is becoming increasingly crucial to a brand’s success, 66% of people believe that it’s no longer enough for corporations to merely give money away, but that they must integrate good causes into their day-to-day business.

The report says that the biggest global social changes include:

• 83% of respondents are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live
• 71% of respondents think brands and companies spend too much on advertising and marketing and should put more into good causes – up almost 10%age points
• 64% would recommend a brand that supports a good cause – up from 52% last year globally
• 59% would help a brand promote its products if there was a good cause behind it – up from 53% last year
• 44% are aware of brands that actively support good causes through their products and services – up from 33%

Markson concludes that “Companies that become catalysts for social change and respond to rising consumer expectations… will not only survive, but also thrive in ways their competitors will not… “

Please visit Edelman here for more information.

Article courtesy of Center of Media Research.

For information on marketing for Socially and Environmentally Responsible companies, visit DynaMedia San Francisco.

Great video on the effects of Urban Sprawl.  It’s a promotion for creating Urban “Renovation” or “New Urbanism”.

Would love to hear any thoughts, please comment!

from the Center for Media Research – April 30, 2009

According to a survey from Generate Insight, reported by MarketingCharts, the Millennial generation (ages 13-29) revealed an extremely high level of education about green issues overall. However, while 76% of Millenials ages 13-29 feel it’s very important or important for brands to get involvd in the green movement, 71% of teens (ages 13-17) surveyed say if they ahd to choose between a less expensive product or one that “gave back” to the environment, they would choose the less expensive product. In contrast, the majority of older Millenials, would choose the more expensive brand that gave back in a green way:

The majority of Millennials surveyed found it confusing as to why products that are better for the environment are more expensive. The study noted that the extra cost (without consistent explanation) discourages the majority of shoppers from embracing and contributing to the green movement.

The study also found several other deterrents to Millennials living greener lives:

• Products that require too much effort
• Products that are too time consuming
• Products that not convenient
• Products that are confusing and difficult to understand
• Families that are not involved in, supportive of, or knowledgeable about the green movement

Additional findings from the survey:

• 74% of Millennials believe they can make a difference in helping Earth, but only 48% of 13-17-year-olds feel they can make a difference because the problems are too huge for them to move the needle
• 87% of Millennials recycle; 84% turn off lights when not in use; 80% reduce water use; and 73% use energy-efficient light bulbs
• The top three biggest hurdles this generation faces when embracing the green movement are cost (41%), proof that they’re making a difference (24%), and ease of use ( 12%).
• 76% of Millennials feel it’s very important or important for brands to get involved in the green movement.
• 79% of Millennials say that the internet educates them on environmental issues, while 85% of Millennials ages 13-17 state that school is their main source for eco-education

The study also revealed the top words/feelings that Millennials associate with the “green movement”:

Janis Gaudelli, SVP and head of Generate Insight suggests that brands that present easy, yet effective ways for Millennials to reduce, reuse and refresh will empower this generation

At almost the same time, Elin Raymond, President of The Sage Group, Inc., presented the results of a study on consumers’ beliefs and behaviors surrounding sustainable green packaging. The study found that consumers consider the authenticity and integrity of green claims to be essential, and they recognize greenwashing.

“Green is an organizational cultural keystone, a key brand attribute,” Raymond said, noting that in the shopper’s “eco-perception,” a consumer packaged goods company, its product, and its packaging are an integrated whole.

Grouping respondents into four generational categories: “Millennials” (17 to 25 years old), “Gen Xers” (26 to 40), “Boomers” (41 to 55), and “Matures” (56+), Matures were found to be the most eco-friendly group, while Millennials showed the least proclivity toward green behavior.

The study showed that 89.7% of Matures always recycle, followed by 69.6% of Gen Xers, 67.6% of Boomers, and 56.8% of Millennials. Matures were the most willing to pay more for eco-friendly packaged products (44.8%), and 75.9% of Matures said the eco-impact of packaging has a “big impact” on their buying decisions. The only group that said the eco-friendly nature of products has “somewhat of an impact” was Millennials, at 61.7%.

According to the study, consumers perceive the most eco-friendly packages and products to be:

• Glass containers
• Aluminum cans
• Products sold in bulk
• “Cardboard” packaging
• Paper grocery bags
• Concentrated liquids
• Packaging made from recycled materials

Respondents identified non eco-friendly packages as:

• “Single-serve anything”
• Electronics and toy packaging
• Heavy, hard plastic-packaged items or bottles
• Anything not made from recycled materials
• Anything that can’t be recycled
• “Overkill” packaging
• Most plastic water bottles
• Plastic foam
• Takeout containers
• Plastic can rings
• Clamshell containers

To appeal to each generation with the appropriate green marketing approach, Raymond mentioned 12 strategies. For the two youngest groups, companies must create an online life/friends for their brand. “Millennials and Gen Xers are always linked online,” she said.

Among Raymond’s suggestions for marketing to the 17- to 40-year-olds:

• Keep engaged via two-way social media. This includes hosting online contests, creating a Facebook company profile, and using Twitter to announce events, brand extensions, etc.
• Help them try your brand by providing free/discount coupons on Facebook, MySpace, and other Web sites
• Integrate online and traditional marketing
• Track what’s said about your brand/product via YackTrack.com
• Sponsor environmental or cause-related events in target geographic markets

For Boomers and Matures, Raymond advised the following steps:

• Focus on brand/product environmental attributes and education
• Use green-event marketing in target geo-markets
• Ask for e-feedback on product/brand and reward input

To review the information in greater depth, please visit Marketing Charts here, and the Sage Group here.

Click here to download DynaMedia San Francisco’s press release!

Small Business Not Keeping Up With Online Presence
According to research from Webvisible and Nielsen, reported by Marketing Charts, though 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a website and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online.The research finds an accelerating trend toward online media for local search. However, the report says the study uncovers a significant disconnect between the way small business owners act as consumers vs. the way they market their businesses online.

The survey found that search engines are the most popular source for finding local information:

* 82% use search engines
* 57% use Yellow Pages directories.
* 53% use local newspapers
* 49% use Internet Yellow Pages
* 49% use TV
* 38% use direct mail
* 32% White Pages directories

Of those surveyed, 50% said search engines were the first place they looked when seeking a local business, while 24% chose the Yellow Pages directories.

92% of searchers say they are happy with the results they get when using search engines, though 39% report frequently not being able to locate a particular known business. This means, says the report, searchers don’t may choose to contact a similar business with a stronger online presence.

Webvisible found that online search and e-mail newsletters are the only forms of traditional media that are growing among consumers who wish to locate local products or services. Compared with two years ago, respondents report they use search engines and email newsletters more, while they use newspapers, magazines, direct mail and radio less:

Despite the growing use of online media for local searches, only 41% of small businesses report turning to online search engines first, and 31% turn to Yellow pages directories first. In addition, only 44% of small businesses have a website.

When using a search engine to find a business they know exists, only 19% of survey respondents report never or rarely encountering trouble locating that business online and 39% say they routinely have difficulty.

Though less than half of small businesses do have a website, the ones that do are not happy overall with their online marketing. Among those small businesses that have a website:

* 51% believe both the quality and ability of their site to acquire new customers is only “fair” or “poor”
* 30% of business owners feel that they typically do a better job of marketing than a close competitor
* 78% believe they advertise in the same places as their competitors
* Only 7% of small business owners say their primary marketing goal is to get more visitors to their website
* 61% spend less than three hours a week marketing their website
* 99% of small business owners are directly involved in the marketing
* 65% believe it is very important to know where their customers come from
* Only 9% are satisfied with their online marketing efforts
* 78% of small business owners dedicate 10% or less of their budget to marketing Of those, 30% do no Internet advertising

Over the past two years, 43% of small businesses say they have increased use of search engines in their marketing efforts. In contrast, use of traditional small business advertising mediums is on the decline:

* 23% say they use the Yellow pages less
* 42% say they use the local newspaper less

For the purpose of this survey, the term “local business” refers to any retail business in a respondent’s local area, including restaurants, entertainment venues, places of recreation, etc. and services such as plumbers or accountants. The term “Internet Yellow Pages” refers to online Yellow Pages websites such as yellowpages.com, judysbook.com, superpages.com, etc.

Louda and Marcine

Networking events are great for any small business. You have the opportunity to represent yourself and your business to a highly targeted audience that is paying attention.

We recommend attending networking events to get your chops and learn how to quickly and effectively describe your business. You’re forced to come up with that brilliant 1 to 2 sentence description of what you do. Talk to people like they have no clue. Don’t get too tied up in technical verbiage or legal jargon ((wink wink)). Most of all, be honest and be authentic. People can smell a sales pitch from a mile away.

Since DynaMedia SF is a young company, we attend a lot of networking events. EcoTuesday is one of our favorites, because it’s fun, and it provides a direct link to the sustainability community. After everyone gets settled in, a mic is passed around so everyone can announce who they are and what they do, and then we’re all turned loose to mingle. Everyone attends–clean tech innovators, students, thought leaders in sustainability, artists, and voyeurs alike. You are expected to bring your business cards, so don’t feel shy about handing them out gratuitously.

Go online and search for your local networking events. Check them all out, they’re usually free. Some may charge a fee, but networking improves your company’s visibility, so think about including these events in your marketing budget.

Check out the link below to an article from The Economist November issue. The writer makes some interesting predictions for online advertising during the economic downturn. Here’s a little tidbit to whet your appetite:

…The web has changed a lot since 2002. Back then, gaudy display “banners” on web portals such as Yahoo! and MSN were the preferred technology. These still exist, but they now account for less than 20% of online ad spending. More than half goes to search advertising on Google and rival search-engines, which place small text ads next to results based on the keyword of the query, and charge only when a user clicks on them. In brand advertising, “rich media” ads are taking over from banners. These allow users to interact by clicking, so their engagement can be tracked.

All this makes spending on advertising much less speculative, so that it starts to be treated instead as a cost of sales. This is one reason why online advertising should suffer less than other sorts. This week eMarketer, a market-research firm, predicted that online-advertising spending in America, which makes up about half the global total, will increase by 8.9% in 2009, rather than the 14.5% it had forecast in August. The firm thinks search advertising will grow by 14.9% and rich-media ads by 7.5%, whereas display ads will grow by 6.6%. In short, online advertising will continue to expand in the recession—just not as quickly as previously expected…

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=348963&story_id=12684861

DynaMedia San Francisco is proud to announce it’s relationship with a hip new messenger bag company named Taipei Personality. We are focused on bringing Taipei Personality into the online world with a big bang! They came to us with a strong product and a wonderfully designed website. With that combination, they’re bound to get loads of attention.

Taipei Personality is a locally run business bringing interchangeable, artist-designed, messenger bags to the masses. They are creating a product you won’t have to replace every year, and are helping to promote independent artists.

Taipei Personality Messenger Bags

Visit their website, check out their products, and check back often to see what new artists they’re bringing in!

Hands down my favorite website is CuteOverload.com. It’s not expertly designed, it doesn’t have engaging editorial, and it’s full of ads. These three things independently are a nail-in-the-coffin for me, and in combination end up on my banned list. I’m sure I don’t have to explain how this ended up on my RSS feed, but I’ll go ahead and say it anyway: RIDICULOUSLY CUTE ANIMALS

What can I say? I’m a complete sucker for all things animal related. It doesn’t matter what kind of product you have, if there is a puppy on the cover, I’ll pay attention to it. I might even buy it. Babies, not so much. Puppies, all the time! The nutty animal speak the writer uses makes me laugh every time, and yes, I do read it.

To anyone who knows me, this is no surprise. I have more photos of my dog than my daughter. Not because I love my daughter less, but well, he makes this cute doggie face.

Fritz the Dachshund

CuteOverload.com probably gets more attention than any other blog. They are mentioned in the press without even trying. all because of an extensive collection of animal pictures. This blog owner has perfected her message to an extremely wide audience– a rabid (no pun intended) audience that visits daily. You know what kills me? I click on the ads! ME! I have been in marketing for years, and tend to avoid all the tricky flashy ads I come across. But I’m a total sucker here when it comes to this particular cute blog.

As a marketer, I’ve spent a lot of time working to gain this kind of visibility for my clients. Is it tone? Is it packaging? Iz Can Haz Vizibility? The answer is, there is no answer. It’s always an experiment, albeit an educated one. Marketing changes with the tides; what works today will probably not work tomorrow…. but, it might work next year. Google’s text ads are still effective because they are well targeted, and they’re short and sweet. Pop-ups and unders still drive people crazy. Blogs are the new black. Grassroots marketing works great in social media, but paid listings can/may garner a negative reaction. Widgets are the old flash ads, and so on and so forth

Seems like a big ol’ double-edged sword, don’t it? Well, all is not lost. You can make educated marketing decisions by keeping up to date on the latest news and trends. Here aer some suggestions on where to start:

• Read the news regularly. Check out the technology sections, see what’s in entertainment, etc. What is the buzz?
• Hang out in the magazine section of your favorite bookstore and peruse the shelves.
• Blogs are a great way to attain information, just as this blog has dynamite marketing tips.
• Social networking sites and applications such as Digg, Facebook, Twitter contain a plethora of information on what people are thinking and talking about. Be thoughtful when using these channels, as you don’t want to risk overmessaging your fan base.
• Talk to people: Online networking is important for businesses of all sizes. However, you should never underestimate the value of face-to-face conversation. It’s a major way of learning about how others are marketing and through which channels they do it.

Other things to keep in mind:

• Focus on customer service, don’t just say it’s a priority.
• Create a marketing budget. Stick to the budget, and accept the fact that you have to spend money to make money. With that said, if ou aren’t marketing savvy, don’t be afraid to pay for help. In this tough economy, it is even more important to promote your business.
• Really think about who your customer base is. Are they aged 15 – 20? Are they women? Do they go to concerts regularly? Think about the obscure questions as well as the obvious. Niche marketing is effective marketing.

At the end of the day, make sure you can look back on your marketing efforts and measure the efficacy of your work. Ultimately, if something didn’t work, don’t be discouraged, be creative and try something new.

This video rocks. It was developed by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, then adapted by Sony BMG for an executive meeting in Rome earlier this year. It highlights some interesting facts about science and technology, and also features some very nice creative execution. Check it out!