Those who know me - know the number one corporate brand rule is Authenticity. Well, the king of authenticity - at least in the “new media” space, is Gary V. This guy has built his entire business around being real. Balls deep. All or nothing. Gary V ain’t no sheep that is for sure. Take a look at his presentation from Blog World 2008.
Here is an episode of Wine Library TV that features Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com
Those are some headlines that I would never expect to see, but that’s what Fast Company is reporting in the October issue. The green recognition appears to be based on the number of LEED certified companies we have in the area. The “area” seems to be more West Michigan than just GR - with Herman Miller (Holland), and the Frauenthal Arts Center (Muskegon) also getting some props.
Peter Wege, Steelcase’s retired chairman, is really the driving force of the green movement here. I remember having the Wege Foundation as a mountain bike sponsor back in the early 90’s - way before anyone heard of LEED.
“Grand Rapids leads the nation in the number of LEED-certified buildings per capita. In 2005, Mayor George Heartwell pledged that more than 20% of the city’s power would come from renewable sources by 2008; it hit that target a year early, and Heartwell upped the target to 100% by 2020. The municipal government’s energy use has been cut by more than 10%. The public-transit fleet features hybrid buses. And here, in the heart of the Rust Belt, manufacturers are leading the greenification charge. Office-furniture heavyweights Herman Miller and Steelcase both have LEED-certified buildings in the area, as do industrial firms such as Cascade Engineering.”
Very cool…now let’s shoot for some alternative transportation!
A friend mentioned Moosejaw today and so I thought I would check in with them to see what they have been up to on their site. I love the whole Moosejaw vibe - it is a nice break from the traditional approach seen on 95% of the top ecommerce sites. First off, they are located in Michigan so that makes them kick ass right there. Second, they really do kick ass. Multi-channel extravaganzo baby.
Check out some of their social media channels:
Facebook Myspace Flickr Moosejaw Rewards
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Scott Templar is a digital media consultant consultant and can be reached at info@scotttemplar.com
Grow your mustache for a good cause…you know you want to!
I found out about Tache Back from my Twitter group. Here is what they say on their website: Every September, thousands of men neglect their upper-lip and grow a sponsored moustache to raise vital funds for Everyman - the UK’s leading Male Cancer Campaign. Since 2003 our hairy heroes have collected £700,000 for Everyman’s life saving vital research into testicular and prostate cancer. TacheBack 2007 was the most successful year yet, with our Tached crusaders raising £230,000. And this year we need you to help us make it to the big £1,000,000.
They have gone mobile as well!
Are the sheep killing corporate innovation? When thinking about why some companies can innovate and others can’t, I’ve started looking at our most basic needs, and what impact they have on companies and the markets they serve. I guess humans are still animals after all, which makes it hard to fight the instinct to hide in the herd and avoid being singled out and killed…or perhaps fired. I used to think that it was hard for a company to innovate because they were too busy running the day to day operations - but now I’m starting to believe the herd is to blame.
Perhaps the herd theory is why marketing works? Edward Bernays, the father of public relations, was an expert at herding public opinion. He called it “engineering of consent”, and used it to create the create the “all American breakfast” of bacon and eggs. His client made bacon (he he), so he surveyed doctors and asked them if they supported a light breakfast (which was the norm) or a hearty breakfast - without any mention of specific food groups. The doctors unanimously said a hearty breakfast was best, and with this third party recommendation in hand, he went to work on his campaign - molding consumer opinion about bacon. The impact of this campaign is still visible today, with bacon and eggs continuing to reign as the “all American breakfast”.
Like Edward, I also dig the opinion molding opportunities of the herd - when applied to marketing. But sometimes the herding methods can have negative social impact. In 1954, Bernays used extreme PR tactics on behalf of his client, United Fruit Company, to overthrow democratically elected president of Guatemala. It is also believed that the writings of Bernays were used to help engineer the Third Reich execution of the Holocaust.
This is a first post on this subject and I plan continued exploration on social behavioral theories and the impact on business and society.
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Scott Templar is a digital media consultant consultant and can be reached at info@scotttemplar.com
