Seven Ideas to Promote Your Business During Earth Day
Earth Day will be celebrating its 39th anniversary on April 22nd and many companies are using this special day to kick off their green marketing program initiatives.
Earth Day 2009 will be getting a great deal of media coverage both in the United States and abroad. Here are seven ways to tie in to this worldwide event that can help you to maximize your reach and optimize your marketing expenditure.
1. Give it Away: Promote your company’s participation in Earth Day by giving away custom-imprinted promotional products, from recycled tote bags, recycled water bottles or imprinted wooden speakers or imprinted live plants.
2. Spread the News: Notify the media about the ways your company is getting involved in the green movement. It is newsworthy and favorable news coverage will be the best form of marketing.
3. Donate Green: Donate your green promotional products to a variety of organizations or groups, including schools, non-profit organizations, sports teams, churches and synagogues, etc.
4. Cooperate: Work with other local businesses to coop the cost of your green friendly promotional products. Contact other businesses to put each organizations logo onto a recycled tote bag, for example—spreading the costs among a handful of “green community leaders”.
5. Give to Get: Encourage your employees and customers to recycle. When they bring in a bundle for recycling, give them a free imprinted tree seedling or recycled sports bottle. Encourage the media to visit during this recycling effort.
6. Green Fridays: Have your employees wear imprinted green t-shirts and green caps to promote Green Friday. Make the last Friday of each month Green Friday—where employees wear green and must report how they have done an energy saving activity for the month. Top 5 winners get the afternoon off or a free eco-friendly gift.
7. Car Pool: Calculate the savings that your employees will help to make by car pooling, turning off lights, recycling, etc. You can use the US EPA’s Carbon Calculator to see how much your carbon footprint can be reduced. Keep a chart, much like the United Way posters, to track your organizations carbon reduction for the year and hold a party when your goal has been met.
Let’s Make Every Day, Earth Day. It’s a win-win opportunity.