I picked this up on the Bloomberg wire this morning:

“Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Jr., co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, urged the world to fight on against global warming at the conclusion of UN climate talks instead of focusing on celebrity news like the legal woes of O.J. Simpson and Paris Hilton’s latest shopping escapade.

“Gore told a packed auditorium of UN envoys today in Poznan, Poland, that a new U.S. administration under Barack Obama, as well as efforts by China, South Africa and developing nations to cut carbon output, are reasons for optimism that a deal to slow CO2 emissions can be reached at talks in Copenhagen next year.

Does it really take a Nobel Peace Prize Winner to educate the global media on how to prioritize their news coverage — hmmm, Paris Hilton at a club or melting ice bergs on top of our planet? I wonder why journalism is viewed so cynically by this generation of news avoiders.

Darren Shuster

As Darren Johnson wrote in his recent article in the UK’s Guardian: “Recessions are not kind to green politics …and awareness.” His argument is that green issues will fade as bold new economic initiatives are put into place.

I think there is something even more important — the need to stop using green buzz words and so-called green marketing copy. Talk of ‘carbon footprints’ and other over-used terms won’t mean much to the average American consumer struggling to pay their phone bills.

The messaging needs to include the stories behind the company and its brand — talk about challenges, successes, hurdles, innovations, progress, and the personalities behind the companies and its products.

To be continued …

First, Silicon Alley? Then, Silicon Alley? Now, The Green Corridor? I like it.

This month, at the 4th Quebec-New York Economic Summit held in Montreal, New York Gov. David Paterson and Quebec Premier Jean Charest spoke of the importance of furthering their relationship in light of the state of the world economy: “There will be a green pathway between Quebec and New York,” Paterson said.

Did he say Green Corridor? “If someone has to make an investment in something that needs the movement of goods and services across the border, they’re going to invest in the Quebec-New York Corridor.”

Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas Douglas, attending the event, said that during this world economic turmoil, it is time to value what is working, such as the relationship between Quebec and New York: “For the last 200 years, it really has been an economic union if not a political union.”

The Quebec-New York Corridor, linking New York City, Albany, Montreal and Quebec City, is the most exciting in North America, he said, and making it a green corridor can only increase that. “We can be the center of green economy in North America for the next 10 years.”

Gene Marks, writer and occasional columnist with BusinessWeek, writes that Obama:

“plans to invest $150 billion in clean energy technology over the next 10 years …Smart business owners will be following this money trail. And they won’t even need to be in the energy sector to benefit. They’ll just need to be selling and servicing those comanies that are in the sector. They’ll be changing their marketing, buying new lists, advertising in new places, and attending different conferences than before.”

In his book, The Green Collar Economy, Van Jones writes that many of the green consumer stereotypes that exist are downright wrong:

The Green Collar Worker: “When you think of the emerging green economy, don’t think of George Jetson with a jet pack. Think of Joe Sixpack with a hard hat and lunch bucket, sleeves rolled up, going off to fix America. Think of Rosie the Riveter, manufacturing parts for hybrid buses or wind turbines. Those images will represent the true face of a green-collar America.”

The Green Shopper: “People imagine a few Hollywood celebrities eating tofu, doing yoga, and driving hybrid cars. They envision affluent white people who care about nothing but polar bears and can afford to shop at health-food stores and put solar panels on their second home …Many of these caricatures are grossly unfair.”

Paul Hughes over at Topaz Partners reminds us of an important lesson from 2001 –

“Tough times, though, are not an excuse to stop talking to your customers and prospects. Now is the time to tell your story – loud and clear. Sure, watch the bottom line, but don’t pull back so far that it leaves your customers wondering what’s going on. You need to continue to get the word out…to reassure your customers that you are there for them. And now is the time to take advantage of all the cost effective tools available to get the word out. While it might not be time to do a big branding ad campaign, it certainly is the time to use your PR agency to leverage new communications techniques to get the word out. Your agency can help you do that.”

http://techprgems.com/2008/10/remember-2001/

According to The McKinsey Quarterly, the impulse to “go green” is spreading fast …

“but when it comes time to actually buying green goods, words and deeds often part ways. No more than 33 percent of the consumers in our survey say they are ready to buy green products or have already done so. In a 2007 Chain Store Age survey of 822 US consumers, only 25 percent of them report having bought any green product other than organic foods or energy-efficient lighting.

These numbers seem to reflect a pretty good startint point so I guess the glass is half full for this blogger. Check out the full article at http://tinyurl.com/5whno8.

Li and Bernoff wrote a great new book, Groundswell, about the rise of social media and its relationship with this generation’s marketing professionals. As our own agencies — 3rd Planet PR and parent company Pop Culture PR – work to develop successful case studies in the social media community, these authors offer great advice in hiring a PR agency:

“Marketers must also prepare for changes in their agency relationshps. Ask for proof that an agency has managed — and measured — a campaign aimed at the murky social middle of the funnel.”

The take away: Many PR agencies claim to have a strong social media track record, and most simply do not. I think those firms that take the time to learn, practice, fail, succeed, and develop their social media manners, will rise to the top over the next few years. Marketers should keep an eye out for real capabilties and track record from their agencies.

In Joel Makeower’s book, “Strategies for the Green Economy,” the author breaks down Green Consumers into the following categories:

(34%) “Bright Greens”: highly engaged but skeptical

(10%) “Green Motivated”: likely to accept corporate green programs at face value

(26%) “Green Hypocrites”: love to talk about green but don’t go even slightly out of their way for it

(19%) “Green Ignorants”: don’t know, don’t care

(11%) “Dull Greens”: not explained in the book

Do Hispanic mothers use green products? How do their attitudes about sustainability compare with those of non-Hispanic mothers? In a new study by ResearchAndMarkets (www.researchandmarkets.com/research/385ed1/marketing_to_hispa), entitled, “Marketing to Hispanic Moms in the United States 2008,” the authors attempt to answer these questions. I’m waiting to get my hands on the report and will publish the answers as soon as possible.