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Authenticity

Paul Klein — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The recent Green Living show provided a good illustration of the challenge that big businesses and consumer brands face in establishing an authentic connection with their stakeholders.

The show was filled with small businesses that have made a commitment to social responsibility a core part of their value proposition. In this context, I found the displays by Ford, General Motors, Loblaw, and Wal-Mart to be conspicuous for a few reasons: their size, the predictability of their messages, and, most interestingly, the absence of people. The booths of small eco-friendly stores were teeming with people, while the vast Loblaw display seemed rather lonely.

It’s clear that this is territory that’s quite foreign to major corporations. Although they much more responsible than in the past, getting this message across in a convincing way remains elusive. What’s a poor public company to do? (I couldn’t resist throwing in one of the most overused clichés I’ve seen in a while).

For one thing, I wonder who has enough courage to completely remove their products from the equation. Try re-imagining a Ford display as a showcase for responsible transportation. How about a Loblaw display all about sustainable agriculture?

Food for thought.

Green Living Show

Paul Klein — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The Green Living Show seems to be gathering steam or perhaps gathering solar energy is a more appropriate metaphor.

I went down with my family over the weekend and I was impressed by the improvement over last year when it wasn’t much beyond a very large showroom for the car companies.

This year, however, they had a much more diverse offering that was conveniently organized by categories including health and wellness, eco-fashion, garden, green building, transportation, green business, energy, and eco tourism and recreation. Plus they had a well-run kids zone, an organics marketplace, and a good selection of other health food and beverage participants.

One thing that struck me at the show was how smart the folks at Bullfrog power are. They had a contest featuring a passport that you took to get stamped by corporate or non-profit participants that use Bullfrog. What a great way of driving traffic to the company’s customers and engaging contest participants. People who got all the stamps had a chance to win a free year of Bullfrog power. In our case it was also a great activity for our kids,

Beyond the contest it seems like Bullfrog is becoming an imprimatur that corporations (and non-profits) who are genuinely committed to demonstrating leadership in this area need to have. I’m not on Bullfrog yet but will be soon.