Business Tip

"How Green is Your Marketing?"

By: K.B. Keilbach, WomenEntrepreneur

Most people associate efficiency with manufacturing processes. Doing more with less--utilizing fewer resources and generating less waste to produce more or better-quality goods--is not a new concept. But Christie Communications has made efficient processes a core component of its marketing services program.

Founder and CEO Gillian Christie has developed what she calls "organic" marketing: a method for finding the exact message necessary to demonstrate a client's product or service and then using the least amount of resources to get that message out. "A lot of agencies spend millions of dollars. Think of the waste in advertising! What we do is find out what the client's audience wants, how they want to be communicated with, and we communicate with them accordingly. Our approach is what's different. We don't waste time, money, paper, energy or anything else," Christie says. "We focus on education, not advertisement. It's the antithesis of most agencies."

Another thing that separates Christie from others in her field is that she has made a conscious choice to represent only companies that show a high degree of ethical behavior and demonstrate a clear benefit to society. "We are all responsible for the effects we create, and I just want to make sure the effects we create here are noble. I want to evolve society in some way."

For example, Christie has worked with the Healthy Beverage Co. since its inception eight years ago. She helped the company's co-founders define, align, activate, manage and communicate goals and objectives for their Steaz brand ready-to-drink organic teas, both internally and externally. Her aim was not just to help advertise the product but to educate consumers about the value of organic tea vs. high-caloric sodas and the benefits of natural Stevia vs. artificial Aspartame sweeteners.

In addition, she helped Healthy Beverage Co. get the word out about a variety of social and eco-friendly initiatives, such as the We CAN Make a Difference Initiative, which utilized celebrity-signed cans of Steaz Energy Drink to raise tsunami relief funds for Sri Lanka, and the recently announced SEED Initiative grant program to support women's causes. The company buys carbon offsets from Native Energy to help support renewable energy sources and is fair trade-certified as well. All of this has paid off in sales, according to Christie.

Christie was honored by the National Women's History Project as one of a distinguished list of Women Taking the Lead to Save the Planet in 2009. She won the California Coast Venture Forum's Joe Nida Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for her efforts to promote the principles of "clean business" the same year.

For the CEO of a successful communications and marketing firm, Christie has a unique perspective: "I want to evolve us out of the mentality that we need to buy more junk. In the 1950s, stores weren't open on Sundays. No one was into buying lots of things. So what happened?

"Whatever it was, it didn't happen until the last 20 years. We forgot our purpose. We got on a roll and we fell into consumerism . . . I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying we may not need to go there."

When asked whether she believes sustainability might be just another marketing fad, she replies with a laugh, "God, I hope so. I love fads. Hula hoops were a fad, and people still play with them. Will [sustainability] go away? Well, the plants will still be here; it's just whether we interact with them or not--and it's in our best interest, not theirs. The earth will survive whether we're here or not."

Five things you can do to "green" your marketing:

1. Review your marketing activities. Reduce wasted time and resources by correctly communicating your core message to the right audience.

2. Keep it simple. Elaborate campaigns can be costly and, worse, incomprehensible to those you are trying to reach. "Don't be clever," Christie says, "just communicate."

3. Combine platforms. Integrate your social message onto your packaging--think "mini billboard."

4. Review your packaging. Packing Strategies offers industry insights to those interested in sustainable packaging. One example, according to Christie, is stand-up pouches, which allow products to sit upright but use fewer materials than boxes.

5. Be honest in your messaging. "Falseness is just mental pollution," Christie says. Honesty with others starts with integrity at home. If you demonstrate integrity in your operations and in the way you treat your employees, you will be honest in your messaging. "At the end of the day, you'll know you've communicated something that is true." TerraChoice Environmental Marketing offers a guide to "The Seven Sins of Greenwashing" for those interested in testing their own message.