Greenwashing Is All About the Greenbacks
Submitted by John Stauber on
Brandweek examines some of the latest corporate greenwashing efforts.
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Corporations
"Cause-Related Marketing": Why Social Change and Corporate Profits Don’t Mix
In the 1980s, a new form of marketing was born: Cause-Related Marketing (CRM), a hybrid of product advertising and corporate public relations. CRM aims to link corporate identities with nonprofit organizations and good causes. As a tax-deductible expense for business, this form of brand leveraging seeks to connect with the consuming public beyond the traditional point of purchase and to form long-lasting and emotional ties with consumers. However, what might seem like a fair exchange between corporations in search of goodwill and non-profits in search of funds also raises a range of troubling social, political and ethical questions.
CRM is, first and foremost, a market-driven system. Therefore, a non-profit organization's chance of obtaining CRM funding hinges on its ability to complement sales messages. However, it is often the case that vital social issues are only -- or are best -- addressed by "edgy" groups or by using controversial tactics.
Wal-Mart's New Targets
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Latinos, African-Americans, baby boomers, high-income and rural shoppers -- Wal-Mart wants you. Those are the key communities identified in a six-page document that outlines Wal-Mart's future marketing plans. The giant retailer is reviewing its marketing strategy, due to slow growth. The document asks advertising agencies to describe how they would handle Wal-Mart's $570 million account.
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BAT Dodges Document Shredding Case
Submitted by Bob Burton on
British American Tobacco (BAT) reached an out of court settlement in a case that threatened to explore the company's "document retention policy," under which sensitive documents were shredded.
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Inspectors: British Nuclear Reactors Rotten to the Core?
Submitted by Jonathan Rosenblum on
Some British nuclear reactor cores contain serious cracks that could limit their continued operation and potentially lead to radioactive releases, according to newly released documents from the government's own nuclear inspectorate. The documents, which had been withheld from the public, were obtained by a group seeking to close one of the most controversial reactors, Hinkley Point B. That reactor has cracks at its graphite core that the owner, British Energy, has little information about and cannot further investigate without shutting down Hinkley and perhaps other similar reactors.
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A Real Life Advertising Creep
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Reality-based product placement" is here. The car maker Jaguar's new marketing strategy is to give "its high-end cars to jet-setters" in major cities, for free. In Manhattan, Nico Bossi and his Jaguar XK "show up at all the right places, such as ... hangouts in New York's trendy meatpacking district." According to the Wall Street Journal, "Many people ask about the car, but Mr. Bossi doesn't reveal his Jaguar deal. ...
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Keeping Media "On Track" with Audio News Releases
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Kate Corcoran, an account executive at the New York-based PR firm Articulate Communications, told PR Week that one of the benefits of audio news releases that run to a 60-second script is control. "This allows the message to be delivered in the exact way the company chooses," she said.
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British Airways Grounds PR Manager
Submitted by Bob Burton on
An investigation by the U.K. government's Office and Fair Trading and the U.S. Department of Justice into allegations of price-fixing in the airline industry has resulted in British Airways (BA) suspending its head of communications, Iain Burns.
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Victims of Our Own Advertising, Claims Drug Industry Boss
Submitted by Bob Burton on
The CEO of Pfizer, Hank McKinnell, says that a priority for the drug industry is regaining public trust. "We’ve done considerable research on this.
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It Depends on Your Definition of Indisputable
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
from www.TobaccoFree.org
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