According to a recent consumer study, shoppers are forecasted to devote a larger share of their budgets to brands that promote sustainability (Ryan Partnership Chicago and Mambo Sprouts Marketing, 2011). If eco-consciousness weighs so heavily on in-store decision-making, it’s only natural for brands to step up and create ads that reflect sustainable practices and influence choices before a shopper steps foot inside the automatic sliding doors.
A number of brands have already made great strides in embracing “green-vertising” on both smaller and larger platforms. While simple eco-friendly advertising methods could include switching from flyer distribution to outdoor LED projections and using recycled materials to create promotional items, companies such as Coca-Cola® and Tropicana have taken the concept a step further.
In June 2011, Coca-Cola introduced the world’s first living billboard. In conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund, the brand unveiled a 60’x60’ billboard in the Philippines made of recycled Coca-Cola products and covered with 3,600, CO2 absorbing, Fukien tea plants. The goal of the installation was to promote the Coca-Cola Live Positively program, which focuses on encouraging social responsibility and adopting sustainable practices.
Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/coca-cola-plant-billboard_n_886192.html
In April 2011, Tropicana and DDB Paris installed a billboard, on a busy street in Paris, which was composed of, and powered by, over 2,500 oranges as a part of the brand’s Natural Energy campaign. Bearing sustainability in mind, at the end of the installation, the oranges were donated for use as compost or for the creation of biogas.
Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_zoHUykPi4
Some of our favorite environmentally friendly advertising techniques include reverse graffiti (where advertisers pressure wash an image/message onto sidewalks, tunnel walls, etc.), rake advertising (where a team of artists etches an image/message onto a beachfront) and sky typing (where computer-generated bursts of smoke are emitted to create perfectly formed messages in the sky).
We hope that this article provides you with inspiration. Give thought to different mediums, don’t limit yourself to traditional advertising and remember that everything has the potential to become a canvas for your next eco-friendly campaign.
