Green advertising - Part 2

In the last post, we talked about mailing frequency, paper type and inks. Now it's time to look at the mediums you're using for advertising.

Are your customers on-line?

A newsletter, weekly or monthly flyer or a catalog are all excellent ways to catch potential buyers' attention. But if a significant percentage of your shoppers or clients are web-savvy, you can provide the same advertising for less online. An e-mailed newsletter or flyer eliminates almost all paper use, cutting both waste and costs for your business -- a big plus in troubled times.

Of course, this might not work for all businesses or even for all customers within a business's client base. Some customers may not be net-savvy. Others may prefer a paper catalog or mailing. But offering the choice could reduce your costs and your un-green marketing.

Piggybacking your advertising

When little thought was given to green issues, putting a dozen separate inserts into a newspaper or magazine was common. Each of these papers was for a different company, and even though most ended up in the trash (or on the ground in front of the newspaper box), the ROI was good enough to make the cash outlay worthwhile.

Factoring in the green issues changes that. What are the costs to the earth for all those separate papers?

There is no doubt that paper inserts and mailers can be effective. But a concept called co-op advertising allows businesses to work with related but non-competing companies to make one paper into two ads.

Some example of good co-op advertising include a travel agency and a luggage store, a pet supply store and a dog training company, or perhaps a car repair shop and a gas station.

More tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!