Howdy [firstname,fallback=there]! So...how 'bout that new iPad?! And what about Snowmageddon? And oh my, didn't someone say something about Google Buzz? It's funny, but two months into 2010 and the hype machine just seems kinda, well, flat.

Personally, that's okay with me. Just maybe organizations will start thinking twice about blowing a lot of smoke and flashing a lot of lights when they should be concentrating on addressing their audiences thoughtfully and with an authentic voice.

But enough fantasy, let's git to the Roundup...

Help Re-nourish Win a $50,000 grant by Sunday!

That's right, we're talkin' 50,000 U.S. dollars to help Re-nourish get really serious about sustainable design. All you have to do is vote for Re-nourish at www.refresheverything.com/renourish once a day for the next week (it takes about a minute and a half to register and 30 seconds to vote). If we finish in the top ten, we get $50,000 to make the site more user-friendly, add additional tools, expand our educational materials, and kick-off some long-awaited initiatives to help green the graphic design field.

Remember: You can vote once each day. If you're really feeling nuts, you can reply to this email and I'll throw you on the daily email reminder list—with complimentary limericks! And please feel free to share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or shout it from the rooftops.

The Problem with Green Marketing

Genius comedian Bill Hicks liked to call marketers the "ruiners of all things good." He wasn't far off the mark.

Marketing has always been an ethically conflicted business, and the act of green marketing requires us to face this conflict head-on. Marketing has one simple purpose: to foster the exchange of money for something of value (generally a service or product). Marketers, however, have traditionally been relegated to a discrete role within an organization's hierarchy, one that is siloed off from product development, operational logistics, and so forth. The result is that the marketer ends up investing himself not in value but in perception of value...

If the goal of the conventional marketer is to create a perception in the mind of the consumer—rather than match the consumer to something of real value—then the goal of the green marketer must be to create a perception of socio-environmental value in the mind of the consumer, regardless of whether that socio-environmental value truly exists in the thing being marketed.

This presents an inherent contradiction: if green means socio-environmental value, but marketing means perception over value, how can green marketing legitimately exist?

[Read the rest of The Problem With Green Marketing]

Welcome to Mission SF and REC solar!

Just want to give a shout-out to some awesome (nah, I'm not biased) new clients:

Mission SF Community Financial Center
Headquartered in San Francisco, Mission SF is a community development credit union and nonprofit financial literacy center that provides financial knowledge and fair banking services to an often ignored but critically important segment of San Francisco. I've joined a pro bono Taproot Foundation team to provide strategy and planning advice to help Mission SF handle growth while better serving their constituents.

REC Solar, Inc.
Everyone knows renewable energy is where it's at, but REC ain't your typical corporate VC-funded tech company (not that there's anything wrong with that). This family-run, Sacrameto-based company has been bringing solar electric systems to homeowners and businesses for well over a decade. Needless to say, they know what they're doing. Roughstock will help REC bring solar to the neighborhood in this increasingly competitive market through an integrated print campaign.

Okeydoke, then, that about does it for the first Roundup of the year. Let me know if there's anything in the way of writing, design, or general communications planning that I can do for you or someone you know in the coming months.

Over and out,

Jess Sand
Messenger