Earth Day Marketing: How to Speak Up for the Planet

“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.” – Gaylord Nelson

When Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson initiated the first Earth Day, held on April 22 in 1970, he most likely couldn’t predict that 51 years later, the world could be celebrating the earth in the midst of a pandemic.

But even in the absence of concert events, workshops and close-proximity conversations, sustainability and local weather change are nonetheless vital points that resonate with the world shopper group.

As such, Earth Day presents a singular alternative for manufacturers of all kinds to align themselves with the environmental causes most essential to their customers and promote the good work they already do to protect the planet. Doing good for the earth is sweet for enterprise.

Earth Day as a Marketing Opportunity

“Green consumerism” issues to customers (particularly Generation Z buyers). A 2020 First Insight survey turned up these insights:

• 62% of Gen Z customers desire “sustainable brands,” in contrast to 54% of Gen X, 44% of the Silent Generation and 39% of Boomers.
• Gen Z is extra prepared to pay extra for sustainable merchandise (73%) than Millennials (68%), Gen X (55%) and Boomers (42%).

Campaigns highlighting environmentally acutely aware efforts are an intrinsic expectation for a good portion of customers now. If your organization is engaged on working a extra environmentally sound operation, sells eco-friendly merchandise or contributes firm income and worker time to environmental work, try to be working an Earth Day marketing campaign.

The methods and email examples beneath can assist you create a advertising and marketing marketing campaign that can communicate to a wider base of shoppers and supply a change of tempo out of your common promotions.

Top Email Strategies for Earth Day

COVID-19 taught us a lot about climate change. With pandemic lockdown restrictions, many have (re)captured their dedication to sustainability. As shopper sentiment evolves, manufacturers have to adapt accordingly.

Consider these methods when crafting your Earth Day marketing campaign.

1. Go Behind the Scenes

Has your organization decreased its manufacturing emissions, switched to recyclable packaging supplies, decreased waste, reclaimed uncooked supplies, or improved its provide chain? What about switching to sustainable lighting or rising the use of photo voltaic or wind power?

These behind-the-scenes efforts may not be all that glamorous, however they’re nonetheless one thing to share if the internet impact is a lighter footprint on the planet. Transparency like this goes a great distance in connecting with customers.

2. Show Customers Why They Should Care

If you need to use Earth Day to join along with your clients, a imprecise assertion about supporting the planet isn’t the greatest approach to do it. Be particular about why your message issues for them and the atmosphere.

Maybe clients might use your merchandise to reveal their assist for the atmosphere. Maybe they want concepts about how to assist out in their very own communities. Take the lead and ship an email with two or three strategies. Your viewers demographics or buyer personas can assist you resolve which strategy to take.

To be best, concentrate on efforts that might use your merchandise, reminiscent of how to recycle your containers or delivery supplies. Care/of’s email (preserve scrolling to view beneath) is a superb template to comply with for this type of email.

3. Partner With an Environmental Group

One determination to make in your email technique for Earth Day is whether or not to supply a promotion or incentive or just ship a message of assist. A generic 20%-off or free-shipping low cost isn’t all that significant. However, you might spotlight a product or assortment of sustainable or eco-friendly merchandise after which donate the proceeds to an environmental group.

Another strategy: Volunteer time or supplies for native initiatives, reminiscent of park cleanups, and doc your work in an email despatched on or round April 22. This has added advantages: It places your workers’ faces in your email, which humanizes your efforts, and it makes you accountable to your clients for doing what you stated you’ll do.

For concepts, contact an area environmental clearinghouse or examine Charity Navigator’s Protecting the Environment listing of charities.

Seeing It All in Action

No matter the place your model is positioned on the spectrum of environmental friendliness, there’s an email right here that may encourage you to create an Earth Day message that can resonate with clients.

Trade Coffee

There’s nothing incorrect with combining commerce and environmentalism in the event that they’re a appropriate match for your model. Coffee retailer Trade Coffee‘s “Picks of the Week” email highlights a product assortment of natural or sustainably-grown coffees—some itemizing the identify of the certifying group for further authenticity.

Although Trade Coffee frequently options commentary by its “coffee guides,” like John Crisan, pictured right here. Including an worker face in a cause-marketing email is one other approach to present accountability. 

Disney+

If your product is intangible, like digital media, do what streaming service Disney+ does and go into your library to collect a playlist of associated content material to appeal to new subscribers. This email—despatched to non-subscribers who agreed to obtain content material from associated Disney manufacturers—makes use of topicality as a prospecting software.

One design determination to make in creating an Earth Day email is whether or not to stick along with your model colours. If your model colours are on the “hotter” finish of the spectrum (reds, yellows, oranges) think about adopting a cooler colour scheme of blues and greens which align with the atmosphere.

Care/of

One approach to get folks extra environmentally concerned is to present them how straightforward it’s to add a brand new and sustainable exercise to their day by day routines. That’s what Care/of, a subscription vitamin service, does on this email, which delivers an easy-to-follow information for beginning a compost pile, to which clients can add the packs their nutritional vitamins are available in.

Pro tip: Click the email to see how its intelligent animation helps composting newbies perceive how the course of works. 

Leesa

Mattress supplier Leesa‘s email shares the numbers that flip its sustainability pledge from a imprecise assertion to motion: its B Corp atmosphere rating and what number of recycled plastic bottles go right into a mattress (73!).

Leesa additionally mentions a behind-the-scenes determine that has an affect on its environmental footprint— lowering delivery distances between factories and clients. 

Although Earth Day is the focus, it additionally features a delicate promotion: a 15% low cost badge on certainly one of its pictures farther down in the email.

As You Build Your Earth Day Strategy…

Earth Day provides manufacturers the alternative to share their values, overtly align with causes customers care about, and promote the good work they already do to protect the planet.

But strategy your cause-driven advertising and marketing with warning—in the present day’s customers are fast to name out inauthentic manufacturers. This is very related for extractive industries: “Greenwashing,” or offering deceptive details about how your merchandise or processes are environmentally sound, will backfire.

Instead of selling your carbon offset, attempt a extra modern and environmentally sound strategy for your campaigns, like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store).

And bear in mind, you’re not alone. Consult this listing for extra data and inspiration on Earth Day, in addition to planet-friendly initiatives and acknowledged teams for partnerships:

1. EarthDay.org
2. 51 ways to stand up for the environment
3. The Carbon Community (U.Okay.-based)
4. Charity Navigator’s Protecting the Environment listing of eco-friendly non-profits

You can even attain out to certainly one of our specialists to chat via how one can greatest share your Earth Day efforts along with your viewers. We’re at all times blissful to assist!