With the recent snowstorms and frigid weather patterns we’ve been experiencing, many Americans now view the whole concept of Global Warming rather skeptically.
But not me.
I think it’s one of the most brilliant and relevant concepts ever conceived — from a marketing perspective, that is.
According to a recent article in Marketplace Magazine, The Environmental Defense Fund — an environmental group in Washington advocating for legislation to improve green-energy and climate-change awareness — has come up with a unique way to sway the opinion of a suspicious American public that remains doubtful as to whether there even is a phenomena such as Global Warming.
Instead of touting the usual green-themed messages of “Save the Rainforest!” and “Help a Polar Bear!” the organization aims to generate American support for climate regulation by cleverly wrapping it in terms of national security and jobs — along with a side benefit of having cleaner air.
Proponents of climate-change legislation are now pushing their message by claiming that environmentally-friendly regulations will enable America to create more jobs within the alternative-energy sector and be less dependent on foreign oil — which translates into a self-regulating country that can take a stronger stance against radical Middle-Eastern nations that currently provide the USA with the bulk of its oil resources.
In fact, Clean Energy Works, a newly developed coalition aimed at passing a key climate bill, now uses the slogan “More jobs, less pollution, greater security.”
By framing the newly-revised global warming pitch to the public in a way that highlights job creation and national security, these environmental groups have brilliantly redefined the marketing message of what climate-change represents and captured the attention of people who would have otherwise ignored the previously environmentally-themed messages publicized by proponents of Global Warming.
Of course, the concept of redefining a message to appeal to consumers is hardly new — many brands have been doing it for years already.
Take Listerine Mouthwash, for example.
Originally created as an antiseptic disinfectant for insect bites, the turning point for the company came in 1921 when an advertising executive named Gordon Seagrove came up with the concept of promoting the use of Listerine as a cure for bad breath. The company, though, was wary of using the words “bad breath” in an advertisement due to the fact that it was considered an indecent phrase and would be received negatively by the general public.
Which is precisely where redefining the marketing message came into the picture.
By cleverly resuscitating an obscure Latin medical symptom called “Halitosis” and launching an ad campaign portraying Listerine as the only product available to cure it, Listerine instantly appealed to consumers who suddenly perked up and were eager to hear its relevant message.
The subsequent success resulting from this strategic advertising campaign propelled Listerine into a category of its own. In fact, Listerine sales jumped from $100,000 per year in 1921 to more than $4 million in 1927 — talk about appealing to consumers!
Which leads us to the main lessons of this article –The Ptex Practical Pointers — which will help guide us in our quest to improve business and marketing techniques:
* Make Your Message Meaningful – Create an advertising message that your customers can truly relate to. When American’s suffering from the recession no longer wanted to hear about environmental responsibility, The Environmental Defense Fund changed its tune and began promoting a more meaningful message of job creation and economic stability.
* Keep Things Distinctive – Be sure that your message stands out from amongst the clutter of the commercial marketplace. Listerine leaped ahead of the pack by claiming it was the only product on the market capable of fighting Halitosis and firmly cemented that message into the minds of consumers.
* It’s Got To Be Believable – There will always be skeptics out there doubting the authenticity of your product or service. To combat this phenomenon, Listerine got the approval of the American Dental Association (ADA) to verify its health benefits. More impressively, The Environmental Defense Fund recently partnered with one of the world’s largest accounting firms, Ernst & Young, to create private equity ventures that will help legitimatize its agenda.
Because the fact remains: A defined advertising message is crucial for achieving success.
Whether you’re an advertising executive attempting to persuade people to buy a certain brand of mouthwash or a Vice President trying to convince a skeptical nation about the hazards of Global Warming, keep in mind that your success will be dependent on crafting a message that directly appeals to the public — in rain, sleet or snow.
Onwards and upwards,
Meny Hoffman
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21 Responses
Nothing has ever been as bad as a journalist or scientist had said it was going to be. NEVER!
Climate Change has done to science, scientists and lab coat consultants and journalism, what nasty priests did for religion. Scientists produced cruise missiles, cancer causing chemicals, land mine technology, nuclear weapons, germ warfare, cluster bombs, strip mining technology, Y2K, Y2Kyoto, deep sea drilling technology and now climate change. And how ironic is it that up until 25 years ago, scientists were condemned for producing planet killing chemicals and making environmentalism necessary in the first place? Meanwhile, the UN had allowed carbon trading to trump 3rd world fresh water relief, starvation rescue and 3rd world education for just over 24 years of climate control instead of needed population control.
If you in academia had any credibility you would weed out your criminals.
A wave of former believer rage has arrived.
I urge everyone to contact their elected leaders via email to get these criminal fear mongering journalists charged with treason for knowingly leading our country and the entire globe to a Bush-like false war of climate change. We missed getting Bush jailed so lets go after these irresponsible lazy copy and paste journalists and see them all judged by the courts of our country. We owe it to our children to make this CO2 mistake right. We mistakenly condemned our kids to death by CO2 for 25 years because of the lies spewed about a dying planet. Yelling “FIRE” in the theatre was criminal.
System Change, NOT climate change.
Why does frum have to be the same as ignorant? Why do we have to reject proven scientific facts to retain our membership in the club? Global warming is not up for debate. The Earth’s surface temperature is rising. The last 13 years are among the 14 hottest years on record. Extreme climate change in each direction is PROOF of global warming, not a refutation of it.
Whatever, I know where I’m commenting…
#2.
What about those emails from the scientists that were leaked last year that showed how they manipulated the numbers to come up with their pre-determined conclusion?
We see that the “science” involved is quite suspect.
The only proven thing is that there was a fraud.
According to the scientists involved in global warming, the temperature would rise like one degree per century. Using warm weather to prove warming is disingenuous. Also, why is everything ‘global’? Very often, when there is warm weather on one side of the planet, another side is having its coldest weather. In the seventies they were saying it’s getting colder because of more clouds reflecting the sun’s rays out of the planet. Now they say that water vapor is absorbing too much heat. Maybe the two could cancel each other out?!
To quote Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zatzal,”This world is fool-proof.” Hashem takes care of the world when people are living normally. This includes not worrying about the effect of the atmosphere, cutting trees or the extinction of certain animals or birds. He talks about how before the Mabul (The Deluge), the entire world was a comfortable temperature, & then suddenly, there was a tremendous upheaval. To prove it, there were excavations done in some cold climates (in Russia, I think) where great mammoths were buried in layers of ice & was preserved as if they were flash frozen, that in their stomachs were flowers that only grow in warm climates! But that all changed due to man’s sins. So let’s again, not be such worry warts, about what environmentalists fabricate!
the most important fact about global warming is that the world’s temperature has always fluctuated rapidly and obviously it’s supposed to. its been getting warmer since the last ice age. it would be of no surprise if it became tremendously cold for 500 years.
odds are 50 percent of the planets in our solar system are getting warmer, the rest are getting colder. is global warming on mars do to republican policy?
its getting warmer but its also getting warmer on mars and venus. the reality is if it was getting colder they would simply rearrange their charts and draw up the exact same conclusion. whats the truth?
-Extreme climate change in each direction is PROOF of global warming, not a refutation of it.-
Ha! That’s the unrefutable line they (the obstinate gooks) always use. Begin your comment with ‘This is a recording..’
The “Global Warming” business has generated billions of dollars of windfall profits to the those–like Al Gore–who have perpetrated this fraud on the world.
Any scientist who dares to challenge this cash cow, instantly loses his research funding and, sometimes, even his job.
#2- what’s been proven? If you know anything about science, you’ll know that “proven scientific fact” is disproven all the time. You’ll also know that “scientific fact” is often political– so perhaps you can excuse “frum” people for having a belief system beyond whatever scientific fad is being propagandized in their generation.
Second of all, even if the earth is getting warmer, which is all the proof anyone has, the global warming movement is intent on proving it’s because of man that this is happening and that certainly has not been proven. We also went from an ice-age to what we have now. They also believe Mars wasn’t always so hot– clearly man didn’t cause those phenomena.
Third of all, if you believe in Hashem, then you know the earth can’t simply implode from overheating because we’ve been promised 1000 years of Mashiach and 1000 years of Techias Hameisim– probably another reason “frum” people aren’t running scared because of some political environmental fad.
spain went bankcrupt+ windmills
#2: (catchy name isn’t it?)
“The Earth’s surface temperature is rising. The last 13 years are among the 14 hottest years on record.” While taking earth’s temperature can show the rise, How old do your scientists claim the world is? How many of those have had temperature readings recorded? The sheer arrogance of scientists is the only reason I haven’t been duped by their proofs.
Spains bankcruptcy was due to the huge investment in windfarms whcih failed. Many other enviournmental programs- especially about fish and water have destroyed European industries. When a technology really works- nothing stands in its way- not even govenrment. Just think about the industrial revolution- even though people were afraid of the mills- losing jobs, farmers displaced to sheep raising… nothing could stop it. But government can’t put in failed systems, uneconomical and have it work! The US was blessed with coal, oil, shale so many treasuress- let’s use it.
Agav, I’m much more comfortable with my Zaideh becoming a fish, then a baboon becoming my Zaideh
the issue stems from an infallible underlying political positioning strategy which that utilizes a western language semantics platform (in that it systematically revolves around the definitions of english words rather than reality.) these scientists are either simplistic idolaters of leftism or lacking development in exact regions of their brains to comprehend the situation.
i can watch a presentation from them and point out every single technique their using and exactly why their using it. it almost seems like their idolatry of nationalism has become computerized to a large extent and fully automated.
The same can be said for the Piltdown Man and the theory that vaccines cause Autism (not to mention the theory that “Aryans” are a master race). As President Lincoln allegedly said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
So if you are an advertiser trying to sell an inferior product – read the article.
I see some people, ESPECIALLY #2, forgot that there were leaked emails that showed “global warming” as well as “climate change” to be hypocrisy.
Anyone who believes man could control the climate anywhere in the world is an APIKORES! That needs no proof. If you think we have more control than HKBH Himself, you are an apikores!
“Using warm weather to prove warming is disingenuous.”
Uh, the warming IS of the weather!
” Also, why is everything ‘global’? ”
Temperatures ON AVERAGE acrosss the planet have risen. The largest increases have been in the Arctic. Other areas have not experienced as great an increase.
“The only proven thing is that there was a fraud. ”
True! The fraud is the people who continue to insist that there is no warming.
It is worth pointing out that none of the scientists cited by so-called global warming sceptics think that the earth has not gotten warmer over the past 130 years. The sceptics’ scientists just question the cause of the warming, not its existence. Only lobbyists, politicians with an axe to grind, and the people whom they have duped think that there is no warming. This is amazingly similar to the “vaccines cause autism” nonsense which was promoted by trial lawyers and former models for a certain “shmutz magazine”.
“Anyone who believes man could control the climate anywhere in the world is an APIKORES!”
In fact, we ARE able to control the climate to some extent, at least locally. Ever hear of cloud-seeding?
seriously, im freezing the majority of the time, if we can make it hotter im down for at least 20-30 more degrees please.
Over 20% in Spain for going green. Do you want this in America. With a cap and trade your bills will go up over $1500 a year do you want this. Plus cap and trade is a giant ponzi sceem. You are buying clean air from some other place and moving money around but nothing happens. It is REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH=COMMUNISM