The Federal Trade Commission recently issued proposed changes to their “Green Guides,” an announcement that’s created buzz in both marketing and legal circles recently. If you haven’t been following, Green Guides are the FTC’s guidelines to, in their words, help marketers avoid misleading consumers with unfair or deceptive claims.

Many in our industry are watching this process as a first step in cracking down on “greenwashing” –deceptive marketing or PR spin meant to portray a company as being environmentally friendly. The phrase was actually coined in response to those hotel cards asking us to reuse our towels and sheets for the duration of our stay to lessen the environmental impact of doing laundry. However, there are certainly plenty more egregious examples commonplace in the work our industry produces today.

I wouldn’t recommend we pin all our hopes on the FTC swooping in to save the day and clean up the practice of greenwashing, though. Their Green Guides review has been ongoing since 2007 and it appears it still has a way to go.

I don’t know that marketers really need to wait on guidance from the FTC here. If we as marketers are doing our jobs right, we should already be in compliance with whatever their directive is likely to be. We should already be working to a higher standard than “avoid misleading consumers with unfair or deceptive claims.”

That standard should be “advertising with integrity.” We, as an agency, owe you forthright consultation on plainspoken and genuine communication with your consumers. You owe your consumers authenticity, trustworthiness and promises delivered. If we all market under the belief that our name and our reputation are our most prized possessions, the FTC’s guidelines really shouldn’t have any significant bearing on our marketing practices.

What do you think? Does striving for higher ground in marketing practices cover FTC Green Guides compliance? Any particularly absurd instances of greenwashing you’d like to share? We’d love you to join the conversation.

’Tis the season for holiday greetings. So it’s only natural for companies and organizations to wonder if it’s appropriate to send their wishes to an Inbox as opposed to an old-fashioned mailbox.

Wondering what to do for next year? (It’s never too early to start planning, although October is when you really need to hit the ground running.) A lot of it is pure preference. But if you’re still on the fence, here are some things to consider.

1. Who is your audience? Even as the number of grandmas and grandpas receiving iPads as gifts is increasing, email probably isn’t the best way to reach senior citizens. On the other hand, if your target audience is tech savvy and glued to their smart phone, email blasts make perfect sense.
2. What seems most fitting for your company? Obviously, if you’re a printer, or if your communications rely heavily on direct mail the rest of the year, traditional cards are probably the way to go.
3. Do you have a thorough email address database? If so, email blasts can be an inexpensive alternative to printing and shipping a traditional holiday card.
4. What’s your motive? Are you looking to do something different and fun? Are you going to link your email blast to a website? This year, our agency did its first email blast/interactive holiday microsite and the results have been very positive. Not only is it a lot of fun, we’ve attracted people who might not have normally visited our website thanks to its viral nature.

Take a poll. How many traditional cards and how many email cards have you received? We’d be interested to hear. Also, do you have thoughts one way or another? Let us know.

It is no secret that mobile commerce is exploding. Just look at the numbers for the kickoff of holiday shopping this year – Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

• comScore: U.S. online sales for Cyber Monday amounted to $1.25 billion. An increase of 22% compared to 2010.
• IBM: 33% increase in Cyber Monday online spending from 2010 to 2011. In that same survey, IBM found that 10.8% of people used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site.
• Monetate: While desktop computers still accounted for the majority of website visits from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the number of website visits decreased from 2010 by about 7 percentage points. Mobile devices and tablets saw an increase of about 7 percentage points.

The record-setting amount of money spent on Cyber Monday, along with increased use of mobile devices during the Thanksgiving weekend, are further evidence of mobile device market share growth in 2011.

We saw this trend coming. The thought of statistics like these was the impetus for the mobile-friendly site for high-stakes retail brand La-Z-Boy. The key features of their website could have been more easily accessible on mobile devices. So in our redesign, we pulled forward the aspects of the site most useful to mobile users, including a store locator and product search and share functionality. Copy was optimized for ideal mobile viewing.

It’s fair to say we don’t see these trends reversing anytime soon. In the U.S., 90 million people own smart phones. And 79% of mobile Internet users have used a smart phone to help with their shopping (Google/IPSOS Reid 2011). Plus, there’s going to be a 272% increase in the number of tablets shipped this year over 2010 (IHS). That’s right, I said 272%.

What does this all mean? As more and more people transition to smart phones and the demand for tablets increases, the utmost consideration should be given to optimizing your site for on-the-go digital consumption.

Having a mobile-friendly website is an essential step in connecting with customers. Your potential customers will move along to your competitor’s site if your site is difficult to view, takes a long time to load or does not load properly in their mobile browser. A mobile-friendly website needs to follow the rule of “less is more,” aiding potential customers in ways such as finding a retailer, comparing prices or reading reviews.

Have you noticed an increase in traffic to your website from mobile sources? How often do you turn to a mobile device to access the Internet? Did you use a smart phone or tablet to make a purchase Black Friday or Cyber Monday? We’d love to read your thoughts – share them in the comments section below.

U.S. politicians ought to thank their lucky stars that they live in this country when it comes to their ability to advertise and push issues and agendas to the American people. That’s because the U.S. is far and away more open and accepting of political advertising when compared to other countries. In fact, most countries have restrictions and other limitations on the amount of time prior to elections candidates can begin marketing through the media. For instance, some European countries only allow candidates a three-month window prior to a general election to grab the microphone and start talking – an unimaginable treat for weary Americans who are bombarded with political messages up to two years ahead of a presidential election.

The U.S.’s more relaxed system of political advertising can make life extremely difficult for non-political marketers leading up to an election. Cutting through the noise to reach average citizens or key sub-sets of the population can feel impossible during this time.

We understand the challenge from both sides. We’ve rolled up our sleeves for a good-old political election from time to time, and we’ve certainly worked on behalf of non-political clients to get their message out during election season. There’s no definitive formula for doing this successfully, but here are a few tried and true methodologies we have employed to increase the chances of a breakthrough:

1. Pay attention to what the media is covering and know the issues candidates are discussing. If possible, organizations might try to find a relevant link and tie their messages to larger national issues. Issues that the candidates are not discussing will be harder pressed to garner media attention during an election year.
2. Become part of the discussion. Position the organization’s leaders as experts by writing position papers and op-eds, by hosting events, and by providing the media with research and briefings on issues to educate the public.
3. Find partners to maximize the strength of the organization’s voice. Organizations should remember that there are others across the U.S., even in their home state, that focus on and care about the same issues. Like-minded organizations coming together will make a stronger impact promoting messages rather than one organization attempting this on its own.
4. Use media tools such as YouTube, blogs and social-networking sites in conjunction with traditional media outlets to focus on the issues important to your organization. Utilizing various media tools will strengthen the impact of messages and will allow a broader reach.

Doing these things can certainly help marketers’ chances of cutting through the election season clutter. The critical element to any activity in such a noisy marketplace is maintaining a laser-like focus on your message and repeating it every chance you get in the right places at the right time – even if it has to be during an election year. Do you have any other suggestions that have worked well for you? If so, we’d love to hear them.