Off-the-Wall Earth Day Marketing Strategies

Have you ever considered holding an event - or even a publicity stunt - during Earth Week? Earth Day and Arbor Day offer plenty of opportunities to get the public involved, earn free press, and ultimately increase sales through brand loyalty and direct marketing. If you're going to stage an event for Earth Week, don't settle for a simple tree planting. Instead, be big and bold with one of these off-the-wall Earth Day and Arbor Day marketing strategies.

Save an obscure animal

Saving the earth is about the environment and the plants and animals that coexist in the biosphere. You can launch an outrageous campaign and still support the Earth Day cause by encouraging others to save an obscure animal. Search endangered species lists to compare animals that possess a flamboyant or even ridiculous appearance by societal standards, and paste its image all over your posters, banners, postcards, brochures and flyers mailed to customers' homes and distributed throughout the city. The effect is twofold: The striking, perhaps hilarious, image will captivate your audience while you'll still be able to contribute to an eco-friendly cause. You will thus increase brand recognition and motivate sales - perhaps for each purchase you'll donate $1 to efforts to save the ]]>Kakapu or Dugong]]>.

Break a world record

An attempt to break a world record is the perfect publicity stunt because it attracts crowds and gets free press from the media. Search the Guinness World Records website for records you think you could break. See if you can find something relevant to your business, or at least relevant to Earth Week. Perhaps you could best the record for ]]>most trees planted]]> in 24 hours by a 300-person team, which currently stands at a whopping 541,176! If you don't think you can make an honest attempt at breaking a world record, instead host a competition for local prizes. See how many trees two-person teams can plant in an hour and offer an award to the winner; or, see if you can set a local record for number of people hugging a tree at one time. Try to break it next year! No matter what event you hold, make sure you have a street team on-hand to pass out flyers and brochures; and market your event in advance by printing posters, postcards and banners.

Adopt a highway

Earth Day is all about conservation, and one way you can help is to adopt a stretch of highway (or other public area such as a park) and clean up the litter strewn by passers-by. Recruit a team to help you with clean-up, and make sure each member dons a shirt that clearly identifies your company. When motorists pass, having a dozen people wearing your shirts at roadside is better than a billboard! Print a vinyl banner to place alongside your adopted area so everyone knows who is taking care of the place and to further your branding efforts. You can even recruit customers to help with a postcard or poster marketing campaign: Each time they assist with clean-up, they get a discount off of your products and services. Don't forget to tell local media about your venture so they can cover it - free of charge!