Jason McCormick

Sustaining Obama?

Jason McCormick — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:53:30 -0800

Two months without a post and now two in two days… everything is changing today (see previous post)… and fittingly, it’s a post about Obama - and his Blackberry.

In an age where the infamously addictive device is commonly known as the ‘crackberry’, Obama is under pressure to give up his beloved Blackberry. The fear – according to aides – is anyone with the right technology will be able to track his movements and know his exact whereabouts, not to mention hack into his messages.

This poses a unique situation. On one hand, it’s one less thing for the president of the united states to have to manage and confiscating the device may make more time for a little (and I mean little) more personal sustainability. But on the other - and this is what Jonathan Freedland identified as unique in his guardian article – Obama’s Blackberry ‘represents a line out to the real world, a source of information - and casual communication with friends - that does not have to first pass through the filter of his advisers. Most of us would have more human contact if we gave up our BlackBerries: Obama may be a rare case of the reverse’.

Obama's Blackberry

Jason McCormick — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:52:21 -0800

Everything’s changing today…

Jason McCormick — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:31:45 -0800

Goodness, it’s been months since my last post… terrible, i'm usually the 'Blog Police' at work... oh well, thought I’d share this song with you… it’s by The Futureheads… not only is it a great song to get ready to before you head out for the night, but it’s got a great message… check out some of the lyrics:

‘We’ve never made a difference
But tonight it will be different
It opened up in front of us
And it can change for every one of us’.

Inspiration... it's everywhere!

Sustainability Brand Rivalry Review: Apple vs. Microsoft

Jason McCormick — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:56:14 -0700

Ci:Soundbite: Sustainability Brand Review

Jason McCormick — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:50:11 -0700

Sustainability Brand Rivalry Results: Apple vs. Microsoft

We opened up the SHIFT Report vault and dug into the key findings that came out of a query – How do technology heavy weight brands’ – Microsoft and Apple – consumers relate with sustainability issues, and how do these findings compare with the North American general population? The results are in. Thanks to all our Ci: Soundbite subscribers who voted on which brand rivalry they want to see. Click here to download a pdf of the report.

Share the Knowledge: Rolling out The SHIFT Report

Highlighting data from the Apple vs. Microsoft sustainability brand review, Facebookers & Sustainability, speaking engagements in the US & Canada… this newsletter – along with so much of what we are doing right now - is all about sharing our insight and analysis on consumers & sustainability.

We spent the summer working hard to create a series of strategic intelligence tools that give you greater access to the SHIFT Report. As one of our fellow sustainability brand allies at Nau said "From a philosophical point of view, you need to give more companies access to this kind of information". We couldn't agree more. Opening up access to SHIFT is directly in line with Ci's mission: to drive and support the shift to sustainability, by having the best intelligence on it.

As we launch this series of products, stay tuned to our blog for more tidbits that we will share. In the meantime, we’ve created a series of intelligence products for you, from a dip-your-toe in the water SHIFT Query to an annual subscription, as well as access to the Sustainability Passion Index™ (SPI) where you can see the true sustainability segments of the North American population. If you’re still thinking sustainability is just a small group of niche do-gooders, or that sustainability is just ‘green’, think again. The Vocal Globalist makes up 41% of the North American population. Click here for a pdf of an overview of the SPI, including a description of each segment and what size of the market the represent.

If you have a question about where your brand stands in the Sustainable Marketplace, our SHIFT Dive options offer tailored reports by brand (yes, that’s right, we’ve dug into data on a selection of major brands including Toyota, Starbucks, Tostito’s, Method and more) or category.

Thanks to those who shared their thoughts on this new SHIFT Report offering. Your perspective and insights have helped us shape this series of tools. We’ve often struggled with just how much do we share from The SHIFT Report and at what cost. You can download a complete overview of the answer right here.

And if you’re interested in something a little more bespoke, click here for just a sampling of what’s possible.

Facebook users and Sustainability: What’s your motivation?

Understanding what motivates people is not only key to crafting effective brand and communications strategies - obviously, digging into the ‘why’ behind the behavior is a classic account planning tactic - it’s also fundamental in shifting behavior.

In fact ‘why’ is something of an obsession for all of the folks at CI, and - together with Dr. Tom Crompton, author of the WWF’s Report Weathercocks and Signposts: The Environment Movement at a Crossroads – we believe that understanding motivation is crucial to lasting change. Rather than tantalizing their extrinsic desires says Dr. Crompton ‘…groups working for environmental change should be targeting the intrinsic set of values that motivates the public’ (Source: ‘The problem with Big Green’ article by our allies over at Worldchanging)

At Ci, one of the areas we look at is what motivates people to make socially responsible & sustainable lifestyle choices and purchase decisions. There are four key motivations:

- Being personally impacted, or feeling personally connected to the issues
- Feeling a sense of fear and personal responsibility about what will happen if I don’t act
- General concern and wanting to be a better part of society
- What goes around comes around, call it Karma if you like

Inspired by two recent articles, Clive Thomspon’s ‘Brave New World of Digital Intimacy' in the NY Times Sunday Magazine last week, and a Green Marketing Blog on Social Networks.

We got thinking about Social Networkers, and how their motivation to make socially responsible and sustainable choices might compare with the general population. We dug into the SHIFT Report vault and looked at Facebook users, Flickr users and Ideal Bite readers. We choose Facebook, mindful of the fact that it is the icon of social networking brands (See chart below). Interestingly, in terms of prioritization they rank the same as the General Population. However, when you look directly at the figures Facebookers are significantly MORE motivated. NGO’s note: If you haven’t already, start your Facebook group, but avoid Fear tactics - fear is the least important motivator for both Facebookers and the General Population when they are making socially responsible choices.

For information on the methodology for the latest installation to Ci’s SHIFT Report, a 5000 person North American study, please click here.

Back to school, and the speaking engagements!

It’s not only time to pack the kids off to school in the morning, it also happens to be conference season. Over the next couple of months, Ci will be speaking and/ or moderating a panel at the following events:

- Open Dialogue’s 2nd Annual Green Marketing conference. Taking place October 22 & 23, 2008 in Toronto.

- Focalyst Executive Forum: Targetting Boomers & Beyond. Taking place October 22 & 23, 2008 in NYC.

If you happen to be attending, please come find us – we’d be happy to connect.

Ci:Soundbite: Sustainability Brand Review

Jason McCormick — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:44:28 -0700

Share the Knowledge: Rolling out The SHIFT Report

Jason McCormick — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:06:14 -0700

We spent the summer working hard to create a series of strategic intelligence tools that give you greater access to the SHIFT Report. As one of our fellow sustainability brand allies at Nau said "From a philosophical point of view, you need to give more companies access to this kind of information". We couldn't agree more. Opening up access to SHIFT is directly in line with Ci's mission: to drive and support the shift to sustainability, by having the best intelligence on it.

As we launch this series of products, stay tuned to our blog for more tidbits that we will share. In the meantime, we’ve created a series of intelligence products for you, from a dip-your-toe in the water SHIFT Query to an annual subscription, as well as access to the Sustainability Passion Index™ (SPI) where you can see the true sustainability segments of the North American population. If you’re still thinking sustainability is just a small group of niche do-gooders, or that sustainability is just ‘green’, think again. The Vocal Globalist makes up 41% of the North American population. Click here for a pdf of an overview of the SPI, including a description of each segment and what size of the market the represent. If you have a question about where your brand stands in the Sustainable Marketplace, our SHIFT Dive options offer tailored reports by brand (yes, that’s right, we’ve dug into data on a selection of major brands including Toyota, Starbucks, Tostito’s, Method and more) or category.

And if you’re interested in something a little more bespoke, click here for just a sampling of what’s possible.

Back to school, and the speaking engagements!

Jason McCormick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:30 -0700

It’s not only time to pack the kids off to school in the morning, it also happens to be conference season.

Over the next couple of months, Ci will be speaking and/ or moderating a panel at the following events:

- Open Dialogue’s 2nd Annual Green Marketing conference. Taking place October 22 & 23, 2008 in Toronto.

- Focalyst Executive Forum: Targetting Boomers & Beyond. Taking place October 22 & 23, 2008 in NYC.

If you happen to be attending, please come find us – we’d be happy to connect.

Facebook users and Sustainability: What’s your motivation?

Jason McCormick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:47:22 -0700

For information on the methodology for the latest installation to Ci’s SHIFT Report, a 5000 person North American study, please click here.

Motivation for facebookers

Jason McCormick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:40:04 -0700

Facebooker-&-Sust-chart.jpg

Jason McCormick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:38:19 -0700

Sustainability Brand Rivalry Results: Apple vs. Microsoft

Jason McCormick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:42:01 -0700

Social Responsibility: Going Beyond the Minimum

Jason McCormick — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:14:18 -0700

We are not experts on governance, but we certainly know a thing or two about consumers & sustainability.

I read an article the other day… Andrew Winston commenting on what ‘compliance’ means in the contemporary landscape. The gist of the article? Though only a few companies have made green a core business strategy, most business execs appreciate the need to do more than what the government is asking. Major brands such as Walmart & Home Depot are going above and beyond the regulated standards, and they are smart to do so…

Not only are they minimizing the fear and cost of say an expensive product recall (see BPA in baby bottles, phthalates and lead based paints in toys…) they are also going a long way to prove to another important stakeholder – the end user/ consumer – that they are socially responsible.In the latest installment of The SHIFT Report, we presented a list of areas companies could demonstrate their commitment to social responsibility and asked North Americans ‘For you to believe a brand is truly socially responsible, which if the following areas would you want to see responsible action taken by companies whose product or services you buy?’… a massive 70% of the General Population said ‘Exceeding expectations – going a step beyond what is required of companies by the law and by government regulation’.

Say what you like about big corporations (there’s plenty, I’m sure), but you can’t deny that their huge organizational force means they have the power to raise business standards. The real issue hinges on whether they will choose to exercise it.

Did they not read my last blog?

Jason McCormick — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:38:23 -0700

In my last blog I wrote about the fact that Shell had their wrist slapped because of exaggerated claims in their advertising. I netted out on the fact that they really couldn’t afford to alienate an ever-savvy consumer with misleading claims and they would do well to bite the bullet, learn their lesson and move on. Well… looks like they are at it again, and now Shell are being accused of manipulating an independent environmental audit.

Apparently, Shell officials managed to persuade the auditors - AEA Technology - to disperse its findings throughout the report, rather than leaving them in one appendix. While also downplaying experts fears that continuous noise could have a detrimental affect on endangered whales, and questions about whether permits were sought before or after drilling began.

Now I know that your average consumer would rarely get their hands on such a report, let alone have the interest and time to sit down and go through it, but at a time when we are exposed to unprecedented levels of information and advocacy is crucial to a brand’s appeal it makes sense that brands of all sizes (not just those that have messed up in the past!) play a fair and honest game. Remember… today's consumers are looking at all touch points to determine whether a brand is socially responsible or not, AND not just their advertising - HA!

Going Green with Global. Back to school, again.

Jason McCormick — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:52:03 -0700

Going Green with global celebrates it's first anniversary. As with last year, Kierstin kicks off september by sharing three simple tips for parents and kids alike to be a little more conscientious now that the young ones are back to school