Branding Tools, Guidelines & Frameworks

The New PR

The principles of sustainability are changing the way companies communicate. At the same time stakeholders are becoming increasingly skeptical of the messages companies are sending. This guide, from marketing expert John Friedman offers five successful keys to unlock the full potential of your sustainability program by replacing "spin" with transparency. Download now (PDF)...

Tags:

CSR Europe's Guide to Sustainable Marketing

Written by practitioners, for practitioners, this free guide presents the business case for sustainable marketing, including the latest market data and inspirational examples from companies that are proving that sustainability is good for business as well as the conscience. The guide's Sustainable Marketing Toolkit contains the tools and techniques which will help put it all into practice, such as checklists and decision trees. (CSR Europe) Order now...

The Green 15: Benchmarking Environmental Progress

The Direct Marketing Association lays out 15 baseline practices for environmental responsibility in direct marketing. Download now (PDF)...

The Greenwash Guide

How to spot - and avoid - greenwash? This guide analyzes the current state of greenwash and what’s being done about it. Find guidelines for companies and agencies on how to prevent greenwash, and a "spotters guide" for consumers to help avoid it. (Futerra) Download now (PDF)...

Eco-Promising: How to Communicate Credibly About Your Products

This concise report provides an invaluable how-to guide and examples for companies wanting to make environmental claims about their products and services. The report also reviews the history of eco-promising and highlights the challenges facing companies in communicating their efforts – including the rising possibility of a consumer backlash due to confusion. (Business for Social Responsibility and Forum for the Future) Download now (PDF)...

Give Them Something to Believe In: The Value of Brand Culture

A brand, argues this whitepaper, is essentially a meaning-making system which generates and embodies a sustainable set of values which are embraced by its target audience. The real question people are asking of a brand is, what do you stand for? In the best-case scenario, the answer to this question compels people to want to join that brand’s culture. Here's how embracing "brand culture" can help strengthen your green-marketing message. (ID Branding) Download now (PDF)...

Greenwashing: A Perfect Storm

How do you go green without greenwashing? This white paper examines the heightened skepticism of green marketing and offers strategies to help businesses reap the rewards and minimize the risks as they map out their corporate sustainability message. (Bite Communications) Download now (PDF)...

Conscious Consumers in a Nutshell

Consulting firm Earth Advertising surveys the landscape of research reports to help you get the real dirt on consumer data. The report is intended to supplement the experience of industry professionals who attend branding conferences religiously, but might miss that one kernel of wisdom that can make the difference. (Earth Advertising) Download now (PDF)...

How to Back Up Your Carbon Offset Marketing Claims

This primer, published in the December 2007 issue of The Antitrust Source, takes a clear-eyed look at marketers' responsibilities in substantiating their carbon offset claims. Written by lawyers Randal Shaheen, Amy Ralph Mudge, and Matthew Shultz, the article applies the FTC's current guidelines (now under review) to the question of how best and most effectively to communicate your company's efforts toward carbon neutrality. A must-read in today's increasingly climate-savvy marketplace. (The Antitrust Source) Download now...

FTC Guidelines for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission offers this guide to the legal use of environmental marketing statements under Section 5 of the FTC Act to environmental advertising and marketing practices. Dry but required reading for marketers whose company is about to make a media play based on environmental claims. Have you done your homework? Read now...