What Is Your Business Doing For Earth Day?

How To Increase Sales During Earth Week

Earth Day, on April 22, is quickly approaching, and this year we will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. Many companies are already ramping up their marketing – and sales – efforts on the light of this remarkable holiday. What is your business doing for Earth Day? Here are some quick tips on how you can leverage this celebratory day and generate more business.

First you need to define the goals for your campaign. What do you want to achieve? Word-of-mouth and brand awareness? Increase sales of a specific product? Launch a new line? Get rid of old stock? Boost media mentions? You need to define the goals for your Earth Day marketing campaign in order to be able to measure its success.

Once you have defined your campaign’s goals, you need to identify your target audience. Do you want to speak to already eco-minded clients, or are you looking to increase awareness towards green lifestyles? This step will help you pinpoint which media you will want to use for your Earth Day marketing campaign.

The last step is to define timelines. Do you want the campaign to run just during Earth Day or for a whole week? Perhaps for the whole month?

Here are some ideas that will help your business succeed during Earth Week:

1. Start an online campaign

Everyone is online nowadays, and online marketing campaigns are an effective and affordable way to get the word out on your business. Because everything that you do online is measurable, you can also easily calculate the return-on-investment (ROI) of your Earth Day marketing campaign. You can also develop a specific webpage for your Earth Day marketing campaign and power it up with a PPC ad campaign.

2. Go viral

Everyone is already talking about Earth Day. Why not give them something to talk about your brand as well? Use social media tools to get your message out. Videos are also powerful tools to increase buzz; have you considered doing a fun video on how you’re celebrating Earth Day? There are many video production companies that can help you. A great local company is Gloo Studios.

3. Give away something memorable

If you’re a product-based company, you’re probably having issues with overstock. Why not do something interesting with it? If you already have a sustainable product line, this campaign is an easy fit. If you don’t, distribute your overstock among non-profits and NGOs that promote the environment. Keep in mind that your products must be relevant to those organizations… if not, your actions will backfire.

4. Volunteer with a local association connected with the eco movement

There’s always something you can do to help the environment. Volunteering not only increases your community’s good will towards your company, it also boosts brand awareness. And don’t underestimate the quality of the contacts you make when volunteering. You can then tie-up your volunteer experience with a soft communications campaign, promoting your acts and challenging other associations to make a difference as well.

5. Organize a green event

You can go for the gold and organize a colossal event that spells sustainability. This will definitely get your name on the media and increase the buzz around your brand. There are many sustainable event management organizations out there that can help you. In the meantime, read our green event tips.

Here are some of the campaigns that made a hit during last year’s Earth Week:

Grist: We’re Screwed!
PBS: Share the Earth
Levi’s: Saving Nature with WWF

Find more resources on Earth Day on The Earth Day Network.

Recommended reading:
What are the top three ways to make an event eco-friendly?
5 tips on how to successfully market your green business
Green: the new status symbol?