Green Thoughts

Clients beware...tis the season for rip-offs

It’s that time of year again when every company, organization, and individual suddenly becoming incredibly environmentally conscious. When we all clamor to outdo each other to openly express the shrinking size of our carbon footprint…as well as the use of little understood scientific cliché's like “carbon footprint” and “global warming.”  When ironically more trees are sacrificed to the press release gods than any time except for financial earnings announcements…or mea culpa’s for stupid decisions or the cover up of same.

It’s also the time when the media…national and local…develop their own environmental consciousness through increased editorial coverage of this annual rite. Unfortunately it’s also the time when various rip-off artists disguised as PR professionals decide to prey upon these same companies with “special limited time offers” and promises of inclusion in their “Earth Day Campaigns” for a sizable fee, of course.  Campaigns they state, that will reach the likes of “Good Morning America, Today Show, New York Times, Elle.com…as well as Ellen DeGeneres, and Martha Stewart and Extra TV.”  What of course isn’t stated (other than “your company or product line will be included on one release with other eco-friendly, but non-competing products”) is any guarantee that any of these outlets will even bother to pick out or care about this press release amongst the thousands they are about to receive in the name of being “eco-friendly.”  Better to use the funds…usually anywhere from $500 to $5,000…to make a contribution to any number of legitimate environmental organizations, then write it off on your taxes and feel privately good about the act.

But if you’ve got a genuine story about impacting the environment in a positive manner, have a legitimate PR firm take it to specific media outlets that will determine if it’s newsworthy…and hopefully use it. The media is inundated this time of year with “green pitches”…most of which come from over-hyped print and electronic press releases extolling their green side. An individual would have a greater chance of winning the lottery than a company would of gaining valued media recognition through a “shared campaign” con.





There is no short-cut, nor cut rate way to media coverage, but you just might actually save a tree this Earth Day…and get some coverage with the right decision.