Environmentalists Hit Facebook CEO's Advocacy Ads

When corporate leaders decide to take public political stands, they sometimes are surprised by the "blowback" for their brand. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder and CEO, may soon find that out with his new advocacy group Fwd.us. Created in April,  Fwd.us promotes policies designed to keep the United States and its citizens competitive in a global economy, including comprehensive immigration and education reform. But the organization also recently paid for television ads that supported two conservative politicians seeking expansion of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, drawing criticism from progressive and environmental groups and even a small group of protesters at Facebook's California headquarters. The goal was to back the politicians, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, in exchange for their support of immigration reform, but the environmental groups didn't see it that way. "The advertising, including the harsh and immediate counterattack from the climate change community, underscores the complexity of publicly traded companies and their CEOs frontally engaging in candidate campaigns," Democratic strategist Chris Lehane told the Los Angeles Times in a recent story. "Politics is a full-contact sport and when a company jumps into the arena, even if just through the actions of its leadership, it opens up the political brand of that company." See the full news story at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-facebook-zuckerberg-20130502,0,5421214.story

'Green' Myths Distort Marketing Best Practices

Eco-friendly "green marketing" is one of the socially responsible standards embraced by some nonprofit and political campaigns, yet many unknowingly may subscribe to myths that do not achieve, and even harm, their goal of environmentally friendly communications. In a recent "Target Marketing" blog guest article, Adam Freedgood, chair of the Direct Marketing Association's Committee on the Environment and Social Responsibility, sought to debunk a few costly and unproductive green marketing myths. For example, the notion that "paperless" digital marketing is better for the environment than print-based media is unproven and ignores facts like this: Most electronic digital devices are made of toxic heavy metals and petroleum-based plastics and are too toxic for landfills, yet a mere 15% of the tons of e-waste produced each year is safely recycled. And what about the massive energy demands of fossil-fuel-powered data centers and the air pollution created? For more mythbusting, see the full article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/channel/marketing-sustainably