Erin’s Blog

The color of the year is green.  Everyone is going green.  Celebrities are constantly promoting the idea of going green.  Even Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States has joined in on the newest trend.  But, sadly, it takes more than just a few people to change the ideas and lifestyles of the rest of the world.  Many companies are starting to step in and help out with the environmental crisis that the United States has been facing.

Clorox Companies, Brita has been a long time partner of the green movement.  Brita’s first campaign was “FilterForGood” was launched a year ago. This campaign was begun to stress sustainability and publicize the need to reduce bottled water waste.  This campaign was a campaign for the general audience.

While some companies would think one campaign would be sufficient, Brita disagrees.  They have recently launched a new campaign on college campuses.  They have begun to focus on one group of people who really may be able to make a difference, the students.  The “College FilterForGood Eco-Challenge” was started as a more meticulous version of the “FilterForGood” campaign.  Under this campaign, Brita will present five college students with $10,000 grants for projects that could make the winning students campus more eco-friendly.

Students are finally getting the respect we deserve.  We are the generation that has the potential to really change the state of the environment.  We are the people who might be able to truly make a difference.

It was an ingenious idea for Clorox and Brita to finally realize who they needed to target.  The general audience may change one or two things about their life, but a student can reform an entire campus.  Any changes that students make on their campuses will stick for years to come.

Brita is also using a clever method to attract these eager college students, Facebook.  Facebook is almost every college student’s connection to the world.  Brita recognized the popularity and have made a Facebook profile for their company.  They have begun to integrate their “Eco-Challenge” and will send alerts for proposal requests.

It’s almost shocking to me that businesses realize the importance of Facebook to students around the country.  These companies are catching onto a trend, and using it to their advantage.  It is inspired public relations, most likely recognized by the younger working generation.

While the success of this campaign can not be measured by real results they plan to measure success by the number of applications received.  Their campaign will not be entirely finished until they have seen the outcomes of the winning students’ projects.  Their money is going to a great cause, and these innovative ideas will help the five winner’s campuses.  Hopefully, the effects won’t stop there.  Most likely, campuses around the country will begin to adopt these eco-friendly ideas as their own and the trend will spread rapidly.

One student could potentially change the outlook of campuses around the world.  If Brita thinks that one student can make an entire campus change, just think about what a student body has the potential to do.  Students are a great supply to tap into and it’s nice to finally get some appreciation from big, successful companies.

I have finally found a reason to shop at Wal-Mart other than they are easy, cheap, and the first place that comes to mind.  Although many people blame Wal-Mart for killing small businesses and almost monopolizing on the market, Wal-Mart has taken the high road and began giving back to the community.

In the wake of this year’s hurricanes (Ike and Gustav), The Wal-Mart Foundation has become one of several companies to come to the aid of those in need.  Wal-Mart has pledged to give money to the relief efforts. They have given $2.5 million to the cause through both monetary donations and merchandise.  The donations will be divided amongst several organizations including The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and Feeding America.  It will also provide money to funds such as The Texas Disaster Relief Fund and Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

While this is not the first relief effort that Wal-Mart has been a part of, it is an important one to note. Wal-Mart is trying to give back to a community that gives so much to them.  By aiding in relief efforts, they are showing their customers and the public that they care.  In turn, the customer will feel as if they are giving their money to a worthy cause and will continue to shop at Wal-Mart stores.

As one of the top companies in the United States, many people would see this donation as an obligation of the company because of it’s success.  However, in reality Wal-Mart does not have to provide any help, they are choosing to help.  Wal-Mart has seen that through their giving back they have continued on a path of high profit.  They have found that by letting the people know that they care, the people in turn reciprocate.

But the question has to be asked; will people get the wrong idea? What is Wal-Mart doing to ensure that people see them a helpful company and not as a company who is merely trying to increase their profits? What can Wal-mart do to show the public that they are helping because they have the means in which to help?  It is important for them to keep their publics positive because should people begin to take Wal-Mart’s donation as a ploy to increase profit, their sales may fall instead.

It’s a sad fact of life that people always will think more negatively than positively.  People want to see the bad in people and rarely find the good.  Wal-Mart must ensure the public in some way that they are not in this for the money, that they truly do care about the victims.  If they can’t prove that they are donating money with no intention of being reciprocated their overall reputation may be at risk.

So, was Wal-Mart’s donation a good donation?  I believe it was.  They now that they can help and they will. Had they not helped, those victims may not have had adequate food or water.  If nothing else, the victims will forever be grateful for the donations, the companies they donated too will be grateful, and the public will be grateful.  These disasters could happen anywhere, but Wal-Mart is doing its part to lighten the effects.

When the word “organic” is said what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Some would say natural and healthy while others might think that the idea of organic is just a ploy.  Organic foods are a trend that many Americans have embraced and stuck with.  The environmental dangers that our country has encountered have caused a mass amount of change amongst people of all ages, races and political backgrounds.

As organic becomes more popular different types of foods and products are being to produced to meet the demand of the environmental concerned consumer. There are now organic vegetables, fruits, dairy products, cleaning products, and more.  All products are made to help our environment as well as help the health of consumers.   While I am not strictly organic, I have taken an interest in the idea of organic therefore when I saw the September 8 article on PRnewswire, I was instantly interested.

The article stated that Sterling Vineyards, a well known Napa winery, has started to do their part to change the environmental problems.  To start, they have announced the release of wines made from organic grapes.  They will be releasing two types the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and 2007 Chardonnay this month.  While Sterling Vineyard is no stranger to environmental change, the release of these wines is their first consumer based campaign to bring in more customers who have “gone organic.”

The important part of the story is not that they released the wine, but more importantly that they recognized that they too could be a part of such a popular movement. By just finding the way to produce a wine organically they have already increased the possible consumers available as well as increasing their possible financial gain in the future.  Sterling Wines have used a great opportunity to further their business and cause an impact on the wine industry.

To further their promise of environmental sustainability, they are a member of the new group 1% Percent for the Planet.  This group is an association of various businesses that contribute 1% of their yearly net revenues to different environmental organizations. While 1% doesn’t seem like much, Sterling Wines have already donated close to $50,000 to the cause.

Sterling Wines is working to change the lives of people from the inside out. They have changed the way that they produce their wines to cut down on the use of water and energy while also reducing waste.  After correcting their own problems and flaws, they turned to the public.  The publicized their changes and marketed their new products.

Sterling Wines have made their ideals popular amongst consumers, other businesses, and to the public relations world.  They are embracing the idea of public relations and making it work for them.  It is important for businesses to truly value our industry and the things that we can do for them.  It only takes one business to start a trend amongst others and I bet within a year or two most every winery will be releasing organic wines and following Sterling Wines noble lead.

As the 2008 elections roll on the same question arises, is the media too involved? Where do we draw the line? As the Internet becomes more popular, and more people are aware of what is going on in our world, the media seems to just rise to that occasion. However, have they gone too far? Have they gone past newsworthiness of stories and just focused on what will be best to sell the story regardless of the truth or depth of information that they have?

Vicious rumors regarding both parties have surfaced since day one of the elections. Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, Barack Obama is a Muslim, and most recently Sarah Palin’s newborn is really her daughter’s child. Various media outlets have embraced these rumors and fed them to eager readers. But have they forgotten one of the reasons to write a story, newsworthiness. Are these rumors considered newsworthy? Do any of the rumors have facts backing up the claims? Sadly, many readers seem to cling to the lies and use them as arguments against a particular party. Even after the Obama rumor was dispelled, people still refused to believe it. The media knows that people are easy to persuade and they have begun to use that weakness against us.

Most would say it is just politics; it has always been this dirty. The media always attacks the candidates to ensure that the public is informed. This should continue, the media should bring out the positives and the negatives of every candidate. They should let the public know the things that the candidates say and do that may affect their ability to be effective in office. They should keep the public informed of voting discrepancies and wavering views, but there needs to be a line.

Obama said “Let me be as clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits and people’s children are especially off limits.” Palin’s daughter Bristol should never have been the headline story. While her news is important to the readers and should be given to the voters, her story should not have been more popular than the actual campaign. A candidate’s family should not be a big topic in an election. Their families are not going to potential mayors, governors, senators, vice presidents, or presidents. The candidate needs to be the focal point in discussion, not an afterthought.

The over abundance of these scandal-like stories seems to be more prevalent than it ever was before. Some of the media outlets have become caught up in the hype and interest of gossip columns and forgotten that while the gossip is popular, it may not always be what the readers need to know. It is an internal problem within the various media outlets that needs to be addressed. Our country is in need of the best person to take over as president. American’s need someone who can truly address all of the issues and solve our nations problems. Voters need to be informed and able to make an educated decision on the candidates. Is dragging a candidate’s family through the mud going to ensure this? Is attacking a person based on a false religion going to do this? State the facts, report the news, and don’t drag out a story that isn’t relevant to the issues.