Cleantech Partnerships and Collaborations

In cleantech as with most sectors, partnerships and collaborations are vital to drive innovation and move forward. This is particularly true during difficult economic times. This was certainly the case in 2011 and all indications are that it will be even more of an important trend in 2012.

California and Other US Leaders in Cleantech Investments

California is well known for its green orientation and this is borne out in the data for 2011. As the world's eighth-largest economy California has unmatched potential. More than any other state, in California the economy and the environment go hand in hand. Despite challenges, California continues to set the pace for policy, practice and green economic opportunity. A green revolution is unfolding, and California has the public support, technology innovation and history of commitment to sustainability to remain at the leading edge of this revolution. Here is a breakdown of the numbers for the US states leading cleantech investment.

Leading US Cleantech Investment Sectors in 2011 Q3 and Q4

Overall 2011 was a good year for cleantech investments but some sectors fared better than others. According to Ernst & Young in 2011 the Energy Storage segment led cleantech investment in Q3, while the solar sub-segment led in Q4.

VC Investment in US Cleantech in 2011

Overall 2011 was a good year for cleantech in the US but the numbers indicate that there may be a cooling trend in investments for 2012. In 2011 we saw increased investment in green technology compared to 2010, but investment slowed in the fourth quarter.

Consumers Continue to Embrace the Burgeoning Green Market

The market for environmentally-friendly products has never been better and the demand has never been stronger. According to Mintel International,“the green marketplace is one of the fastest growing, most dynamic sectors of the US economy."

The market is huge and getting bigger. In 2007 there were already 36 million Americans spending more than a quarter trillion dollars per year on green products and services. The Chicago Tribune reported that 36 million consumers, or 12 percent of the US population, "happily" embraced the green market in 2007. That same year, the green market was estimated at 230 billion,

The number of Americans who say they “almost always” or “regularly” buy green tripled from 12% in 2007 to 36% in 2008.

Prior to the recession, a survey conducted by Cohn & Wolfe, Landor Associates, and Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, anticipated that consumers would spend an estimated $500 billion in 2008.

When the recession began in 2008, many predicted that green spending would slow, however, according to recent Mintel consumer data and contrary to the expectations of many, consumer interest in green was not diminished by the recession.

Last March, at the height of the recession, four out of five people said they were still buying green products and services, according to a study commissioned by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing. A 2009 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey indicated that 44 percent of Americans have not changed their environmental buying habits as a result of the economy.

In the next ten years sustainable consumer spending could exceed $1 trillion dollars per year. Greentech industries are poised to grow exponentially (Chinese greentech alone is expected to be between $500 billion and $1 trillion annually in the next couple of years).

According to the results of the 2009 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey, roughly 34 percent of American consumers indicated they are more likely to buy environmentally responsible products.

DoubleClick Performics' research indicates that, “When choosing between two similar products, 83 percent of consumers are extremely or very likely to choose the environmentally friendly option. The vast majority of Americans who make online purchases say it is important to them that an online company is environmentally-conscious, including 60 percent who say it is extremely or very important.”

Ethical products are not only doing well, they are outperforming conventional products. Packaged Fact states that, between 2003 and 2008, the ethical products business experienced double-digit annual growth compared with low-single-digit growth in conventional products.

Despite a global recession, the sustainable business movement did not retreat and in the coming years it is destined to grow as it tries to keep pace with the explosive demand for greener products and services.

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STOCK MARKET REVIEW June/July 2009: Making Sense of All the Economic Data

The recovery is being obscured by a daily barrage of mixed reports and conflicting analysis. To provide context for my next post on sustainable investing and to help illustrate the lingering disagreement between the bulls and the bears I have published excerpts of The Green Market's bi-monthly review of the three major stock indices (Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, and the S&P 500) for the period between June 1, 2009 and July 28, 2009.

Some investors are concerned about inflation and higher interest rates. Many are worried that the economy could remain weak for some time.

Most investors seem to be preoccupied with the steady stream of reports coming from authoritative institutions like the Federal Reserve, the Labor Department, the Central Bank, the Commerce Department and The World Bank. But energy futures and new home sales need to be understood alongside stats like unemployment and foreclosures. Jobless claims need to be factored alongside GDP and pending home sales alongside manufacturing data.

An individual piece of data is insufficient in isolation, it needs to be interpreted in context, for example, consumer data must be appreciated as part of an aggregate that includes spending, confidence, income, savings etc.

The effect of economic data is illustrated in the performance of the stock market over the last two months. June began well on the heels of a rally that started in March, however investor hopes were dashed on Wednesday June 3 as stocks retreated due to troubling reports.

Stocks did well on Thursday June 4 with energy, financial and tech shares pushing the market higher and reports indicating declines in the number of individuals seeking unemployment benefits. RBC Capital Markets stated that the worst of the financial crisis is over.

Perhaps most curiously, with the exception of surges on all four Thursdays in June (4, 11, 18, and 25) Wall Street posted mixed results for the entire month.

Early in July it became clear that mixed economic data was dictating the erratic movements of the markets. From July 2 to July 10 a series of reports including job reports, loan delinquencies, and one from the IMF, sent stocks straight back to negative territory.

The consumer confidence report showed an unexpected decline in June and MarketWatch called it an “outright slump in consumer confidence." The markets were up and down all week. On July 3, the last trading day before Independence Day holiday, the much anticipated job report caused the Dow to fall over 200 points and over the course of the week, the Dow finished down 147 points, and the Nasdaq lost 41.

Pre-fourth of July employment numbers continued to reverberate around the markets and between July 6-10, stocks continued to decline for the fourth consecutive week.

On July 13 stocks were up as financial shares boosted the market. The Dow added over 180 points to finish at 8,325 on some good earnings numbers. Wall Street was flat on July 14 but on July 15, stocks surged with the Dow adding an impressive 256 points before ending the day at 8,616. Strong earnings and a positive report from Intel sent stocks soaring during morning trading. Another report showed that industrial companies cut production far less in June than they had in previous months. The Fed also indicated that they now expect that the economy will slide at a slower pace than they had previously forecasted. On July 16 stocks continued to rally, Asian and European markets also ended the day higher.

On July 17, Wall Street went slightly higher adding to the gains for the rest of the week. Construction of new homes and apartments jumped 3.6 percent to the highest level in seven months. Builder permits also rose to 582,000 in June from a revised rate of 562,000. However these positive housing numbers were tempered by mixed earnings numbers.


On July 20 investors continued the previous week's rally on news that the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.7% in June when analysts were only expecting an increase of 0.5%. On July 21 better-than-expected earnings and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continued Wall Street’s positive start to the week as all three major indices ended higher.

On Thursday, July 23 positive earnings results from Google and IBM helped spur the market then on July 24 the Nasdaq declined following some disappointing earnings reports and weak consumer confidence numbers. Although corporate America has done a good job cutting costs, surface reads of earnings reports may be contributing to the rally. For the week of July 20-24 all the major indices posted gains.. However, investors traded with caution in anticipation of the looming stock market "summer slowdown."

On Monday July 27, Wall Street continued its streak from last week, posting significant weekly gains for all three major indices. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed above 9,000 for the first time since January. For the week the Dow had gained almost 350 points and the Nasdaq gained almost 80.

As has been evident of late, investors continue to pay close attention to the most recent economic and earnings reports

On Tuesday and Wednesday (July 28 and 29) two consecutive reports helped to drag stocks down. First investors recoiled in response to a report on consumer confidence then a disappointing durable goods orders report dragged stocks down further even thought the Fed's beige book, showed signs of an economic recovery. Then on Thursday July 30, good earnings numbers and decent economic data turned stocks around after 2 days of losses. The Dow increased to almost 9,200 for the first time since November.

We can anticipate more mixed results and although consumer confidence remains a concern we have ample evidence to believe that the market has reached a turning point and recovery is within view.

In April the stock market had its best month in nine years and the rally that started in March saw the market grow 40%. In the third week of July the Dow and Nasdaq were up a record 11%. Overall, July was one of the best months in years. The Dow added 17 points and is approaching the 9,200 mark and the S&P will likely hit 1,000 very soon.

Even though the $787 billion stimulus package has yet to impact the GDP, we have seen a positive report that indicates a much slower GDP decline. June home sales are at their highest levels for the year and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is now on the road talking about the recovery.

Investors remain cautious, perhaps this is because--as some are suggesting--we are perched on the surface of another rapidly inflating bubble or perhaps investors cannot see the forest through the trees as they try to assimilate the conflicting array of daily reports.

This is the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. As a consequence, the economic data is unavoidably mixed and this is driving the mixed market performances. But eventually investors will realize that despite the near-collapse of the financial system the economy is performing fairly well.

With poor memories and very short time horizons it should come as no surprise that investors remain nervous. However, we would all do well to remember that every crisis has a beginning, middle, and end.
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Next: Investing for a Sustainable Recovery / Solar Stock Review

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Social Media and Sustainability

Social media, also known as user-generated content, is an organic marketing channel and an effective conduit for Green messages. This is the first in a series of four articles designed to help Green small business owners and eco-entrepreneurs leverage the power of social media to communicate their Green offerings.

Social media is defined by Wikipedia as "information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologue (one to many) into dialog (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form [personal and business] relationships."

Social media is about collaboration and information sharing and sustainability is about responsible social and environmental economic development. Despite apparent differences, social media and sustainability are convergent trends that compliment each other.

Even though we are confronted with a global recession, a recent MediaPost report indicates that a majority of consumers remain loyal to Green products. According to "The Conscious Consumer Report" (2009), 67 percent of consumers surveyed agreed with the statement: "Even in tough economic times, it is important to purchase products with social and environmental benefits." Although 66 percent said price is "very important," Fifty-one percent said they were willing to pay more for these products.

The report also indicates that skeptical consumers are actively looking for information that verifies Green claims beyond ads and packaging. The report supports the importance of communicating Green messages through multiple venues, including social media networks. Further, when compared to traditional media like print, social media's digital presence is less harmful to the environment.

According to Rob Reed, a social media and marketing specialist who helps companies to engage stakeholders through the social web, "social media and sustainability present the same set of issues when integrating these new practices into a company’s DNA and core values. The truth is that social media and sustainability can be integrated and adopted at every level."

As Mr Reed explained in an article in 2008, there are many ways that the trends of social media and sustainability intersect as well as align. Together, sustainability and social media are "changing the world for the better."

"Barack Obama has changed political elections forever. Just as Kennedy used televised debates to his advantage in 1960, Obama has used the social web. It’s partly a function of his brand and overwhelming appeal with younger voters, but it’s also a clear sign of the times." As of 2008 several members of Congress were 'tweeting,' including then Vice-Presidential candidate Biden. And President Obama has used a broad range of social media to communicate his vision of a new energy economy that emphasizes renewable energy.

Al Gore is well known for his film "The Inconvenient Truth," he is also co-founder of the socially driven Current.com. This "duality of focus and investment is playing out throughout Silicon Valley and the entire VC community. These are smart bets being made on a smart future that’s both green and social."

By definition, social media has democratized information. "The social web has decentralized the production and distribution of content." Social media puts "control in the hands of people…the people formerly known as the audience"

There are also a diverse range of job opportunities in social media and sustainability that are emerging. Green-collar jobs and new jobs in social media mean new roles and responsibilities in marketing, public relations, and customer service.

"The era of cheap oil has lead to an unsustainable system where it is (was) economically viable to ship goods...all across the globe...With this era coming to an end, the principles of sustainability dictate that we source our food and other goods as close to home as possible...This parallels the decentralization of information that’s been driven by social media and the ability to produce (grow) our own content and to become active participants in media as opposed to passive consumers....The Internet did for communication what cheap oil did for consumer goods. It brought the world seemingly close together."

Social media and sustainability started as grassroots movements. Now sustainability is an increasingly important part of government policy and corporate culture. President Obama's Green vision for America and the sustainable initiatives of companies like Wal-Mart illustrate the convergence of social media and a Green message. For governments and companies alike, social media is an increasingly integral component of their communications efforts.

Social media and sustainability are still relatively new as mainstream trends, and as such, examples of abuse and exploitation abound, but "we look forward to the day when green and social can be taken for granted. When all media is social and all products and energy are green."

Together social media and sustainability have forever changed business, politics, and culture. Social media not only enables people to find one another, it is also a powerful tool enabling business to more effectively target their audience.
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Next: The Power of Social Media & the Importance of Market Segmentation / Small Business Guide to Social Media / Shortening Your Sales Cycle With Social Media / Twitter / Social Media and ROI


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A Sustainable World Order

Green is not a new movement, although buried under a mountain of cynical conspiracy theories, many of the logistics for a sustainable world order have been around for more than a decade.

The current economic hardships serve as a catalyst for change. According to William E. Halal, professor emeritus of science, technology and innovation at George Washington University, "the normal level of social resistance and political stalemate is likely to oppose change. Thus, it may take an occasional environmental collapse, global wars and terrorism, or yet unknown calamities to force the move to global consciousness...Even with the turmoil that is sure to follow, this will mark the serious beginning of a unified global intelligence - a fine web of conscious thought directing life on the planet." [1]

Despite the current Conservative government, Canadians have a proud heritage of environmental leadership. Before the dawn of the 21st century Canadians were actively exploring global interdependence and strategies for greater global cooperation. A cynical article entitled "A New World Agenda," written 10 years ago, follows the work of United Nations reformer, Canadian Maurice Strong. He chaired a task force that revealed that the post-cold war period has "become nothing less than a global experiment in international development." [2] He went on to say, Canada "is in a position to make a unique contribution...by committing itself to be a model of sustainable development...It offers the prospect of uniting Canadians behind a new vision of their own future and a new generation of leadership internationally." [3]

As former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien once said, "We are one world. We in Canada feel this deeply. Responsible international citizenship is one of our proudest shared values. And the place we exercise that responsible citizenship is in multilateral organizations the town hall meetings of the world community." [4]

Here is a condensed summary of Canada's past environmental efforts as the planetary meeting ground and sponsor for major sustainable development events.

- Canada co-sponsored the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (the first Earth Conference) held in Stockholm, Sweden.
-The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), producer of the influential report Our Common Future, convened a special meeting in Ottawa, Ontario in 1986. At this WCED meeting, the idea of a "world conservation bank" was forwarded. The WCED was the key organization promoting the term "sustainable development" in the late 1980's.
-The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer formatted international rules to combat "global warming" and was adopted in Montreal, Quebec.
-The World Environment Energy and Economic Conference (WEEEC) hosted by the Manitoba provincial government and held in Winnipeg in October, 1990. It was attended by over 3000 delegates from around the globe, it's official theme was "Sustainable Development Strategies and the New World Order." [13]
-Canada played an influential role at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Maurice Strong acting as the summit's Secretary-Gerneral.
-The creation of The Earth Council, which is headquartered in Costa Rica. Led by Mr. Strong, The Earth Council [drafted] the global Earth Charter -- a new world-wide Green constitution. [5]

In the words of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, "Canada [was] at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the United Nations is prepared for the challenges of the future." [6] Consider the following quotes from a 1992 meeting of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation.

"We need a unified one world order to replace the collectivity of nation states at the international level. The Euro-American model which now dominates the world systematically disables people, destroys the earth and creates dependency on wage labour." [8]

"In this model, politics loses its left-versus-right conflict and moves instead towards a fundamental concern for the health of the ecosystem...Democracy remains a need within this model, at both local and global levels, but as one part of the whole system. "Participation" becomes more than people's physical presence and deepens to contain a cultural and spiritual dimension...To implement these concepts, we start with bringing the community together and look at the land resources available. We decide how we want the community to evolve and decide who has control of the resources." [9]

Likewise, the following statement from the Canadian federal government to the United Nations contains a similar thread -- a sustainable world order based on complete world management.
"Canada believes the establishment of an international financial and economic system that is conducive to sustainable development must be a cornerstone of efforts to implement Agenda 21. Canada strongly supports efforts to reform international organizations to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the promotion of global sustainable development." [10]

[An] international tax on world monetary transactions, known as the Tobin tax...would be "a feasible part of a new world order and new world vision," as stated by Lorne Nystrom, member of the Canadian House of Commons. [11] "If there were a 0.1% Tobin tax on foreign currency transactions, that would raise, in 1995 dollars, $176 billion U.S. A Tobin tax of 0.003% would be enough money to fund United Nations peacekeeping around the world. One of the consequences would be the establishment of a global village which would have a common good amongst the nations of the world. There would be a strengthening of international organizations. The United Nations would become a meaningful world government. There could be permanent international peacekeeping forces. There are many things that could be done. How would this be implemented? There are a number of ways of doing it. The International Monetary Fund could be reformed to do it or the World Bank could be reformed to do it. [Or we could create] a new international financial agency to administer the Tobin tax. National governments would collect the tax around the world." [12]

The introduction to the WEEEC's final report [contained] the revolutionary concept of Sustainable Development Strategies as the New World Agenda." [14] The forward to the report explained, "sustainable development principles that will affect policies, plans and the direction of programs in the coming years on a global scale." [15]

Chisman and Holbrook further explained the importance of education, "The overall strategy is to design courses so as to prepare for a 'sustainable development' literate society." [17] [Here we are talking about] the concept of sustainable education, [and] the importance of global "values" for education, including "population control and support," "intercultural tolerance," "the transfer of appropriate technology," and "environmental literacy." [18] The WEEEC educational platform [also included a] presentation on creating a "Global Green Constitution," or "a global perestroika," it was explained that this "revolutionary" global green political machine would encompass a form of "human rights." [19]

The concept of framing a global "green" constitution was directly linked to national education contributions aimed at furthering this new world agenda. As explained in the report, uncooperative nations would not be tolerated.

"[G]reen governments will oppose any culture if it proves to be prejudicial by means of gender, age, colour, race, religion, belief, sexual orientation, mental or physical condition, marital status, family composition, source of income, political belief, nationality, language preference or place of origin." [20]

"Eventually, a public referendum would be held in each nation state with the objective of obtaining a simple majority in favour of enshrining a Global Green Constitution....Every nation's government would ultimately be a signator to the Global Green Constitution. Obligation to do so would come from grass roots pressure within democratic societies. Less democratic nations or dictatorships would be brought on side through sanctions." [21]

"The question is how do we achieve binding agreements in Law complete with effective programs for applying sanctions against non-compliance that would oblige each nation, regardless of size, to abide by a set of principles that are required to guarantee the survival of life on this earth. Perhaps we will find that there is no other alternative to a system of rigid controls that some would equate to a police state. Unfortunately, in order to save the planet from biocide, there have to be very powerful constraints from doing the 'wrong' things. The constraints must transcend national boundaries, be world-around and enforceable. There would be a need for an agency for preventing eco-vandals from acting unilaterally. Enforcement agencies would need the power to act without being invited by the offending nation. Therefore, there needs to be an agency that is acceptable to all nation states on the planet. We can probably accept the fact that there will always be one or more nations that will not go along but there must be effective sanctions in place. If sanctions do not work, then physical occupation and the installation of a World Trusteeship would be imposed upon the offending nations." [22]

As former Prime Minister Jean Chretian said, the United Nations is "the centre piece of Canadian foreign policy." [23] However the author of worries "that this foreign policy, this promotion of "global order," is taking North America down the fast track to international socialism. Hidden under the guise of sustainable development, our two nations are trading freedom for a draconian world agenda."

The idea of a world government animates the ghosts of the cold war and inspires the conspiratorial musings of anarchists. But these sinister allegations should be taken as seriously as a man in a monkey suit passing for Sasquatch. That is not to say that we can afford to leave our democracies to our elected officials, quite the contrary, we need to be ever vigilant, for where there is power, there is also room for corruption. But the pressing need for international cooperation demands that we develop frameworks within which we can assume our respective environmental and social responsibilities.

As British PM Gordon Brown said, “This crisis demonstrates beyond doubt that a global capital market requires much stronger global cooperation and supervision. And we need to ensure that we have an effective global early warning system to alert us across continents to economic and financial risk.” [24]

Recession and global warming are the defining crises of our time and these issues are powerful justifications for a system of world governance. As stated by Halal, "Some new form of global order is needed to avert disaster." A sustainable world order is a pragmatic corollary of our efforts to manage the global environment.[25]

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Endnotes

1. William E. Halal, Emerging Technologies and the Global Crisis of Maturity

2. International Development Research and Policy Task Force, Connecting With The World, p.15.

3. Maurice Strong, Beyond Rio: A New Role For Canada (External Affairs and International Trade Canada, November 10, 1992), p. 20.

4. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Opening Statement by Jean Chrétien to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, (Speech at Auckland, New Zealand, November 10, 1995)

5. International Development Research and Policy Task Force, Connecting With The World, p.39.

6. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Inauguration Diner for the Lester B. Pearson Chair of International Relations, (Speech at Oxford University, February 22, 1996).

7. These points were taken from a private report by Carl Teichrib titled, Charting The Sustainable Society: Agendas for Creating a New Global Future.

8. James Robertson, "Toward a New Economic Paradigm," Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Sustainability: From Vision to Reality (Ottawa, ON: Canadian Council for International Co-operation, February 1992), pp. 5-6.

9. Maximo Kalaw, "A Community-based Model of Sustainable Development," Canadian Council for International Co-operation, Sustainability: FromVision to Reality, p. 8.

10. Government of Canada, Report of Canada to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 1996), p. 25.

11. Hon. Lorne Nystrom, "Tax on Financial Transactions," (Private Members' Business) Edited Hansard - Number 144, Wednesday, October 28, 1998, Canadian Federal Government House of Commons, p. 1735.

12.Ibid., p. 1745.

13.Colin N. Power (UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education), "Preface," John E. Penick and John R. Stiles (editors), Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda (A STAM/CASE/ICASE Publication, Proceedings of the World Environment Energy and Economic Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 17-20, 1990) ISBN 962-7532-01-3.

14. Robert Lepischak, "Introduction: Sustainable Development Strategies...The New World Agenda," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. viii.

15.Evhan Uzwyshyn, "Forward: Principles of Sustainable Development," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. v. 16.Dennis Chisman and Jack Holbrook, "The Future Direction of Sustainable Development in the Curriculum," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. 237.

17. Ibid., p. 234.

18.Ibid., p. 235.

19.Jim Bohlen, "Towards A Global Green Constitution," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. 10.

20.Ibid., p. 11.

21.Ibid., p. 16.

22.Ibid., p. 15.

23.Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, National Forum on Canada's International Relations (Speech in Toronto, ON, September 11, 1995).

24. Gordon Brown, Speech on the Global Economy, October 13, 2008

25. William E. Halal, March-April 2009 edition of The Futurist.

Making Mobile Marketing Work for Your Business: Interactive Digital Marketing For the Young and the Not So Young

New media is enabling marketers to target a wide-ranging group of highly interactive and motivated consumers. This is the first in a series of seven posts on mobile marketing. This post reviews some of the key features of the digital environment that are fueling mobile's growth.

As reported in a recent Adage article, "Interactive- and digital-marketing budgets have experienced a healthy increase. The first quarterly Epsilon CMO Survey reveals that nearly two-thirds of chief marketing officers said their interactive/digital marketing budgets have increased in the past year, while 60% have seen their traditional advertising budgets go south. The findings reflect marketers' growing need to better target their campaigns, according to Steve Cone, CMO of Epsilon. The results show that because of the economy, companies are really trying to identify the consumers that are very active in communicating with each other through social computing, blogging or podcasting. The more popular interactive and digital channels that marketers said they are keen to start experimenting with are social computing (42%), which includes word-of-mouth, social-networking sites and viral advertising; blogs (35%); podcasting (31%); and mobile devices (29%), which include phones and PDAs. The study found that some marketers have already started incorporating these tactics, with 19% of respondents already using blogs, 18% making use of podcasting and 22% using mobile devices as part of their marketing mixes. Blogging is a major activity among a relatively educated, affluent and not-as-young-as-you-would-imagine age group. And when you're talking about podcasting and mobile devices, that's a younger demographic. Marketers are trying to target the broadest age range of consumers, and that's reflected in how these break down from top to bottom. You can find hundreds of thousands of people who are really active in these areas, and they are going to be extremely receptive to offers of relevance. The study also revealed that CMOs are relying on analytics, CRM techniques and other measurable marketing strategies when determining who they want to go after."

Of all digital media, mobile is the channel that is growing most rapidly. As reported in Mobile Marketer "It’s no exaggeration to say that mobile advertising is about to revolutionize the way that marketers reach out to consumers for branding or customer acquisition or customer retention purposes. A well-targeted mobile ad campaign will strengthen bonds between brand and consumer." Mobile Web usage was up 29.4 percent from the first quarter of this year to the second. There are many reasons why Mobile marketing is destined to keep growing including the fact that mobile is a less expensive, targeted channel in an uncluttered medium.

As reported in a recent Mobile Marketer article, "A common theme voiced by mobile marketers is that to get high response rates from young consumers, they have to issue a simple, [clear]direct call-to-action that is tied to an appealing incentive and with the need to be informed that they have the ability to opt out at any time. The call-to-action must [offer] a direct incentive that is related to some type of prize or reward. The messaging of the campaign should be very straightforward and feed control to the respondent."

While the youth demographic may be the most receptive to mobile campaigns, other groups are catching on quickly. According to Dan Miller, the executive vice president of Neighborhood America. “Mobile phones are the one common device that we have with us all the time, and the youth demographic is key, but its appeal is extending across all demographics. Over time, mobile is appealing to broader and broader demographics, from older people and high-end, high net worth all the way down to blue-collar workers—the complete socio-economic spectrum...”

Digital marketing is tapping into new communication trends. In this downturn, the metrics that come with digital tactics are crucial and a significant reason why this demand is increasing. The way you approach the call to action is also important, particularly with younger audiences. However, as noted above, interactive digital's base is not exclusive to the young as it is growing accross many age demographics. In the digital marketing milieu, mobile is emerging as the hottest commodity in the expanding digital marketing universe.

Next: Understanding the Differences Between Mobile and Online Marketing / Research Your Target / Presentation Tips / Design Tips / Applications and Video / Key Success Factors

Digital Marketing Will Thrive in a Downturn

Digital marketing is poised to grow during this downturn. Although the marketing world has been hit hard, as reviewed in a recent Convince & Convert article some marketing channels will thrive in this environment. During the last recession, online advertising, plummeted 27% over two years. But according to the author, this time will be different. "Not only will online marketing survive, it may actually thrive during the lean times, continuing its inexorable theft of ad spend from traditional media tactics. Online is far more mature and proven now"

There are several reasons that account for digital marketings viability in a downturn. Online does not require a long term commitment and it is typically less expensive than an offline campaign. The predictable shift in a downturn is to focus on expanding sales with existing customers and email is the perfect vehicle for this group. Reduced marketing dollars can be focused on likely prospects rather than wasted on the disinterested. When compared to traditional tactics, online marketing offers superior measurability and trackability.

Next: The Growth of Mobile / Making Mobile Marketing Work For Your Business