Let me be the first to state that I am a big user of computers, email, cell phones, Internet, and all new technology for that matter.  In fact, I love what is going on.  First Edge Solutions is playing in each of those spaces and helping clients with the cross media platform and driving positive results.  

Certainly each channel has it’s place in today’s world of multi-channel marketing…along with your printed communications.  My one major concern is the potential misinformation of print hurting the environment.  Why for example do people say, save a tree don’t print this? 

Let me just offer some interesting quick facts to think about:

1. Reading a newspaper online for 30 minutes or more is harder on the environment than reading a printed newspaper for 30 minutes. 
2. Remember all computers, cell phones, and electronic devices need to get powered somehow…Where does all of that energy come from?
3. Google consumes more energy in one day than all of Las Vegas. 
4. Remember that for every tree cut down, 3-4 trees are replanted in it’s place…print is an absolutely sustainable, renewable resource!!

Here is an interesting read from a friend of mine, Heidi Tolliver-Nigro, in the DM world:

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro • It’s not just about being recyclable. It’s about deforestation. From stats I’ve read, do you know what the largest contributor to deforestation is? Agriculture! There is an advocacy group that makes an interesting point — when we see logging, our hearts recoil. When we see farmland, we think it’s beautiful. Yet logged areas re-grow, while forests turned to farmland remain deforested. So if we reduce the demand for printed products, what does this do to the commercial interesting MAINTAINING forestland? It’s an interesting question. I wrote a post on this for The Inspired Economist just this week:

http://inspiredeconomist.com/2010/07/22/quick-define-deforestation/ 

———————————————————————————–

The bottom line is that we all have a lot of work to do to help our environment long-term.  There is no reason for print to be considered environmentally bad if, in fact, that is not the case.   As it can be a very emotional subject, we must be careful to make accurate statements and draw appropriate conclusions…We all have too much at stake! 

I have written and blogged numerous times regarding the world of Cross Media Marketing and/or Multi-Channel Marketing.  We have just delivered a product to the market in the last month that will be taking that concept to a whole new level!!

Please allow me to paint a picture for you.  Currently, by and large, a Fortune 500 retailer gains a new customer through direct mail and other traditional marketing methods, radio, TV, etc.  Great, congratulations, they gained one new customer.  However, the real art is in making them become a brand ambassador/loyal shopper so you can calculate and maximize their lifetime value thus driving a higher ROI per customer.  So what is the retailer doing to keep the conversation going?  How can they help each of their customers feel like they have a local presence, voice, and know they are actually cared about?  Our product Meet-MeMe is a social media aggregator trading card printed and tradeable on-line at www.meet-meme.com and has major areas in which it can make a HUGE impact:

How it all began: 

Meet-Meme was launched at unGeeked (the SxSW of the Midwest), a digital and social media conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The idea behind the cards (and soon the full online experience) is that your trusted online connections can be met offline. The Meet-Meme cards are a tool that aggregates personal online networks to use for offline experiences and interactions, that then return you back online to continue the conversation with new contacts.

The Meet-Meme cards can be a replacement for business cards or moreover in addition to because they are traded with people you know, you like, and you trust.  Please click on the link below to see our recent spot on Fox.

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100617-social-media-cards,0,3313602.story 

We have received incredible feedback from CMO’s and CEO’s of Global Brands already as they see the immediate impact this can have with their customers as each day more people are tweeting, facebooking, getting LinkedIn, etc.

I look forward to everyone’s comments and questions…We have already had many from across the country pouring in and we know many more will be coming.  This is an exciting and a perfect tool to utitlize Social Media the correct way to help corporations grow market share and improve ROI!