Archive for July, 2009

Some hired gun PR type emailed me a provocative and potty-mouthed pitch a few days back. I’m blogging about it so I guess he gets what he wants. You’ll probably post comments about this, so I’ll get what I want. But what about the client, a worthy-seeming charity that wants to improve sanitation in the developing world. Does this kind of environmental writing win people over to their cause? Here’s an …um… juicy excerpt:

Let’s talk shit. As a water blogger, you already know how important sanitation is to the world’s poorest places. But you also know that, with a plethora of worthy causes out there, it’s not easy to get people talking about this, well, nasty subject. That’s why we’re stepping in it.

The puns and potty humor keeps right on rolling for several paragraphs (click here to read the whole email). But the point of the whole thing is that TwitterforSh-tters.com is a grassroots social media campaign to raise awarenss and money for Wherever the Need.

As a message man, I’m not sure what to make of this. I do know that sometimes humorous environmental advertising and messages are well received out there. I’m certainly not offended myself — I appreciate what they’re trying to do. But, I see they’ve only raised $1250, and the PR firm probably cost a lot more than that.

There is basically nothing in my environmental poll, survey, and market research collection that speaks to whether humor generally or potty humor particularly is effective.

So what do you think? Is this effort daring and edgy? Or clumsy and tasteless?

Would you let somebody raise environmental awareness about your organization and its work with this kind of approach?

Blog subscribers got sprayed yesterday with a random list of my upcoming workshops and presentations. My apologies! I’m upgrading the software and some plugins (accessories) and somewhere along the way, something went a little haywire. Never fear, I found a crack coder to solve the problem.

The Chesapeake Bay Program, a multi-agency partnership working to protect and restore the nation’s largest estuary, has openings for two entry level staff in its communications operation.

Communications Staffer. The Communications Office supports efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay by providing information to the public, working with the media, branding and promoting the Chesapeake Bay Program, and facilitating communications between state and federal agencies. Special emphasis is placed on using multimedia content and online tools in the office’s daily work.

The ideal candidate for the vacancy has a Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, marketing, or other relevant area of study. Individuals possessing a degree in natural or environmental sciences and/or management with an interest in environmental communications are also encouraged to apply.

Click the link to learn more about the environmental communications opening at CBP.

Multimedia Specialist. Can you use a video camera and produce short segments to educate and engage people? Have you produced podcasts and managed audio files? Are you familiar with pushing multimedia content out through online sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Facebook? Do you have graphic design skills?

If so, the Chesapeake Bay Program is hiring a Multimedia Specialist to produce and manage a variety of content. Candidates should have one to two years of experience in video and podcast production, online content distribution and graphic design. The ability to use cameras, microphones and programs such as iMovie, Final Cut, GarageBand and Photoshop is preferred. Applicants should be highly organized, exceptionally creative, savvy with technology and self-motivated, as well as have a strong interest in environmental issues. This is a great opportunity for recent college graduates who have hands-on experience working with multimedia hardware and software.

For this environmental communications position, lease email a resume, work samples and salary requirements to Travis Loop by Friday, August 7.

What an honor it was to deliver the opening keynote for the Izaak Walton League’s annual convention and help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Save Our Streams!

As promised, you can click the link to download a copy of my environmental communications presentation.

If you are interested in exploring the topic in a more practical and hands on way, I’d direct you to the four-step Water Words That Work method. It provides handy guidelines and tips for how to use words and pictures to catch people’s attention, make the right first impression, and lead them towards that first step for nature protection and pollution control.

Good luck to you all!