Deep Green

Acart is in full prep mode today, getting ready to host a conference on the future of environmental marketing in Canada.

Green is the new black — or so most marketers would have you believe. Everywhere you look, traditional products, services and brands are touting their environmental responsibility.

But what does it mean to be “green”? Is this a real shift of consumer perception and attitude, or just one more trend? Getting to the bottom of the green movement is the purpose of “Deep Green”, the 47th annual conference of the Trans-Canada Advertising Agency Network (T-CAAN).

T-CAAN is a team of leading ad agencies in Canada who pledge to work together and share information to give their clients a more complete national reach and insight. With a unique presence in every significant market across Canada, we believe we're "closer to the customer" than international firms with only big city presence.

Starting tonight, and into the weekend, agency heads from across Canada will gather in Ottawa to discuss and explore every aspect of environmental responsibility in marketing, in an effort to develop truly meaningful environmental messages and programs. The goal is to avoid the trap of “greenwashing” (using environmentalism as nothing more than a veneer on the same old way of doing business) and to help clients take a leadership position in preparing the way for real societal change.

Al Albania, our agency President, is serving an annual term as President of T-CAAN, a responsibility which includes hosting the annual conference. He saw that the opportunity to gather such a large advertising brain trust in the Nation’s Capital to show leadership in environmental marketing was too good to miss.

In addition to member presentations and discussions, Deep Green will host guest speakers representing thought leaders in environmental responsibility marketing, such as TerraChoice and Frank Palmer, CEO of DDB Canada, who is also Chair of T-CAAN.

I'll be blogging Deep Green for the rest of the week, so stay tuned!