I had an interesting travel experience last week. As I was leaving Columbus the local paper, The Columbus Dispatch, had a banner headline across the front page with arresting news: "Melting of Arctic Ice Speeds Up." The story described the acceleration of global warming and suggested that we may have passed a dangerous tipping point. One eminent scientist raised the possibility that all the ice could be gone in five years. Not good news.
But as I flew across the country and saw a variety of our nation's newspapers it seemed that the news of the planet's impending doom had only reached Columbus, Ohio. The New York Times had no mention of the development. The Wall Street Journal devoted only 20 words. USA Today - nothing. CNN - forget it.
So what does all of this have to do with marketing? If you believe, as I do, that perhaps the biggest story of our time is the man-made destruction of this planet as we have known it, how do we break through the miserable performance of the news media to bring the "Inconvenient Truth" to people across America? Anyone out there with any ideas, please share them. Anyone with a connection to the non-profits that are struggling to make us aware of what is happening, pass along any contact name you have - there is a terrific ad agency out there that would love to do some pro bono work.
America depends on marketers to keep the economy afloat by persuading the consumer to part with cash. Marketers need to give thought to how those skills can be used for something more than improving the bottom line.
-- Stan Rapp
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