Steve Gaines Creative Director
Last week I was at a trade show where we launched the Causality brand. The theme of the show was sustainability and the audiences were government agencies. Sustainability is something that I am passionate about so when I got the opportunity I strolled through the convention hall to see what the exhibitors were offering. The exhibitors were all over the spectrum, from completely organic cleaning products (I can still recite their sales pitch as if they were right next to us) to a company that produced custom police cruisers that are 40% more fuel-efficient and drive longer without maintenance.

But the thing that I found odd, amusing and sad all at the same time were the small things that seemed to contradict the show’s theme. I lost count of all the booths that just had piles of useless premiums—cheap foam stress balls and other plastic trinkets that were destined for the landfill in the not too distant future. Don’t get me wrong, I think any awareness we can bring to the issue of sustainability is a good thing, but the whole experience showed that in some circles the thought process has not yet come full circle. Even those who had ‘sustainable’ premiums seemed to have them by the truckload. Where was “reduce, reuse, recycle”?

Remember that sustainability goes beyond what recycled paper you may be using or what certifications your materials have. There are a myriad of ways you can maximize your project, thus maximizing your sustainability efforts. A good start would be develop audience profiles, telling a compelling story and building strong brand elements that communicate meaningfully with your audience and increase their commitment to you. These are all things we will expand on in future blog articles.

But enough about that—let me tell you about a great, food grade spray that will get out any odor and you could use as a breath spray in a bind. Really.