Ecofusion

Google Earth Now Embeddable

Since Google Earth launched a few years ago Ecofusion has produced a number of public information campaigns related to conservation and renewable energy using the virtual globe technology. In fact we like to think we’ve pushed the envelope since the beginning of virtual earth’s appearance in the web 2.0 world, launching one of the very first google earth video campaigns and download-able file packages working alongside of SkyTruth - Upper Green River Valley - A View From Above , with over 20,000 views of the video product on YouTube and a 5 star rating from the Google Earth community for the KMZ file production.

Now Google Earth is making it easier to show Google Earth products on the web with embeddable gadgets, similar to embeddable videos from YouTube and other video sharing sites. As widgets, gadgets, and APIs become more effective, leveraging the power of Google Earth will be more effective as it becomes more accessible for non-technical users. Removing the step of making viewers and users download and launch Google Earth will be critical for dissemination across the web.

To show just how easy the Google Earth team has made the step, we took the KMZ file location for a new PEW’s Campaign for Responsible Mining Google Earth product just released today and plugged it into the easy to use gadget maker provided by Google. (Shown above).

Video & Multimedia Package for Wilderness Society’s Better Energy Campaign

Last year, Ecofusion worked with The Wilderness Society and SkyTruth to produce a multimedia package for an online public information campaign called, Better Energy, about oil and natural gas drilling in the Rocky Mountain West.

The idea, highlight the impact of the hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells that are impacting western lands, while also providing the tools and information for stakeholders to plan for and encourage responsible energy development in the Rocky Mountain West.

In order to complete this project we worked with SkyTruth and the Wilderness Society to develop a multi-component approach that integrated Google Earth as the critical tool for representing the issue at hand. Here are the components we delivered for the project:

• 5 Google Earth Files for each state showing oil and gas leases for the last 100 years, including a time lapse animation for Wyoming between 1900 and 2007. Download the files here (Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Montana)
• Production and development of a three and a half minute mini-documentary called The Rocky Mountain West: Natural Gas and Oil Drilling (seen above)
  
• A shorter 40 second call to action video incorporating similar components

It's all about the economy, the green economy that is. Green jobs are big talk right now, but businesses have to start somewhere. Based in Brooklyn New York, Green Spaces provides the incubation space for new green startups. We've helped this great initiative launch their Green Business Competition, the first of its kind in the Big Green Apple. Our strategy and creative team helped drive a rapid logo, brand, ad, and site development and deployment strategy.

Launch the Site

At Ecofusion we have been working in the on-line public relations realm since the late 90’s to promote “good” ideas and even “better’ actions. Of course we have noticed that the amount of information to which people are privy has grown to be enormous since then. How an organization, business, cause, or product gets noticed for its authenticity is a challenge everyone faces now, more than ever. So when we approach qualifying or quantifying return on projects, we think about an ROI, or a Return on Inspiration.

The big idea is that most people (corporate/NGO boards, product managers, fund raisers, program managers, and communications experts) want the most effective ROI, Return On Investment, when they spend a lot of money on campaigns. Rather than see it as just a Return on Investment, we are saying, you’re paying to inspire people to take action, so more importantly, what Return On Inspiration are you getting?

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This photo is almost a relic now. A year ago Yahoo announced its green cab program in New York City with its celebrities at the podium. While not the start of corporate and hi-fashion green promotions, it sure was a memorable moment. Green cars, celebrities, a major web giant, all staged in front of the press in New York Times Square; “green” hype at its best. Green had arrived, and right in the middle of America’s iconic media center.

In the last few years with the spawn of the “green rush” what has happened around us as a result? Awareness, sure. More green buildings, definitely. Increased investment in clean tech, absolutely. “Green fatigue” setting in because of various levels of Obsessive Compulsive Environmentalism? Possibly.

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With all of these leaves floating around, as mentioned in the last entry, it can be confusing to know what is trust worthy. It couldn’t be more true than for consumers of green products, who wish to know which is the trust worthy brand or label. While this is a conversation that has been taking place for a while, this is the furthest we’ve seen “green washing” education reach out to the general public.