Win awards! A classic Green IT PR strategy - Anna Martinelli

These days, it’s cool to be green. While this is great for the environment, it makes it tricky to design a Green IT PR campaign that truly distinguishes any single Green IT firm within a crowd of tree-huggers. There is however, one Green IT PR strategy that never seems to fail. And that’s winning awards. Let’s take a look at a few of today’s best award-winning opportunities within the Green IT PR world. The premier Green IT PR award-winning opportunity is most likely the International Green Awards. Winning an International Green Award is great for a firm’s Green IT PR because this event has become an established event on the global sustainable business-calendar. Since 2005, the International Green Awards have expanded significantly and accumulated a great deal of notoriety. A considerable following has developed among sustainability professionals, CEO’s, Marketing Directors, Business Editors, and CSR Directors from all around the world. Last year, over 500 organizations participated and prestigious past winners include Nokia, Marks & Spencer, Toyota and the China Environmental Protection Foundation. A Green IT PR campaign that results in an International Green Award truly establishes a Green IT firm as a global leader in sustainability. Next, we have Green IT Magazine’s Green IT Awards. Each year, these awards are given to companies and organizations that make exceptional contributions to the IT industry’s environmental performance. This represents a great Green IT PR opportunity because winners are also featured in Green IT Magazine, which has become a prominent industry outlet. The Green IT Awards offer a unique chance for industry promotion, for the event is one of the only Green Awards platforms that limit its scope to the IT industry. The Green Dot Awards also warrant consideration by Green IT PR firms, but for slightly different reasons. The Green Dot Awards’ Green IT PR power draws largely from their celebrity promotion. The Green Dot Awards event is hosted by Jagron Boise Thomas of Discovery Channel’s Planet Green and attended by other environmental program hosts and winners from all around the world. Unsurprisingly, this distinguished crowd attracts a great deal of press. Any Green IT PR effort to promote a client through this avenue should mirror the Green Dot Awards focus on innovation. These three Awards represent only a few opportunities that can occupy a central space in any solid Green IT PR campaign. As the green movement grows, additional award-winning opportunities are sure to emerge. Green IT PR firms must be aware of this and remain constantly on the look-out.