Challenges of participation

The past weeks have showcased, in many different ways, how we all face the same challenges whether we discuss about decision-makers, employees or citizens. One of  the biggest challenge of our time is how to activate, involve and motivate our stakeholders or target groups, even colleagues, to participate in different processes, actions or events. It is not an easy task, as the tempo of our life is hectic, and many are not able to be in the moment anymore. Even in meetings, many are having a second discussion through channels of social media and claim to be present in both. Possible or not, that is the trend nowadays.

Will it then be possible to create an event that really involves people - not just their bodies, but also their minds? Event that is so interesting that participants do not even want to open their mobiles for e-mail check-ups, but are taken by the moment? All the possible ingredients for having this are in our hands and with partners we are able to create even something bigger. Some claim that only the change is permanent so is the Solutions -conference able to create a change for sustainability?
The early-birds are registering at the moment and many more will follow, so why not you too?

Social networks

Lucas is trying to find suitable networks and services for marketing his eco-idea and future products. He has heard a lot about social networks but has only been involved in them as a private person. The main thing he knew is that one thing in social media, such as link or hint, can lead to totally different topic. This way it is very time consuming.

Thanks to his good friend in the IT business, he got an introduction to what social networks are, the difference between some of them and are how they can be utilized for marketing purposes. He found out that on most networks, the creation of a presence is easy, as all you need to do is register yourself. But getting people to know and find you is not an easy thing. You need to know the tools, how they work, what their purpose is and what kind of messages you can get out there using them. 

Getting your own message heard in the noise is not easy and that is why he was recommended to use a combination of services to get his own message out to public. Lucas wondered should the main focus be on social media or would it just steal his time and energy. All the big gurus nowadays are speaking highly of it, so maybe it is worth to try.

Setting the trend!

Yesterday, the annual Best in the city of Turku -party was arranged to celebrate a wide range of initiatives/people/happenings awarded in 2010 by the regional City-paper. The Local food initiative, that was started by the Solutions local, together -conference was awarded as the best Food initiative of the year in the city of Turku! This makes the work carried out even more valuable, as the so called trend-setters in the city have noticed the work done. The fact that we have not yet even marketed the initiative with full volume raises the value of the award even more.

In the same event, the Campaign, that also has originated from the conference preparations, used the surrounding of a pub to raise awareness on how everyone´s own actions can really make a difference. Although at first one would think that the surroundings were wrong it turned out to be a success. Several young people were reading the Campaign information from the walls, discussed the issues and no one could avoid hearing what was said by the commentator. It felt very natural, as that´s where the young people are - so why not bring there also the campaigning on sustainable development?

We really need to approach things from outside our normal ways of thinking - whether these are organizational, mental or socials. Bring different people together, be enthusiastic and bold! Without a big vision and enthusiasm, no big things will happen. More trend-setters are needed to bring the message across!

Looking for networks

Lucas was thinking how to get started with his business plan. He had realized that in order to make himself and his idea known, he would need to be linked with potential customers. He would also make his marketing in person. This is not as easy as one might first think.

At first, one needs to have the business idea and the target audience clearly defined. Many good ideas fail to do this. Lucas felt strongly that his plans were focused correctly. The second step was to find key events that would bring the marketing to the right audience, but this couldn't be too expensive. The reality is that many marketing opportunities are too expensive for starting small business to join, although one could cooperate with like-minded.

In order to find the like-minded people, Lucas asked his friends to assist and started in Facebook and Linkedln. Let's see what happens.

Last change - practical solutions competition

Have you got a practical solution to climate change? Take part in a competition for organizations in the Baltic Sea Region and the Nordic countries! The competition deadline is 30 September 2010, so you still have some more days to it.

So far several organizations have taken up the competition and send in their proposals. It has been great to see that the issue of climate change has been looked upon different view points. In many cases, proposals easily exist, but have not been evaluated from the climate change perspective in order to see how meaningful they really are. The competition offers a good opportunity for this!

The competition winners are going to be awarded at the Solutions local, together conference. They also have an opportunity to take part in the Market of Solutions during the conference. Therefore the PR and marketing are in place for the solutions to be spread around the Baltic Sea Region - take a moment to rethink what you have and benefit from the opportunity!

Rewarding work

Promoting a conference is hard work. Let’s say that you book a stand at a fair that is aimed at the right target group. You know you have a good message that would benefit many. But how do you get that message across when you are surrounded by fellow promoters who think that also their message is beneficial to many? How do you get people to stop at your stand and listen to what you have to say? And can you do all that sustainably?

All kind of free material from bags, pens, different sized leaflets (even catalogues), drinks and bits to eat is offered to be taken home. Many visitors take at least a brochure and sweeties (individually wrapped-up, of course). Hands up - how many of you have actually read the leaflets? Or did they end up in a bin on the way to a cloakroom or did you just leave them laying somewhere on a bench? What a waste in many ways.

How about the stand itself? How sustainably can you make it? There are manufactures that make stand frames of wood but they are not many. Most use aluminum. Most of the paper posters are recyclable providing they are not shrink-wrapped. The frames of aluminum roll-ups and walls can be reused but the posters themselves not.

Proving you have managed to make the stand as sustainable as it is possible today is it still also attractive and inviting so that people come and have a closer look? Is it the wooden poster frame or is it the colorful whole wall that attracts people? Or is it your smile that does the trick? Well, that at least is sustainable and reusable.

Yes, promoting a conference is hard work - but also so very rewarding when you see and feel that the person is listening, asks questions, and promises to come to the conference. Then you know all the hard work was worth it.

Small actions turning into big impacts!

Lucas had an intensive discussion with his friends about what each and every one of us can do to make a difference. It is easy to make promises, like politicians, but what if we would just do things instead of talking. How much could we influence in the end?

Lucas and his friends decided to take part in a campaign organized in the South-West of Finland. They had ran into the campaign through newspaper adds and thought that it would be quite interesting to take part in. Through campaign everyone is able to look into their water consumption and electricity in houses, food choices at shops, transportation modes and the amount of waste created. The campaign website (in Finnish) gives practical indicators on each action made and through them it is easy to see how the actions can make a difference.

As the first easy action, Lucas reduced the temperature at his house one degree and no one complaint or noticed this change! And this reduced the heating costs by 5 %. Amazing. After that Lucas started to use a cup while washing his teeth and that made a saving of 56 cents per week and saved nearly 170 liters of water. It was much more easier and fun than he thought. Why didn't he think of it before?