Hoboken

We raised a grand for Carpe Diem and both regulars and non-regulars alike went out to support the event! The promotional strategy used social media and traditional media.  Social networking sites likes Justmeans, facebook, twitter, and this blog were used heavily. In addition, guerrilla marketing definitely made a difference for the downtown Hoboken area. Next time, getting people in a room to talk about why it is important and how to further get the word out is a surefire way to get more support. The fun part is being creative with how to find those people who are interested in joining.

The biggest plus about the event was that NJ’s state news agency, News12NJ did a spot before the event, we were also mentioned on Time.com (yeah!), and Fox News also did a piece on the event. The two day event brought a lot of attention to Carpe Diem. The residual media coverage was not something that I expected but is popping here and there. For example, a NYC station wanted to cover it as well as a college station in NY. There is defininetely interest in NYC media, that is for sure.

As for the New York City carrotmob, there is certainly enough people in NYC for a real statistical chance of having an organizer in there somewhere.

Come out to Carpe Diem this weekend and have a drink. Have breakfast. Catch up with friends or meet new people. With your patronage, you will be helping a bar go green. It is easy to do – just do what you would normally do at a bar. It is fun – you will be around people who care about the same things you do.  It is simple – 70% of sales are being spent on energy efficient upgrades.

If the weather holds, and as of 11pm it looks like it won’t rain on Saturday and Sunday is looking better too, then sit outside at the outside patio.

I just emailed Josh at The Lazy Environmentalist and basically said to him that people aren’t going to be made to feel guilty about having to green their lifestyles. Carrotmob uses zero guilt – it uses an awesome community event, which I find much more enjoyable. I am pretty sure anyone shares that stance with me too.

Last but not least, check out the great writeup on Hoboken 411 here.

Carrotmob leverages consumer power to make the most socially responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. A big mob of consumers buys products to reward a business that makes the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott. Carrotmobs have happened all over the country, and have been featured in such news sources as the Economist and the New York times. On May 2nd and 3rd, a Carrotmob is coming to Hoboken. Carpe Diem, an Irish bar and restaurant, has committed to investing 70% of all sales to energy efficiency upgrades. The more people show up, the smaller Carpe Diem’s carbon footprint becomes. Eat, drink, and be merry – and make the world a better place while you are at it!

You can show support in three ways. 1) RSVP on Facebook 2) Tell your friends (spread the message through word of mouth or invitations on Facebook) 3) Join the Mob on May 2nd and May 3rd!

Where: Carpe Diem bar/restaurant located at 1405 Grand Street, Hoboken, NJ http://www.carpediemhoboken.com/

When: Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3; 11am – 4pm

RSVP: On Facebook: http://tiny.cc/TXp4c | Blog: hoboken.carrotmob.org | Twitter: NJCarrotmob

Thoughts?  What are the strengths?  Where could it be improved?

It is important to remember that Carrotmob can be replicable anywhere in the world, by anyone who can follow the Carrotmob guidelines. This is the first Carrotmob in New Jersey, and want to meet people who want to do this in NJ/Philly Metro and NYC Metro area, contact me.

Planning this event is an exciting experience. One of my favorite things is learning from past Carrotmob organizers.  I have learned how to better approach a business, build a small coalition of supporters to help spread the word, and a lot about wordpress!

Charleston, South Carolina is having their own Carrotmob April 11th. The Green Drinks network caught on to this and using their network to hold an event…here’s is the article.

Yknow, it just might make a ton of sense to have a Green Drinks in Hoboken…

Hey y’all. I am Andy. I’ll be your blogger as I take you on the ride that’s known as CARROTMOB HOBOKEN!

Some of you already know what is going on with this Carrotmob thingy. Yeah yeah, you may say – I know exactly what your thinking so why are you saying it now? Well the simple reason is that you know about Carrotmob and I salute you!, but others need to know what the deal is. CM is an event where a business sets aside a percentage of sales for “green” upgrades in return for a large amount of shoppers to their store. The green upgrades for Hoboken Carrotmob are looking like HVAC improvements, and that will be more clear once First Energy Group, an energy efficiency business here in New Jersey, performs a thorough assessment. The Carrotmob will be at Carpe Diem, located in uptown Boken, at May 2, and 3rd. Check out their website and shoot them a message saying how awesome they are! Especially since you never called after taking them out to a nice seafood dinner at Sizzler. Tsk tsk. www.carpediemhoboken.com

So to make it super clear, check out the flash video to the right.

It comes down to helping businesses get over the upfront cost of upgrading their equipment for energy efficiency upgrades. Also, it helps them know that a lot of the coordination with be done by a group that actually cares about curbing energy consumption from fossil fuel burning power plants!

When a business raises sales and reinvests to cut energy costs over time, that is a good situation. When a community gets their faces out of a computer monitor, goes out and holds a community event with the purpose of greening a business, that is also good. Indeed, if that ain’t good, I don’t know what is.

If you are a business owner and want to become more green, you are in luck! Small sustainability companies offers their services ranging from making your purchasing/supply chain more local to using clean wind power for your business to eliminating plastic bag pollution. If you are running a company and have tried to become more green, you know that it is hard work. It’s confusing. Sustainability consultants are there to help.