The Gort Cloud: The Invisible Force Powering Today's Most Visible Green Brands
In this detailed market report, veteran brand consultant and creative executive Seireeni maps out the network of experts, activists, tastemakers, special interests, consumers and others who guide the fate of rapidly proliferating "green" businesses. Meting their influence online in clusters of similarly-concerned Web sites, these disparate sources of opinion and information-from government organizations to bloggers to green shopping sites-form a "simultaneous source of credibility, endorsement, and echo effect" for an ever-growing audience. In 12 case studies, Seireeni examines the cloud's  make-or-break abilities, particularly to reject, fairly or not, claims of eco-utility as "greenwashing"-as happened to the Swiffer disposable mop in 2007, when "people simply weren't buying the trade-off between less water use and more landfill waste." Seireeni's focus is on "exactly how others have built green brands" with loyal followings; among others, he covers Seventh Generation cleaning supplies, Tesla Motors electric cars, Stonyfield Farm dairy, the financial institutes "creating Green Street," and Southwest Windpower. Though textbook-like in style, Seireeni's clear thinking and compelling examples will prove valuable for anyone looking to make hay in the growing green movement.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.