In our fifth and final installment of the Greenbuild 2009 Industry Insider Interview series, Georgia Pacific, Owens Corning and VELUX spoke to us about the importance of energy efficiency. They all view energy efficiency as an integral component of their sustainable practices. When defining their approach to sustainability, each of these organizations highlighted their emphasis on efficient energy use.
In our fourth installment of the Greenbuild Industry Insider Series, Icynene®, Sika, and Teknion are noticing sustainability trends among customer behaviors and desires. It is evident that no matter what the product is, customers are considering sustainable alternatives and inquiring more and more about ways to increase their return on investment.
Industry professionals from the American Society of Interior Designers provided IMRE with an exclusive insider’s response to sustainability drivers expressed by TOTO, Pella Corporation, and InterfaceFLOR (IMRE client) at Greenbuild 2009. Rachelle Schoessler Lynn, ASID, CID, LEED AP and Kerrie L Kelly, IIDA, ASID, IDEC, CID participated in our Q&A session below.
Rachelle Schoessler Lynn, ASID, CID, LEED AP
Partner, Studio 2030 Inc.
Q: What implication does this set of viewpoints have on how interior designers specify products?
A: “It is important for manufacturers to be honest and transparent in their quest for sustainability. They have the opportunity to educate the interior design profession about the impact that manufacturing of products can have on the environment.”
Q: Do Interior Designers drive sustainability, or is it driven by client preference, or both?
A: “It is my belief that interior designers should be driving sustainability, and sometimes we do a great job leading our clients to best solutions. Clients are seeing the benefits of sustainable design and have been requiring it on their projects, and the interior designers have had to catch up.”
Studio 2030
Kerrie L Kelly, IIDA, ASID, IDEC, CID
Author, Instructor & Certified Interior Designer #6031
Q: What implication does this set of viewpoints have on how interior designers specify products?
A: “As designers, sustainable manufacturing methods and end products are now “a given.” No longer are we looking for the eco-friendly product that is aesthetically pleasing too. Now we are finding amazingly wonderful, innovative products that also happen to be only manufactured through earth conscious practices. Manufacturers who have not gotten on board with manufacturing and developing products that ultimately benefit the environment will not survive in the interiors industry. Because so many vendors have chosen sustainable practices it has also aided in the affordability of these products for clients…it is simply the way we make things like eco-chic fabrics, no-VOC paints and finishes, reclaimed art pieces and the like.”
Q: Do interior designers drive sustainability, or is it driven by client preference, or both?
A: “Clients hire designers because they are the “experts” in the interiors industry. Since designers are heavily involved in the specification of products for projects, we do have the ability to drive sustainability. We are the source clients look to for the latest and the greatest products, so whether we are being quoted in publications that consumers read or bringing in products to the residential or commercial project table, we are looked to provide the most cutting edge, efficient, aesthetically pleasing products and designs that still work within the client budget. I would add that the vendors of interior design have been a hugely prevalent force in the sustainability drive as they have provided such wonderful products in their offerings.”
ASID is one of the many organizations, cities, counties and states that have committed to the 2030 Challenge, the aggressive campaign to dramatically reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within the building sector by the year 2030.
Companies like TOTO, Pella Corporation, and InterfaceFLOR have practiced sustainability as a part of their everyday culture for quite some time. Our third set from the Greenbuild 2009 Industry Insider Series details ways that each company blends sustainability practices into their overall company culture.
Some people talk the talk while others walk the walk. Well Dan Zarrella walks and talks better than most when it comes to social media. He is an award-winning social, search, and viral marketing scientist and author of the upcoming O’Reilly media book “The Social Media Marketing Book”. You could say that we were thrilled by the opportunity to pick his brain, but that would be grossly understating it.
Like we were saying, Dan was kind enough to answer some questions for us…
Dan, your new book “The Social Media Marketing Book” is described as a resource for choosing the best of the social web’s unique marketing opportunities. What’s the most unique use of social media that you’ve seen to date?
Most unique use is an interesting and difficult question. Once an idea works well, others copy it. I love what Dell did with IdeaStorm, which Starbucks and others also eventually did. I love the now cliché ComcastCares Twitter account example as well. BlendTec’s “Will it Blend” campaign was awesome. And I hear that Victoria Secret’s Pink line has a great Facebook presence.
We work in a niche industry, albeit a large one (the built environment), primarily focused in B2B marketing, is social media for everyone?
It is. Not all social media is for everyone, but there is something from the social web that can be used for every kind of business. I’ve seen a ton of great examples of powerful b2b marketing with social media technologies as “far out there” as Second Life. IBM has done some great things with Ballet Pixelle there.
Reporting continues to be a hot topic. It’s safe to say that we’ve yet to find a service that can offer us everything we need. Do you have any recommendations on the best tools to track the performance of your campaign?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention HubSpot’s software package. But in the end I think most flexible reporting systems can be customized to provide pretty good insights. Social media analytics is a tough problem, and that’s an opportunity too, if you’re having the problems, so are your competitors.
Previously you campaigned against Twitter’s Project ReTweet. Now that it’s officially available to all users, has your opinion changed at all?
It hasn’t and honestly my position has been strengthened because nearly all the post-launch feed back I’ve seen has been negative. When I first wrote the blog post about it, there were a few people saying good things like “let’s wait and see.” Lots of people did that and now formed the same opinions I had.
What would you do to improve it? We’re a bit disappointed that there’s still no synergy with different clients (although we expect it) and there’s no option to add your own commentary.
I would change the attribution system, to show the ReTweeter’s name and avatar. I would add the ability for a ReTweeter to add her own thoughts, and I would add a streaming ReTweet API so that researchers could get every ReTweet posted with the new method.
Being a “scientist”, we know you like to tinker with things. What trends are you currently examining?
Augmented reality. And not just in the sci-fi virtual reality way. The gap between online social media and the real world is closing fast. Driven by powerful mobile devices and hyper local platforms like Foursquare this is the space I really see taking off in the next year or so.
Okay, one final question. If you could predict the future, what’s the next big meme we should look out for?
As I mentioned above, the real world is going to become important again.
Buy a copy of Dan’s new book. You can also find him all over the Internet. Dan has written extensively about the science of viral marketing, memetics and social communications on his own blog and for a variety of popular industry blogs, including Mashable, CopyBlogger, ReadWriteWeb, Plagiarism Today, ProBlogger, Social Desire, CenterNetworks, Nowsourcing, and SEOScoop. Follow him on Twitter.
Our second chapter of the Greenbuild 2009 Industry Insider Series offers the input of three industry leaders who speak to the big-picture, holistic approach to sustainability and sustainable design. Hear the perspectives of HOK, ARCAT and Green Street Development.
Welcome to our Greenbuild 2009 Industry Insider Series. We interviewed a wide range of industry professionals at the Show to hear their thoughts on sustainability — where we are today and where we’re headed. To kick off our series we share with you three industry leaders who take sustainability so seriously they have committed to reaching audacious goals on a deadline.
See the impassioned pledges from Kohler, Bentley Prince Street and Somfy Systems.
We’ve landed in Phoenix and are excited to announce the upcoming launch of our upcoming Greenbuild Industry Insider video series where we will interview some of the leading building product manufacturers on-site at Greenbuild and ask the question everyone wants an answer to: “What does sustainability mean to your company?”
Over the last year this seemingly simple question has become more and more complex as architects, designers, builders and manufacturers have become increasingly savvy and legitamately skepticle of anything green that passes their way.
Our series will launch next week following Greenbuild featuring industry leaders such as Kohler, Georgia Pacific and Owens Corning. Stay tuned - follow @GreenIntel for tips and thoughts from our “insiders” throughout the show.
Today we had the opportunity to Twinterview a jack of all trades, and one busy guy. Recognized pro Leon Frechette, aka “The Tool Guy”, spent some time filling us in on his perspective of social media, the value of networking, lessons for PR professionals and his “old school” ways.
Follow the complete interview below or you can view one side of the conversation, depending on what you’re into, through @BuildIntel or @laftoolguy. Try to stay with us…
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Hi, Leon. How are you doing today?
laftoolguy @BuildIntel Doing great! The sun is out, its not tax season yet, and the boat is still in the water…
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Doesn’t get any better than that! Thanks for participating in our Twinterview today.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy The 140 character responses can be a challenge but it’s all in good fun.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel You are welcome. So how’s your day going?
BuildIntel @laftoolguy So where are you Tweeting from today?
laftoolguy @BuildIntel From Spokane, WA. Been in the hot seat since 6 this morning going through 586 emails. Wish I had a buck for every email I get!
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Well let’s start there! Who do you correspond with more regularly? The professional or the DIYer? #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel Yes it is, specially when you are used to using a pad of paper and and red pen to get your thoughts down…
laftoolguy @BuildIntel Social media has been tough for me. It appears to be great for personal things but not so much for business use.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel If you dwell too much on business you start to loose your followers so its been hard to find the happy medium.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Sure is a growing channel in the industry. How else have you/are you reaching your audiences? AskToolTalk.com is active. #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel In a 140 characters it is very hard to talk about home improvement projects or tool reviews!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel I correspond to both sides of the fence but more towards the high-end DIYers. Surprising how may pro’s come to us!
BuildIntel @laftoolguy How are they communicating with you? If less on Twitter, is it during live appearances, through your Web site? #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel I used to go on the road doing my ToolTalk show reaching about 10 millions individuals a year on stage, TV and radio.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel Did that for about 5 years but I got finally tired being on the road. In fact I’ve been on the road for about 12 years
BuildIntel @laftoolguy That’s a lot of “followers!” What was your favorite outlet and/or what do you feel provided the most exposure?
laftoolguy @BuildIntel The 12 plus years I put in doing the shows helped for individuals to find me online. I currently rely more a great product!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel What’s that saying? If you build it they will come! That is pretty much true. You build a great product they will follow!
BuildIntel @laftoolguy You were also a tool tester for many years. What did you learn about the industry from this particular job? #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel I’ve been online since September 1998 and I’m just now turning to the social networking to see if we can bring more followers.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Good move! Networking is a guaranteed result.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel The problem is I wear two caps. One for editorial and one for e-commerce. So individuals come in from both directions.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel www.asktooltalk.com is the editorial site for home improvement and product/tool reviews. Not to mention product previews.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy So you’ve probably seen a lot of changes during your time in the industry - is social media one of the biggest? #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel At the bottom of www.asktooltalk.com you see all the e-commerce site that I own. They all seem to feed off of each other.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel You might say that with all our satellite sites in place we have created our own social networking among our own sites.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy There you go! Well, we’ll be sure to keep tabs on all of your channels. We really appreciate your time.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy As you continue to extend your expertise online and off, we’ll be sure to follow!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel The reality is, I became an author where I self-published a book on hiring a remodeling contractor.
BuildIntel @laftoolguy So you could say it all came full circle! #imre
laftoolguy @BuildIntel 7,000 copies later I became a publisher and starting writing for Home Improvement and Wood Working Magazines.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel It was at that point I was forced into testing products and tools. And manufacturers do like the reviews — pros or cons!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel A PR firm contacted me this week in regards to a flashlight. They did not want me to review the product but give free press!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel That was my first for turn down. Considering I’ve been doing this since 1989
laftoolguy @BuildIntel I have seen a lot of changes over the years. The one I don’t like is the primer and paint in-one.
laftoolguy @BuildIntel The manufacturers are sending the wrong message to DIYers. In order to get a great job you do need to go through the steps!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel I’m still old school but I know that some changes need to come into place in order to keep up with the times. Networking!
laftoolguy @BuildIntel Thanks for bringing me on today. Home Improvement Tips can be found at www.asktooltalk.com! Have a great day!
BuildIntel @laftoolguy Thx for giving us your time! Try consistently dedicating a little time to social media, you’ll experience the benefits.
Not just for homeowners, visit asktooltalk.com to get professional advice and honest reviews from someone who has over 30 years of real hands-on experience. It’s also a great place for manufacturers to listen and learn from homeowners who use the Web site to share their lessons learned from making purchases and hiring professionals, among other things.
We’ll be hosting our second Twinterview tomorrow at 2:00pm ET with Leon Frechette, “The Tool Guy” and author of eight professional and DIY related books. Tune in to learn about what 20 years in construction and 15 years as a tool reviewer has taught him – and how it can help you. Leon created AskToolTalk.com just over 10 years ago, a thriving Web site that is now spilling over onto Twitter to bring you key information in 140 characters or less.
Follow the conversation tomorrow: @buildintel, @asktooltalk, #imre
