This presentation was given at the Presidio Graduate School in the Managerial Marketing course.

1. THE FORCE
I’m here to introduce you to an invisible force that powers america’s leading green
brands.
It will cost you little to nothing.
Its only available to green brands.
and just by knowing of its existence you will know and be able to use its power.

2. Social Networks
Do The
Right Thing Green
Options
GUSSE
World
Coolers
SustainLane
Care 2 Make
a Difference
2 People
Trendspotters
Information and
Eco-Tech
Business Alliances
TreeHugger
Trendwatching
Springwise
MetaEfficient
Cool
Jetson Gr
Inhabitat
Playgreen
OpenEcoSource
Green Maven
Public
TV and Radio
Natural History
Science
Centers
Electric Auto Association
Solar Electric
Light Fund
The Oil Drum
Solar Buzz
Zero
WasteCalcars.org
Green Car Congress
Special-Interest Authorities
Online Green Retail
NGOs
World
Wildlife
Fund
NRDC
Greenpeace
National Wildlife
Federation
Union of
Concerned
Scientists
Sierra Club
Earth First
Environmental Defense
Audubon
Surfrider Foundation
Nature Conservancy
Rainforest
Alliance
Earth
Justice
Friends of
the Earth
EcoMom Alli
Events and Competitions
Live Earth
World Solar
Challenge
Solar
Decathlon
Burning Man Haute Green
Brower Youth Awards
Be EcoChic
The Goldman
Environmental Prize
Blogs
Business
Green Blog
Autoblog Green
Little Green Blog
The Accidental
Environmentalist
Sustainable Design
Technology
Big Green Purse
Environmental
Blog
Slowly She Turns
Ecorazzi
Best Green Blog
Ecofabulous
FiftyRx3
Conferences and Trade Shows
TV,Radio,Podcasts
The Invisible Force Powering
Today's Most Visible Green Brands
The Lazy Environmentalist
Personal Life Media
National Geographic Channel
Sundance
Channel
Green
TV
Green
Radio
HGTV
Equator HD
Planet
Green
Rocky
Mountain
Institute Clean
Tech
CNet
Green Tech
Clean Edge
Green
Technology
Forum
REPP-CREST
Alliance for
Climate
Protection
US Climate
Action Partnership Climate
Counts
Co-op
America
CERES
ACEEE
Climate
Institute
Net
Impact
Green
Festival
National Solar Conference
Clean Technology Forum
Dwell
on Design
Green Build
Expo
The LOHAS
Forum
Good and
Green
West Coast Green
Sustainable Brand Conference
Green West
UN Climate
Change
Conference
Green by
Design
Green Press Initiative
Urban Land Institute
Natural Step
Greenloop
Green Nest
EcoExpress
Danny’s
Organic
Green Culture
Wellness Grocer
Evo
All Shades
Green
Greenmaker
Buy Green
Living Green
Organic Sleep Products
THE GORT CLOUD
Its called The Gort Cloud- and it is the ecosystem in which your brand exists - made up
of online retailers, ngos, magazines, events, blogs and certifying organization and of course
the eco-conscience consumer.

3. THE ORT CLOUD
The name comes from The Ort Cloud, a mass of stellar debris that orbits our solar system
and protects us and yet is invisible.
The Green Ort Cloud- the Gort was discovered by RICHARD SEIREENI, when he set out
to write a book about the coming age of the ecopreneuer.
He found the common force behind each ecopreneur and the Gort Cloud was born.

4. EXAMINED,COMMENTED,SHARED
It turns out that you have no choice but to be part of it.
Your company or product will be Examined critiqued commented and shared here.
Be warned It is also the same force that exposes greenwashing.

5. TRADITIONAL MARKETING: the
early adopter
Traditional Marketing knows the important of early adopters and trendsetters in launching
a brand.
These mavens become brand advocates, giving a product a one-on-one feel.
The Gort Cloud is the early adopter of the green space

6. MORE THAN: social media
So you may be thinking, okay, this is just the online, social, media space right?
Yes, that is a huge part of the power of the Gort.
BUT its also in person conference, and neighborly chats, it is the buzz around green.

7. KNOWN UNKNOWN
As Rumsfeld would say The Gort Cloud is a known unknown.
We don’t really know exactly what it looks like.
Its some combo of viral marketing, meets peer review meets social media meets
watchdog.

8. STORY TIME
But the best way to explain it is through story.
So sit back and let me tell you the story of two companies who are igniting their brands with
the power of the force- The Gort Cloud.
Stonyfield Farms and TerraCycle

9. STONYFIELD: Gary Hirshberg
Gary Hirshberg the CEO of Stonyfield Farm has spent the last 25 years redefining what
customer loyalty means.
It no longer about blasting your logo everywhere its about proving yourself.

10. STONYFIELD: loyalty
That loyalty showed itself one day as Gary was in a supermarket inspecting a yo-plait
container.
A women next to him said,“you know a man of your age really should be eating Stonyfield”.
Curious, Gary pretended to be ignorant and said “oh really, and why is that?”

11. STONYFIELD: sold with a
handshake
She said,“Stonyfield gives away 10% of its profits and organics are better for us, the animals
and profit”.
He hired her on the spot.
Stonyfield is famous for saying “Organic isn’t sold with a slogan its sold with a
handshake.”

12. STONYFIELD: transparency is key
Recently Stonyfield introduced the first plant-based yogurt containers.
They offered bloggers all over the country free samples for their readers. Smart.
They also have made the process of going to corn plastic completely open source, available
to their competitors.

13. STONYFIELD
Transparency is key.
Stonyfield uses its own packaging real-estate to educate about its brand and promote
causes and campaigns it believes in.
This was how that woman in the supermarket knew what Stonyfield was up to.

14. TERRACYCLE:Tom Szaky
Terracycle was started when Tom Szaky, a Princeton University student decided to sell
worm poop in repurposed soda bottles.
Selling trash in trash is so popular that he is now set on becoming the next Proctor and
Gamble- making households products, but only using trash.

15. TERRACYCLE: the cheap option
He did this through using The Gort Cloud, having kids and community groups collect
the trash.
Whats interesting is that he doesn’t target the LOHAS market, he sells to retailers like Home
Depot, not as a green option, but a cheap option.

16. TERRACYCLE: no ads
Terracycle has zero budget for advertising but have three in house publicists.
They know the power of their story and spend money only on PR, not ads.

17. TERRACYCLE: No ads
Each one churns out three articles a week on average, and is paid $30,000 a year.
Divided out, Szaky pays a dollar for every 500 words.
How much does 30k buy you in ads? One page in home and gardens.

18. TERRACYCLE
Though it sells it self as the cheap option,Terracycle is picked up because its an eco option
too.
Walmart and Home Depot both feature it as a eco product in their store thus
promoting their own eco branding.

19. EMPOWERED
Feeling empowered?
This force may seem elusive and hard to tap, but we have all the tools we need, we have the
contacts thorough our network here at Presidio, we are the leaders of this space.

20. Social Networks
Do The
Right Thing Green
Options
GUSSE
World
Coolers
SustainLane
Care 2 Make
a Difference
2 People
Trendspotters
Information and
Eco-Tech
Business Alliances
TreeHugger
Trendwatching
Springwise
MetaEfficient
Cool
Jetson Gr
Inhabitat
Playgreen
OpenEcoSource
Green Maven
Public
TV and Radio
Natural History
Science
Centers
Electric Auto Association
Solar Electric
Light Fund
The Oil Drum
Solar Buzz
Zero
WasteCalcars.org
Green Car Congress
Special-Interest Authorities
Online Green Retail
NGOs
World
Wildlife
Fund
NRDC
Greenpeace
National Wildlife
Federation
Union of
Concerned
Scientists
Sierra Club
Earth First
Environmental Defense
Audubon
Surfrider Foundation
Nature Conservancy
Rainforest
Alliance
Earth
Justice
Friends of
the Earth
EcoMom Alli
Events and Competitions
Live Earth
World Solar
Challenge
Solar
Decathlon
Burning Man Haute Green
Brower Youth Awards
Be EcoChic
The Goldman
Environmental Prize
Blogs
Business
Green Blog
Autoblog Green
Little Green Blog
The Accidental
Environmentalist
Sustainable Design
Technology
Big Green Purse
Environmental
Blog
Slowly She Turns
Ecorazzi
Best Green Blog
Ecofabulous
FiftyRx3
Conferences and Trade Shows
TV,Radio,Podcasts
The Invisible Force Powering
Today's Most Visible Green Brands
The Lazy Environmentalist
Personal Life Media
National Geographic Channel
Sundance
Channel
Green
TV
Green
Radio
HGTV
Equator HD
Planet
Green
Rocky
Mountain
Institute Clean
Tech
CNet
Green Tech
Clean Edge
Green
Technology
Forum
REPP-CREST
Alliance for
Climate
Protection
US Climate
Action Partnership Climate
Counts
Co-op
America
CERES
ACEEE
Climate
Institute
Net
Impact
Green
Festival
National Solar Conference
Clean Technology Forum
Dwell
on Design
Green Build
Expo
The LOHAS
Forum
Good and
Green
West Coast Green
Sustainable Brand Conference
Green West
UN Climate
Change
Conference
Green by
Design
Green Press Initiative
Urban Land Institute
Natural Step
Greenloop
Green Nest
EcoExpress
Danny’s
Organic
Green Culture
Wellness Grocer
Evo
All Shades
Green
Greenmaker
Buy Green
Living Green
Organic Sleep Products
THE GORT CLOUD
One of the leading trendspotters is Treehugger and particularly Simran Sethi, a Presidio
grad. One of the leading green biz sites,Triple Pundit is run by Nick Aster, whom we all
know. From my calculation, the Presidio Network, all of us in this room are at the very
most two degrees of connection away from every player in The Gort Cloud.

21. THE FORCE
May the force be with you.