GPB: Calling names

This week, I'm writing at the Green Phone Booth on how marketers are trying to make sense of the green mommy "markets." Where do you fit?

Santa sold out

Santa Claus is out in full force - and his marketing buddies aren't far behind.

While somehow I've yet to see Kris Kringle pimping products on a commercial, he was already seeing anxious kids at the mall yesterday afternoon. Pushing Christmas in November isn't the surprise.

It was that among the holiday decor in Santa Land were two strategically placed Wii boxes.

Come on. It's bad enough these kids are blasted with commercials left and right. But when they sit on Santa's lap, and that reminder that they don't have a Wii yet (gasp!) is right there? It's cause for many a fight the next six weeks.

Sorry. I just have a problem with that.

Don't get me wrong. I was raised on Santa's day job of schlepping toys on TV. In Wichita, growing up, we always watched "Santa's Workshop" every year, more for the bizarre humor of seeing Toy Boy (who unfortunately lost his head while "zooming around the world" one year). We also got a daily dose of what the latest and greatest toys were. But I don't recall it affecting our wish lists much.

But that last blast of marketing during that pivotal moment of seeing Santa and the product of the month? I think it's a bit much.

Thank goodness when I asked my daughter yesterday if she wanted to write a letter this year to Santa, she replied, "Who's Santa?" Perhaps I have a reprieve for one more year!

High cost of free items

Freebies are not a new thing. I remember as a kid getting free stickers or other junk in the mail.

But the Internet takes it to a whole new level. In my reader, I subscribe to several sites on stretching my budget, and on a daily basis I see new offers for free items, Internet coupons or calculations to add coupons from the March 15 flyer to this week’s sale item.

And sometimes, I get sucked into it.

Sure, I’ll try the new shampoo. Or a new beverage. And my kid inevitably needs a diaper when we’re out. Or I can send the sample to the next baby drive at work. So why not?

The reality is, we all pay the price for freebies. Freebies are another way of marketing, and while the Web may seem “free,” product distribution certainly is not. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve requested an item, only to receive it, weeks later, swaddled in plastic, bundled with brochures and coupons, and covered with a plastic, padded, waterproof envelope for shipping.

Yes, it’s “free.” But it costs the manufacturers. It costs the marketers. It costs us.

Think of all the trash this creates. I won't even begin to guess the impact this creates. And it's a problem made worse by the fact some people utilize multiple accounts to reach the same offer.

"Do you need 8 versions of the same free sample or coupon? Probably not," urges Northern Cheapskate. "If you're not going to use the product, then it is a waste of those resources. And if you throw it away.... well that's even worse …."