The Morphing Climate Brand

I was listening to the radio as I drove downtown to have lunch with Kent, an old friend who hasn’t escaped the agency business yet.

The announcer noted that it was now official:

“Climate Change” will now be termed “Climate Emergency”
National Public Radio  

The reason for the change is that we have just had the hottest July in world history. It was, according to the report, the hottest month on record of all time for the world. 

Didn’t this used to be called Global Warming?

Yes, but scientists, the majority of them, agreed that what was happening was a change in the climate that could have effects on both sides of the temperature scale and that climate events of all types would be impacted by the changes in the earth’ atmosphere caused primarily by man’s use of oil, coal and other fuels. So, they agreed to call it Climate Change.

Will the name/Brand change make a difference?

I doubt it.

The deniers will continue their protestations. The few paid off scientists will continue to put their heads in the sand. But that is not the problem. A simple word change will not, I fear, generate any real action.

What if we step it up a notch to Climate Crisis?

Probably not. My friend Kent remarked. “If you market anything,” he said, you understand this phenomenon. Click throughs go up. Time on some pages goes up. But there is much less interest in some pages, but most important sales go down.”

People are buying but not buying in.

“It’s a kind of like cart abandonment when you’re shopping on line,” I said. “Somewhere around 60% of folks believe the science about whatever we wind up calling it. They look into it, get overwhelmed by what is needed. They just stop. Damn few are doing anything about it. That’s particularly true of corporations and governments.”

So we’ve gone from Global Warming to Climate Change to Climate Emergency to Climate Crisis…

Will that stir up some action? As powerful as words can be that is not the solution in my view. Concrete effects need to happen before the outrage forces governments to act:

• When the sea rolls over the southern tip of Manhattan and part of Miami goes under we will hear demands for action.

• How many hectares of desert must inundate Africa before someone says, “Hold. Enough.”

•  Parts of the world battered by storm after storm will tire of rebuilding at some point. Citizens will revolt against governments with deaf ears.

Rising tides, roiling sand, storms and blood.

A revolution could be coming. That is my fear. People, the common people around the world, might turn on the politicians, the gangs, the sycophants and the crooks. It will not be pretty. The 1% will escape to their secure havens. Those who have planned for Armageddon may be able to retreat to their compounds. But the rest of us who have just stood by will not have a choice.

You and I must be part of the revolution.

Nobody else is going to get it done.

Nobody.

We’re it. You and me. If we don’t individually act and force governments to remove their heads from rectal defilade now there will be blood on our hands.

I’m looking for suggestions to solve this crisis both for individual actions and how to get legislators to stop bowing to big energy. Bring it!

And so it goes 

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for on and off-line Trust-based Consultant Marketing and Brand development advice that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
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