Effective Environmental Advertising

Between the wildfires ravaging the west coast and yet another hurricane hurdling toward the United States I am starting to feel like Mother Earth wants to start over sans pollution and with an intact ozone layer. However, instead of giving up, all of these terrible natural disasters inspire me more every day to save our planet.

Many people fail to realize the importance regarding the quality of informational advertisements for environmental protection. Final products either have too little or too much information, graphics, and colors. People cannot engage well with an artifact if it fails to interest them or is hard to read.

So, I want to give advice on how to create an engaging, interesting artifact that intrigues readers as well as inspire them to do their part in saving the environment.

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EXAMPLE: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/compostpam.pdf

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I will be using this New York Department of Environmental Conservation brochure on how to compost as an example to help improve all environmental information distribution. The audience for this brochure can be anyone. They make sure to tell you right away it is "easy" and can be done in your "backyard." Starting the brochure with the word easy can attract environmentalists or people who want to help the planet but think it's above their heads. This brochure wants to be inclusive, which can lead to it being read from a large audience. The brochure's rhetorical situation is an informational step-by-step guide on how to make your own compost. The NYDEC wanted their brochure to be understood by the masses and seem easy and not scary. When people think of composting, they assume it is hard and complicated. This brochure removes those stigmas by having FAQ and responses to them. It also explains in depth why and how composting is important in simple terms. The brochure has exigency in regards to not giving up on your compost pile. They warn, "Be patient! It could take six months to a year before the compost is ready to use." Exigency is used in regards to be routinely patient and consistent. Fun fact, compost piles need time to decay because more nutrients are created. The brochure also has constraints including: not putting diseased veggies or plants in the pile; no meat or bones in the pile; not using premature compost because it lacks vital nitrogen for the soil. These constraints narrow the possible additives to the pile and create an easy list of things to remember to include. The genre chosen from the NYDEC is a brochure. Genres connect readers and writers by constructing the situation in which they are connected. A brochure with FAQ and multiple pages to leaf through creates a situation that the writers knew exactly what people were thinking. One side is a cover page to introduce people to the topic, following are steps to create a compost and what to include, then FAQ people run into, and tips on what to do and not to do for a successful compost. This genre provides information readily to readers that be easily circulated as well. Brochures can be circulated far and wide because they are set up to guide readers through the process of composting. Also, being made from paper means readers can pick this up at a convention, protest, museums, or even on the streets. Internet is not needed, just word of mouth and friends passing on helpful brochures. I think brochures are very helpful to inform people. For example, a public school in the Bronx has an empty lot next door and a small budget for science classes. If a teacher or student finds this brochure and brings it to class, kids and teachers alike can be inspired to turn their lot into a compost pile and garden in a year's time. Those kids might not have internet access at home and brochures remove that necessity in the first place.

I hope this week's blog was helpful and inspiring to you all. I know it can get confusing and worrisome when you want to interest and inform others. I hope this is a helpful example for you all to utilize!