The Mother Nature Network's 35 channels include less predictable
categories like beer, with a custom ad from sponsor
MillerCoors. |
While his new car may not turn heads, his new venture that prompted
the purchase is. Mr. Babbit left Grey to launch Mother Nature
Network, an environmental website targeted at mainstream consumers
that went live in the first week of 2009. The co-founder of the
site is Chuck Leavell, the keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and
an avid environmentalist, while James Berrien, former publisher of
the Forbes Magazine Group, serves as chief operating officer and
Emily Murphy, who has worked as an editor and producer at USA
Today, National Geographic and CNN, serves as managing editor.
In October, Mother Nature Network drew 874,000 unique visitors,
according to ComScore, making it the fifth most popular in
ComScore's "green" category, which also includes nonprofit groups
and governmental agencies. (The Environmental Protection Agency
website drew 861,000 unique visitors, the Sierra Club's
204,000.)
And while many have swung blindly for a web publishing revenue
model, Mr. Babbit whacked that pinata quickly, becoming profitable
in only 18 months. In 2009, the site earned $3 million, and Mr.
Babbit projects that will more than double, to $6.5 million, in
2010, and top $9 million in 2011.
With 10 bloggers and a pool of freelancers, the site publishes
about 50 pieces of content daily, 70% of it original and the rest
from third parties. The site is divided into 35 channels, such as
Climate Change and Recycling as well as less predictable lifestyle
categories where green options are emphasized, such as Pets &
Animals, Arts & Culture, and Beer.
For $300,000 a year, a brand becomes an exclusive sponsor for a
channel, commanding a box about halfway down the page with
thumbnails for six videos. Sponsors include major advertisers such
as Coca-Cola, MillerCoors, Dell and Aflac, but they tend not to run
actual commercials. Rather, the videos, most produced by Mother
Nature Network as a component of the sponsorship deal, tend to be
branded content that highlights environmental stewardship.
Coca-Cola, for example, features its Give it Back recycling
program as well as Hopenhagen, which supports the United Nations
Climate Change Conference.
"Consumers more and more value not only the quality of your
product but the character of your company," said Joe Tripodi, chief
marketing officer at Coca-Cola, in explaining why the company
highlights its sparkling deeds over sparkling beverages on the
site. "It is at one level advertising but it's really much more
about explaining and talking about the character of your
company."
Another advertiser, AT&T, highlights eco-friendly actions,
like updating its fleet with hybrid vehicles, and has broadened the
scope of its messages beyond the environment.
"Corporate responsibility is a significant initiative for
AT&T," said Stephen Governale, executive director of marketing
communications at the company. To that end, the marketer is also
featuring TV spots discouraging texting while driving that, Mr.
Governale said, "may not necessarily be an environmental message
but it's about overall safety and well-being and what's our
position in the global community."
An advisory board of scientists, academics and journalists
evaluates the environmental profile of prospective Mother Nature
Network advertisers -- and not everyone makes the grade. Mr. Babbit
said the site has turned away three would-be sponsors, an oil
company, an insurance carrier, and manufacturer, which he declined
to name.
Some companies that did pass muster, though, are considered foes
by some environmentalists.
Georgia-Pacific, the forest products company, which sponsors
channels for two different divisions at a cost of about $600,000
annually, is owned by Koch Industries. Paul Krugman wrote in The
New York Times in July that Koch Industries "has been sponsoring
anti-environmental organizations for two decades," including
contributing about $1 million to an unsuccessful November ballot
campaign in California to overturn a law that requires more
energy-efficient cars, buildings and appliances, and for power
plants to use alternative energy sources.
A Facebook group called Boycott and Defeat Koch Industries,
which was formed shortly after an August New Yorker article about
the company, has about 6,000 followers.
Newsweek, which in its annual Green Rankings judges the 500
largest publicly traded companies on their environmental impacts
and policies, recently ranked another Mother Nature Network
sponsor, Southern Energy, near the bottom, at 494, with a score of
32.87 out of a possible 100.
Southern "is one of the most significant greenwashers globally,"
Casey Harrell, an analyst at Greenpeace, wrote in an email message,
using the term for green PR efforts by companies with questionable
environmental records. "They spend more time lobbying against
climate and energy legislation than any other utility."
Mr. Babbit defended both companies' inclusion as sponsors,
explaining that Georgia-Pacific, which he described as "probably
one of the largest recyclers in the world," was judged on its
individual merits rather than the actions of Koch Industries.
As for Southern, Mr. Babbit pointed to a deal announced in
January between the utility and Ted Turner, the media tycoon and
environmentalist, to develop solar power projects.
"The greatest environmentalist I know is Ted Turner and that's
one of the things that encouraged us that they're moving in the
right direction," Mr. Babbit said.
While there is plenty of content on the Mother Nature Network
about sustainable practices, the real story of sustainability might
be the website itself.
"Not many companies have found a way to monetize the internet
for journalism, and this is what I would consider to be a rare
model of sustainability in a medium where there's lots of
uncertainty," said Coke's Mr. Tripodi.