Ads for the Earth: Interview with Ian Wolff, CEO of PlanetUp

Article first written for, and published as Advertising That Gives Back (Literally) – Exclusive Interview with Ian Wolff, CEO of PlanetUp Ads on Technorati.

Advertising Technology 

With all the excitement buzzing around town for ad:tech San Francisco, companies are eager to showcase their latest “2.0’s” and “never before” product releases. Admittedly, in talking to these companies, I’ve seen some pretty cool new stuff. But one company isn’t so much about unveiling a new product, as they are about pushing for a new paradigm—advertising that gives back to the earth.

PlanetUp Ads is a company dedicated to using the web as a channel to fueling the world’s green movement. In an exclusive interview with Technorati, Ian Wolff, CEO of PlanetUp Ads, explains how the company has set out to neutralize carbon emissions by connecting people and brands. “Our patent-pending system enables each user click to contribute just a little bit more to the world as a whole,” said Ian.

Patent-pending Technology

What’s he mean by this? For those of us not entirely versed on carbon neutralization, as was I, The Green Office does a good job at explaining the carbon offsetting movement, as well as providing statistics on where companies stand in their environmental obligations. The cause, its measurements, protocols, and systems are thought to be an effective, concrete way for business owners to combat global climate change. “Until now, carbon offsets could only be distributed and affected in units of ‘tons,’ said Ian, “our unique technology changes that.” Ian continues, “With every PlanetUp Ads unit served, a green project in the United States gets financial support.”

Introduced in South America and now in the U.S., PlanetUp’s technology proved very attractive for brands seeking to be perceived as being environmentally responsible. Companies like Grupo Bimbo, one of the largest baking companies in the world, has offset over 125,757 pounds of CO2 through its ad campaign, equal to removing 3,834 mid-size cars from the roads for a whole day. You don’t do that unless you’re engaging people in a way they like and showing them where their contributions are going, as Planet does, reporting on its projects.

Driving Higher Advertising ROI

The concept isn’t entirely altruistic either. After all, it’s nice for an advertiser to work with PlanetUp Ads merely as a gesture to give back to the environment, but metrics show the company’s ads do more than just “feel good.” As Ian reports that Planet ads, “increase campaign performance because they provide an emotional engagement, better branding and positive user experience.” All this translates into better ROI than traditional advertising.