Maikel van de Mortel’s from the Netherlands; Björgvin Sævarsson’s from Iceland. Both grew up in small towns where recycling and otherwise minimizing one’s environmental footprint wasn’t considered especially “green”—it was (and is) simply what you do, how you live. As Maikel says, “coming from small countries, we learned how to be creative and mindful about how to use what resources we had.”

Both settled in the Twin Cities in the late 1990s. Both started their own marketing businesses. About a year ago, they got together and founded Element Six Media, which uses natural materials to create marketing messages. And they’re both funny—they play off each other almost like a comedy team.

But they’re (playfully) serious about their work. They’re green marketers—practical visionaries who are very thoughtful about the future of marketing and the future of business. Though many U.S. companies have sought to wrap themselves in the green mantle of “sustainability,” for many others, green still has a “treehugger stigma,” Maikel says. “We want to make this mainstream.”

Read the complete Twin Cities Business interview with Element Six Media founders here…

Photo: Bill Kelley

Advertising surrounds the transit commuter. It’s wrapped around trains, back-lit on bus shelter panels, glowing atop taxi cabs, and staring down from billboards. Amid all that noise, what really caught the eyes of people waiting for rides in downtown Minneapolis one day last December were the shapes in the snow.

Maikel van de Mortel and Bjorgvin Saevarsson had made tracks along Nicollet Mall, by the light rail line, and in other areas, using metal stencils to stamp the name and logo of St. Paul nonprofit Fresh Energy into the snow about 1,000 times. It was the first local project of van de Mortel’s and Saevarsson’s Element Six Media, a green advertising firm that builds its campaigns around the use of “earth materials”–snow, sand, water, plants–as well as social media. It didn’t take long for fresh snowfall to bury the duo’s work, but not before they’d made an impression on an estimated 75,000 people walking past.

Read The Line’s complete feature on Element Six media here…

Photo: Bill Kelley

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Last week Element Six Media was featured by the Amvona tech news blog. The article covers Element Six Media, and mentions a few of our green alternatives to traditional advertising including: snow stamping, sand carving, and moss ads. Read the article on green advertising for yourself.

The Amvona blog covers a variety of issues including: clean technology, social media, photography and major events within these topic areas. Amvona also functions as an online retailer for a variety of photograph equipment and accessories.

Vampires beware! We can burn your message into the minds all sorts of potential audiences with Sun Branding. We’ll help make your future so bright, you gotta wear shades.

Curious to learn more? Let us show you the potential value this service will add to your next campaign. info@elementsixmedia.com

Upon many request, we too started a fan page on Facebook. We’d love for you to join and enter the dialogue. Show us why you care about being green, how you make a change, and see our latest projects. Join our green media movement by clicking the logo above, or this link.

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Looking for a fun way to create a memorable impression for your event’s guests? Aqua Pix is a hands-on experience that will add an interactive element to your next corporate get-together. (Towels not included.)

Let us show you how our Aqua Pix could could get your crowd bubbling. Email us at  info@elementsixmedia.com