Today is Teach Children to Save Day

I find it interesting that John McCain recently made a comment about “financially irresponsible citizens” and the Colorado’s Governor Ritter proposed legislation last month to revamp the school system with more rigorous classes and assessment tools. It is evident that financial education for children is top of mind among leaders and it is definitely a necessity. With an unstable economy, the current mortgage crisis and America’s consumer debt now exceeding $2.4 trillion there must be something done to teach our children, the next generation of leaders, how to be fiscally responsible.

April is designated as Financial Literacy month and April 29 is Teach Children to Save Day. One GroundFloor Media client, Young Americans Center for Financial Education, is dedicated to the financial education of young people in Colorado, the United States and around the world. In celebration of Teach Children to Save Day, Young Americans Center for Financial Education conducted a survey of more than 600 local children between the ages of seven and 13 to find out more about allowance and spending habits. Why did they choose allowance as the survey topic? Because financial literacy begins with allowance. Financial skills can be taught as early as age four and allowance is usually the first introduction of money to kids.

The survey found that nearly 75 percent of kids receive an allowance and only 42 percent save a percentage of their allowance money. Not a great finding when it comes to saving. The key is to teach children how to manage and save money at an early age so their successful spending and saving habits will continue into adulthood. Young Americans Center for Financial Education teaches kids about saving, spending, donating and investing money. There is also an entire program dedicated to entrepreneurial ventures.

Young Americans Bank is the only FDIC-insured bank in the world for kids under the age of 22. Clients are children from all 50 states and 12 foreign countries. Kids can open an account two different ways: by mail or by visiting the bank in Denver. Young Americans Center for Financial Education is the nonprofit arm of Young Americans Bank. Since 1987, more than 360,000 kids have participated in financial literacy courses held by the center.

Young Americans Center for Financial Education offers Saturday classes for customers, with topics ranging from Savings Smarts to Budgeting to International Currency. These free classes are age appropriate and include hands-on activities. Weeklong summer camps for 2nd – 7th graders are also available. Classes and camps are held at the Cherry Creek location, 3550 E. First Avenue in Denver, or at the Belmar location, 401 S. Pierce Street in Lakewood.

For more information, visit yacenter.org or call 303-321-BANK.


- Alexandre

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

I was skimming The Aurora Sentinel last week when I came across an impactful article written by Boyd Fletcher on the topic of child abuse. Boyd and I have worked together for the past two years on multiple stories about The Children’s Hospital and it did not come as a surprise to me to see his most recent coverage of a topic that is so important to the folks at The Children’s Hospital.

Unlike many of the other articles Boyd has written, this one was more serious in nature and certainly touched my heart as I am expecting my first baby in July. In all honesty, it is quite difficult to think or even read about the topic of child abuse. It is even more unfathomable to imagine an individual shaking a baby so violently that it could cause permanent brain damage to the baby. I can’t tell you how many of my mommy friends have shared with me all the joys of being a new parent, however, they have certainly been honest and told me it is hard work. Just like my friends have told me, the Web site (dontshakeababy.com) agrees that as a parent, you have limited energy, patience and tolerance, and it's normal to feel overwhelmed, helpless and angry by the constant demands of your baby.

However, it is important for all moms to know that is normal to ask for help. In all my parenting classes, all the instructors can’t stress the importance of seeking advice, friends and family support, and just taking a five minute break from the stressful situation. As a mom-to-be, I was thrilled to find the following five tips for consoling a crying baby and already printed off the document and posted it on my frig. A friendly reminder can’t hurt any of us!

· Talk to your child's doctor. There may be a medical reason why the baby is crying so much · Seek parenting support - Families First offers a 24-hour family support line at 1-877-695-7996 OR call free child abuse hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). These hotlines are free and they will listen to you, offer emergency help, then direct you to local agencies that can help you and answer your questions.
· Call a friend and talk about it
· Let the baby cry it out if you have tried to calm him, but nothing seems to work
· Call the doctor if you think the baby may be sick

For the past three years, The Children’s Hospital, in partnership with The Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and Kohl’s Department Stores, has implemented a Colorado campaign to educate the community about the dangers of shaking a baby and to offer solutions for how to calm a crying baby. A severe form of Child Abuse, about one child per week was admitted to The Children’s Hospital with signs of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) in 2003.

To learn more about The Children’s Hospital’s efforts to prevent child abuse, visit www.thechildrenhospital.org or read Boyd’s article.

Good Crisis Communications Article for Other Adrenaline Junkies

I’ve earned the reputation as GroundFloor Media’s “crisis communications queen,” and I take that as a compliment. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and I do enjoy guiding clients through challenging situations ~ although I don’t wish such challenging situations on anyone.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review highlights some good reminders for those of us who deal with crisis communications on regular basis. From communicating sincerely, right away and from the top to communicating with your customers wherever they are, the article touches on things we’ve all probably learned in the past, but that we may forget in the heat of the crisis.

I hope you enjoy the article:
http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com/2008/04/american_airlines_communicatio.html

~Ramonna

Investing in Colorado’s Green Future

There are parts of a job that make you feel like you can make a difference. Working with the Colorado Garden Show is one of those examples. I wish every day I could feel as amazing about what I do in public relations. On Wednesday, Carissa and I attended the Colorado Garden Show board meeting to interview two student candidates for scholarships to Colorado State University (CSU). These are not your typical high school seniors. Their activities, grades and background on their farms make us city folk look like couch potatoes. Or at least gave me a little guilt for sleeping in late and arriving at the office by 9 a.m.

Ashton Dilka of Briggsdale, Colo. showed up in her letter jacket with her parents and spoke about getting up at 4 a.m. to feed livestock before heading to school all day. She plays four varsity sports. She raises swine (pigs), has moved miles of irrigation pipes and pulled millions of rye weed from the wheat fields. Can you imagine? And she probably weighs 110 lbs. soaking wet. Ashton graduates from Briggsdale High School this May. In addition to farming she has participated in countless extracurricular activities and organizations including Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) National Honor Society and Future Farmers of America (FFA).

After asking her questions about her career aspirations and why she wanted to attend CSU the board took a brief break. It was unanimous. She was called back into the boardroom with her parents and told she had been awarded the Colorado Garden Show’s four-year, full-ride scholarship to Colorado State University to study agricultural education and business. In addition to paid tuition, room and board, she will receive a laptop with a printer and all expenses will be paid for her books and fees. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

“The only obstacle standing in the way of my educational aspirations was my lack of financial funding to help with the major expense of college. Without the help of the Colorado Garden Show’s full-ride scholarship, my dream of continuing my education would have been next to impossible,” said Ashton.

Her proud parents could not help but express their gratitude and excitement. “We live on a small family farm and this scholarship takes a lot of stress off of our family,” said James Dilka, her father. “A college education will help give Ashton a better path in life and will help her not struggle so hard to get there.”

Ashton hopes to someday become an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor to help teach others with the same passion for agriculture. “It’s not about the money. It’s about the rewards,” she adds. “I look forward to the day when I can make a difference in this changing industry.”

Colorado Garden Show also awarded a two-year scholarship for tuition, books and fees to Rachel Hornung of Stratton, Colo. to attend CSU. Rachel graduated from Stratton High School in May of 2007 as valedictorian and has served the past year as the Colorado FFA vice president visiting more than 25 agricultural programs throughout the state. Rachel impressed the board by remembering almost everyone’s names and for handling questions better than a political candidate in a press conference.

She looks forward to attending CSU this fall and will major in agricultural education. “I have a fondness for agriculture and serving as a State FFA Officer has added to that passion. This year I have learned more about the incredibly different aspects of agriculture from horticulture to cattle production to agricultural business to agronomy. Only 1 percent of Colorado’s population is directly involved in production agriculture, yet there are more than 350 different careers in the field including science, business and technology fields. Because of this I know I will have a great career in agricultural education,” Rachel said.

But that’s not all! Proceeds for the Annual Colorado Garden & Home Show, about $8 of every $12 ticket, go toward grants and scholarships. More than $500,000 will be given out this year. Additional Colorado Garden Show college scholarships for the 2008 – 2009 school year include:

Jamie Petersen of Denver received a one-year scholarship to cover tuition, books and fees in the Horticulture and Landscape Technologies program at Front Range Community College.

Ruchika Agrawal of Aurora, Colo. was awarded the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentoring Scholarship toward tuition each year for four years of college. She will attend Community College of Denver next fall.

Teri Howlett of Windsor, Colo. was awarded a graduate scholarship of tuition, books and fees for one year at CSU towards her Ph.D. in horticulture.

Jessica Jo Johnson of Greeley, Colo. was awarded a scholarship for tuition, books and fees for one year at CSU towards her degree in agriculture business and agricultural education.

Heidi Moss of Ft. Collins, Colo. received a scholarship toward her degree in landscape horticulture focusing on design and contracting at CSU.

Chandi Aldena of Denver received an endowment scholarship toward her degree in landscape architecture at CSU.

Congratulations to all the students! My week is complete. It just doesn’t get any better than this…

~Amy M.

Happy Earth Day!

After living in Boulder for close to ten years, it’s hard to not pick up a few green habits. For example, I recycle everything I can, I use reusable canvas bags for all my shopping and I switched out all my old light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. However, I still have significant room for improvement and I’m committed to really amping up my efforts this Spring and Summer (bring on the Hybrid!). From the conversations I’ve had lately, it sounds like a lot of you guys are too. So in honor of Earth Day, and in hopes of giving everyone a little greening motivation (myself included), I thought it would be fun to highlight what a few of our clients are doing to make their own worlds a little greener.

Rally Software: Rally’s commitment to sustainability was built into their company from day one. Rally’s use of a Software-as-a-Service delivery model eliminates much of the waste that is traditionally associated with software products (boxes, cds, special server hardware, etc.). Rally’s founder and CTO Ryan Martens has worked tirelessly to spread the concept of “Greening the Software Industry” by speaking on the topic at several major industry conferences and authoring numerous articles and white papers.

Internally, the company has formed a “Green Team” that meets once a month to define company-wide green objectives and make specific commitments towards their achieving them. This month, the focus is on implementing an internal composting program, next month the focus will be on reducing its employees’ commuting emissions. Rally also participates in Boulder’s “Be Climate Smart” initiative, a countywide effort to help individuals, families and businesses increase their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint. As part of this program, Rally buys Renewable Energy Credits to cover the energy used to power and cool their production servers with 100% carbon free wind energy.

You can read more about Rally’s sustainability efforts by visiting the Green Brainstorm hive in their Web 2.0 community, Agile Commons.

Corporate Express: Corporate Express is one of the world’s largest business-to-business suppliers of essential office and computer products and services and a great example of a large corporation making a significant commitment to sustainability. The company’s new line of Sustainable Earth cleaning products includes naturally-derived active ingredients and no harsh chemicals like carcinogens, nervous system toxins, harsh acids or reproductive toxins. Corporate Express made sure these products also met or exceeded the stringent sustainability certifications of Green Seal, the most widely recognized name in environmental cleaning products standards, and the EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, which seeks to promote the use of institutional cleaners with improved environmental and human health characteristics.

Internally, Corporate Express is doing their part to decrease fuel usage and truck emissions by using an advanced delivering routing technology that helps reduce idling, among other factors. The company is also planning to convert a portion of their fleet to biodiesel, which they hope to pilot by mid-2008. And they’re currently testing hybrid diesel-electric delivery trucks for future expansion into their fleet.

You can learn more about what Corporate Express is doing on the sustainability front here.

Colorado Garden Show: One organization that is really putting their green thumb to good use this Earth Day is Colorado Garden Show Inc., a nonprofit corporation that provides funds for horticultural-related grants, scholarships and events. This year, Colorado Garden Show will provide grants around the state to support programs such as a major grant to Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado for planting 1,000 trees on Arbor Day; a children’s garden for Advocates Against Domestic Assault; native plants and signage for Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo; and a gathering garden for Montrose Botanical Society.

Since the program launched, Colorado Garden Show has awarded more than $2.5 million for horticultural projects and scholarships throughout the state. You can learn more about the Colorado Garden Show here.

Finally, if you’re feeling a little inadequate now after reading about these impressive green initiatives, don’t. There are a number of green ideas that are quick and easy to implement at home or at the office that can really make a difference. For example, the Fuser.com team up in Boulder has a few suggestions:

• Recycle paper, cans and bottles


• Set your office lights on timers, so they are shut off at night even if someone forgets and leaves them on


• Set up your offices and bathrooms with motion detector light switches (so they go on when you walk in a room)

I know I’m now way past my word-limit for this post, but I hope these examples have been able to inspire you (even a little) to go forth and be green.

Happy Earth Day!

GFsM takes flight

Unless you've been living completely off the grid, it has become impossible to dispute the dramatic impact that social media has had on the public relations industry during recent years. Initially many of us in the PR world dismissed social media as just an outlet for blatantly biased rants or boring personal narratives. However, as we've watched the popularity of social media mediums like blogs, social networking sites, podcasts and social tagging grow during recent years, their importance to marketers has become undeniable.

In essence, social media has transformed consumers from content readers to content publishers. This shift requires not only a new line of thinking for PR teams, but a new set of strategies, tactics and metrics. We've already had the pleasure of working with a few of our existing clients to help them leverage the social media universe to their benefit and now we're excited to expand on that experience.

Today, we're very excited to officially unveil the GroundFloor Social Media program (GFsM). We developed this program to provide companies with creative and intelligent recommendations for utilizing the social media universe to help further their marketing and PR goals. Ever wondered if you should launch your own corporate blog or how you could leverage the popularity of Facebook to reach a new audience? Our GFsM team will work with you to develop and implement a customized social media outreach program that can help you:

· Build a blogosphere presence
· Spread your message through social networks and online communities
· Socialize, share and extend the shelf-life of your news and thought leadership content
· Add viral and visual components to enhance your existing marketing and PR campaigns

We're also going to start really practicing what we preach here at GFM, so be sure to check back here often as we offer insightful commentary and real world tips for marketers in a Web 2.0 world. You can also check us out on Facebook (http://groundfloormedia.blogspot.com/) and follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com//groundfloorpr.

So buckle up social media marketers! It's already been a wild ride and I don't expect it slow down anytime soon!

He’s my Brad Pitt of the News Media

Tim Russert honored with Denver Press Club’s Damon Runyon Award

It is true, Tim Russert is at the top of my list of people I would love to have dinner with. I don’t know if it’s his slightly disheveled look, his love of the Buffalo Bills, his ability to ask hard questions at exactly the right time, or the twinkle in his eye that he gets when talking about the enormous respect he has for his father Big Russ; but I always thought that it would be great to have dinner with Tim Russert.

I finally got the opportunity to dine with him, along with 755 other people, as the Denver Press Club honored Russert with the Damon Runyon Award. I really wanted to show up with a white board, or a poster of red and blue states that I could hold up in American Idol fashion, but instead, I kept myself in check and sat quietly in the back as Adam Schrager of 9News emceed the event. Lots of exciting things were announced that evening—scholarships given to several journalism students, the Press Club announced positive financial news, the Colorado chapter of PRSA celebrated its 50th Anniversary, the Mayor proclaimed April 13 Tim Russert Day (I have added to my calendar to celebrate moving forward), and finally, the moment I had been waiting for, Tim Russert received the Damon Runyon Award.

Granted, part of my dinner fantasy is to be sitting there as Tim Russert tells me his personal political views, but true to Russert form, he was the consummate professional. He told some funny stories, expressed gratitude for the award, and made his excitement known surrounding this historic election, but most importantly he discussed why it is his job to make sure that he asks the questions to get the answers Americans need to know to make informed decisions. His speech was wonderful, he was exactly the person I hoped he would be, but unfortunately time ran out and he wrapped up his comments for the evening.

As most of the guests filed out of the ballroom, I bee lined for Russert’s table in the hopes of getting a memento from my “dinner date” with Tim Russert. Giddy with excitement, I got my picture taken with Tim Russert, a moment that will go down in my own personal history.

Spring is abuzz with change for a GFM client

It’s the end of the ski season and I’m jumping up and down that spring is here, bringing pink blooms on my trees, weekend camping trips, and margs on the patio. But, I also have a tinge of regret at seeing the last runs close down and an epic season wrap up. I have similar feelings about the news that Umbria was acquired by J.D. Power on April 2nd.

A GroundFloor Media client for three years, Umbria is one of those rare companies that you talk up even when you’re off the clock. It’s just plain cool and stocked with smart people. It’s on the cutting edge of Web 2.0, but still reeks of Boulder…in a good way.

For those who follow the social media research industry (Umbria’s milieu), the acquisition was hardly a surprise – the news was more about who was doing the acquiring. That’s because Umbria is one of many new-school research companies that has been paired with an older-school counterpart in recent years. BuzzMetrics, Intelliseek and Cymfony met similar fates, and we’re all guessing who’s next.

A big congrats goes out to the Umbria team, as well as to the brains at J.D. Power who are keeping Umbria’s talent and Boulder location in tact! It’s been awesome to watch them move fast and furiously from the startup cradle to “graduation,” and we’ve been proud to be associated with them along the way.

Buzz analysis is mind-blowing stuff and it’s just now moving up the bell curve. It’ll be fun to take stock of the industry after making my last runs on next year’s spring slush.

~Rebecca S.

Advice on "Punk Marketing"

GroundFloor Media has the honor of working with Qdoba Mexican Grill as their public relations agency of record, and Carissa and I had the opportunity to attend Qdoba’s annual “Mind Meld” marketing meetings in Phoenix last week. The biggest “industry trend” tackled during the conference was non-traditional marketing, and attendees were asked to read the book “Punk Marketing” by Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons in advance. Richard and Mark were also the guest speakers on the first day of the Mind Meld.

I found “Punk Marketing” to be an interesting read. My favorite part is that the authors give you permission – even encourage you – to read the book in whatever order most interests you (not from front to back). I was able to skip around and pull out the pieces most relevant to me, which was very helpful. A couple of things stuck out that I’d like to share.

First, the stats on page 134 about consumer distrust of marketing are staggering. The authors share that “less than a quarter of consumers think companies tell the truth when they market” and that only “10 percent think advertising practitioners are honest.” This points us to what the authors surmise and what Seth Godin continually shares: marketing efforts must be honest. Messages and claims must be truthful. As a PR practitioner, I’m fortunate that GroundFloor Media is based on the principle of partnering with clients who have great stories to tell. Being honest is easy for me. I wish the same for my colleagues in the industry because it sure makes the job rewarding!

The other tidbit I’d like to share from “Punk Marketing” isn’t brain surgery, but it’s an “ah ha” that I think we all need to be reminded of in this busy, multi-task-driven society in which we live. As the authors aptly note, in age when we’re all connected through mobile phones and BlackBerries and e-mail and social networks, “no one is communicating anymore.” They provide some very simple, valid tips on page nine that I think we could all benefit from. My three favorites are:-#3 “During dinner, just sit there. Put down the device and pay attention to the person you’re with…”-#7 “If you’re asked a question, put everything down! Give undivided attention…”and-#4 “Do yourself a favor and don’t prove yourself a bad speller…” (those who know me will not be surprised that this one landed on my list)

If you’re looking for a good read, I can recommend “Punk Marketing,” and if you only have limited time to read, like most of us, I recommend starting with the tips on page nine. And for my fellow PR practitioners, I’d then skip to chapter nine. The rest is up to you.

~Ramonna

Thinking about launching a corporate blog?

If you've been pondering the idea of launching a corporate blog, you should check out a great article on Ad Age's Web site today: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=126326.

According to the article, just more than 11% of Fortune 500 companies have corporate blogs and only a handful have a designated chief blogger. The number of corporate blogs has risen slowly and steadily since the end of 2005, when 4% had any kind of blog.

Here at GFM, we've been working with a number of clients on developing a corporate blog strategy. While consistency and transparency still reign supreme in our opinion, this article makes a good point about fleshing out your reasoning for blogging (e.g. humanize the company) before the blogging begins.

Savings Meets Web 2.0

When my husband and I were knee-deep in wedding planning a couple years ago we were constantly getting asked where we were registered. We had both lived as single adults for a number of years before getting engaged, so we didn’t need another toaster oven or a new set of dishes. What we really wanted was cash for our honeymoon trip to Brazil, but wedding etiquette prevented us from mentioning this to most of our guests. I had heard of honeymoon gift sites that would allow guests to contribute to a couple’s trip, but the couple sites that I found offered very limited options and didn’t seem very reliable.

Fast forward two years and now I’m working with a company that I sorely wish was around when I was still alter bound. Launched earlier this week, SmartyPig (www.smartypig.com) is goal-oriented savings meets Web 2.0. It combines social networking with savings to help people save for a specific goal (e.g. honeymoon, new HD TV, baby furniture, family vacation) – but with three unique twists that actually help users reach their savings goals faster. First, SmartyPig is the only online savings tool that leverages Web 2.0 technologies to allow account holders to make their savings accounts public – so family and friends can securely contribute to a savings goal. Second, SmartyPig currently offers the highest (4.30 % APY) interest rate and will always maintain a competitive interest rate for account holders. Finally, SmartyPig gives consumers even more for their money by offering additional cash boosts (up to five percent of total savings) from best-in-class retailer partners like Amazon.com, Royal Caribbean, Pottery Barn, Best Buy and Home Depot once they reach their savings goal.

The response to SmartyPig so far has been tremendous. Consumers, personal financial pundits and technologists are all loving SmartyPig for taking such a simple and smart idea and making it a reality. (You can read what folks are saying at http://www.smartypig.com/press.) For me, I’m so excited that a company has developed a way to actually keep me interested in saving by adding elements that appeal directly to my social networking addiction. I only wish they’d been around before I got married – maybe I’d have one less waffle maker and wouldn’t still be paying off my honeymoon debt.

PR and software development may have more in common than you might think...

As one of GFM's "technology specialists" and a self-proclaimed nerd, I take a lot of pleasure in sharing my technology-related loves with my fellow GFMers. While they may not always share my passion for the latest Web 2.0 technology or sympathize with me when I'm trying to kick my Twitter habit, they're always open to learning more and willing to try new things. It's one of the things I love about working at GFM.

A few months ago, GFM began working with Rally Software, a provider of on-demand Agile software lifecycle management solutions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Agile development practices, it's a type of software engineering that promotes development iterations throughout the life-cycle of the project. In other words, it makes better software faster in a more people-centric way. There are numerous principles, methodologies and processes behind Agile, but one of the more well known is the daily scrum or daily stand-up. Stand-ups are short team meetings (team members stand in order to keep the meetings short - usually under 15 minutes) where each member shares their work commitments for that day, schedule updates and identifies any obstacles that might prevent them from reaching their daily goals. The goal of the stand-up is to foster team building and - for lack of better words - get things done quicker.

Having worked with multiple software companies through the years, I've been exposed to Agile on a number of different levels. (If you've ever noticed a wall full of insanely organized post-it notes while walking through a cube farm, chances are you have too.) However, my recent tenure with Rally, where every team - including the marketing team - does stand-ups, has been my first experience of being able to actually participate in daily stand-ups. And I have to confess, I've become a big fan. It's like making yourself publicly accountable for your daily to-do list while also hearing about all the cool things your other team members are working on. After most stand-ups I walk back to my computer thinking "I'm up-to-speed, I'm committed for the day... and it's only 9:15." Love it.

After witnessing the virtues of stand-ups first hand, Laura and Ramonna had the brilliant idea to replace our bi-monthly staff meeting with our own semi-weekly stand-ups at GFM. Yes, we're a PR firm, but it's a good idea and who ever said that software developers had the monopoly on good ideas? We're calling them the :19 @ 9 and we're starting them next week.

I'm very excited to share my fondness for stand-ups with my GFM friends and for them to have their own Agile experience. I'll keep you posted on our stand-up success!