Get Connected '09

You know those middle-of-the-night thoughts that you write down in hopes that you won’t forget them by morning? Well, early last year, I had one of those dreams/nightmares of standing in a PR seminar listening to people talk about the art of writing press releases and literally falling asleep. So we decided to combat the bad dreams and launch the Get Connected series of professional development/networking events for senior-level marketing and communication pros. These invitation-only events provide an opportunity for leaders to gather in a peer-oriented environment to learn about new trends in the industry, discuss challenges and opportunities and network with one another.

So this February 18th, we will host 40 guests for our first Get connected event of 2009 titled: The Best Way to Deliver Tough News in Tough Times. We have a solid line up of speakers including Gil Rudawsky, Deputy Metro Business editor, Rocky Mountain News; Lynn Kimbrough, Communications Director, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Ken Keymer, Restaurant Industry Veteran, former CEO of VICORP Restaurants, Inc. and former President of Noodles & Company and Jim D. Leonard, Faegre & Benson LLP

If you are a senior-level marketing/public relations practitioner and are interested in obtaining an invitation to our next Get Connected event, send me an email to getconnected@groundfloormedia.com . The cost is $25 and we give the proceeds to our Get Grounded charity program http://www.groundfloormedia.com/giving_back.html


Happy Connecting…

Wake Up and Help the Homeless: Wear Your PJs to work

I am clearly the GroundFloor Media PJ slacker, but the rest of my colleagues showed up in style today to support Denver’s Road Home (http://www.denversroadhome.org/) by celebrating PJ Day.



In case you were shocked to walk into Starbucks and see folks dressed up in their favorite footed pajamas, today employees throughout Denver could pay $5 to wear their PJs to work. Ramonna is part of Leadership Denver this year and thanks to one of her classmates, Jennifer Hallam, made a pledge to Denver’s Road Home that GroundFloor Media would pay the way for all of our team members so they could join the cause.

In case you have missed seeing photos of our Mayor in PJs and have yet to trip over the donation meters that line the streets of Denver, Denver’s Road Home is Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. During the initiatives first two years, the following has been accomplished:
• 1,243 new units of housing for the homeless have been created
• 957 families have received eviction assistance
• 3,278 homeless people received employment assistance
• 415 families have been mentored through the faith initiative

I cant think of a better reason to spend the day in PJs. In fact, I decided to celebrate a little late and plan to wear mine now.

Laura

Colorado Garden & Home Show Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Sick of the cold weather? Next weekend spring will arrive with the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show. Not only will the Show celebrate its 50th Anniversary but will include 15,000 blooming flowers, 100 tons of boulders and rocks and 2,000 truckloads of fresh recycled mulch, waterfalls, ponds and streams, paths and elevated walkways and bridges all add to the gardens’ living nature. It’s also the only show produced by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that contributes show proceeds (about $8 out of every $12 ticket) to grants and scholarships. To date, Colorado Garden Show has awarded $3 million in grants and scholarships to 207 organizations to support horticulture in Colorado.

What I really can’t wait to see is the “Secret Garden of Pirate’s Cove” entry garden. I’ve visited LaFond FX special effects company several times to check in on the 25 ft. tall by 32 ft. long pirate ship complete with pirates, cannons and ancient warriors. The enormity of the pirate ship is hard to describe. How they will move it in to the Colorado Convention Center next week will be a sight to see. Curious? Check out the behind-the-scenes video on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Colorado-Garden-Show-Inc/77663835284?ref=ts

More than 600 companies from 25 states and Canada will introduce new technologies in energy-efficient heating and cooling products, window treatments, siding, flooring, lighting, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, patio furniture, gutters, sound systems, storage systems, greenhouses, decks, spas and more. If you ever want to check out options for your dream kitchen or backyard this is the spot.

Other things not to miss:

Feb. 7 - 15
· Master Gardeners from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will answer all your questions for free. Look for them in their bright green vests in The Education Garden.
· Marvel at the creative floral arrangements and designs in Colorado’s largest juried Flower Show, “Playtime in the Rockies,” presented by the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs.
· Explore The 9News Hot Products Zone for new gardening and home improvement products from a leafproof gutter system to handcrafted children’s furniture to EcoSmart fire to permanent holiday LED lighting and more
· Looking for Green Ideas? Stop by the Smart Energy Living Pavilion to learn the five most important steps for achieving energy efficiency in your home.

Feb. 7-8
· Admire, but do not eat, the 120 extravagant cakes competing for prizes in the show’s botanically-correct “sugar art show.” The “Sweet Times in the Rockies” Cake Decorating Contest will be on display next to the show’s main entrance.
· Don’t miss the celebrity “ICE-OFF” cake competition to benefit The Children’s Hospital on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Demonstration Theater.

Feb. 11
· Stop by the Flower Sale halfway through the show when fading flowers will be removed from the garden and replaced. The Rotary Club will have these flowers on sale to the public for $2 per pot.

Feb. 14
· Discover tips and techniques for successful gardening and home improvement projects presented by regional experts at the Demonstration Theater. Richard Trethewey of This Old House will speak in the Demonstration Theater at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Feb. 15
· Twenty metro area Rotary Clubs will converge on the Convention Center to carefully box 7,000 flowers and ready them for delivery to 60 local nursing homes.

The State of the Media (and therefore, our profession)

I know I’m not catching anyone by surprise when I say that traditional media as we know it is in trouble. I follow “themediaisdying” on Twitter and am reminded of this sad fact every day. Now, with the Rocky Mountain News up for sale and its future uncertain, the fact is hitting home even harder than usual. As public relations professionals, this is changing our daily lives and the fundamental ways we do business. Gone are the days of beat reporters with column inches waiting to be filled with news about their beat – even good news. Nowadays it can take several calls to various contacts in the newsroom to determine who might be around that day and MIGHT have time to cover your story – if it’s a REALLY big story. I’m not complaining because that creates more work for PR practitioners; I truly feel for my friends in the media who have so little time and so few opportunities left to cover the things they are passionate about in meaningful ways.

As PR professionals, we must stay on the forefront of these changes, maintain strong relationships with the reporters who are lucky enough to be left out there, and shift our thinking toward new media and new ways to reach the consumers we need to reach. Whether that’s through blogs, microsites, special events or cause-inspired campaigns, now more than ever is the time to think out of the box, be creative, flexible and – most of all – strategic. It’s a challenging time in our industry, but there are some great opportunities out there to do things in new ways and really make an impact. Good luck!

And you call yourself an expert??

Caroline McCarthy has a great post today on CNet's "the social" blog called Marketing: Social media's hidden bubble. Her post details the plight of the infamous "Social Media Expert". (Yes, we've all met a few.) Caroline reminds us how these experts enjoyed a sudden rise to fame in 2008 as companies and agencies everywhere scrambled to hire their social media savior. Now it seems these same experts are struggling to find employment and keep their expert status among a society of much more socially-savvy folks. I agree with Caroline that the "Social Media Expert" is quickly heading the way of the dodo, however I'd argue that there are a number of companies who need guidance through the social media universe from a strategic perspective. As Caroline says, almost 50% of social media marketing campaigns fail. The difference in the 50% that do succeed? In my opinion it's strategy. When it comes to social media, you can't afford to throw 10 million spitballs at the wall and see what sticks. Where are the conversations that matter to your business taking place? What is the tone of those conversations and who's leading the discussions? In order to have a successful social media campaign you have to start with the basics and then build a sound strategy that maps to your objectives. If you need help figuring out your social media strategy, find someone with strong social media experience who understands your business and how a smart, strategic social media campaign can help your business grow.

Being an expert on something is great, but how can you be an expert on something that is changing every 3 seconds and is different for every single company?

Godin on two ways to deal with "no"

Since opening our doors in April 2001, the team at GroundFloor Media has faced our share of rejections with both existing clients as well as potential clients. "No" is never an easy word to stomach, but sometimes our best lessons have come from how we have handled the rejection. As new business will be harder to come by in 2009, and existing clients are faced with tightening their belts, we will hear this word more often than not. Ramonna read Godin's new post on two ways to deal with "no" and sent it on to me.I thought it was worth passing on as we head into the new year.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/two-ways-to-dea.html

You could contact the organization that turned you down and explain that they had made a terrible mistake, the wrong choice and a grave error. You could criticize the vendor they actually selected, bring You could even question the judgment of the prospect and try to teach them to make better decisions in the future. And, while you're at it, challenge the fairness of the decision-making committee itself, and explain how a more fair process would have favored you at the same time it would have helped the organization that turned you down.

Or

You could be more gracious than if you'd won the work. You could send a thank you note for the time invested, you could sing the praises of the vendor chosen in your stead and you could congratulate the buyer, "based on the criteria you set out, it's clear that you made exactly the right choice for your organization right now." That doesn't mean the criteria were right, it just means that you're not attacking the person for being an impulsive lunatic. You could even outline what you learned from the process and what you'll be changing in the future. And you can make it clear that you're in it for more than just a sale, and you'll be around if they ever need you.

Couple questions:

1. Which one will make you more likely to be invited back, or to be the backup if the first choice fails?

and

2. Which one will increase your word of mouth at the same time it improves your organization's feeling about itself?

It's a no-brainer, I think. So how come the first is so common?

Thanks, Mr. Godin. You always seem to have it right.

Running with the Elvi (or is it Elvises?)

For many world travelers, it is a lifelong aspiration to see the thrill of Pamplona, Spain’s annual Running of the Bulls. However, for the team at GroundFloor Media, that thrill took the form of participating in the “Running of the Elvises,” or more commonly referred to as the Las Vegas Half Marathon this December.

Months earlier in August of 2008, our company’s president and vice president, Laura Love and Ramonna Tooley, invited our team to consider taking on the challenge of the “LV 1/2.” Some of us called it more of a dare, rather than an invitation, on their part. But given that we’re a goal-driven group of people several of us threw caution to the wind, said “count us in,” and figured we’d somehow sort out the consequences later.

On the theory that the team that runs/jogs/walks together stays together, our rag-tag group of 30- and 40-somethings embarked on our rather improvisational training efforts over the late summer and early fall. Despite sprained ankles, shin splints and varied levels of fitness, our rag-tag team of Olympic wanna-bes set off to Vegas the first weekend of December to accomplish our mission: cross the finish line in ample time to catch our flights back home.

Fueled by a team pasta dinner the night before, our race-morning arrived bright and early on December 7th. Against the backdrop of the famed Vegas Strip, pre-dawn fireworks, 11,000 other runners and at least five dozen runners dressed as Elvis Presley, the starting gun went off at 6:05 a.m. – and we were on our way.

Cutting through the masses of running humanity, we each found our own comfortable pace and tackled the course. And, as you might imagine, the city of Las Vegas offered an anything-but-dull collection of scenery to keep runners and walkers visually distracted mile by mile. The first half of our journey spanned the length of the Strip from the “family friendly” luxury casinos and hotels to older historic Freemont Street area, while the course’s back half was speckled with flop houses, bail bonds offices, taxi depots and adult-only dance clubs. And, from beginning to end, we had the companionship of runners dressed up as showgirls, “professional” showgirls dressed up as pedestrians, high-school marching bands, Japanese taiko drummers, the LVPD and, naturally, a very broad array of running Elvises. At mile six, the course had a run-through wedding chapel for those so inclined to say “I do” in between sips of Gatorade – complete with Elvis as your best man and a showgirl as your bridesmaid. But, we’re happy to confirm that no members of GroundFloor Media even slightly slowed down their pace at this part of the race.

The exhilaration of reaching the finish line to the cheers and shouts of hundreds of spectators was a thrill for each of us that just might possibly rival that of seeing Pamplona’s Bulls. Goodness knows some of us were about as graceful as a bull by the time reach reached the course’s end!

~Amy Claire

Adopt a Family or a Child for the Holidays

As you may know, I sit on the board of a very special place -- Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org)-- and GroundFloor Media has been very involved with this wonderful organization for years. The Home was founded in 1904 as an orphanage, and today we treat abused, neglected, and at-risk children ages 5-18. We serve 600+ children and 1500+ family members each year.

I know many of you look for ways to support those who are less fortunate during the holiday season. If you would like to adopt a family or some of the kids who live in the cottages, Tennyson Center supports those that are in desperate need of holiday gifts for their children. Families are asked to create wish lists containing items ranging from gifts for their children to essentials such as food certificates, toiletries and linens. Donors then deliver those items to the TCC campus after which therapists and case workers distribute the items to the families they work with so closely. They have 70 families left to adopt this holiday season. The gift requests range from $150-$400 per family, with an average of $225 per family for all of their holiday gifts.

If you or your company is interested in adopting a family, either let me know ASAP or call Tricia Muniz at 720-855-3358 or tricia.muniz@tennysoncenter.org.

I hope you will consider making this a Holiday to remember for a family in need.

The Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership Program Rocks and "Walks"...

The Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership Program (DDPLP) is an amazing program filled with an incredibly talented group of leaders. This year's class project was called Putting Our Best Foot Forward and our own Carissa McCabe was part of this cool effort. I have posted a link below to YouTube that shows the video that was produced by the members of her class to support the live presentation they gave a few weeks ago.

For those of you who don't know very much about this program, the idea is to immerse the class in the Denver Area Plan (Denver’s 20-year plan for improving our downtown). The group (all had to apply and were selected to attend the DDPLP) had to dig into research to determine how they could make Denver more pedestrian friendly.

Carissa taught the rest of us GroundFloor Media pedestrian novices that Denver is ranked No. 4 in the country for walkability.

GroundFloor Media wasn't the only firm represented in this class. There were more than 70 other downtown leaders from companies including Molson/Coors, Corona Research, Vectra Bank, the Colorado Rockies, the Office of Economic Development, The Kenney Group and many, many others.

Enjoy the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjfFV5Z30Vg

"Message Me" CVC

GroundFloor Media was asked to host a message training session at the Colorado Voices for Coverage conference today. So although the weather was less than ideal and I left the office with enough gas to make it 6 miles (trip distance 14.8 miles), I managed to get us to the Qwest Learning Center unscathed. My faithful sidekick Amy Moynihan and I fought the IT battle and won just in time to talk about how the group could engage healthcare reform stakeholders who are not currently active in the reform process. This conference was an opportunity to bring together sectors of the community that typically do not interface and provide education in both organizing and the policy process.

Our good friend from Tennyson Center or Children and Every Child Matters, Becky Updike, asked us to host this session. Basically, The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative was one of twelve state based advocacy groups selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst to participate in the Consumer Voices for Coverage grant initiative, which supports state health care coverage efforts by fostering strong and robust advocacy infrastructures. Its a bit of a maze to try and figure out who is on first, but Community Catalyst is a national health advocacy organization dedicated to quality affordable care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the nation; all RWJF philanthropy efforts are devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans.

The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative is leading the statewide collaboration and will be supported by a leadership team of organizations including: the Business Forum on Health, the Colorado Council of Churches, and the Colorado Progressive Coalition. The Colorado Voices for Coverage project seeks to organize health reform at the state level to remove barriers that block consumers from adequate health care. The project will increase the understanding, commitment, and capacity of a broad group of stakeholders to bring underrepresented perspectives into health care policy discussions, to connect diverse constituencies, and to build sustainable state-wide advocacy network required to implement meaningful health reform.

Whew... I need a message map just to track the players involved in this worthwhile initiative.

It Takes a Team to Blog

Many of GroundFloor Media's clients either have a blog or are ready to dip their toes in the blogging waters. We consistently explain to clients that maintaining a blog is similar to maintaining an editorial calendar for a newspaper or your internal newsletter. It takes a team of people to keep a blog relevant, interesting and up-to-date. Seth Godin's blog post, "Death of a personal blog?" makes some great points along those same lines. I hope you enjoy it... http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!
~Ramonna

Too Small to Fail?

Once again, Seth Godin's post strikes a cord. If you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur, it's worth a quick read. In summary, Godin says the secret of 'small is the new big' thinking is that you won't fail and you can't fail and you don't need to worry about a bailout. Not because you're small in headcount or assets, but because you act small. If you act small and think big, you are too small to fail. You won't need a bailout because your business makes sense each and every day. You won't need a bailout because your flat organization (no matter how large it is) knows about problems long before they're too big to deal with. And that's just big thinking.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/too-small-to-fa.html

We're #2!!

This morning, for the third consecutive year, GroundFloor Media, was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work in Denver in the small company category. In 2007 GroundFloor Media was recognized as the No. 1 place to work in Denver, and now in 2008 we were recognized as No. 2. Despite the turmoil in the marketplace, there is a lot to be thankful for these days. A team that sticks together during these tough times will most certainly come out ahead. Ramonna and I are thankful for the GroundFloor Media team members that make this truly a great place to work!

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/11/24/focus24.html


GroundFloor continues to distinguish itself as a leader
No. 2 small-size company
Denver Business Journal - by Ryan Peacock Special to the Business Journal

Stephen Swofford | Business Journal
At GroundFloor Media, the No. 2 small-size company on the Best Places to Work list, employees participate in the Get Grounded program, which outlines a goal of committing 20 percent of services to nonprofit organizations and pro bono accounts.

This is the third consecutive year Laura Love — who founded public relations firm GroundFloor Media in 2001 — has seen her company being named a “Best Place to Work.”
“It’s so important for us because it’s an employee-driven award, and our people are our biggest assets,” Love said. “We grew very carefully. Most everyone on our team came to us as a referral from somebody else on our team.”

GroundFloor Media is comprised of senior-level talent that’s enabled the firm to achieve substantial success with a client roster that includes CH2M Hill, Qdoba, and the City and County of Denver.

“I think the hardest thing to find in any economy is top talent, and especially when you’re a company like ours who only hires senior-level people,” Love said. “I think we attract the best in the industry because of the work culture and flexibility we offer.”

Balance between personal and professional lives, along with community involvement, are core principles for Love and her employees. They’ve been strong partners with Tennyson Center for Children, providing public relations support. And the firm’s own Get Grounded program has a goal of committing 20 percent of services to nonprofit organizations and pro bono accounts.

There is yoga in the office every Wednesday, and some employees are training together to run a half-marathon in Las Vegas in December.

“For the size of the company that we are, we’re really proud to offer the type of competitive health care benefits that we do,” said Ramonna Tooley, vice president and managing partner.

Employees are encouraged to pursue professional-development opportunities that appeal to them.

An example of this occurred when a few employees were interested in social networking, and Love gave them full support to develop the firm’s capabilities in this area.

“From an employee standpoint, they have taken the program and built it from the ground up, and now it’s a major part of the services we can offer to clients,” she said.

Turnover continues to remain low, hovering at around 6 percent.

“When you look at it, we have broken every rule and done it in a way that works,” Tooley said. “We tend to err on the side of our employees despite what our business advisers tell us sometimes.”

Top PR Moments of the 2008 Election

Now that election fever has finally started to subside, the team at GroundFloor Media thought we’d throw our hat in the commentary ring and list the top public relations moments of the 2008 election, along with the lessons we can learn from each of them. Some are examples of PR greatness and others probably made you cringe, but they’re all worth reliving. Enjoy!

Note: To be fair, these are not listed in any particular ranking order.

Obama’s ill-chosen remarks about bitter working class voters who "cling to guns or religion"
PR Lesson Learned: Test your key messages before saying them in public.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-04-12-obama-comments_N.htm


Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric
PR Lesson Learned: Don’t skip the media prep session.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg6hF0nShQ


Joe Biden’s prediction that “Obama will be tested by a crisis during his first six months of administration”
PR Lesson Learned: You’re never really off the record.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpiNfuG8YY8


McCain Spokesperson Michael GoldFarb on CNN refusing to name Obama’s so-called anti-semitic associates after repeatedly saying “We all know who we’re talking about”
PR Lesson Learned: Make sure your spokesperson should really be a spokesperson.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JdjZEfxk2w


Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe publicly choosing his family over the election
PR Lesson Learned: If you hire people with the right priorities, you’ll rarely have to worry about cleaning up after them.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/02/obama-campaign-manager-would-choose-baby-over-obama/


Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live
PR Lesson Learned: Being able to laugh at yourself goes a long way with people.
www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-palin-rap/773781/


During the final debate, McCain saying to Obama “I am not George Bush. If you wanted to run against George Bush, you should have run four years ago.”
PR Lesson Learned: A good sound bite can silence even the greatest of spokespeople.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KmJlQcbIDI


Sarah Palin getting booed by Pittsburgh residents after congratulating them on the Phillies’ World Series victory
PR Lesson Learned: Know your audience.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nRR4PmyVKQ


Obama leveraging social media to rally and unite his supporters
PR Lesson Learned: Don’t underestimate the power of social media to help further your cause.

http://adage.com/campaigntrail/post?article_id=126336


Joe Biden bearing his emotions about raising his two young sons after the death of his wife and daughter
PR Lesson Learned: The more you can humanize a story, the better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbrFFHUlSlQ


Any other PR moments that deserve to be immortalized on our blog? Just let us know!

Award-winning Campaigns

I have to take a minute to brag… We were recently awarded the 2008 Grand Gold Leaf Award and 2008 Nonprofit Project of the Year Award from the Colorado Healthcare Communicators for work conducted on behalf of our clients, The Children’s Hospital and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, respectively. I was on the Colorado Healthcare Communicators board for five years and never even saw a Grand Gold Leaf. As one of our clients put it, “The strength and quality of our partnership was on full display at the ceremony with the wonderful acknowledgement by our peer professionals.”

Not only did GroundFloor Media and The Children’s Hospital receive the Grand Gold Leaf Award for the campaign, “The Children’s Hospital Makes 111 Miracles Happen,” but this campaign also received a Gold Leaf Award in the media relations category. This campaign consisted of an aggressive, proactive local and regional media relations strategy during The Children’s Hospital’s move to its new state-of-the-art facility at I-225 and Colfax in September 2007.

For the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Division, we received the Nonprofit Project of the Year Award and a Gold Leaf Award in the new media category for the What If? Colorado social media campaign, which was comprised of both traditional and non-traditional public relations components, including a reality competition.

I’m extremely proud of our team members at GroundFloor Media and have to commend them publicly for continually generating fresh, strategic ideas to help our clients meet their marketing and business objectives!

Film For The Troops

In honor of our armed forces, individuals and companies continue to create programs that give thanks to the men and women who have served – and continue to serve - our country. Today is Veterans Day and it marks the date of an event that ended 90 years ago today: World War I. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, a defeated Germany ended four years of the bloodiest war in human history. As we continue to engage in present day combat, the service men and women may have different faces, but their commitment to our country does not waiver.



The members of our armed forces don’t enjoy the same luxuries we do and often we take even the smallest luxury from granted. There is a program called Films For The Troops that is collecting new and used DVDs for Colorado troops in action as well as wounded American soldiers. Films For The Troops, a program of the Colorado Film & Video Association (CFVA) and the Denver Film Society, and sponsored by Bellco Credit Union, collects DVDs annually and this year hopes to collect 1,000 DVDs to send out right after Thanksgiving to arrive to the Troops in time for the holidays.

If you have new or used DVDs (rated G through R) that could use a new home, please consider donating through Tuesday, Nov. 25. Here are some more details on locations:

Bellco Credit Union will accept DVD donations at all 15 of its Denver metro branches which are located in Aurora, Centennial, Denver, Englewood, Glendale, Lakewood, Littleton, Northglenn, Parker, Westminster and Wheat Ridge. A full list of branch locations, including hours of operation and contact information, can be found at www.bellco.org.


Five American Legion Posts will also collect DVDs. These locations include:
Post 1 - 5400 E. Yale, Denver, CO 80222
Post 178 - 1655 Simms St, Lakewood, CO 80215
Post 32 - 315 S. Bowen, Longmont, CO 80501
Post 22 - 11081 Irma Dr, Northglenn, CO 80223
Post 1992 - 16070 E. Dartmouth Ave., #6, Aurora, CO 80013

A semi-permanent bin has been placed in the box office of the Starz FilmCenter, which is located at 900 Auraria Parkway (9th St. & Auraria Parkway) in Denver, and DVD collection bins onsite at the Festival which runs Nov. 13 - 23.



GroundFloor Media also has a bin at our office: 1923 Market Street in Denver. We welcome you to stop by with a donation if you find yourself in our neck of the woods!



Thanks for your support.

Poop Happens

The write up in last week’s Denver Business Journal says it all. I’ve never been so proud while laughing so hard, so I have to share…

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Speaking of disgusting things, how ‘bout that “Animal Grossology” exhibit in Parker at The Wildlife Experience, way south of Denver, where South Peoria Street meets Lincoln Avenue — and the farther away, the better.

“I have a nephew who is 12, and he thought it was AWESOME!” says Amy Moynihan of GroundFloor Media, which landed this prestigious account. Animal Grossology features a number of interactive and hands-on exhibits, “and you can dissect owl pellets [in animated form], and there’s a big cow that demonstrates how their digestive systems work. There’s lots of game stations, so you can make slime and fake poop.”

School and children’s groups have toured the exhibit, and there are educators and volunteers present to help. More fun facts to be gleaned: A dung beetle can roll dung 50 times its weight, which rivals any politician. Also, cows are the gassiest animals on Earth, which also defies belief as we’re assaulted by political commercials this fall.

When the Gold Pick Awards come around next fall, someone oughta nominate GroundFloor Media for:

• Headline of the Year: “Animal Grossology Exhibit Lands at the Wildlife Experience Featuring Pooper Scoopers, Blood Suckers, Vomit Munchers, Slime Makers and More!”

• Company President Quote of the Year: “Snail slime and the dung beetle, otherwise known as ‘nature’s pooper scooper,’ definitely qualify as unique story angles!” says Laura Love in a GroundFloor Media news release.

The exhibit runs through April 26, with hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. It’s closed Mondays, and we’re guessing that’s when someone places a giant fumigation tent over the building and has at it. Info: www.thewildlifeexperience.org or 720-488-3300, if tiny bugs haven’t burrowed their way into your cellphone.

Fuse Me

In this insane world of PR, we’re constantly juggling multiple conversations with colleagues, reporters, clients and even our clients’ customers. In this age of instant connectivity, that usually means an inordinate amount of e-mails, Facebook wall posts and tweets. Maintaining these online conversations can be challenging, even overwhelming at times. I’ve tried adhering to the principles of Inbox Zero or GTD, but truth be told, the only time I clear out my inboxes is when I’m on a transatlantic flight. And usually, I just want to sleep or watch a few really bad movies with subtitles.

Enter Fuser.com. Fuser.com is an online tool that lets you to check your e-mail and social networking accounts (Facebook, Myspace and Twitter) in one secure place, so you don’t have to log into tons of different Web sites each day. Once you’ve registered your accounts you’ll get your messages delivered to one online inbox that you can access from any Internet connection. You can reply, send, forward – basically do all the things you’re used to doing already – from within Fuser.com. It’s free and you don’t have to download or install a program to use it, so you can access it easily from work or home.

Now, for the disclaimer… we began working with Fuser last year when they unveiled the initial version of Fuser.com. As one of the first companies to offer Internet users a way to avoid “inbox overload” while also helping them increase their connectivity, it was easy to understand why people instantly starting using it. Earlier this month, Fuser unveiled a new version of Fuser.com that is 40% faster, offers a completely new user interface and a slew of more message management features. Once again, the response has been great and we’re excited to be part of the Fuser.com fan club.

Fuser also has a cool viral marketing campaign going on that includes a microsite with some pretty hilarious videos and emails. You can see it at http://www.nevermissamessage.com/ (as in, “with Fuser.com, you’ll never miss an important message again). Here’s an example of what may happen to you if you miss a message:

Religion, Politics and Burritos

Two topics we’ve all been taught to avoid in business meetings and casual conversations are religion and politics. But when GroundFloor Media looked for a way for Qdoba Mexican Grill to enter the world of social media, we decided to enter a conversation already taking place, rather than trying to create a new one. And what better topic to enter than one about the upcoming election?

That’s how TasteBudPolitics.com was born, and nearly 100,000 unique visits later, it seems to be a great strategy. Qdoba’s campaign is a nonpartisan look at 1) how Mexican foods describe people’s personalities – or Q-dentities – and 2) which candidates and issues are important to those people who take the personality quiz.

Personally, I find it fascinating how closely the national Taste Bud Politics results have tracked with national voter polls. And I find it extremely interesting that the only Q-dentity that supports John McCain more than Barack Obama on the national front is the “chips & salsa” group and that, based on analysis conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Mc Cain is a chips & salsa personality. There are a couple of great articles about consumer product marketing campaigns that are playing on the election; if you’re interested see Joy Davis’ article in the Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/25/companies-rev-up-ballot-games/) and Mike Beirne’s article in Adweek (http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/esearch/e3i6d1955ff988810b8dcab2f3399bcf90e).

No matter your Q-dentity or your political party, I urge you to get out and vote! In Colorado, you can vote early in a variety of locations through Friday. To find your early voting polling place, contact your County Election Officials (http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=147).

Child Abuse is Not to be Ignored

A cause that is very near and dear to my heart is hosting its annual fundraiser event tomorrow evening. Like many people that get involved on a board level of a non profit, it is often easy to lose sight of the real issues at hand. Instead, we get caught up in the development plans and the lack of available grant money, HR issues, event logistics, and other areas that while absolutely necessary for the viability of an organization, are often a far cry from the real social issue at hand.

The Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org) is an unbelievable organization. It is Colorado’s leading residential and day treatment facilities, serving the most abused and neglected children ages 5 to 14. Why is this so important?

You may not know that Colorado has the ninth highest rate of children living in poverty and Colorado experienced the nation’s fastest rate of growth among impoverished children from 2000 to 2006, according to a recent study. Clearly, children in our state are not getting a fair shake – and the results can be downright devastating. Since 2001, the number of child abuse reports has risen by more than 60 percent in our state – yet the number of child caseworkers has only increased by 8 percent. Almost half of the child abuse reports made in Colorado in 2007 did not have the proper follow-up because our system is by all accounts over-burdened. Colorado continues to investigate 13 child deaths statewide that were reported cases of child abuse that “fell through the cracks.”

This haunts me. As a parent, I can only try in some way to understand the devastation these children must feel. What we do at Tennyson Center is to attempt to save these children from this dark place. We provide them -- most often for the first time -- unconditional love. We give them back their hopes and dreams. We try and become the stepping-stones to a life where again they can trust and love adults.

Board reports matter very little in the grand scheme of things. Don’t they?