INSPIRED

Ramonna Robinson and I tuned in for the second session of the TED2011 conference yesterday – Majestic. Speakers included:

• Handspring - Puppeteers
• Sunni Brown - Visualizer and gamestorming
• Paul Nicklen - Polar photographer
• Thomas Heatherwick - Designer
• Bobby McFerrin - Musician

We chatted afterwards about overarching themes, and the one that really jumped out for both of us was the idea of taking old ways of thinking, deconstructing them and coming up with whole new approaches in the process. For me, it boiled down to the word “inspiration.” Specific examples included:

• Handspring took the concept of a horse and recreated it in the form of a majestic puppet. At the same time, they took the concept of puppet and turned it into an entirely new thing – incredibly convincing and lifelike.
• Sunni Brown discussed the topic of doodling. Rather than viewing it as a waste of time, she positioned it as a powerful thinking and learning tool. Here’s to freely doodling during work meetings!
• Leopard seals typically have the reputation of being vicious predators. Paul Nicklen spent four days in frigid Arctic waters to test that perception and ended up bonding with a female leopard seal that was bound and determined to take care of him by feeding him penguins.
• In designing apartment buildings in Malaysia, Thomas Heatherwick and his team turned typical design principles on their heads. Rather than giving the buildings square bases, they reduced the square-footage on the ground level, added it to the more valuable higher levels of the buildings and opened up space for rainforest regrowth in the process.
• Always innovative in his music, Bobby McFerrin turned the audience into his band, pulling audience members up onstage with him as he improvised songs for a good 20 minutes!

It’s amazing what we can do when we let go of old ways of thinking and approach concepts and projects with a fresh, new perspective!

~Amanda Brannum

Connected

Today marked the start of the TED2011 conference, and this year GroundFloor Media generously signed up for the live webcast of the entire conference to allow team members to audit sessions throughout the week. I am lucky number one – and just watched the opening session: Monumental, which featured a wide range of speakers from a physicist to a media executive to a composer. Their expertise was diverse, but the overarching message was the same – connectivity.

Favorite takeaways:

• Janna Levin, physicist: together in this tiny microcosm of time, scientists are working together to understand more about where our planet came from and where we're going. Did you know that black holes make noise when they collide?
  
• Sarah Marquis, explorer: Sarah is rediscovering the connection between humans and nature by walking the world. She starts each trek with questions in her left pocket, and hopes to answer them by the end of her journey. Follow Sarah on Twitter @sarah_marquis.
• David Brooks, New York Times columnist: maybe it's because I'm a new mom, but I loved David's message about the power of the unconscious mind, the importance of emotions and the importance of connecting with other humans. I'm interested to read David's latest book, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement.
• Eric Whitacre, composter/conductor: I was blown away by Eric's Virtual Choir project. The connections he's made among people across the globe are extraordinary and brought tears to my eyes. Follow Eric on Twitter @ericwhitacre
• Wadah Khanfar, media executive: Wadah is the Director General of Al Jazeera and the timing of his presentation was remarkable, given current events in the Middle East. Wadah inspired me to think differently about what’s going on in that part of the world and his message of hope, tolerance, security and friendship inspired me. Amazing stuff.

GFM team members will be posting blogs related to the sessions throughout the week – but in the meantime, see below for the opening comments recorded by Cady Coleman who is currently on the International Space Station. I actually found myself clapping at the end of the opening session even though I was sitting alone in GFM's playroom! Remarkable the connections that can be made thanks to technology!

TED2011 : Cady Coleman @ The International Space Station from TED Blog on Vimeo.

When bad things happen to good brands

If you kept up with the news over the weekend, you are surely aware of the sudden resignation of Sunflower Markets CEO Michael Gilliland following allegations of child prostitution. As the old saying goes, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only hours to tear it down – and this case is no different. One of GroundFloor Media's crisis experts, Gil Rudawsky, sat down to outline some of the lessons learned from this situation, including some of the following highlights:

• Revisit your crisis communication plan
• If you don't have a plan – it's a great time to get a crisis communication plan in place
• While planning, brainstorm the unimaginable. As you can tell from the headlines in the paper, the unimaginable happens more than you might think.

Connected Thinking, Globally.

GroundFloor Media (GFM) is one of more than 40 public relations agencies worldwide that are part of the invitation-only Public Relations Global Network (PRGN). Comprised of agency owners and industry veterans, PRGN agencies are selected for being one of the premier agencies in their market and therefore providing the background and intelligence for clients looking to create traction in a particular region or industry.

From Denver across the United States and beyond to its newest members in India and Russia, the benefits of PRGN membership are extensive, including learning from each others’ experiences and providing clients with exclusive access to a wealth of resources, specialized capabilities and local connections. Many of GFM’s national clients have harnessed the power of our PRGN colleagues to quickly reach additional markets across the globe with a consistent approach and messaging.

But enough about “why” PRGN is valuable, it’s much more fun to know about “what” our partners have been up to lately.

On Jan. 26, PRGN distributed the first edition of its newsletter with a focus on providing mini case studies from member agencies. Natalie Price of Seattle public relations agency, The Fearey Group, wrote about a topic that’s near and dear to our hearts here at GFM – social media for the health care industry. The Fearey Group recently worked with Swedish Medical Center, the largest nonprofit health system in the Puget Sound region, to create two new innovative social media campaigns.

• The first effort helped to raise awareness for sleep disorders. Swedish’s Sleep Medicine Center hosted the first-ever “sleep up” – an all-night live stream following a patient undergoing sleep disorder testing. The campaign reached more than five million people and gained national media coverage, including online bellwether Mashable.com.
• The second program caught more than media attention. Did you see Grey’s Anatomy last week? Yes, surgeons really do live tweet from the operating room and Seattle’s Swedish Medical center was one of the first in the country to do so. The live-tweeted surgery reached more than 83,000 people on Twitter.
  

The success of these campaigns offers valuable insights for all PRGN partners and our clients. We look forward to bringing this information to you in regular posts about PRGN on our blog.

Click here to subscribe to the PRGN newsletter or stay up-to-date on the latest news and information from across the network at Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Great Story Telling: When it Makes a Difference

We’ve all had good clients and clients that were not quite the right fit. I believe that a good client is made up of not only the chemistry of the teams but also the sense of partnership in the bigger picture. There is nothing better for an agency than having a passion and mission for telling a client’s story. I’ve been working with GroundFloor Media’s (GFM) health care practice for several years and work with many amazing organizations that are fighting the good fight against obesity. It has been and will continue to be a great story to tell because the risks are enormous and consequences deadly. This issue makes pitching traditional and nontraditional media exciting because I truly believe this story needs to be told and because telling it will hopefully make a difference, start a dialogue, educate one more person, or create/support a movement.

And speaking of movements, I can’t believe today is the anniversary of The First Lady’s groundbreaking Let’s Move! Campaign, focused on childhood obesity. We’ve seen the movement impact schools and communities across the nation and give GFM’s health care clients including LiveWell Colorado, the Colorado Health Foundation (TCHF) and The Children’s Hospital support on the local levels. Nationally, we’ve seen celebrity chefs and Walmart get their game on too. Now there is a challenge sweeping the quick service restaurant industry for healthier kids meal options (see resource link and article below) and thankfully our client Qdoba Mexican Grill has always offered healthy options. Every industry should choose to be positive players in fighting this growing epidemic.

On the local front, we need to remember that more than a quarter of Colorado’s children are overweight or obese. I’d like to call out the Colorado organizations that are renewing their own commitment and collaborative efforts to bring healthy eating and active living strategies to children and families across the state. A group of Colorado organizations including LiveWell Colorado and TCHF, Kaiser Permanente and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), are partnering in an effort stop the obesity epidemic in Colorado. These organizations have engaged hundreds of Colorado communities, schools, families and children to make policy, environmental and behavior changes that address obesity. Every time an article, broadcast segment or blog comes out about these programs we have a sense of pride knowing that just possibly the needle is moving.

I’d also like to highlight one of our non-profit clients that often sits behind-the-scenes that is making big differences in our communities through supporting community gardens, agriburbia, food banks and horticulture programs across the state, Colorado Garden Show, Inc. They do this from proceeds generated from the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show (coming up Feb. 12 – 20, 2011) and the Colorado Fall Home Show. For some this may be an unlikely partner in the fight against obesity.

Last week, the organization awarded a $100,000 grant to Westminster High School and a $25,000 grant to Concerts for Kids. The Westminster High School grant specifically supports the construction of a greenhouse for the school’s horticulture program. The Concerts for Kids grant will support two of the organization’s projects – a community garden and greenhouse at the Serenity Learning Center (for children with autism) in Centennial, Colo., and an organic community vegetable garden at one Denver Public Schools elementary school.

Do you have a client that you are passionate about telling their story? What are you most proud of working on this week?


Resource Articles:
• Eatocrazy on CNN “Walmart Joins Michelle Obamas Let’s Move Campaign”
• Kids Health Eating Focus of Let’s Move Campaign in QSR Magazine “Time to Move”
• LiveWell Colorado in the news
• Colorado Garden Show, Inc. “Garden Show grants $100,000 to Westy Horticulture Program”

GroundFloor Media launches crisis communication blog, formalizes service line

The news cycle never sleeps, and the bar for what is considered “news” continues to be lowered. One negative article, blog or tweet can snowball, and company reputations that have taken years to build can crumble instantly.

Understanding this changing media landscape, where news can be contained in 140 characters or less, is half the battle. With this emerging dynamic in mind, GroundFloor Media launched a new issues management/crisis communications blog covering topics related to social media, news media, media training and reputation management. So far, we’ve taken a closer look at a variety of topics, including Toyota’s PR plan during the latest recall; Bank of America using Twitter to inform customers of an online outage; how to prevent and prepare your online reputation; and top PR blunders from 2010.

The new blog is the newest component in GroundFloor Media’s crisis communication and issues management service line. Our team’s seasoned professionals have extensive real-world, first-hand experience working with our clients to manage issues such as litigation (e.g., criminal, civil, class action, bankruptcy, etc.), layoffs, ethical and/or data breaches, customer satisfaction issues, internal communications concerns, social media attacks and blunders, natural disasters and school shootings, just to name a few. We also conduct media training, develop crisis plans and social media response plans, conduct table-top crisis simulations, and offer strategic counsel. Find out more.

~Gil Rudawsky

Social Media Monitoring – The Human Touch

At GroundFloor Media, our GFM Digital practice offers what I believe is an innovative and highly customized approach to social media monitoring. Our Digital Snapshot™ is a proprietary social media discovery and competitive audit tool. Each Digital Snapshot combines measurable data with strategic insight to help clients understand what is being said about their brand, key competitors and most importantly, where opportunities exist to launch or improve a company’s social media presence.

I realize that I have an obvious bias as a GFM employee. But as an avid watcher of all things social media, GFM Digital does approach and deliver this research in a way that sets measurable benchmarks for clients and provides numerous recommendations for how to either create an online program from scratch or vastly improve a client’s engagement level in their current social media efforts.

How is this done? Lots and lots (and LOTS) of reading – what I like to call the “human touch.”

Yes, social media monitoring software has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years. Radian 6, among other offerings, has drastically reduced the amount of time it takes to aggregate keyword-based content. Such platforms have also greatly improved functions such as sentiment/tone categorization, if you are willing to accept a certain margin of error. Going one step further, we can even use software to automatically group conversations by theme, verbs and adjectives, eliminating the tedious task of reading upwards of 5,000 posts or more to determine what the most common conversation topics and consumer actions are for a brand.

But all that data and related graphs are only as good as the people reviewing and presenting the information; social media metrics also need to be reviewed with a keen understanding about your company and industry competitors. The way I see it, new technology simply helps us pull more targeted data in less time. The real labor of social media monitoring and auditing hasn’t changed much – the best research still requires strategic review by a human being in order to provide insight that can positively steer and impact a brand that wants to excel in this space.

And that brings us back to the manual evaluation that GFM Digital delivers for every client that engages in the Digital Snapshot process. We just completed our annual Digital Snapshot for a client that conducts regular qualitative and quantitative reviews of market data, key benchmarks and competitor actions. Our findings were compelling. The good news – our client continues to shape its voice in social media and make progress in engaging target audiences in high-quality online conversations. And the surprising news – their competitors often appeared one way “on paper” and entirely differently once we took a deeper look at the impact that they are having (or not) on social media.

Digital Snapshots can be tedious and often require enlarging an Excel document to 175 percent so that by the 200th tweet, you can still keep analyzing the content and apply it to the social media plan being developed for a client after the research phase. But in the end, the “human touch” and our continually evolving approach to this research process enables us to elevate our conversations with clients about our findings, and hopefully add significant, lasting value to their social media programs.

~Alexis

The Critical Nature of Client Service

I’ve had several experiences lately – both good and bad – that have reminded me just how critical client/customer service is for companies of all sizes and across all industries. And it really only takes a little movement in either direction to make a big impact.

First, let’s get the bad out of the way… One of the simplest – and yet sometimes the most difficult – client service tools is communication. Communication is absolutely key. I’ve personally been working with a service provider who started out on such a high note in this area. My contact’s responsiveness to my questions – and indeed, his proactivity in keeping me updated – were the primary reasons I chose to work with his group over a competitor. However, the really disappointing part is that once the contract was signed, that communication pipeline all but dried up. I no longer get proactive update calls, and when I do manage to get someone to call me back, s/he is generally rushed and distracted on the phone. I certainly understand that everyone is busy, but the dramatic shift in customer service that I’ve experienced has left a bad taste in my mouth.

On the flip side – I’ve also had the pleasure of experiencing some pretty outstanding client service recently. And in these instances, I’m happy to be more specific. I tried a new (to me) Italian bakery recently – Vincenza’s Italian Bakery. I was desperate to find a last-minute solution for an impromptu dinner party. I looked up Italian bakeries, found Vincenza’s and called to see if they had any carry-out lasagna available. The woman I spoke to was incredibly friendly and helpful. Because it was last-minute, their supplies were limited, but she pulled the last lasagna out of the freezer and put my name on it. She proactively offered to prepare a loaf of garlic bread for me as well. And it was all ready to go when I arrived 20 minutes later. Wow!

On a grander scale, last week GroundFloor Media posted a link on our Facebook page to an article about a beautiful example of customer service exhibited by Southwest Airlines – in which a pilot opted to hold a plane to wait for a grieving grandfather. Yes, it delayed the flight a bit and probably angered some of the passengers – but in the end, the pilot helped make a tragic and painful situation slightly more bearable. And, although not as important in the grand scheme of things, his actions generated a great deal of goodwill for the airline in the process.

Finally, I’d like to cite two more examples of laudable client service – examples that are very relevant to the PR industry. And that is the amazing client service consistently demonstrated by our contacts at BusinessWire (Dylan Frusciano) and Cision (Kris Bates). Both gentlemen are always very friendly, incredibly prompt in responding to calls and e-mails, and they are always willing to go the extra mile to help answer questions, resolve issues, etc.

At GFM, I love that we place so much emphasis on exceptional client service. And it’s really the little things that matter – like client birthdays and quick responses. Or, as Seth Godin puts it, paying attention to those “last five minutes.” That being said, I cannot claim to be perfect – sometimes, stress and the frantic pace of a day get the best of me, and I don’t return a call as quickly as I should, or I fail to send a note of kudos to a client on a job well done. However, improving on that is my New Year’s resolution for 2011. And please – help me out! If I drop the client service ball when working with you, I sincerely want you to let me know!

~Amanda

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

It never fails – your mother is always right. I remember my mother telling me as a child that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. In this day and age, it is a childhood scolding that would do us all a bit of good to remember. Over the past few weeks, you can’t turn on the TV, flip through stations on the radio, read the newspaper or a magazine, or participate in water cooler talk without hearing debate about the political tone of our nation. But this tone goes far beyond the political arena and has infiltrated almost all of our non-personal interaction.

For example, this past weekend I sadly watched the defeat of my beloved Patriots to the New York Jets. Feeling a bit sorry for myself, I took a few minutes to catch up on Facebook. What is usually a pretty enjoyable experience of peering into the daily happenings of friends was filled with mean-spirited posts about a simple football rivalry. Granted, I did not want the Jets to win, but I was surprised by the tone of the posts I read. I am not casting judgment on my Facebook friends because I am sure that I have posted things that may have left a bad taste in the mouths of others, but instead it made me think about how easy it is to write something negative or insensitive when you don’t have to look the other person in the eye. This electronic dialog has taken away from the art of debate and turned differences of opinion into personal attacks and down-right vile discourses that have moved from the computer screen into daily interpersonal communications.

The tone seems to get even worse when people are able to post anonymously. In April 2010, the New York Times published an article about news organization rethinking anonymous online comments. The article referenced the 1993 New Yorker cartoon featuring two dogs with the caption “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

My question is - should it matter? There have been too many headlines over the past few years about hateful speech having negative consequences because the “dog” posting the comment or video forgot that the target was an actual human being with feelings and emotions. Whether posting a comment anonymously, through social media or even when having a good old face-to-face difference of opinion, we may all want to remember the wise words of our mothers – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

~ Kristina

Keep Your Foot on the Gas

Last week, my inbox alert chimed not once, but twice, with a forwarded message about the recent TED talk by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. Yes, a woman is the number two behind Mark Zuckerberg – wow! I think many assume another youngish, Ivy League, tech-savvy male works side-by-side with the Time Magazine 2010 Person of the Year, when in fact it’s Sandberg, mother of two.

So, how does she do it – juggling the demands of one of the highest profile and fastest growing companies in the world with the responsibilities of family life?

This is precisely the reason why she was speaking as part of TEDWomen, which took place this past December in Washington, D.C. The event showcased an amazing number of accomplished women including Deborah Rhodes, who developed a new tool for breast cancer detection, and Beverly Joubert, who lived in the bush with her husband to capture stunning images and footage of lions and leopards in their natural habitat. One more time – WOW!

Sandberg mentions up front that she does not have all the answers, not even for herself, but she does offer up some startling statistics and follows up with three pieces of advice for women who wish to continue advancing their careers.

To begin, a statistic that we’ve often heard and hope isn’t correct – success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women. The “witchy” executive woman stereotype is proven time and again in studies. Ugg! Also, only 15 percent of C-suite and board of director positions are held by woman, and the numbers have remained flat since 2003. Double ugg!

So how do we begin to move the needle in the right direction? Sandberg shared three recommendations. While she’s doubtful that the current generation of women will experience a significant shift in attitudes and advancement in the workplace, she’s hopeful that the next generation – including the new little girl who was born into the GroundFloor Media family earlier this month – will benefit from all of us thinking and acting a bit differently about our careers.

• First, she recommends that women “sit at the table.” All to often, we are comfortable taking a seat on the sidelines and that’s just not helpful for us to be regarded as the leaders and thoughtful contributors that we are.
• Second, she suggests, “make your partner a real partner,” referring to the need for women and men to share equally in the responsibilities at home. How can a woman with a full-time job be truly successful in her career if she’s doing more of the housework, childcare, etc.
• Third, Sandberg encourages women not to “leave before you leave.” All too often, she has experienced women who are opting out of promotions or big projects as they prepare for maternity leave or a transition out of the work place. She suggests keeping your “foot on the gas” up until the moment when you make the decision to take another path.

Sandberg shared a lot more detail along with these recommendations during her talk, and the importance of her points cannot be overstated. Personally, beginning the New Year and looking to my one-year anniversary with GFM, I feel both grateful and proud to have the opportunity to work and continue to grow in an organization that is bucking national statistics and making a comfortable place for all of us – both male and female – to be successful.

Next month, GFM is looking forward to TED2011: The Rediscovery of Wonder. The agency has planned to participate as a video member of the four-day event, Feb. 28 – Mar. 4, 2011, and we will be sharing highlights and lessons learned through viewing parties and blog entries.

Eyes Wide Shut: Arizona Tragedy

Like many of you I was shocked and saddened this past weekend to learn of the tragic shooting in Arizona that left six dead and 14 wounded. In reading more about the shooter, it's clear that he had issues that were becoming more and more apparent to those around him, and it's sad to know that despite warning signs and concerns expressed by his fellow students at a local community college, he didn't get help and was still able to carry out the events of this past weekend.

As a PR professional, I've been contemplating how this type of tragedy affects my view on public events. Together with my clients, I've planned events ranging from press announcements in the park with Denver's Mayor to concerts for thousands of attendees at Red Rocks Amphitheater to sending models with body paint out onto a pedestrian mall – and while crisis planning is always on my mind, I have never imagined a scenario anywhere near the events of this past weekend in Arizona.

How could you possibly guess that an unstable individual might choose that day, that time and your event to act out?

The world we live in has certainly changed. Metal detectors at schools, invasive searches at airports, security cameras on the streets… I'm not complaining, because I appreciate the security that these additional safety measures afford, but I sometimes long for the innocence of the early days of my career.

I know that this event won't cause me or my colleagues to stop planning events, but I also know that while security might have been further down the list than messaging against potentially tough questions from the media, it will be making its way closer to the top at my next event planning session.

At the end of the day I choose to believe that most people are good and incidents like this are incredibly isolated, but I also choose to approach things with my eyes opened more widely now. Leaving them shut and longing for the days of innocence is a risk we as PR professionals cannot afford to take.

The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same

As we kick off a new year, it’s hard not to acknowledge the more things change, the more things stay the same. This old proverb rings true for life and what we do in public relations.

I don’t think that anyone will disagree about the enormous impact social media has had on our society and certainly, the public relations profession. At the same time, the fundamentals of public relations have not changed. Public relations is, and always will be, about building relationships with your target audiences. It’s a two-way street; there must be something in it for both sides. With that said, following are a few personal observations and things to keep in mind as we move into a new year.

Traditional Media Is Not Dead
While we’re all keenly aware of what has happened to traditional media - the shrinking news room, loss in advertising revenues, fewer reporters covering more, etc. - the fact remains that people still pay attention to and read newspapers, subscribe to magazine, watch the news and listen to radio. Mass media still has a huge influence on our society – even though its delivery has evolved and now includes tweets, video and wall posts. And maintaining positive relationships with editors, news directors and reporters is as a critical as ever. Check out this article that provides some interesting statistics on traditional media and its continued reach:

If You Don’t Want to See it in Print (or on TV, or on YouTube, etc.), Don’t Say It
It’s like my mom always said to me when I was having disagreements with my siblings, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. And in today’s day and age where anything and everything you say can be recorded, it’s even more critical. We witnessed many examples of this in 2010. In fact, GFM’s Gil Rudawsky pointed out a few of the more public blunders of 2010 in his blog on Dec. 22, 2010:

This is one of the first lessons any PR professional learns as part of media training – if you don’t want to see it in print, don’t say it or put it in writing.

You’re Only As Good as Your Reputation (and Your Good Reputation Can Disappear in a Flash)
We’ve all seen recent examples of individuals and corporations where reputations are damaged, if not destroyed, overnight - Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, BP, Goldman Sachs, to name a few. At the same time, we’re a country of people who believe in second chances and forgiveness. What are you doing to protect your reputation or the reputation of your clients? Do you have the resources in place to quickly address any issues that could arise and potentially damage your reputation? Do you have a social media crisis plan in place? Having an up-to-date crisis plan that you and your leadership team fully understand and embrace is that insurance policy. It won’t prevent a crisis from happening, but it will help guide you through difficult waters and allow you to emerge on the other side.

What are your thoughts on the topic? Are there other examples of how public relations is evolving, and at the same time, remaining true to its roots? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Barb Jones

Here’s to a Happy, Healthy New Year!

It’s that time of year again – everyone is writing about New Year’s resolutions and new beginnings and getting fit in the New Year – so I won’t disappoint…

GroundFloor Media (GFM) works with a number of health care and wellness-related clients including The Children’s Hospital, the Colorado Health Foundation, LiveWell Colorado, St. Anthony Central Hospital and USA Cycling, and our team members maintain fairly active lifestyles for such very busy people.

According to LiveWell Colorado’s Worksite Wellness Blueprint, worksite wellness efforts can have numerous benefits, including a healthier workforce, increased morale, higher employee productivity, reduced absenteeism and a reduction in health care costs. I know from personal experience that regular workouts can be the first thing to fall off of the proverbial “to do” list when things get busy at work. However, I also know that when I make a conscious effort to get those workouts in, even when things are really busy, it makes a positive difference in my energy and stress levels.

It is with that spirit in mind that GFM is announcing a new “active lifestyle allowance” for our full-time employees in 2011. Each employee will be allotted a monthly stipend to use toward their own active lifestyle – it may be used to attend yoga classes, buy that monthly membership at the gym, go toward the purchase of a new bike or sign up for a 5K, 10K or even a half marathon. However it is utilized, we hope that it certainly does result in a healthier, happier GFM team.

Small steps like this can make a big difference with regard to workplace wellness. I hope you have an active, healthy 2011, too!

A New Take on Decorating for the Holidays

When you are blessed with a wonderful job, a healthy and loving family and many non-necessities (e.g., new car, nice clothes, ski trips), it can be extremely easy to get wrapped up in all the glitter and sparkle of the holidays. And let me be clear, I don’t think anything is wrong with the sparkle – I live for Christmas carols, “Miracle on 34th Street” and gingerbread cookies.

However, just a few blocks from my candy cane lane is a place called Tennyson Center for Children, a treatment center and K-12 school for emotionally and crisis-affected children and youth, particularly those suffering from abuse and neglect. GroundFloor Media’s (GFM) president and founder Laura Love-Aden has been personally involved with Tennyson for more than six years and has introduced many GFM colleagues to the center via local leadership programs, GFM’s Get Giving program or pro-bono PR work. Still being somewhat new to GFM this year I hadn’t had the opportunity to visit Tennyson Center before last week when we decorated one of the kids’ cottages, served dinner and handed out stockings.

From the moment I stepped into the cottage I had an overwhelming feeling of excitement about brightening the kids’ night, paired with a lump in my throat because I simply cannot fathom why those innocent and adorable young children have to cope with such tragic family situations – especially during the holidays.

Not many businesses are staffed by owners and employees who are as passionate about embracing a cause and making it a part of their everyday life as the people of GFM. As I watched the children smile in delight over the most basic presents – candy canes, Silly Putty and lip gloss – I became keenly aware that GFM has invited me to be a part of something special. We get to do great work for incredible clients. We celebrate our successes wholeheartedly and learn and grow from our failures. But none of those attributes of GFM compare to the way we give back together – the support we have from our leaders to step outside of our office to go experience real-world situations and try, in our own little way, to make a difference.

One young girl in particular left a major impact on me during my evening at Tennyson. She quietly said, “it’s okay, nobody likes me,” when I tried to negotiate with another child to let her hang the next string of lights. Later in the evening she walked over to me, carefully holding a snowman ornament that we had not donated. She said it was very special to her and let me help her gingerly hang it above her doorway, carefully testing the hook to make sure it wouldn’t fall. I can only wonder who gave it to her, when she got it, and what it means to her this holiday season – you cannot ask those questions of the children at Tennyson Center because you do not know what memories or feelings it will bring up for the child.

Without naming this little girl here, I want to wish her happy holidays and my deepest wishes for her to have a healthy, happy and safe 2011 and beyond.

~Alexis Anzalone
 

Recap of the PR disasters of 2010

As the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to review the top 10 PR blunders of 2010 – and there are some doozies. Here are some of the best of the worst with input from Forbes.com and HuffingtonPost

Landing near the top of every list is British Petroleum (BP) CEO Tony Howard. Clearly, “wanting his life back” should have been the least of his worries after countless people along the Gulf had had their lives ruined after the BP oil rig exploded, killing 13 and spilling million of gallons of oil. To top it off, he also commented that the Gulf is “a very big ocean” and later attended a swank regatta days after being questioned by Congress about the spill. So much for getting his life back.

This next one is a bit more controversial, particularly if you are a Miami Heat fan. Up until this year, LeBron James sat on top of the basketball world. He had the poise, skills and savvy to back it up. But then came the media storm surrounding “The Decision” – LeBron’s announcement on live television about his decision to join the Heat. Fans from Cleveland and beyond now have a new player they love to hate – so much for humility.

Oftentimes, in media training with clients, GroundFloor Media warns that the moment they are in the presence of a television camera or reporter that everything is “on the record.” Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and California Senate candidate, learned this the hard way. While doing a sound check for a television interview, a live microphone recorded her commenting about opponent Barbara Boxer’s hair. And the evening news quoted her as saying, “God, what is that hair? So yesterday.”

Toyota was riding the wave of record car sales when news about unintended acceleration on some of its best selling vehicles hit the media. Instead of controlling the issue by providing clear and accurate communications, the company fumbled by passing the buck, and at one point, even blaming drivers. Now Toyota has the honor of being the brand behind the biggest automotive recall since Firestone tires in 2000.

Here’s a rundown of some more of the most memorable “what not to do” PR moments of the past year:

• Messaging, messaging, messaging: U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, who once ran World Wrestling Entertainment, admitted that she didn't know whether WWE paid any of its employees minimum wage and that she didn’t even know the dollar figure for Connecticut's minimum wage.
• Spin isn’t the best defense: Craigslist standing behind its “Adult Services” category and not owning up to the fact that everyone else in the world knew what it was for. Fumbling through an interview on the topic, Founder Craig Newmark simply stopped talking and ended the interview by walking out of the room.
• Beware of what you say online: Chocolate maker Nestlé showed its thin skin when it went after naysayers on Facebook, which just added fuel to the fire. The company’s Facebook page will never be used as a proactive marketing tool again.
• One bad experience goes viral: Alaska Airlines didn’t win any customers over when one flyer’s ticket was given away because she was one minute late (because she was dealing with a child’s diaper emergency). The family posted the item on a blog, which caught the world’s attention and soon the media started calling. Instead of making it right, the airlines cited rules and procedures. Weeks later, they finally agreed to refund the family, but the damage had already been done.

As we head into 2011, there are a couple of lessons to learn from this year’s PR disasters. First off, social media networks are more and more becoming the median to highlight missteps. And tried and true media training is still a great defense for avoiding making next year’s list. Our team can help create a solid social media response plan and prepare your company for common and not-so-common pitfalls. Plus, we can offer you some good strategic counsel when best intentions fall off the deep end. LeBron, give us a call next time you switch teams.
-- Gil Rudawsky

The Spirit of Giving – A Look Back at 2010

As I wrote in an earlier post this year (Cause Marketing is Thriving – Thanks to Moms and Millennials), cause marketing is alive and well in the U.S. despite the economic difficulties of the past several years, according to Cone’s 2010 Cause Evolution Study, released this fall. In fact, per the study, 83 percent of consumers want more of the products, services and retailers that they use to benefit causes. Looking back over 2010, while individuals and businesses may not have been able to give as much overall as in previous years due to the economy, the spirit of giving illustrated in Cone’s study has been clearly evident to us at GroundFloor Media.

Our clients continue to seek ways to become more involved in their communities. For example, Westwood College recently donated Netbooks, portable computer carts and interactive white boards to Skyline High School in Dallas in order to help the school meet its technology needs. Westwood IT students are also helping to repair previously donated computers and equipment so that they can be put back into classrooms and student homes.

In addition, Qdoba Mexican Grill continues to support the Starlight Children’s Foundation through the company’s CSR program.

And, at GroundFloor Media we are celebrating the successful launch in 2010 of our Get Giving program. Through this program, we collected and donated hundreds of items to nonprofits including PlatteForum, SafeHouse Denver, Dumb Friends League, Colorado Youth at Risk and Florence Crittenton Services. In addition, thanks to the generosity of partners and clients such as LiveWell Colorado, Westwood College, Young Americans Center for Financial Education, CCT Advertising, Bradley Consulting Group, Motive, BusinessWire Denver, Radius, Relish Studio and Activate, we were recently able to donate 11 large boxes of Christmas wish list items to the families of Denver’s Warren Village through our Get Giving “On the Road” holiday initiative.

Looking more broadly across Colorado, as many of you are no doubt aware, Community First Foundation and FirstBank presented the first annual Colorado Gives Day on Dec. 8. Their goal was to raise $1 million in one day for Colorado nonprofits through online giving. Individuals and businesses across the state literally blew that goal out of the water by donating more than $8 million in one day!

As news stories focusing on bad news continue to abound, it is incredibly encouraging, especially during this holiday season, to know that the drive to do good is so strong in Colorado. We look forward to an even brighter and more generous 2011!

~Amanda Brannum

Maximizing strengths in the workplace

Have you ever wondered how you and your colleague think differently? Or, how you both can approach and execute the same project in a different way to achieve similar results? Earlier this week, our team participated in an Emergenetics team building workshop lead by one of the founders, Dr. Geil Browning. Talk about interesting stuff!

In case you are not familiar, Emergenetics is a brain-based psychometric assessment that highlights thinking and behavior. GFM team members Ramonna Tooley, Jim Licko and Barb Jones had all participated in the program during Leadership Denver with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Leadership Foundation. Ramonna was eager to get our entire team in the room to learn about it, and when the opportunity presented itself, she didn’t even think twice.

Most of the team didn’t know what to expect of the all-day off-site meeting. While some of us had anxiety about the “not knowing,” were freaked out when an agenda wasn’t presented at the beginning of the presentation, and were eager for the analytical part of the workshop to end so we could learn about our own profiles, one thing was clear – we were going to learn how to build upon our strengths, preferences and diversity to learn more about each other individually and as a team.

As I sit at my desk today and check the boxes off on my “typical” Jen Wills to do list, I am able to understand why I do some “quirky” things – my personal profile explains it all – and as my husband chuckled to himself while I shared my day and the specifics of my profile, I know he was thinking… “And your profile surprises you, why?”

Bottom line: I walked away with a greater appreciation of my strengths and perspectives, and most importantly those of my colleagues. GroundFloor Media wouldn’t be one of the Denver Business Journal’s Best Places to Work without the unique blend of each team member’s profile. We complement each other, and our clients, to ensure effectiveness in our business. Thanks to all of my colleagues for continually reminding me that it is important (and ok) to step outside of my analytical and structural box to have some spontaneous, laughable fun!

Looking forward to another great year at GFM!

~ Jen Wills

Healthy Choices In Schools: Let’s Debate!

Last week Congress approved a child nutrition bill that will make a significant investment in the National School Lunch program. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will increase health choices in school cafeterias across the country. This has ignited a discussion across the country and there are few things more entertaining for media than a debate about schools and food. My favorite headline was from the Boston Herald: “Hold the brownies! Bill could limit bake sales.” The lead-in was spectacular: “Don't touch my brownies! A child nutrition bill on its way to President Barack Obama - and championed by the first lady - gives the government power to limit school bake sales and other fundraisers that health advocates say sometimes replace wholesome meals in the lunchroom …” Here’s another quote: "This could be a real train wreck for school districts," Lucy Gettman of the National School Boards Association said Friday, a day after the House cleared the bill. "The federal government should not be in the business of regulating this kind of activity at the local level."

Now I like my brownies and the occasional bake sale. However, I keep hearing John Stossel, former ABC News anchor and current Fox Business host, ranting, “Give me a break!” over and over in my head. This is a groundbreaking piece of bipartisan legislation that will significantly improve the quality of meals that children receive at school and will play an integral role in our efforts to combat childhood obesity. I give the First Lady and the Let’s Move! initiative three cheers. As a parent, how could I stand by and not support a program that provides children across the country access to nutritious food to learn and grow to fulfill their potential?

Want to know the real train wreck? Obesity rates, especially among children and adolescents, have steadily climbed since the early 1990s. Today, many children eat two of three meals at school. School districts are experiencing dwindling resources and are often challenged to feed a large student population with little funding, yet they are tasked with serving food that is affordable, nutritious and appealing to students. Have you been to a school cafeteria lately? Care to name what is actually on the lunch tray?

Here’s something the media can sink its teeth into: The Hunger-Free Kids Act will help support local programs similar to the EatWell@School cooking competition hosted by LiveWell Colorado. This nine-week healthy cooking competition for Denver Public Schools high schools has challenged students to take on creating healthy school meals, as well as providing cooking and nutrition skills that will last a lifetime. The EatWell@School Cooking Competition with Denver Public Schools high school students seeks to raise awareness of the importance of healthy eating at school. The competition will culminate today with a fundraising luncheon, to honor the student competitors and raise funds for LiveWell Colorado’s ongoing mission of promoting healthy eating and active living. I can’t wait to enjoy Martin Luther King Jr. Early College’s winning meal of parmesan and herb crusted chicken with creamy pesto spaghetti and stuffed tomato. YUM!

Will the Hunger-Free Kids Act make a difference? You betcha’!

~ Amy

WikiLeaks Provides Painful Reminder to Review Plans and Policies

If you're like me, you've been hearing a lot about WikiLeaks in the past few weeks, but the real background and potential ramifications of the site and its contents have been a bit of a jumble, muted against the background of the holiday hustle and bustle. This article from Fast Company, however, quickly snapped me back to professional reality and provided a timely reminder to review communications plans and policies for the companies that we, as public relations professionals, represent.

According to the article, "...Julian Assange said at least half the treasure trove of documents the organization is holding belong to private corporations..." Sometime early next year, WikiLeaks plans to start adding these materials from private corporations to its site. Naturally, I wondered how WikiLeaks got its hands on its first round of materials, and slapped myself on the forehead when I saw this piece from CBS Sunday Morning about 23-year-old Bradley Manning who basically cut and pasted data he found simply searching documents to which he had access on the job.

As part of any fully-rounded communications planning process, we encourage our clients to try to head off crises like leaked documents by developing clear policies about document access and sharing. Of course, given the intersection of confidential documents and social mediums like Facebook, Twitter and wikis, there are no guarantees. In addition to having a reactive crisis plan, we also recommend the following common-sense steps when it comes to internal and external communications strategies:

• Remember that anything in writing can be forwarded, copied, saved or rebroadcast
• Confidential communications are best handled in person, not via e-mail
• Never say anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't want your boss or competitor to read
• Engage legal and communications team counsel early for particularly sensitive issues and documents
• If a confidential document must be distributed electronically, be sure to watermark it "Draft" and/or "Confidential" and ensure the recipients understand the importance of keeping the document confidential

As we head into the New Year, it's a great time to learn from WikiLeaks and review your communication policies. At GroundFloor Media we'll be doing so on behalf of our own communications as well as for our clients. Don't let your company be the next victim of WikiLeaks!

The Customer Experience, Branding and Hot Chocolate

Mid-Season snow conditions by Thanksgiving meant one thing for me and a group of friends this past weekend: turkey in Eagle County. Taking a break between runs at the Dusty Boot (try the mac n’ cheese wedges) a couple of us were discussing all of the special events that ski resorts have planned throughout the season when someone said, “They’ll do anything to get people up here.”

Another friend argued that events like Snow Daze, The World’s Best Chocolate Cookie Competition and Ullr Fest aren’t just a reason to get people to the mountain, but more about providing an experience for the people who were already there. And while I think both opinions are correct, it’s a great argument about customer experience and how brands are truly developed.

Customer experience is really what drives any brand – the look and feel of your product and packaging, the experience customers have with employees, promotions and special events – all of these things. You can’t change it by merely updating your logo or changing your tagline. Your brand is what your customers think about you and your product or service. And while companies can create special events or other ideas to enhance the customer experience, many experiences are going to happen whether you calculated them or not.

The European alpine surroundings and “feel” in Vail (to use one example) are definitely part of its brand, but so are the amount of snow in China Bowl and the often-backed-up lift lines at Chairs 3 & 4. Some of it is controllable, some of it isn’t. That is exactly what I was impressed with over the weekend. The things I experienced that ski resorts can control – amenities, the friendliness and helpfulness of the ski lift staff, hot chocolate at the top of the gondola, the cleanliness of the village, even the crazy special events were top-notch.

My point is that customer experiences and brands can’t be fabricated. They are a result of how a company is run and its commitment to the overall brand experience, not what the company wants its customers to believe. If you want to modify or change your brand, you’ve got to know what your customers currently think about your company, and then make the fundamental changes within your organization to give customers the authentic brand experience you want them to have.

Which ski resort has the best brand? I have three or four favorites, and which one I chose all depends on what type of experience I’m looking for that particular day. It’s great to live in Colorado, isn’t it?