Started in summer 2010, the Communities Take Root program provides a fruit orchard in scores of deserving communities across the United States to build community relationships and reinforce Dreyer’s Fruit Bars message of healthy eating. The public can vote for communities throughout the summer in hopes of their community favorite winning an orchard.

The campaign has been a tremendous success for the Dreyer’s Fruit Bars brand, introducing the brand to new consumers on a hyper-local level, and establishing brand loyalty and credibility.

Through strategic corporate social responsibility campaigns like Communities Take Root, companies can drive sales by reaching consumers on an intimate level, giving back in a meaningful, relevant way and reinforcing their key messaging. This tactic is also a great way to drive brand awareness through public relations by creating a positive, emotional consumer connections with the brand.

With the Communities Take Root program, Dreyer’s Fruit Bars has seen consistent growth in its sales, and has differentiated itself in the marketplace as a healthy snack by associating itself with fruit orchards.

Since its fruition, the Communities Take Root program has planted 1,600 fruit trees, yielding 88,000 pounds of fresh fruit per year. Along with feeding communities, Communities Take Root has a positive environmental impact, removing 396,800 pounds of carbon dioxide and 12,800 pounds of air pollutant from the atmosphere, while generating 312,000 pounds of oxygen each year.

Voting for Communities Take Root started on April 16, 2012, and will last until August 31, 2012. Visit www.CommunitiesTakeRoot.com to learn about the eligible organizations and cast your vote for the most deserving ones. Seventeen communities from across the United States will win a fruit orchard. All winners receive a fruit tree orchard, irrigation system, groundbreaking party and plenty of Dreyer’s Fruit Bars to celebrate the new orchard.  Also, in order to ensure that every applicant has a starting point to grow an orchard, the brand will donate three fruit trees to all participating organizations that do not win an orchard through the voting campaign.

Our tour bus was buzzing with excitement as we spied the motocross track and the pristine sand dunes just waiting for a trail to be blazed. While everyone else raced towards “Wake Lake” and the cable park for some afternoon wake boarding, I set off to see the beach. My jaw dropped as I took in the bright turquoise pool, modern restaurant and stunning ocean view. As I watched the kite boards flying across the water and launching high into the air, I decided that this might be a once in a lifetime trip after all.

As the only girl among ten Type A, super competitive CEOs looking for an adventure, some people might feel intimidated. At Nitro City, it didn’t matter whether you rocked a bikini or board shorts…everyone could find a piece of the action to enjoy. From the self proclaimed experts to total beginners, we all pushed the limits and challenged ourselves to try new things.

Almost landing a killer backflip on a wake board, feeling the power of a kite catching air for the first time, charging down the beach on an ATV, stand up paddle surfing and playing volleyball; we learned a lot about each other along the way. It was fun to see people’s hidden talents emerge (who knew Beer Pong was such an art form?) We relished every moment as minutes stretched into hours of entertainment.

One of my personal favorite experiences? Finally getting the hang of my “balancing act.” Something I work so hard to do in real life seemed much easier with a tropical breeze and a chilled Panama beer in hand.

“Go Boldly” is one of the key values of our organization. At Nitro City, we shook off our preconceptions of what we were capable of and took a risk, knowing chances were good that we would fall right on our faces. The cool part? After a few wipeouts, we got into our groove and grew together as athletes, entrepreneurs and friends.

Did you know:

• Each year over 4,000 children—or 11 a day—are diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor in the U.S.

• Over 70 percent of children diagnosed with a brain tumor are younger than 15.

• Brain tumors are the deadliest form of childhood cancer.  Some can have survival rates of less than 20 percent.

These are hard-hitting facts from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation that many families are struggling with today.  Symptoms of brain tumors in a child often mimic those of common childhood illnesses, including headaches, nausea and vomiting, and so they may not always be diagnosed right away.

At Zenzi, we are happy to once again have supported such a great cause as EDY’s fundraising day for the fight against pediatric cancer.  Every year, EDY’s ice cream teams up with Stop & Shop and Giant Stores to help raise money for this important cause.

This year consumers were encouraged to stop into Stop & Shop and Giant food stores throughout the east coast (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Delaware) on Saturday, April 28, 2012.  Those that donated a dollar got a free single-serve ice cream cup, and those that gave $3 also receive a limited edition Triple Winner keepsake.

Stop & Shop New England Division will donate 100% of proceeds raised to Stop & Shop Family Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And EDY’S will donate $.05 for every single serve cup, shake, smoothie sold between April 13 – June 7, 2012.

Though the official count is not yet in, last year $186,000 was raised, and EDY’s is hoping to raise even more. The outcome looks hopeful, as shoppers and consumers flocked to local stores for a sweet treat to benefit kids in their fight against cancer.

We are excited at Zenzi to be a part of such a great event and to have made an impact–with articles on Boston.com, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, The New Jersey Herald, WDSB Hartford, Cape Cod Online–to help to drive people there.

The U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce (USGCC) announced its 100 Cities for Change campaign on Earth Day 2012 – April 22^nd, and the national movement has been featured in the San Diego Daily Transcript’s article, “Green Chamber of Commerce looks to expand“ by James Palen.

In the past several years we’ve worked with the USGCC, we’ve seen it grow from the San Diego Green Chamber of Commerce to a national green and sustainable powerhouse. This is the largest initiative the USGCC has challenged the nation with to date. By pushing company education, advocacy and visibility, the USGCC aims to enroll 1,000 members from 100 cities totaling 100,000 new members across the country.

“100 Cities for Change is not just about saying you or your business is ‘green.’ We know that word has started to lose meaning for people over time. We are looking for a complete paradigm shift,” said David Steel, chief executive officer for the USGCC. “This is about provoking and inspiring people to utilize sustainable business practices and revitalize the goal of a triple bottom line – people, planet and profit.”

As part of this initiative, the USGCC has made it easy and affordable for companies to show their green efforts by lowering its membership to $99. Membership includes best green practices, access to certification programs and many opportunities to foster relationships with consumers.  See what you will receive with a USGCC membership and how it will benefit your company.

To receive updates on the USGCC’s activities, like its page on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Open Instagram. Click the big camera button. Point. Shoot. Add filter. Add caption. Share. It’s no new news that Instagram is now available on the Android platform. So what’s different from the Android version and the iOS version.

Fragmentation – the bane of Android’s existence. Unsurprisingly, Instagram ran into problems with Android’s fragmentation issues. The biggest problem is the Advanced Instagram Camera. I own a relatively older HTC phone, the G2, and the Advanced Instagram Camera is pretty glitch on my phone. As a result, I need to use the native camera app and be redirected to Instagram.

Instagram for Android also does not have the ability to preview live filters before snapping images. Not the worst thing, just not up to par with iOS’s Instagram. Furthermore, Android’s Instagram has yet to deliver the tilt shift/blur feature and has slightly fewer filters than the iOS app.

Something that remains the same across Instagram is the beautifully simple user interface. Some Android users still prefer to use other photo sharing apps such as Pixlr-o-Matic, Lightbox Photos, and Camera 360.

With all that said, Instagram is still the largest social photo sharing network as well as incredibly simple. The 5 million+ downloads on Android are sure to continue to grow, especially with Facebook’s recent acquisition of Instagram for approximately one billion dollars. I for one will definitely continue using it.

“You trust what you use, and you use what you trust,” said Elisa Camahort Page, Co-founder & COO, BlogHer.

The study found that while women look to a variety of social mediums—blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more—they are more likely to trust feedback on blogs over other social channels.  The study, in particular, finds that in a “trust test” most women chose a sponsored blog review as being a more trustworthy source than a Facebook conversation or celebrity endorsement.  The study also says that women indicate that they look to Facebook primarily “to stay up to date with friends and family” (87%) and “to have fun” (77%).  And they use Pinterest primarily to “have fun” (58%) and “to find out about new products” (39%).

Over 61 percent of active blog readers surveyed in the U.S. say they have made purchases based on a blog recommendation. According to BlogHer’s study, this is almost double the rate of Facebook’s and Twitter’s active users (at 33% and 31%).  The almost 60% of the women in the U.S. general population who actively use social media, report that they turn to online or to social media as part of their purchase process. 41 percent do not. When the study looked at women in the general population who read blogs daily, the numbers who turn online to drive their purchasing rises to over 80%.

The study confirms sentiments at Zenzi that blogs can be a great way to build brand and relationships and that it’s all about a series of touch points and authentically interacting with your customers on a variety of levels to build relationships.  Each “tool” in the social media and marketing arsenal has its own place and role in the relationship building process.  And marketers and communicators need to be looking to a variety of them to touch prospects in their buying decisions along the way.

Though, at Zenzi, we are seeing fewer brands focus on building out their blogs over other social channels, because of the shear amount of time it can take to do so, we would agree that this is a very important channel for marketers to consider in finding and using their company’s voice to communicate with audiences and build relationships.  According to these most recent findings, and our own experiences, brands should be looking to partner with established bloggers, as well as building out their own blog to build trust.  Check out Trilogy by Shea Homes’ blog for just one good example of a company doing just that: http://www.trilogylifeblog.com/  For more on how Zenzi is working with companies to foster blogger relations and testimonials and build their own blogs, see some of our case studies here.

Yes, media relations is changing. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’ll be ever-changing. However, five fundamental ideas are evergreen when it comes to facilitating communications between companies, PR professionals and reporters that will never change.

CNN’s Laurie Segall hosted a panel at SXSWi titled “Sleeping With the Enemy,” where five media veterans discussed (somewhat heatedly) their successes, failures and lessons learned in media relations. I’ve boiled it down to the following.

ONE. “Stalk the shit out of everyone you’re cold contacting.” – David Tisch, Managing Director of Techstars (@davetisch)

Sun Tzu says in “The Art of War,” “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” Nothing annoys and belittles reporters’ egos more than pitches that are completely irrelevant to their beat and areas of interest. Tisch iterated several times that the Internet is free information to stalk. Do it. Stalk.

PR professionals, it is your job is to spoon-feed media exactly what they want. People like to feel special. After stalking the shit out of your contacts, give them exclusives catered to them.

TWO. Timing

The talk of every SXSWi since 2009 has been, “Who is the next Twitter?” SXSWi speaker, Bruce Sterling, got it right. He stated, “You can’t have a Twitter every year. If we did, we’d all spontaneously combust!” What does that mean for launching your startup at high traffic events? Don’t. Chances of gaining traction are slim. Launch when media is scraping the bottom of the barrel for news.

THREE. Expectations.

Set realistic expectations for media coverage. Realize that one article in Forbes, NY Times, or any other large publication is not going to break you out. The average consumers’ attention is harder to get than ever. Tisch pointed out, “For mobile apps, you’re two full clicks away from a download.” Clicking to the app and then clicking download – you might as well require the user to provide their social security number upon signup.

FOUR. Don’t lose your passion.

Julie Cabrill of Inner Circle Labs (@julzie) shared that she’s seen it time and time again where founders launch their company with passion and aggressiveness and half a year later, they are still providing the same content and expecting the same amount of interest.

Founders and PR professionals, do NOT sit there spinning your wheels. If something isn’t working, figure out why, cut your losses, and be better. If reporters aren’t interested in your story, ask them the age-old philosophical question, “why?” More often than not, they’ll give you insight into what they and their publication are looking for, which will in turn open a door for a future piece.

FIVE. “Reporters are interesting people.” –Dan Terdiman of CNET, (@greeterdan)

“Don’t pitch on the spot. Just introduce yourself and plot out a series of dots to form a straight line. Follow up with an e-mail later.” –Chris Taylor of Mashable, (@futureboy)

Guarantee: you will benefit from building a genuine relationship with your media contacts. Don’t be so narrow mind to think that a reporter’s only job is to write about your company. First off, it’s their job to find and report on news interesting to their readers, not to boost your sales. Secondly, build bridges everywhere you can.

Conclusion

Inarguably, our resources, expectations and attention spans are changing dramatically. That being said, the core of media relations will always remain the same. Keeping these five points in mind will always steer you in the right direction, regardless of inevitable change.

• Get your brand in their hands— Who does not love the word “free”?  Or “food” for that matter? Put them together, and with the right publicity, you can have a double whammy.  Kashi is notorious for this tactic, offering viewers of their TV ads the opportunity to visit their web site to sign up for a free frozen dinner or other yummy products.  Starbucks offers free iTunes downloads with its “Pick of the Week”. Whether you are a food company, restaurant, or major tire brand, invite consumers, and/or bloggers and other members of the media, to try your products (even if it is just a small aspect of them) free for themselves.  Extend invitations for tastings, free samples and/or special events.

• Give back—a little philanthropy can go a long way.  Edy’s Scoop Day, for instance, is a great example of a food/consumer products company event that we love to get behind.  Every year the brand gains positive sentiment for donating proceeds from its ice cream to the Jimmy Fund and other causes to fight childhood cancer.  And it gets a lot of people talking about its ice cream, and latest flavors, on the radio at the same time…

• Toot your own horn—announce major milestones, 332 billion miles routed, in the case of this infographic from MapQuest, your new snack-sized confection that offers just the right amount of sweet without breaking consumers’ diets.  Welcome aboard your new chef, executive creativity officer, or celebrity ice cream taster.  Make it fun and memorable along the way.

• Give away just the right amount of the secret sauce—If you are promoting a restaurant chain, offer up seasonal recipes for food editors to consider for print that might also get you a nice little promo for your renowned “Valentines” fare. Give a sneak peek on what you do best; as Morton’s did brilliantly with their Million Dollar Hamburger Recipe.  Show them why you are better; give them a sneak peek on how your product is made.

• Go out on a limb to showcase something newsworthy and different—what do you excel at? Show the media, and the world, no one can do it better.  Victoria’s Secret goes out of its way annually to claim the female undergarments industry.  This past year it announced its “Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Treasure Bra“ made of 3,400 gems and aquamarines and weighing in at 142 carats, worth $2.5 Million.

• Put pen to paper—sustainable cooking, subbing out fat without sacrificing flavor, updates on the latest tax codes and what will be required of consumers, how moms can make the perfect first birthday cake—what are your specialties?  Show your expertise with an article from your expert on what makes you the best.

• Great deals—partner with others to highlight an exceptional deal, like Restaurant Week, buy one, get one and others.  What is the “peanut butter” to your “jelly”? How can you help consumers to get a great combined deal that will also generate excitement for your brand(s)?

• Offer up tips—The Butterball Hotline has helped to brand this consumer products company, and you can do the same for your restaurant by offering to serve as a resource on your area of specialty. Help otherwise hopeless aspiring chefs to frost a birthday cake that no one will ever forget, show how your ingredients can make them look like a Betty Crocker superstar or bake up the best after school snack ever.  Or offer tips on how people can throw the perfect party, using some of your ingredients.

• Show them you are a winner—Scope out “best of” awards; restaurant profiles, food reviews from national, local and regional publications.  And make sure you are part of them!

Looking for tips 10 and beyond on how you can generate excitement? For even more great ideas on how to get in front of the media, drop us a line: info@zenzi.com

Food & Exploring

Forkly – We’ve mentioned Forkly before on on our Favorite Foodie Apps of 2011 blog post, but it deserves another shout out. Forkly facilitates sharing of your food adventures by not only letting you rate your meals and drinks, but also matching your tastes with other Forkly users – giving you great food recommendations. Available only on iOS.

MapQuest Vibe – MapQuest has launched an app to “make you a local, anywhere.” The web and mobile-based app rates local services by giving them a “vibe” score according to popularity, edginess, walkability and more. You can download the app and find food, entertainment and just about anything else to fit the “vibe” you want. Available only on iOS.

Interactive

Hashable – The design of your business card carries a certain swag statement, but how many do you hand out or receive that will never see the light of day again? Hashable allows you to manage all your contacts on any device. “Hash” with people to save and remember connections with people you meet.

Unsocial – Meet business professionals wherever you are. Unsocial is a location based professional meet up tool that connects you with people that “you don’t know, but should know.” Unsocial also provides lists of events and conferences in your area.

Scheduling

Sched.org – For both attendees and developers, Sched.org has a mobile solution for scheduling conferences, meetings, etc. Developers can publish event schedules in multiple formats, make it available on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry, and integrates with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. MapQuest has also built out the unofficial SXSW schedule on Sched.

SXSW Go – Specifically for SXSW 2012, Womzit has built the official mobile app for everything SXSW. It connects to your SXSocial account, lets you see maps of events and view/build your schedule (which if you’re like me, is already way out of control).

Are you headed to SXSW? Let us know what you schedule is and what mobile apps you’re using! Both myself and Zenzian Courtney O’Rourke will be at soaking up information like a sponge – but we’d love to take some time out to meet you! Shoot us a direct message on Twitter if you’d like to meet up!

{Copley’s Outdoor Wood-Burning Oven}

What sounds better than sitting outside around a fire with friends and family, while enjoying unique dishes coming straight from an outdoor oven? This casual atmosphere is what is creating an outdoor wood-burning oven trend in restaurants and homes that I can really get behind. Restaurants, and businesses everywhere, are constantly searching for new and exciting changes they can make to keep them current and the “hot” place to go. This emerging trend is not just delicious, but a great way to draw additional crowds.

I know the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of wood-burning ovens is pizza, but these ovens are being used for much much more.  For instance, one of our long time clients, Copley’s restaurant in Palm Springs, is planning a myriad of menu items to showcase Chef Copley’s talent with the new wood-burning oven. These dishes include pancakes for brunch, scallops, salmon, crab cakes, breads, etc. Virtually everything you would make in an indoor oven you can do so in the beautiful outdoors.

I haven’t seen this trend hit many San Diego restaurants, but I’m excited for it to spread, especially when we live in sunny California!