Vermont is one of the best places in the country to live.  Everyone has heard of the gorgeous fall foliage, the fantastic skiing, and of course the maple syrup, but did you know that Vermont is also considered healthiest state in the nation?  Last month, America’s Health Rankings listed Vermont as the healthiest state in the U.S. for the third consecutive year. America’s Health Rankings is the longest-running annual report of the nation’s health, and considers such factors as usage of prenatal care, per capital health funding, availability of primary care physicians, and smoking rate, among others.
KSV and our client, The Vermont Department of Health Tobacco Control Program, are proud to have played a role in the prestigious title.  Since 2001, when KSV began working with the Vermont Department of Health, we have contributed to a significant decline in the percentage of high school students who smoked in the past 30 days.   That number was 24 percent in 2001 and plummeted, year after year, to 13 percent in 2011.

Visit the Discovery Channel, AOL or Slate in the next few days, and you may see an animated bird flying across the screen. Or perching, or shying away from sudden cursor movements, or generally behaving the way birds do in the wild.
It’s part of the interactive game Birding the Net, launched in October by National Audubon Society to reach out to a new audience of birders – one that’s young and tech-savvy. Audubon hopes to introduce them to the distinctly un-techie pleasures of spotting and naming birds, in backyards and in the wild.

In 2001, as a bright-eyed college undergraduate (and political science major), I read Cass Sunstein’s groundbreaking book, Republic.com (and later, Republic.com 2.0).
In it, Sunstein argues that the Internet and blogs have emerged as a significant political force – specifically in terms of narrowing political views. Yes, we see that in action now – and, more so, the power of social media to influence (See "The 5 Secrets to Social Media ROI").

With a client list that ranges from large utilities to energy efficiency agencies and renewable technology companies, it’s safe to say that KSV is deep into energy issues. We spend a lot of time crafting messages advocating for energy efficiency improvements and the like.  Calling us “energy nerds” would not be far off the mark.
It’s bad enough that we toss around terms like “socket saturation,” but last week we got excited about, of all things, our electricity bill. Here’s why: when we totaled up our electricity use from the last twelve months ending in September, 2011, we saw a significant drop from the total of the previous year.

Last week there was a local power outage that affected our company server. It was down for almost two hours. I have never heard as much chatter in the halls as I did that morning. The choice was for people to sit and stare at their blank computer screens, or get up, move about, and talk face to face. Guess what happened?
 

We blogged last summer about Nest Labs, a start-up boasting Apple alums Mike Matas and Tony Fadell. Now Nest Labs has revealed its bid for the smart thermostat market.
Their device – the Nest –  is “the world’s first learning thermostat – a thermostat for the iPhone generation,” says Fadell. In line with its Apple lineage, the Nest is sleek, stylish and easy to use. It can be controlled from your web browser or iPhone.

Its features are amazing, if just a bit creepy. Motion-tracking sensors can tell whether you’re home or not, and room temps are adjusted accordingly. No more heating or cooling an empty house, regardless of whether you forget to hit “pause”.

North Dakota has a lot going for it. Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. The Dakota Dinosaur Museum.
Unfortunately, energy efficiency is not on the list.

 
In the age of infographics, photo sharing, and YouTube, it’s hard to ignore the power of the image.  A well-designed, well-thought out image can become a change maker in our society. We see this every day in our industry as we create advertisements and marketing materials set to create change for our clients, and oftentimes, the world.

I’ve been diving into the food and nutrition space lately, and have been bombarded with a large amount of food-related imagery. One particular image comes to mind, not because of its power to inform, but rather its complete lack of powerful influence.

As part of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to help teach kids the importance of eating healthy and staying active, Mrs. Obama and her marketing team dropped the well-known Food Pyramid and created the Food Plate. Many argued that the Food Pyramid was confusing and unclear, hence the transition. Yes, the Plate is far simpler, but is it more effective?

The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Grant Program handed out $454 million in grants last year to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses nationwide. Neighborworks of Western Vermont received $4.5 million to help Rutland County homeowners weatherize their homes.
Vermont's public radio station, VPR, reported on their progress. Homeowners are saving an average of 35% on energy bills.

Pecan Street Inc. is a Smart Grid and clean energy R&D organization, headquartered at The University of Texas at Austin, where it’s been working on – you guessed it – a Smart Grid demonstration project.
Here’s where the rubber hits the road. We’re finally starting to see some of those partnerships, emerging services and innovations we’ve been touting in connection with Smart Grid – where nimble innovators with a focus on customer service and segmentation can begin to make their mark.