Kickstand

We’ve set up a little Facebook page for SunChips. Don’t forget to “Like” it!

With the mountain air turning crisp and cool and the aspens in peak color here in Boulder, we’re reminded to drink every single drop of every single day. This summer has been a whirlwind and this fall is shaping up to be a monsoon, but that’s the way we like it. And we’re drinking it all in.

We hope this finds you well. Just wanted to share a snapshot of our last two months.

Kickstand on ABC’s Good Morning America and Huffington Post

Kickstand spent part of the third week of September in NYC filming a segment for ABC’s Good Morning America. The segment will run Thursday 9/30. Our Research Director Scott Gwozdz was center stage talking about some SmartLiving jumpstarts with host Ashley Koff in a Huffington Post segment. Check it out!

And the accompanying Huff Post article.

The Aladdin Do the Reuse Challenge

We’ve been working on an exciting project along with our friends Momentum Media PR for our client Aladdin called the Do the Reuse Challenge www.dothereusechallenge.com. The company that brought you those nostalgic Pac Man and Return of the Jedi lunch boxes back in the day is now asking you to step up and give up all those pesky disposable food and drink containers that you use day to day. Please check it out and take the challenge yourself.

This is a fun project for us because it’s a fusion of one of our favorite research tools (that we created to understand how people experience changes in their lives) with some great strategy…MORE

That’s a Wrap to the Boulder Greenhouse

We’ve spent the last eight months or so working on the Boulder Greenhouse and now, in an absolute whirlwind, it has come and gone.

Over three weeks in August, 20 of the nation’s top editors including Josh Dorfman (the Lazy Environmentalist) Ashley Koff(Good Morning America), Leslie Goldman (the Today Show), and Andrea Metcalf (the Today Show and Oprah.com) were fully immersed in the best of sustainable living today. They lived in a beautiful net-zero home nestled in Boulder, Colorado and got to eat (well) and play with the latest planet-friendly products and technology up close and hands-on.

As part of the editor experience, Kickstand produced a national study called SmartLiving…MORE

Look for SmartLiving Report SOON

Lot’s of “smart” going on around here. Soon we’ll be releasing a FREE topline on our SmartLiving research that we’ve been working on over the last year. We’ll let you know when it’s released.

SmartLiving is a new and expansive consumer category that you should have on your radar. It emerged from our research on green and healthy living and touches upwards of 200 million American consumers…MORE

SmarthouseSmartliving.com Launched

Check out the phase I launch of smarthousesmartliving.com. This is a consumer site that builds on our Boulder Greenhouse experience and helps consumers connect the SmartLiving dots in their lives. The site will morph into a top online resource for learning how to make smarter choices in your life that affect your health, the environment, and your pocketbook.

Hey there new client, City of Boulder LEAD

We’re especially pleased to announce that we’ve started work with our newest client, the City of Boulder’s Local Environmental Actions Division (LEAD). Along with our bang up creative partner Sustineo Creative, we’ll help the City understand consumers and create mobilization campaigns that will deploy the most proactive, innovative, and forward-thinking programs locally while elevating Boulder’s groundbreaking eco-thought nationally.

SmartLiving Insights

How Do People Change?

Our research shows that people change very slowly, especially when it comes to making “green” or healthy choices. Habits are ingrained, repeat purchases can be sources of comfort, and the burden of proof needs to be high for people to take a chance and stray from what they know works. In SmartLiving, we explored how this change occurs, and what it takes to “knock the center out” of the purchase decision, and seek another choice. This happens infrequently, but when it does, natural or eco-friendly alternatives have the opportunity to become the trusted alternative.

In our SmartLiving research…MORE

SmartLiving Kickstart

Around here, we like meat as much as the next carnivore but we recently started practicing Meatless Monday—a SmartLiving idea that started back in World War I and was reinvigorated a few years ago by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future. While it’s not a new concept, it has us connecting all sorts of dots when it comes to our diet and it’s impact on the planet and our health.

Like all SmartLiving ideas Meatless Monday is not difficult, it doesn’t require an increased investment of money, and it has a positive affect on our health and the planet…MORE

Kickstand spent last week in NYC filming a segment for ABC’s Good Morning America. Our Research Director Scott Gwozdz was center stage talking about SmartLiving with host Ashley Koff in a Huffington Post segment. It’ll be airing any day! We’ll let you know when it’s on.

Huffington Post with Ashley Koff

Caroline Budney from Cercone Brown relaxing in GMA’s Greenroom

Over past few months we’ve been working on an exciting project along with our friends Momentum Media PR for our client Aladdin called the Do the Reuse Challenge http://dothereusechallenge.com/. The company that brought you those nostalgic Pac Man and Return of the Jedi lunch boxes back in the day is now asking you to step up and give up all those pesky disposable food items that you use in your life. Please check it up and take the challenge yourself.

This is a fun project for us because it’s a fusion of one of our favorite research tools (that we created to understand how people experience changes in their lives) with some great strategy. The result is a super smart social campaign that we’re excited to see spread! Will you do the reuse?

We’re especially pleased to announce that we’ve started work with our newest client, the City of Boulder environmental programs (LEAD). Along with our bang up creative partner Sustineo Creative, we’ll be assisting the city in understanding consumers and leading the way in the most proactive and innovative environmental initiatives anywhere in the country. We’re looking forward to helping Boulder deploy their forward-thinking programs locally and elevating Boulder’s groundbreaking eco-thought onto a national stage.

We’ve spent the last eight months or so working on the Boulder Greenhouse and now, in an absolute whirlwind, it has come and gone.

Over three weeks in August, 20 of the nation’s top editors including Josh Dorfman (the Lazy Environmentalist) Ashley Koff (Good Morning America), Leslie Goldman (the Today Show), and Andrea Metcalf (the Today Show and Oprah.com) were fully immersed in the best of sustainable living today.

They lived in a beautiful net-zero home nestled in Boulder, Colorado and got to eat (well) and play with the latest planet-friendly products and technology up close and hands-on.

As part of the editor experience, Kickstand produced a national study called SmartLiving that uncovered new insights into green and healthy living in America. The editors learned about the research and heard stories about a SmartLiving approach to mainstreaming green. Look for a topline report to be available soon.

The www.smarthousesmartliving.com consumer site will be launching soon as well!

A big thanks to the Greenhouse sponsors: Ford, LG, 3M, Tupperware, Earthbound Farms, and Energy Hub

We are so proud to have partners like Cercone Brown who did the heavy lifting that lifted this experience above everyone’s expectations! Also, huge thanks to the crew at Springleaf for letting us disrupt their already busy lives!

Another day, another survey. This one is super fast and easy. Your thoughts are very much appreciated!

Smart Ideas Around Food

• Choose local and in season—learn more about where your food comes from
• Select organic and hormone free if possible especially produce on the “dirty dozen” list
• Grow your own food or get involved in a CSA (community supported agriculture)
• Consider reducing meat consumption for health and planetary concerns

Research Insight:

People are looking for trust and confidence in their food purchases. Sometimes that’s a personal relationship with a local farmer, sometimes it’s the stamp of organic certification.

Smart Living Jumpstarts:

• Try meatless Monday
• Have a dinner party with all the food coming from within a 100 mile radius of your home
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store for real food

Factoids:

• Livestock is responsible for 18% of US greenhouse gases, more than all transportation combined
• By buying local, 90% of what you spend stays in the local economy compared to only 7% when not buying local
• Each vegetarian’s diet saves an acre of trees a year

President Obama drove this car and so did we! This is also the same car that appeared on Jay Leno celebrity driving challenge–the Electric Ford Focus.

Smart Ideas:

• Match your vehicle to your trip—often a bike or small car is all you need
• Buy into the dream – when you are ready for your next car, go hybrid, go electric
• Maintain your vehicles – keeping them tuned, tires full, increases fuel efficiency

Research insight:

Many expressed guilt about driving but couldn’t imagine changing their driving habits. For those people who actually tried alternative transportation, many were pleasantly surprised and empowered.

Smart Living Jumpstarts:

• Once a week, get to work a different way—bike, bus, carpool, etc
• Work at home one day a week
• Group errands, ride with a friend – make it a game to reduce mileage when feasible

Factoids:

• 77% of people commute alone in their car
• When a person starts to bike commute, they lose an average of 13 pounds in their first year
• Only 4.7% of commuters use public transportation

Smart Ideas:

• Become more aware of your home energy use–where are my energy dollars going?  Out the windows?  Up the chimney?  To the electric utility?
• Use technology to save money and energy without sacrificing comfort
• Know your most obvious energy weak spots

Research Insight:

People who tried programmable thermostats in our research found them to be cheap, effective and easy to use.  No down side, only energy and cost savings.

Smart Living Jumpstarts:

• Seal windows and doors—cheap, easy, effective
• Install programmable thermostats and other energy management/automation technology
• Diversify your lighting mix. Use daylight whenever possible and mix CFLs and LEDs to balance personal preferences with conservation benefits.
• Reduce phantom power loads – use power strips and unplug gadgets

Factoids:

• Phantom energy loss accounts for 10% of your yearly power bill
• Save 10% a year on heating by turning down thermostat 10 degrees for 8 hours a day