07.10.08
Chicago French Bulldog Rescue logo … in Color
The logo can be seen in its live environment by visiting www.FrenchiePorVous.org.
TEASER …
Canine Therapy Corps is about to get a new logo … We’ll post the final selection as soon as it’s approved. Stay tuned!
Snackbox Sets the Table with Chinet Environmental Messages
Chicago-based Snackbox PR has won publicity assignments on the Chinet disposable tablewar
e account. Partnering with Chinet advertising agency of record, The Buntin Group of Nashville, Snackbox will oversee brand publicity and execute Chinet brand environmental messages.
“Chinet Classic White and Chinet Casuals Plates are disposable tableware made from 100 percent pre-consumer recycled material; material that would otherwise go into a landfill,” said Jenna Gruhala, Principal of Snackbox PR. “We’re proud to align ourselves with a major brand that truly cares about protecting and preserving our environment.”
About Snackbox
Snackbox LLC is a Chicago-based design and public relations agency with a network of highly experienced and talented independent professionals spanning the United States. Snackbox principals Eric Oltersdorf and Jenna Gruhala believe their agency provides clients with the best possible work at the best possible price. Clients range from established brands like Chinet premium disposable tableware to rapidly growing businesses like Stronger Seniors. For more information about Snackbox, visit us at www.snackboxlabs.com.
About The Buntin Group
With over $154 million in annualized client billings, The Buntin Group is the largest brand communications agency in Tennessee and one of the top 150 in the country. For more information visit www.buntingroup.com.
07.08.08
SETTING THE TABLE FOR PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
Small steps can help reduce your family’s carbon footprint –
that all-important measure of a family’s effect on the environment
DeSoto, Kan. (July 8, 2008) – Small steps can help reduce your family’s carbon footprint – that all-important measure of your effect on the environment. Still, the average American generates 20 tons of carbon dioxide – a heat-trapping greenhouse gas – every year, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). That’s about the same amount as putting three new cars on
the road in each instance.
Environmentally friendly choices in the grocery store can help reduce the amount of trash your family generates, contributing to reduction of your carbon footprint. For instance, Chinet Classic White and Chinet Casuals Plates are disposable tableware made from 100 percent pre-consumer recycled material, material that would otherwise go into a landfill.
Both lines are certified chlorine-free and are biodegradable in home composting. The process takes about 60 days and the end result is a great base for your flower or vegetable garden. Plus, Chinet Classic White and Chinet Casuals tableware are still microwave safe and available in a variety of sizes.
“Chinet has a heritage we’re proud of in making strong plates that help create strong memories when friends and families gather and a long history of protecting our environment,” said Julie Stoetzer, Chinet Brand Marketing Manager. “We pursue sustainable processes in production through preservation of natural resources because we care about our planet and the impact we have on everything we touch.”
Huhtamaki American, Inc., makers of Chinet products, practices sustainable processes in the production of both consumer and specialty packaging. By using recycled materials in the production of molded fiber products Huhtamaki annually saves:
- Nearly three million trees each year
- One billion gallons of water which is equal to the supply of water for a city of 10,000
- 65 million gallons of oil or the equivalent of 31 million gallons of gas
These green efforts, along with programs to reduce its pollution and power use, have earned Huhtamaki a number of awards, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Achievement Award. For more information about Huhtamaki sustainability efforts processes, visit www.mychinet.com/environment.
About the Chinet Brand
Made in America since the 1930s, Chinet disposable tableware has a long history of making strong plates and even stronger memories as friends and family gather. Chinet products give you the strength and style you depend on with the added piece of mind knowing you’re using environmentally friendly products. For more information about Chinet and its family of products, visit www.mychinet.com.
About Huhtamaki
Established in 1920 as a specialty packaging organization, Huhtamaki provides many of the world’s most recognizable consumer goods packaging and foodservice containers, including the retail line of Chinet premium disposable tableware. For more information about Huhtamaki, visit www.us.huhtamaki.com
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Editors Note: Photos to accompany story available by contacting jenna@snackboxlabs.com.
For more information, contact:
Jenna Gruhala | Snackbox | 773.715.0879
jenna@snackboxlabs.com | AIM: N20Jenna
07.06.08
US Banker: Beyond Business as Usual
Some banks only have nightmares about setting up disaster-recovery operations. But when the Southern California fires destroyed hundreds of homes this fall, Pacific Coast National Bank’s came true. Although neither of the two branches of the $89.7 million-asset bank, which is based in San Clemente, was affected by the fires, the nearby town of Fallbrook lost 221 houses. The town was also home to nearly 300 Pacific shareholders and numerous employees.
The bank tapped its $225-a-month deal with Agility Recovery Solutions, a business-continuity firm, to open a temporary headquarters in Fallbrook for 60 days on land donated by a resident. Agility opened a 720-square-foot mobile branch, complete with a power generator, satellite system and computer system sufficient for 45 employees, according to Michael Hahn, president and COO of PCNB.
“Residents were thankful for having us here,” says Hahn, who notes the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the bank’s request for a temporary facility in only 24 hours. The bank’s largest contribution? Helping affected residents wade through reams of loan-application pages from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as answering questions about potential renovation loans.
“The primary reason we did it was to build up our image in the community,” he admits. “I’m sure it’ll pay off, maybe with some deposit customers or loan customers. And from a CRA [Community Reinvestment Act] perspective, we felt like this is an area we needed to help out. We want to give back and we have some talented people who can.”
According to Bob Boyd, the president and CEO of Agility, the entire project will cost Pacific Coast about $50,000, beyond the monthly fee.
Whackit! Croquet Coverage
A benefit for Chicago-based Vital Bridges, a non-profit organization serving peopl
e affected by HIV and AIDS, Snackbox attended the 20th anniversary of Whackit! Croquet. Our favorite sports writer, Elliott Harris provides the following coverage, featuring our very own Jenna Gruhala.
thirdgear featured in Crain’s Chicago Business
Tension tamer: elaborate pranks
LETTING OFF STEAM
Prankster Mike Meyers, creative director and “director of fundom” at Thirdgear, a Chicago marketing firm, agrees. “Whenever people talk to me about why there’s so much joking and sarcasm in the agency business, I always say, the movie ‘Mash,’ ” says Mr. Meyers, 50. “They dealt with stress and pressure with humor, and that’s what we do.”
Mr. Meyers pulled his favorite prank in the early 1990s while working at Leo Burnett in Chicago. He concealed a microchip that played the Virginia Slims cigarette jingle (“You’ve come a long way, baby”) in the office ceiling of the creative director who’d written the tune.
“The song played for days,” Mr. Meyers says. When the creative director asked colleagues if they heard the music, “We’d all say, ‘No, what are you talking about?’ ” Mr. Meyers recalls. “He went a little crazy.”
