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Vote For Circle Fresh Farms!

Circle Fresh Farms needs your help!  They are currently involved in a contest to see which local small business will receive $10,000 to help their business grow.  The contest is sponsored by “On Deck Capital” and will be giving the ten-thousand dollar award to the top vote getter in their Facebook contest.

Right now, Circle Fresh Farms is in the top five, but they need your vote to qualify for the grand prize.  All you have to do is go to the Facebook page link here, and vote for Circle Fresh Farms.  You can also go to the Circle Fresh Farms website for a link to the contest page.

You can also help by posting this blog to your Facebook and Twitter account and encouraging your friends to vote for this amazing Colorado Company.  The more votes they get, the closer they are to the $10,000 grand prize which means they can expand their network and continue to provide locally grown, quality produce for families along the Front Range.

Circle Fresh Farms also supports local farmers by working with a network of farms to grow their vegetables, all of which are currently sold at metro area Whole Foods.

CFF is changing the produce industry, from using less land, less water while still growing the highest quality vegetables available in Colorado.

So help us get the word out and support this great local business!

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Viral Videos and You

Not everyone can go viral like “Grumpy Cat”

You’ve seen them.  Those short little videos that end up in your Facebook newsfeed, on your Twitter or that pop up in your emails daily.  From the Harlem Shake to Grumpy Cat, viral videos have become a staple of workday surfing and something called “friendsharing”.

They have millions of views and have elevated ordinary folks into stardom (think “the Bieb” and the guy who did “Gangnam Style“).  It’s tempting to think that just about anyone can create a viral video, and in theory, anyone can.  But in reality, creating a video that racks up millions of hits is, particularly for your business, is very, very, VERY hard.

An Essential Element:

The irony is, your business NEEDS to utilize video, especially on your social media platforms, in order to gain followers, friends and potential customers.

It’s just a simple fact of social media:  You need visuals and video to raise your profile online.

This is where the viral video curse comes into play.  Too often businesses believe they can create a viral video that will instantly make their company an internet hit.  The problem is, it’s nearly impossible to consciously create a video that goes viral.

However, you CAN create a video that attracts viewers, hits your target demographic and effectively promotes your business.

Don’t Try Too Hard:

The internet graveyard is littered with examples of companies that tried too hard to create a viral video, or reach a particular demographic.  Pepsi comes to mind, Coors tried it with their “Code Blue” campaign and Cheetos struck out with their recent “Orange Underground” effort. (click link to see example).  So, even the big boys find it nearly impossible to do.

For your business, however, the first thing to do is remove the idea of creating a viral video in the first place.  Instead, focus on creating a video that is interesting and actually says something about your business.

Let’s start with the basics of creating an online video for your company:

1.  Keep it short – Anything over a minute is less likely to be viewed by the general public.  Don’t use two minutes to say what you can say in :45 seconds.
2.  Don’t TRY to be funny – Humor is subjective.  What’s funny to you might be offensive to someone else.  You don’t want to anger potential customers.
3.  Have a clear message – Don’t let your efforts at humor or viral fame get in the way of telling your viewers what you want to say about your business.
4.  Reflect your personality – If you’re a fun, whimsical restaurant, you probably don’t want your video to be stuffy or stiff.  Show your businesses’ personality in your video.
5.  Don’t scrimp on the details – The worst thing you can do is have awful lighting, bad sound and subpar editing.  It doesn’t have to look like George Lucas directed it, but it also shouldn’t look like a middle school art project.

Two other items you should keep in mind.  For those who are Denver natives, you’ll remember the old Jake Jabs American Furniture Warehouse ads.  I bring this up because one of the staples of viral videos is the use of cute cats, puppies and other assorted animals to attract interest.

You can attempt to use animals in your videos, but remember a few things if this is the way you choose to go.  First, animals are very hard to work with.  Second, using cute animals might look like you’re trying too hard to go viral.  Third, a cute animal might take away from the message you’re trying to deliver.

One last thing.  When you make your video think in terms of volume.  In other words, don’t make just one video, make several.  A single video can be posted and get a ton of hits, but in a short time, people move on and it is forgotten.  If you have seven or even ten short videos, you can constantly post the videos to your Facebook and Twitter feeds and keep people interested and looking forward to new videos.  You don’t have to try and tell a story, just make your videos interesting and informative and you’ll be fine; just have a lot of them.

Again, producing a viral video is nearly impossible because the best ones happen by accident.  Instead make your videos fun (not necessarily funny), watchable, have a message and keep it short and you’ll be able to post videos that will be effective enough to catch the attention of potential customers while allowing your current customers a chance to share something that will draw more attention to your business.  And that is just as valuable to your business than any viral video will ever be.

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Colorado Company Changing the Way Farms do Business

Circle Fresh Farms CEO Rich Naha shows investors his latest crop
The latest business to shine in the “Stasko Spotlight” this week is Circle Fresh Farms.  It’s a small company making a big impact in Colorado, but it’s also changing the way an entire industry does business.

In short, Circle Fresh Farms LLC, based out of Wheat Ridge,  is using hydroponic technology and a network of local farmers to promote a new approach to farming.  This new approach uses no dirt and climate controlled greenhouses to grow “four to five times” more produce per square foot than more traditional farms, all at one-tenth the water.

The Stasko Agency is proud to work with a company on the cutting edge of their industry.  The earned media we have been able to secure for Circle Fresh Farms has helped position them as a leader in their industry and assisted in their growth since their founding in 2011. So far, Circle Fresh Farms has been able to secure $900,000 in funding to expand its network of greenhouse growers.

Among our most recent placements for Circle Fresh Farms LLC, is this month’s feature story in the Denver Business Journal, which you can read by clicking here.  The Stasko Agency believes in promoting businesses that work toward sustainability and are environmentally conscious.  In fact, by helping to promote Circle Fresh Farms LLC,  we are also promoting the success of the local growers working with the innovative startup. 

This quote from Circle Fresh Farms CEO Rich Naha is from our latest release about their growth. 

“We’ve accomplished a lot in less than two years. We’ve secured key relationships with ten different network farmers and established our brand among suppliers,” said Circle Fresh Farms CEO Rich Naha. ”We’re ready to take this to the next level  – to expand into new regions by working with retailers with a national reach.”

This release secured several stories both locally and in newspapers and trade publications nationally. 

Currently, CFF’s network stretches from Pueblo to Longmont with plans to expand even further in 2013.  We are thrilled that we have been part of Circle Fresh Farms’ growth over the past year and even more thrilled to note that last year the company posted a 60 percent growth in revenues and is expected to more than triple that growth in 2013. 
You can always find the latest news on Circle Fresh Farms LLC at our website, www.staskoagency.com or at their website, www.circlefreshfarms.comwww.circlefreshfarms.com.

You can find Circle Fresh Farms produce at area Whole Foods stores, which soon hopes to be able to allow customers to harvest their own produce from store displays.
Keep an eye on us to keep up with the latest from this fast growing and innovative Colorado company!

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New Businesses Flocking to LoHi

Juan Padro is a huge hit in LoHi

We recently posted about the opening of Old Major (see the entry below if you missed it).  But there are a ton of other exciting things going on in our neighborhood we wanted to let you know about.
Over the past few months, a number of wonderful businesses have moved into, or opened up, in our area.  Of course, there’s Old Major, which just had its grand opening and is already packed with customers daily.  Here are a few of the others you might have missed:
As you can see, we continue to grow by leaps and bounds with some wonderful new business.  In the coming weeks, we’ll keep you updated on the growth and success of these new business and others that open their doors in our neighborhood.  Check out the websites for these businesses and make sure to help us spread the word about the LoHi Area.
In Other News:
While these new businesses have already opened their doors in LoHi, one established business is getting a facelift and a brand new pub is set to open this Spring.  
One of the personalities behind Katie Mullen’s in downtown Denver and a familiar face in Denver’s pub scene, Paul Maye, is currently in the process of converting the old “Rockstar Bar” at 3358 Mariposa into LoHi’s newest Irish Pub.  The new pub is still a couple of months away from opening.  Another British-style pub, Churchill’s Public House, is also set to open its doors this Spring at 1560 Boulder St.  Click here to check out the recent write up in Westword for more details on these new pubs coming to LoHi.
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What Is News?

Today’s blog post is submitted by a guest blogger, Duncan Shaw, Producer at KCNC News

Ultimately, you want your story to end up here!

As a journalist my entire life, I’ve can tell you I’ve been asked one question more times than any other;  What makes a story “newsworthy”?  In other words, people are always wondering what constitutes actual news?  I’m sure that to many, the process of determining what is news and what isn’t can seem like a magical, mystical ancient ritual known only to the chosen few huddled over computers in poorly lit newsrooms.
In fact, it’s nothing like that at all.  Believe it or not, there is an actual process that takes place, first on an individual level, then on a group level, and then again on an individual level.
In order to understand how stories are chosen for broadcast, you first have to understand the structure or hierarchy of a newsroom.  While this may vary from outlet to outlet and even from broadcast to print, this is, in essence, the breakdown of most newsrooms.  
Newsrooms are a bit different today
Assignment editors are generally the first line of defense for a newsroom.  Most releases and story ideas are filtered through them first.  They read hundreds of emails and answer countless calls all day while at the same time, keeping their eyes and ears focused on banks of scanners in order to catch any breaking news that might happen.  The stories that make it past the AE’s get passed on to the potential story folder where they are discussed by reporters, producers, photographers and other editors during the daily news meetings.  A handful of stories are agreed upon by producers and managers to be included in each broadcast while other stories may end up in only one broadcast.  
Occasionally, a story will find its way to a producer without going through the meeting.  At this point, the producer responsible for his or her specific broadcast will decide if that story is worthy of being included in the rundown.  In many cases, stories are pitched by individual reporters or others in the newsroom during the meetings.  Eventually, the producers head back to their computers tasked with choosing which stories to include in their rundown and in which order they will run.
But the question remains, HOW do they decide what to include?  How do they determine if a story is really news?  
The Criteria:
In simple terms, most journalists use four basic parameters to determine if a story is news or not.  Each story that passes through a newsroom is run through this gauntlet and if they meet the criteria, the story likely will be included in the producer’s rundown.  If not, it gets set aside, most likely never to be heard from again.  If you have a story you’re pitching to a newsroom, ask yourself if your story fits these criteria:

Timeliness – This seems simple enough.  If a story or event has just happened or is happening “right now”, then it is timely.  If you are pitching a story that happened a week ago, or something that is happening two weeks from now, it is not timely.  The more timely the story, the more likely it is to be news.

Proximity – Remember this, all news is local.  The majority of journalists are reporting on a local level.  This means they are reporting for an audience that cares about what is happening in its own backyard, so to speak.  The audience matters.  That’s why a car crash in Denver matters more to local viewers than a worse crash in Ohio.  Your story has to be local, or must have a local tie-in to a national story in order for most newsrooms to pay attention to it.  If you’re pitching a Colorado Springs story to Denver newsrooms, it is much less likely to be picked up than if you pitched it to Colorado Springs newsrooms.

Impact –  Who does this story impact?  Remember that the greater number of the audience that is impacted by your story, the more it is newsworthy.  For instance, while a car accident may be newsworthy, it doesn’t compare to a water main break in the suburbs.  Unless the accident shuts down the highway, the water main break impacts more of the audience.  This is one of the reasons why weather gets so much attention.  A snowstorm impacts everyone in the audience.

WOW Factor – This is where stories about celebrities or sports generally fall.  This category could also be called “uniqueness”.  How unique is your story?  If your story is similar to other stories that have run recently, chances are your story isn’t going to be picked up.  The more unique you can make your story, the better chance you have of seeing your story on TV or in print.

Of course there are other elements that go into the news decision-making process.  Things such as quality of video (hey, we live in a visual society now), national news tie-in’s and whether or not a story has “legs” or multiple levels of storytelling.  HOW you tell the story matters as well.  Does your story have a main character that can be relatable to the audience?  Does it have a protagonist?  A conflict?  A resolution?  All of these things are part of the process.  But to start, if you can start to think like a journalist and consider the four categories mentioned above when creating your story pitch, you’ll find that your stories will have much more success in being picked up by local newsrooms.  
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Old Major Opens Doors in LoHi

Old Major

Once again, The LoHi Area is home to another of Denver’s newest and hippest restaurants.  LoHi foodies celebrated the opening of “Old Major,” the latest concept of Katie O’ Shea and Juan Padro.  This time, Katie and Juan are partnering with Chef Justin Brunson owner of Masterpiece Deli, to create a LoHi restaurant featuring contemporary farmhouse cuisine, or as their tagline says: “Seafood, Swine and Wine!” 

Already the buzz is picking up about this great new restaurant.  Even before Old Major opened its doors, local critics were anticipating the unique menu, comfortable atmosphere and quality service.  Of course, Katie and Juan’s record of success and Chef Brunson’s expertise in the kitchen didn’t hurt.  As long as a year ago, Westword was already writing about Old Major.  Chef Brunson was quoted as saying, “I think this is a restaurant that’s going to be great for Highland,” Brunson predicts. “This is where my career really took off, and I think there’s a need for high-end bistro fare up here. It’s been a long time coming, and the space is nothing short of awesome.”
Now that the doors are actually opened and customers are flocking to sample the fare, other critics are starting to pay attention as well.  For example, check out a recent story about LoHi’s latest addition in the Denver Post.

We at the Stasko Agency have had the pleasure of working with Katie and Juan to promote their other restaurant, Highland Tap and Burger.  It is a thrill for us to see their continued success in the LoHi Area.

One of our biggest goals at the Stasko Agency is to help promote the LoHi Area and its ever growing list of merchants.  It’s such an amazing neighborhood with fantastic restaurants, a thriving arts scene and or course there’s our popular nightlife.  If you have any information you want us to pass along regarding events, activities, openings or closings in LoHi, please leave us a message here or email us directly at Lu@staskoagency.com.

For those of you who are LoHi residents, you can make a reservation at Old Major by emailing Mary@oldmajordenver.com, just put “Friend of Katie and Juan” in the subject line.  They’ll take care of all your dietary options as well. 

Keep supporting local LoHi businesses and we’ll keep getting the word out to the rest of the Metro Area about Old Major and the rest of the businesses in our gem of a neighborhood.

For more information about Old Major, visit:
www.OldMajorDenver.com
or find them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OldMajorDenver
You can also follow them on Twitter: @OldMajorDenver

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Client Profile: Mudlick Mail Expands into the Dental Industry

We are extremely proud to announce that one of our clients, Mudlick Mail, is expanding into an exciting new field.  Since its inception in 2008, Mudlick has used its particular brand of targeted direct mail to help auto shop owners attract more customers.  Using Mudlick’s in depth research and turnkey campaigns, some shop owners have increased sales by as much as 40 percent. Now, Mudlick is offering its services for the dental industry.
Our agency has been key in securing regular media coverage for Mudlick Mail over the past few years and we look forward to working hard in the coming months to help Mudlick Mail gain traction in this new market.  You can read about Mudlick Mail’s launch in the dental market here.  We’ll also be introducing Mudlick Mail’s services to dental trade magazines and hope to share some placements with you soon.
We have had great success in placing Mudlick Mail in auto shop trade magazines and the Stasko Agency has been instrumental in raising the profile of Mudlick and its owner, Greg Sands.  We look forward to keeping you updated on the amazing growth of this highly successful business and we’re more excited than ever to work with Mudlick to expand its imprint in the direct mail industry.
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Navigating The Social Media Maze

One of the biggest issues we run into as an agency is talking to clients about social media.  For many, social media can be a big ball of confusion that takes time away from more important day-to-day business issues.  The three main questions we hear are:
How do I quantify my social media campaigns?
How do I use social media successfully without spending too much money?
How do I find time to post everything I need to post?
Nobody becomes a social media expert overnight.  And the good news is that you don’t have to be a “techie” to use social media effectively.  It’s as easy as snapping a photo and posting it from your phone…and it only needs to take a few minutes every day.
The Time Drain Myth:
You might have heard that in order for your social media campaign to work, you need to post constantly and across many platforms.  While that is one way to do it, you don’t have to spend hours on your computer to be a success at social media.  You can post from your phone, your tablet or your computer whenever you have a few free moments.  It takes just a few seconds to post a picture from your phone, or to update your status or to reply to a customer. 
The best thing you can do is simply set aside ten minutes every day, or every other day to update your social media platforms.  That’s all it takes.  Chances are you’ve already scheduled other important to-do items in your day, add this to your list and stay consistent.  Ten minutes out of your day is more than enough time and can have spectacular results.
Too Many Platforms:
With the advent of technology, it can be confusing when trying to figure out which social media platforms to use.  There are literally hundreds of options, including LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, Digg, Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the various Google platforms.
Find two or three that you are comfortable with and figure out how to use them effectively.  If you only use Facebook and Twitter, then learn how to use them well.  The same holds true for if you only use LinkedIn and Tumblr.  Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed.  Find the two or three that you feel you can use quickly and effectively and stick with them.  At some point in the future, you can expand if you’re comfortable in doing so.
Quantifying Content:
The biggest mistake businesses make when using social media is sharing poor content.  Remember, we are a visual society, so use photos and videos whenever possible.  More important than that, though, is how you present your content. 
Give your customers a call to action with your posts.  Offer deals, ask questions, start conversations.  The biggest impact your efforts will have is in being interactive with your friends and followers.  If you offer a special, or post a deal, give it a time limit and then track the sales that are a direct result of your posts.  This is an easy way to quantify your efforts. 
This is a great way to not only attract new customers, but to build brand loyalty as well.  Plus, if you regularly post specials or deals, word of mouth will help you grow your friends and followers list.  Social media is a great way to connect to customers and potential customers.
In short, social media is an extremely effective way to communicate with your customers and potential customers and you can do so in a way that doesn’t cost you a ton of money or time.  Follow these tips and you’ll soon be a business social media wizard:
1.     Set aside ten minutes every day or every other day to update your social media posts.
2.     Post from your phone or tablet when you have extra time
3.     Find two or three platforms and use those exclusively to start
4.     Use photos and video liberally
5.     Start conversations and offer deals or specials to your friends and followers and encourage them to help spread your posts.
The final tip is to be patient.  You won’t just start posting on Facebook and suddenly find hundreds of new customers banging on your door.  It takes time to build a community of customers, friends and followers.  But if you’re consistent, you’ll grow your social media circle and, in turn, your customer base will grow as well.  Social media does work and in today’s market, chances are if you’re not using social media, you’re not reaching the full potential of your business.

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The Stasko Agency Launches New Blog Schedule

Dear readers: 
Big and wonderful changes are coming to The Stasko Agency blog.  These changes coincide with the many great things taking place for our clients as well as in the LoHi area.  To start, we are adopting a new schedule for this blog beginning today.
Each week this space will have a different focus, designed to keep you updated on what’s going on with our agency, with our clients and in LoHi.  We will also begin offering tips and ideas on how to get the most from your marketing and PR efforts.  We will also be featuring a guest blogger every month.
Here is the schedule, so keep it handy and check back every week for our latest posts and tell your friends and colleagues about us.  As always our goal here at the Stasko Agency is to provide quality information that you can use to help your business grow.
1stweek:  Stasko Agency Client Profile
2nd week: LoHi Merchant Profile
3rd week: Industry Tips
4th week: Guest Blogger
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America’s CEO Visits the Mile High City

If you’ve ever wondered how to mix the perfect martini or how to host a dinner party without getting stuck in the kitchen, Tim Laird is your man. Known as America’s CEO (Chief Entertaining Officer), Tim makes a slew of media appearances every year, spreading his insights about hosting great soirees on the behalf of liquor producer Brown-Forman. We’ve been helping Brown-Forman promote its new cinnamon-flavored liqueur, Tuaca Cinnaster in Colorado, so last month we brought Tim in to help with the effort.

His first stop was 9News’ Colorado & Company, where Tim offered tips on how to create a special Super Bowl spread, complete with Cinnaster-inspired cocktails. Click here to check out Tim’s interview with Denise Plante. The author of That’s Entertaining, also did a similar segment on the Everyday show, which you can view here.

Tim Laird with Colorado & Company Host Denise Plante

In the evening, Tim hosted a Cinnaster cocktail tasting and contest at Ocean Prime. Writers and editors from Westword, Blacktie Colorado, Denver Life, 303 Magazine, Indulge in Denver, and Out Front Colorado sampled specially-crafted Cinnaster creations and chose one to serve as Ocean Prime’s Featured Cocktail for February. The winner was the “Cinnaster Spiked Cocoa,” a warm blend of Tuaca Cinnaster, Godiva chocolate liqueur, hot cocoa, Aztec chocolate bitters and Cinnaster-infused whipped cream. The panel of judges called the cocoa cocktail, “A great winter drink,” and “great on a ski day.” Ocean Prime will have the drink available all month, if you’re craving something warm on a chilly day.


 
You can read more about the event in 303 Magazine. And if you’d like more information about the history of Tuaca in Colorado, check out this Westword blog.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Tim for serving as such a great host and making our job easy. We’d also like to thank Ocean Prime for creating such interesting Cinnaster combinations. If you’d like to play Cinnaster mixologist on your own, these recipes might serve as a great starting point.
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