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Spectrum

#140Conf

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Last week we attended the 140 Characters Conference NYC - referred to in the Twitter world, as #140conf.  The conference that many online pegged as a 'must attend' for twitteratti and tech geeks alike was centered around the premise of exploring the "state of NOW" and looking at the effect that real-time communications have on individuals, industry and the world at large.

Over 100 speakers took part in the two day conference and weighed in on the real-time web and how social media is making an impact across the board; including tech entrepreneur Jeff Pulver (the founder of the conference140conf) advertising legend Donny Deutsch, and head of corporate communications for Johnson & Johnson, Marc Monseau.  Each speaker contributed thoughts, ideas and questions on the obstacles and immense advantages that come along with being actively engaged on Twitter and across social media.  The NYC conference drew more than 1,200 people, with an online audience for the live webcast of more than 77,000 individuals globally. Above are just a few thoughts contributed by the speakers who laughed at, praised, bashed and dissected the ways to use technology in communicating in today's world.

- @bkownacki, Senior Digital Strategist and @_mollify_, Digital Associate

Posted in New Media, PR Industry, Social Media, Tweets
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Spectrum

Protect Organic Food and Farming

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

We recently had the opportunity to serve as contributing authors to the US Food Safety Blog, a leading resource for consumer information on food alerts, recalls, and safe food handling, and our guest post highlighted an important issue that could impact organic food production in our country.

This month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) could approve a patent for a genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa seed. As the fourth largest crop grown in the US, it is a common food source for organically-raised cattle and livestock and a critical component of the organic food chain.

If the USDA approves this patent, alfalfa seed will become a protected corporate product. As we have learned with corn and soybeans (more than 80 percent of these crops are genetically engineered), this action could dramatically impact the cost and availability of organic foods and threaten the economic viability of many of our nation's small community farmers.

To read our full blog post on the importance of protecting organic food and farming, click here.

Christina Plourde and Allison Brown

Posted in Food Policy and Nutrition
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Spectrum

Food Friday: The Week in Food Policy and Nutrition

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Curbing Childhood Obesity, One School Meal at a Time

Childhood obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 years and are continuing their upward trend as foods become less healthy, portion sizes increase and healthy foods are harder to find - even in our schools. This Tuesday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed this growing epidemic and outlined his priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act during a press conference in Washington, D.C. As the core legislative priority for Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, Sec. Vilsack aims to end childhood hunger by 2015 and curb the rising rates of childhood obesity by improving the nutritional value of the 9 billion meals served by school and summer programs each year. (more...)

Posted in Food Policy and Nutrition, Health Policy, Public Affairs, Public Health
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Spectrum

USDA Secretary Discusses Child Nutrition Programs

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Amidst D.C.'s "snowpocalypse," Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack managed to hold three teleconferences this week. The first was brief and followed on the heels of Mrs. Obama's unveiling of her Let's Move campaign. He along with Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan discussed their agencies' commitment to a healthier future.

The second teleconference, headlined by only Secretary Vilsack, provided an overview of the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act (CNA). According to Sec. Vilsack, the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act has twin problems: 16.5 million children live in households that suffer from food insecurity, which creates a hunger issue. At the same time, we have an epidemic of childhood obesity - one-third of our nation's children are obese or overweight. The result: high health costs and low productivity. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Food Policy and Nutrition, Health Policy, Public Affairs, Public Health
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Spectrum

Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives

Friday, February 5th, 2010
NIH State-of-the-Science Conference: Enhancing Use and Quality of Colorectal Cancer Screening

NIH State-of-the-Science Conference: Enhancing Use and Quality of Colorectal Cancer Screening

Since the start of the New Year, Spectrum has attended several events focused on colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. On January 28, Olympus and C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition brought together many of the nation's preeminent colorectal cancer experts for "The State of Colorectal Cancer Screening and Prevention Forum" to discuss the importance of colorectal cancer screening. The message delivered from each of the panel members, who ranged in background from MDs and PhDs to legislative and advocacy experts, was clear - screening for this disease saves lives.

F. Mark Gumz, President and CEO of Olympus, noted that "We have the technology and expertise today to effectively prevent and treat CRC, but unfortunately, there are still close to 150,000 new cases and 50,000 deaths annually from this disease." Laura Seeff, MD, who manages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Screen for Life Awareness Campaign, reported that "If everyone aged 50 years or older were screened regularly, as many as 60 percent of deaths from this cancer could be avoided." (more...)

Posted in Disease Awareness
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Spectrum

Spectrum Shows Conclusive Results with Digital Strategy: Online Advertising As a Sole Communication Tactic Successfully Influences Niche Audiences

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Washington, D.C. - Spectrum, a full service communications firm based in Washington, D.C., announced today landmark findings from a recent women's reproductive health campaign that reveal definitive proof that online advertising, when used as an exclusive communications vehicle, has the power to impact audience opinions and awareness levels.

"Online advertising has always been considered a supplement or component of a larger communications strategy," said Katherine Maynard, Chief Operating Officer of Spectrum. "The results of this campaign are groundbreaking for the online ad industry because we now have empirical evidence that this medium is as versatile and powerful as television, radio and print."

Spectrum partnered with Chong + Koster for this campaign and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association to develop the program aimed at raising awareness of family building options, such as embryo donation. The campaign was funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Initial testing and market research showed lackluster potential for reaching the target audience of women 25-55 through traditional public service announcements and earned media outreach. (more...)

Posted in New Media, PR Industry, Public Health, Research, Uncategorized
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