Last December, nearly one-third of all car crash fatalities involved a drunk driver, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Today, to help make our roads safer during the holiday season, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) launched the 13th annual “Project Roadblock” initiative, in which local broadcast TV stations donate airtime to support NHTSA and the Ad Council’s “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” PSA (public service advertising) campaign.
To help the campaign’s message reach those who could benefit most, the Ad Council is conducting a special push to TV stations in the 10 states that accounted for 53% of all alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2015: Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Illinois, and South Carolina.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/8003951-nhtsa-ad-council-tvb-anti-drunk-driving-psa/
It's longer – and deeper – than any other train tunnel in the world. Sunday 11 December 2016 sees the entering into service of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. This pioneering project will enable passengers to speed under the Alps in some 17 minutes. The dual-track tunnel will bring northern and southern Switzerland closer together, and cut travel time between neighbouring countries. It will permit passengers from near and far to spend more time at their destination, discovering the many delights of Switzerland north and south of the Alps.
Switzerland already possesses the densest public transport network on the planet. And over the years it has increased its impressive lead over other nations. June 2016 saw the festive inauguration of the Gotthard Base Tunnel – a 17-year pioneering project which extends for 57 kilometres down to a maximum depth of 2300 metres under the Gotthard massif. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) have now finished subjecting the tunnel to exhaustive safety and technical tests. On Sunday 11 December – the day on which Switzerland's public transport network changes its annual timetable nationwide – the Gotthard Base Tunnel will enter into scheduled service.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7988951-opening-gotthard-base-tunnel-longest-train/
Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and eCornell have launched new on-demand training in service excellence targeting front-line employees. The training consists of eight online lessons, all of which are available 24/7, and is complemented by a Workshop Guide to promote onsite, face-to-face discussion and application of the online lesson concepts. The training explores the foundations of service delivery and empowers employees through practical tools that can be applied to any situation involving internal or external customers.
Service Excellence On-Demand Training provides groups and organizations with a straightforward framework to increase effectiveness for all customer interactions. It provides employees with the skills needed to connect service excellence concepts to the execution of their daily duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Individuals who successfully complete all eight lessons will receive a recognition of their achievement from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7975651-cornell-university-service-excellence-training/
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, is promising that you will never have to stop at a petrol station, go to a car wash or even take your car in for service ever again, with the launch of a range of concierge services that will become an integrated part of the Volvo On Call mobile platform.
Volvo is announcing the roll-out of a pilot program in San Francisco, targeting Volvo owners driving the new XC90 SUV and S90 luxury sedan. In an effort to make their customers’ lives easier, Volvo has dug deep into consumer research to deliver on their customers’ unmet needs. The pilot is due to start in November and will ramp up to include around 300 Volvo owners.
“Imagine parking your car in the morning at work and when you head home your car has been serviced, cleaned and refuelled. These are the kind of services we want to deliver to our customers. Our research shows that people spend hours every week doing these small errands – we want to give that time back to Volvo drivers, so they can do something more valuable instead,” said Björn Annwall, Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Experience at Volvo Car Group.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7983651-volvo-cars-concierge-service/
Today, the Ad Council in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AdoptUSKids, and KBS launched new public service advertisements (PSAs) for the award-winning Adoption from Foster Care campaign. The new television and radio PSAs encourage the adoption of older youth from foster care.
Of the 428,000 youth under the age of 18 in the U.S. foster care system, 112,000 are currently waiting for adoptive families, according to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data. Since the project’s launch in 2002, more than 26,000 children who were once photo listed on the AdoptUSKids website have been placed with permanent families. However, older youth and teens have lower adoption rates than younger children, and they often wait longer to be adopted. Currently, of the 5,560 youth photo-listed on the website as available for adoption, 43% are between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7979251-ad-council-adoptuskids-adopt-from-foster-care/
Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today announces the winners of the 2017 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, honoring the top new model-year vehicle choices available in the U.S. market. The 2017 Honda Civic is named Kelley Blue Book’s Overall Best Buy of 2017, alongside Best Buy Award winners in 12 major vehicle categories.
The Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards are designed to provide a significant service to new-car buyers by identifying the cream of the crop of all available 2017 model-year vehicles. The awards are the culmination of a year-long regimen of expert vehicle evaluation and testing of nearly every new vehicle available in America, along with analysis of a broad swath of vehicle-related data, including vehicle pricing/transaction prices, 5-Year Cost to Own data (which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars), consumer reviews and ratings, and vehicle sales/retail sales information. Of more than 300 new-car models available for 2017, Kelley Blue Book’s expert editors initially narrowed the field to a few dozen Best Buy Award contenders in 12 major vehicle categories and then spent several weeks testing and evaluating all of the finalists head-to-head to ultimately determine the winners.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7952451-kelley-blue-book-2017-best-buy-awards/
Council Connections, a leading national group purchasing organization (GPO), today revealed its new brand including a modernized company name, logo and website. With a nod to its nearly 40-year legacy, combined with a link to the future, Council Connections becomes CNECT (“connect”) with a tagline of Every Link Stronger.
“CNECT embodies our history of service excellence while better describing the undeniable link and connection that exist between us and our members,” says Henry Tuttle, president and board chair of CNECT. “We believe organizations can better focus on their customers if they are connected to a group purchasing organization that offloads the heavy lifting, helping them improve operational efficiencies, while reducing costs through contracts, collaboration and supply chain strategies.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7958451-council-connections-rebrands-as-cnect/
SEPHORA, the leader in global prestige beauty retail announces the launch of two new bot-powered beauty tools available now exclusively on Messenger. As one of the first beauty retailers to introduce a bot earlier this year, Sephora continues to pioneer fast, easy and fun mobile-first technologies that integrate beauty into their clients’ daily routine. Sephora Reservation Assistant is an appointment booking bot to reserve a makeover at Sephora stores across the United States. Color Match for Sephora Virtual Artist is a shade matching addition to the Sephora Virtual Artist bot that scans any photo and instantly provides the closest lipstick color match from Sephora’s entire assortment.
“Our two new bots for Messenger offer enhanced ways for our clients to engage with Sephora by streamlining how they access relevant service and product information on their mobile devices,” said Mary Beth Laughton, SVP of Digital for Sephora. “We’re excited to leverage the Messenger platform to create quick and natural conversational interactions that are client-led. This allows us to provide richer, more varied conversations that ensure clients get exactly what they want out of the experience.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7926152-sephora-messenger-beauty-tools/
The National Limousine Association’s Ride Responsibly™ initiative (www.rideresponsibly.org) and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (www.nsvrc.org) have joined forces to produce a public service campaign, starring actress and activist Pamela Anderson. The PSA educates the industry and public at large about the dangers associated with ride-hailing apps.
The video, titled “The Driving Game!”, is an extension of the Ride Responsibly initiative to improve safety for passengers using ride-hailing apps. In the PSA, Ms. Anderson takes a lighthearted approach at communicating the critically important point that “you can’t always vet the driver you are using, but the service you are using should.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7769451-nla-ride-responsibly-driving-game-psa/
Napa Valley’s largest independent resort, The Meritage Resort and Spa receives the Platinum Choice Award by Smart Meetings, the meeting industry’s premier resource for meeting professionals. The award recognizes the property for its exemplary standards of excellence in ambiance, amenities, breadth of resources, facility quality, guest services, meeting space and packages, dining options, recreational activities and technical support. Votes were cast by industry professionals, the Smart Meetings editorial team and its readers.
“We are honored to be named one of the best hotels and resorts for meetings and special events in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean,” said Sheri Thomas, director of sales and marketing for The Meritage Resort and Spa. “As the largest independent hotel or resort in Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties, we continually strive to provide top quality service and amenities to each of our guests and groups. This award reinforces our commitment to excellence and is a true testament to our team members’ dedication to ensuring that no detail goes unmissed.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7583051-meritage-resort-spa-smart-meetings-award/
https://youtu.be/vhIQe-ZmPiQ Excellent customer service is the key to attracting and retaining customers. There’s some truth in “the customer is always right” – or at least making them feel they are by giving them exemplary customer service. One powerful way to let customers know you value them and their time is by offering live chat support.
https://youtu.be/nBx4b8mXtd4 It’s not just the times that change, it’s the customer, too. If you’re using only old marketing tactics from 2000, or even 2012, you’re on the wrong track. Customers are evolving, and so are their needs. Fail to meet their needs, fail to get their cash. We’ve collected relevant articles, statistics and survey results that clearly illustrate what customers want, and how you can give them what they want, quickly and easily.