Stonyfield Farm: Small, Mighty and Bold

Stonyfield Farm is best-known for its delicious organic yogurt and dairy products, but when it comes to positive change, they're not content to just sell awesome yogurt (though we can personally attest that their yogurt is awesome). Since partnering up with Bolder last November, this self-described "small but mighty company" has sponsored 6 challenges and inspired over 6,000 actions on the Bolder platform. That is darned impressive! Amy and Jesse, the brilliant minds behind Stonyfield's social media team, were kind enough to chat with us about how they use Bolder to inspire deeper loyalty, engagement and just plain fun among consumers, while encouraging a whole lot of positive action, too.

What inspires you the most about Bolder?
Bolder gives us the chance to interact with consumers in a unique, meaningful way. We've seen great engagement with the platform and love giving people a way to connect with our brand that also makes a positive difference in the world. We also love the simplicity of the Bolder platform and how sharable it is. It's easy to connect our Facebook page to the challenges and integrate our other marketing efforts, too. It's simple, streamlined and effective. So far, we've been impressed and inspired by how well-received our challenges have been.

How did you first learn about Bolder?
Bolder reached out to us, and the unique platform piqued our interest right away. We're always on the lookout for new ways to connect with consumers, and we were very intrigued by the opportunity to offer them a chance to do something that had meaning behind it. As a company, we're very active in social media and try to find new ways to engage with people, especially those who are passionate about Stonyfield yogurt. We believe in the power of organic and think our success hinges on our ability to connect with people who feel the same way.

What made you decide to do a Bolder challenge?
With Bolder, we saw a great opportunity to educate people about organic, both in terms of personal health and the health of the planet, in a way that's fun, shareable and part of a larger community. Bolder's focus on the power of individuals to make a difference aligns well with Stonyfield's mission. We had a lot of fun experimenting with different kinds of challenges that allow people to experience organic and share their thoughts.

How do you decide which challenges to run?
We want challenges to be fun, of course, and offer the chance for coupons to try new products. It's also important that they tie into our mission and represent who we are at Stonyfield. Social media is a big part of our larger marketing strategy, and the Bolder platform is a great way to round out our efforts. We try to run challenges that energize and amplify the enthusiasm of the Bolder community. Sometimes our challenges tap into an existing campaign and sometimes they stand on their own, but our goal is always to bring more impact to the positive things you're already doing.

Your challenges have inspired over 6,000 actions today. How do you feel about that?
We think it's amazing! It's fantastic and very exciting to see such deep engagement in the 6 months since we started using the Bolder platform. We've also seen high redemption rates for the coupons we offer, so we're thrilled (and hope everyone is enjoying our organic yogurt!).

Anything to add?
We're excited about the possibilities that Bolder offers. The team has been really fun to work with so far, and we're looking forward to continuing on this path as a company. We'd also love to hear what challenges other people would like to see. Mostly, we want to keep it fun, interesting, and of course, completely organic!

Bigger. Better. Bolder.

We have some exciting news that we are so happy to finally share with all of you! Over the weekend we unveiled the bigger, better, Bolder – a full product update that incorporates much of the great feedback we have received and demonstrates the culmination of a whole lot of learning. We’re especially excited to share this news, as it’s likely to have a huge positive impact on your experience with Bolder moving forward!

THE BOLDER BEGINNING.

As you may or may not know, we first launched Bolder in 2010, based on the thinking that the world could use more positive action. We recognized that businesses had a big influence on social media, and saw an opportunity to create positive action by developing a platform that would help businesses engage with consumers in a new, meaningful way. The way we saw it, we could offer something with Bolder that let everyone win: Businesses, individuals, and the world as a whole. Today, we are happy to say that what started as an idea has been proven and we are poised to take Bolder to the next level.

Here’s some visibility into the product updates and our motivation behind each new feature:

• COMPLETELY NEW SITE DESIGN/USABILITY UPGRADE: It was time for the look and feel of Bolder to reflect all the amazing things that are happening with our tools and the actions being taken by all of you. The Challenge-Action-Reward loop is now customized to the activities that you enjoy.

• INFLUENCER PAGES: On the Bolder platform, Challenge creators influence positive action. In line with that, we now offer dedicated Influencer pages. The point is to showcase the collective positive actions taken against all Challenges an Influencer has ever started. Think of it as the history of all actions that an Influencer has inspired on Bolder. There are a few new things here too, like the ability for you to suggest new Challenges to Influencers and to see who the top users are for any given Influencer.

• REWARD SYSTEM: With this new release, we took everything we’ve learned and developed four unique reward types: Deals, Donations, Prizes, and Action-for-Action. Each reward type now creates a unique experience while driving participation in meaningful ways. Action-for-Action (ex: I’ll do something if…) is a brand new addition, and one that we are excited to see utilized.

• USER CHALLENGES: We realized that everyone has influence over their own communities online. As a result we are currently testing User Generated Challenges – in the coming months you can plan on starting your own Challenges and motivating action, as well as interacting in meaningful ways with your own networks! We’re having fun with it currently, and we’ll have more details soon.

• CHALLENGE CREATOR - MAKING THINGS SIMPLE: At the core of Bolder lies the Challenge-Action-Reward loop. We’ve built and implemented a Challenge creator that lives right on the home page to make the process of starting Challenges easier for everyone.

• INTERACTIVITY THROUGH MEDIA: We’ve increased the presence of multi-media in Challenges to help bring them to life and to make sharing your real life actions more visual and telling, online.

So, while we are on the subject, and have your completely undivided attention (right?), we’d also like to take this opportunity to recap some of our successes to date, as well as offer some insight into where we are now, and where we are headed.

THE BOLDER COMMUNITY IS GROWING AND TAKING ACTION

Let’s take a minute to revisit our humble roots. Whole Foods Market Palo Alto sponsored one of Bolder’s first Challenges – to “Reuse something you normally throw away,” which inspired 60 people to act and share their story. It’s great to think back to that Challenge and see how our first small-scale Challenge success has steadily grown in the past year!

ACTING BOLDER IS WHERE IT’S AT!

Not only do we hear about participants generally enjoying being Bolder, people seem to just be having some good ol’ fun too! Check out this ridiculously awesome story that Atayne inspired with their Challenge to “Plan an active date” Or, this inspiring story from Nova R. from a Challenge that Stonyfield issued to “Eat an organic breakfast.” And then, this great pump up from Katrina from KEEN’s recent Challenge to “Take a 15 minute recess.”

Especially with our upcoming launch of User Generated Challenges, we’re excited to see what this next phase of our business holds and what answers surface to the question:

What Bolder story can you inspire?

BUSINESSES ARE REAPING THE REWARDS, TOO

Businesses have been our strongest partner to date in driving positive action by sponsoring challenges and helping to inspire individuals. The interactions that you have with businesses on Bolder are meaningful engagements that you should be proud about. It appears that this is the case as Bolder offers an average feedback rate of 26% in 2011, meaning that 26% of you that visit a given challenge homepage complete the action on that page. This makes us fairly confident in thinking most of you like the Challenges and Rewards we are offering, but please keep the feedback coming! We’re extremely proud of this result, as it is many multiples higher than engagement metrics from other Social Media Marketing tools or traditional search. We also think it shows that people want to be inspired and motivated to improve their lives.

HOW MUCH BOLDER CAN WE BE?

Today, we are happy to say that our ideas have been proven and we are poised, with your help, to transition Bolder to the next level. But we’re just getting started. We’re beyond excited to move Bolder into this next phase with you. There’s so much we want to do, so keep the feedback coming! We’re hoping to ultimately provide a platform for businesses and individuals to build stronger relationships and unlock value through the power of collective action.Information is power, but action is change.

Matt, Rob, and Jeremy

Bolder Co-Founders

3 Ways to Start a Movement

We loved this short TED talk by Derek Sivers on how to start a movement, using the hilarious example of how one shirtless dancing guy was able to start a big dance party in a park. It's funny, it's only 3 minutes, and it's Friday, so have a look below:



If you want to start a movement of your own, Sivers offers 3 things to keep in mind:

1. Have the guts to stand out and be ridiculed.
2. Nurture your followers as equals. because it's about the movement, not you.
3. Most importantly, remember that leadership itself is overrated. It's the first follower that makes the movement, because s/he "is what transforms a lone nut into a leader."

First followers, not leaders, are what make movements happen. They're the ones with the courage and guts to stand by the "lone nuts" and make a difference. So thanks, guys, for being our first followers. Bolder wouldn't be here without you.

And because it's Friday and sunny, which means we're feeling extra bold, we'd like to ask: If you could start a movement, any movement, what would it be? And, of course, where can we sign up?

Nothing Says Recess Like Cartwheels

Challenge: Take a 15 minute recess
Sponsor: Keen [ See All Actions Here ]
Katrina's Action: "Went for a brisk walk around the nearby public gardens, then threw in some cartwheels for good measure. Talk about feeling like a kid again!"

I walked around the public gardens outside of the Phipps Conservatory in an area called Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Oakland is the part of town where the University of Pittsburgh campus is.

It felt so freeing to let loose and take a flying sideways leap onto the grass. You can't help but laugh after you've tried to do a cartwheel and failed miserably. As I kept trying I think I got better, but it's hard to tell without someone there to tell you if it actually looked like a cartwheel. Okay, so if I had really succeeded, I think I would have known.

Lately I've been looking for ways to insert some silliness into my days and feel a little like a kid again. Call it a quarter-life crisis. ;) Seriously, though, it makes your day so much brighter to laugh at yourself a little and make others smile. My hour-long lunch break outside gets me through the rest of my day. It's so wonderful to soak up some sun and feel the wind on your face ...and look at something real for a little while, i.e. not a computer screen.

Thanks, KEEN and Bolder, for inspiring us all to take a few minutes out of our day for fun and renewal! Let's re-institute recess everyday and everywhere!

Optimists and Pessimists

We stumbled across this wonderful series of drawings on the SFMOMA Open Space blog and had to share. Just a small reminder of how our perceptions can and do influence the world around us. For the record, we like the path of the optimist a lot more!

Got Any Spare Characters? Donate Your Tweets to World Fair Trade Day on May 14

Those incredible ice cream studs at Ben & Jerry's are at it again. In honor of World Fair Trade Day on May 14, Ben & Jerry's is asking you to donate your spare Twitter characters to a good cause. Fair Tweets takes your unused characters and inserts a message and a link to more information about World Fair Trade Day. Pretty slick, right? Check it out:

In addition to just possibly getting the award for the coolest use of Twitter for a good cause that we've ever seen, Fair Tweets is a simple and elegant way that individuals (like you!) can act together, raise awareness and make a difference.

We're so there.

Grown-Ups Need Recess, Too

One month ago, KEEN challenged us all to take a 15-minute Recess. We at Bolder took that challenge seriously. So seriously that we decided to take recess every day for an entire month. WARNING: The following photos are rated F for gratuitous amounts of festivity, frivolity, foolery and of course, fun:

It's amazing what 15 minutes of playtime every day can do for your perspective. Whether it's playing duck-duck goose for the first time in 20 years, running around outside, or eating ice cream in the park, we all found ourselves feeling more relaxed, more productive, more focused, and way less stressed. All from 15 minutes a day! It's official: Grown-ups need recess, and at Bolder, it's here to stay.

You can view all the photos (and a video!) from our month-long recess adventure here. Now if you'll excuse us, it's time for recess.

Disrupting the Status Quo, One Sweater at a Time

There's a new graffiti movement in town. Their weapon of choice? Yarn. Armed with knitting needles and crocket hooks, yarn bombers are bringing their cozy, brightly colored, and ever-so-slightly subversive creations to bike racks, buses, statues and other public fixtures in cities all around the world. Check it out:


Crochet On A Bear Statue from Jennifer Sharpe on Vimeo.

This rocks, and not just because the sweaters are cute (but they totally are, and we totally want one). No, the yarn bombers rock because they look at a stone sculpture and don't just see a statue, they see an opportunity to transform it into something more beautiful and remarkable. That's the kind of thing this world needs a lot more of.

Note to the yarn bombers: you can yarn-bomb our office any time.

5,871 Actions for Earth Day, Thanks to You

5,871. That's how many actions you collectively took for the Bolder + Soap.com Earth Day Challenge (a record, by the way). First and foremost, thank you. The official challenges have finished, but the positive effects of your actions will continue to ripple and amplify outward. We're proud and honored that Bolder could provide the platform for so much incredible action-taking.

We're also really excited, because Bolder's work is just getting started. You've shown us once again that when big influencers (like Soap.com) and individuals (like you!) come together and take action for a common goal, there's no limit to the great things we can accomplish.

Almost 6,000 people took action with Bolder for Earth Day, and thousands more have done so for the many other challenges on the Bolder platform. From taking a daily recess to ditching bottled water, to us it's all proof that even when your individual actions seem small, they really do matter. And, as we see every day in the Bolder community, when lots of people act together, it adds up fast. Bolder wouldn't be here without all of your positive actions. You're amazing, and you inspire us. We hope we've been able to inspire you a little bit, too.

We've already made a huge difference together, but like we said, Bolder is just getting started. So to celebrate the close of our biggest challenge series to date, let's just say that there's a lot more where that came from. And you're going to love what's coming next.

Action as Currency: Why We Love Pampers Miracle Missions

Last week, we wrote that marketing can be bolder by empowering influencers and consumers to inspire, enable and ultimately take positive actions for a better future. We built the Bolder platform to do just that, after all. So when we came across the Pampers Miracle Missions campaign a few days ago, we almost wondered if Pampers had been reading our minds.

The goal of Miracle Missions is to encourage various small acts of kindness, or "missions". What we love most about this campaign is that Pampers seems to share our conviction that action can be currency. It's a shift in thinking that we're starting to see more of, but Pampers does it particularly well: basically, if enough people pledge to complete a given mission, Pampers will commit to a positive action, too. The current mission, for example, is to congratulate a new or expectant mom in honor of Mother's Day. If 2,500 people commit to the mission, Pampers will throw baby showers for over 1,000 parents around the country. They're already halfway there, with 12 more days to go. Help 'em out below!

Commit to the mission

We love the idea of action for action and couldn't agree more with Pampers' use of it. It's even more than a fantastic way to inspire people to act. The way we see it, if action is the new currency for rewards - such as those being offered by Pampers - Bolder is aiming to be the new marketplace for those rewards. When businesses and individuals trade in positive actions, rather than just goods and services, everyone benefits. The great thing about this kind of currency is that, unlike goods and services, the more you exchange positive actions, the more they're amplified.

Companies, like Pampers, who understand the power of action as currency are exactly the kind of companies who will benefit from the Bolder platform, and whom we'd love to work with. Ultimately, they're the ones who will be most successful in the new economy, because action is the future, and we can't wait to be part of it.

Marketing Can Be Bolder. Here's How.

A recent OgilvyEarth study found that most green marketing initiatives aren't successfully motivating mainstream consumers to change their behavior. In fact, they might even be hurting the causes they're setting out to help. The study authors state:

“Many of the environmental messages are not just failing to close the Green Gap, but are actually cementing it by making green behavior too difficult and costly from a practical, financial, and social standpoint."

Marketers are learning the hard way that for consumers, it's not easy being green! Quite the contrary, it's expensive, socially isolating and overwhelming for the average American. Green marketing, indeed cause marketing generally, often reinforces these feelings of guilt and helplessness, even when it's well-meaning. The good news is that most consumers do want to make better choices, and the way we see it, there's a big opportunity for businesses to inspire and help them translate their good intentions into positive actions.

And that's where we come in. Bolder is a platform that helps empower businesses to inspire and enable positive action (all kinds - green, red, blue, purple...) rather than just preach it. As a result, our users have a place to feel capable, positive, and like a part of a community that's working together to make a difference (the sweet discounts on green products are a bonus too). Bolder gives businesses and consumers alike a way to build a better future together and see how their actions fit into the big picture. Your positive action isn't just one drop in the bucket anymore; it becomes one of several thousand! Inspiring and enabling this kind of positive, collective action is what marketing - green, red, purple or blue - ought to strive for. And that's exactly what makes Bolder, well, bolder.

We've said our piece. Now we'd like to hear yours. What else can companies do to help consumers feel less guilty and helpless, more empowered and inspired, about making a positive difference?

Bold Inspiration: Beating Cancer and Loving Life

Challenge: Tell us who inspires you and why.

Sponsor: Prana [ See All Actions Here ]

Erin's Action: "My mom! She beat cancer TWICE, and got two hip replacements in the past 5 years...but she's still boogy-ing and loving life. You go, Kath!"

My mom has always been...a go getter? A life liver? Lets call her active. From her days spent unicycling over the high wire in the youth circus (I guess this is what girls did before title IX), to scuba diving and traveling all over the world, to taking us on family vacations that always revolved around skiing down or hiking up mountains, to her commitment to daily exercise and wellness, to chairing about 8 million committees in the community (I'm still not totally clear on what they all do), she's always been an example to her children of how to keep yourself busy and engaged in positive activities.

I was a freshman in high school when she was diagnosed with lymphoma. When you're little, your parents seem invincible, sometimes even superhuman. They're stronger and faster than you, they know how to fix things when they break, and they are always able to open the seemingly impossible-to-open pickle jars. At a certain point, though, you realize that they are regular humans. For me, watching my mom going through chemotherapy was a huge reality check.

Chemo is tough on your body, and my mom had to change a lot about the way she lived. But even in the months when she was at her worst, she was still putting in hours at work, going to meetings multiple times a week, attending all of my swim meets, and putting up with a slightly self-centered teenager (me).

A couple years later, she was healthy, happy, lymphoma-free and back to her active life, but she hit another road block when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two different kinds of cancer in 5 years? Seriously? I think a lot of people would have had a grand pity party, but she handled her situation with a strength that I didn't fully recognize at the time. She kicked breast cancer out of her system, too (with the help of chemo and radiation treatment), and has been enjoying a healthy remission for a few years now.

It was a rough couple of years for her, and for our family, but as a result both she and our family are stronger, and I have some great pictures of her sans hair and me in my prom dress. Since then, it's been business as usual. Recently she's been spending most of her time flying across the country to fulfill duties as a brand new grandma. I have a feeling she'll be pretty good at it.

This blog may come as a shock to her, as I don't often openly sing my mother's praises, but it's about time I started. So, Mom, I didn't just post a picture of you boogying the night away with your son so I could get a discount on prAna clothing, I did it because you've been an inspiration to me for all 25 of my years alive. In honor of her recent birthday---cheers to 61 impressive years, and hopefully many more!

Like every mother-daughter duo, we've had our differences, but eventually, I had to admit that she's pretty rad.

by Erin Sheehy

Shower in a Bucket? No Problem for this Bolder Champion

Challenge: Master the 4 Minute Shower
Sponsor: Nature's Gate [ See All Actions Here ]
Galen's Action: "I'm in, I used to bucket shower for months, I can do it right? Also going to try the shower w a friend strategy!"

The bucket shower comes from when I was living in Amman, and the water situation there makes you want to cry. 50% of the water coming in to the city is lost because the water infrastructure is so poorly maintained. Water is also so inexpensive that is it cheaper to let your toilet run or faucet drip than to fix it, so no one does. I heard estimates that if Amman doesn't reduce their water use, they will deplete their aquifers by 2020. What! Yes, water, gone, 2020.

I was there working on a community recycling venture, and we also had some urban gardens going. We would stand in buckets while we showered and catch all of the water, then we would pour it on our gardens (Dr Bronners all natural soap only). I don't have any pics from the shower, but I attached one from the gardens.

I also want to say how pumped I am to be a Bolder champion! I look forward to every new challenge and looking at all the cool actions people take. I like that often they are actions we take already, but Bolder give us a place to share them with like-minded people. I am sure I was bold before Bolder, but it helps me stay bold and remember the importance of all the small things we do in our daily lives.

I also discover great new brands. In fact, I am all decked out in my Prana gear that I never would have found if they hadn't run the "inspiration" challenge and posted that truly inspiring video of Chris Sharma! Bolder is by far my favorite online community, keep that awesome challenges coming, especially another Prana one, I could use a new hoodie :)

by Galen Thompson

Bolder Is Green, Red, Blue...

This week, we proudly launched our biggest challenge ever, rather NINE challenges to be exact, in collaboration with Soap.com and in honor of Earth Day 2011. We're really excited about all the positive actions - over 5,000 TOTAL -that have been taken in the last few days for a greener future. All your actions prove that individuals acting bolder really can make a difference. A huge thank you to everyone who's participated - you've seriously inspired us - and as a result, we haven't been sleeping much.

Our user participation is growing so rapidly that we wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a key piece of the Bolder vision. Bolder is a platform for businesses and individuals to come together and take positive action around something we all care about, green and beyond. When we started Bolder, we outlined 4 broad categories for challenges. They are: Health & Fitness, the Environment, Community & Culture, and Education. We're pushing every day for challenges to be diverse, fun, and inspiring for you. At their most fundamental level, every challenge on Bolder should create positive action somewhere in the world.

We strive to empower each business partner to build positive action around something they care deeply about. It's been inspiring to see so many businesses promote green challenges, as it's something we care deeply about. At the same time, many Bolder businesses have started challenges that are outside the green mold. A few that come to mind:

• KEEN - Take a 15 minute recess
• Mountain Khakis - Do a random act of kindness
• The San Francisco Marathon - Go for a run with a friend
• Oboz Footwear - Go for a hike
• Equinox - Feel the burn

The point being, we all make decisions every day that impact the world. Some are green, some are red, some are blue. Your choices may seem like drop in the bucket, but 5,000 individual drops in a bucket is nothing to sneeze at. That's the amplifying power we see in Bolder. At the end of the day, we want to offer anyone a way to be part of a challenge that creates positive action in the world.

9 Ways To Act Bolder For Mother Earth

Earth Day is on April 22nd, 2011. In the past, this holiday may have conjured images of long-haired hippies, folk songs, and vibrant t-shirts, like that one with a smiling earth on it that we got in fourth grade (don't worry, it's still our favorite t-shirt too)! Even though we may have long hair and live in San Francisco, this clearly isn't 1970 anymore.

So we're excited (make that really really really excited) to announce that we've teamed up with Soap.com to offer a record-breaking 9 new challenges in honor of Earth Day 2011. Each challenge was crafted in support of, and to raise awareness for this special day. They're all different, and they're all awesome.

Here are 9 ways that you can act boldly and get rewarded on behalf of Mother Earth:

1. Make a green resolution.
2. Share your best tip for being green.
3. Have a healthy, all-natural snack.
4. Reuse a container.
5. Don't leave the water running.
6. Tell us your all-natural beauty secret.
7. Rinse your laundry in cold water.
8. Wash 1 full load instead of 2 small ones.
9. Shorten your shower time by 1 minute.

We're thrilled about the 2011 Earth Day Challenge for a lot of reasons. Our partnership with Soap.com marks the first time we've ever launched 9 coordinated challenges at once, from a single company, for a single cause. Additionally, Soap.com has chosen to offer great rewards from companies that exude a strong Earth ethos - Seventh Generation, Larabar, Method, and Aveeno to name a few.

Because of this new and unique ownership over the Bolder platform, Soap.com has inspired A LOT of positive action! As of this post, nearly 3,600 actions have been taken, and that's just in the first 24 hours (almost 2x our previous daily record). Whoa! It's been an inspirational day for us to watch people mobilize like they have. If together, we can do this for one random Sunday, there's no reason we can't take bold, positive action every day.

So as we approach Earth Day this year, we hope you'll see Bolder as a place to take real, positive action, not just for one day but year-round. No folk songs or smiling Earth t-shirts required. Promise.

So tell us! What are you doing to go green for Earth Day (and hopefully every day)?