Car-buying platform Edmunds.com today released an update to its acclaimed mobile app with a new feature that now makes it possible for shoppers to send text messages to car dealers with just a touch of a button. The innovation is the latest step in the growing trend of consumers drawn to “place messaging,” which offers a convenient way to interact with businesses via text in the same way that they do with friends and family.
Unlike other place messaging solutions that only work in concert with apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp, Edmunds’ texting solution uses the phone’s native texting platform. That means all smartphones are capable of messaging dealers without relying on any other apps.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7523651-edmunds-com-text-car-dealers-app/
The creative collaboration between Swedish artist/producer Avicii and Volvo Cars for their new brand campaign features a reworking of the classic song Feeling Good. Filmed on location in Stockholm and Osterlen, southern Sweden, the video visits places of personal significance for Avicii and tells his own story of renewal, following several years of hard touring. The video also features members of his family and close friends.
“In the past six years I have been on a never-ending tour, apart for the last nine months during my time-out. I did around 325 shows in a year with traveling on top of that. It couldn’t continue. In the end I had to re-evaluate my situation and change my lifestyle. Sweden is an important place to me, it’s where I gather my strength and energy with family and friends. This whole process of re-evaluation and renewal is what Volvo encouraged me to visualise in the video. I think we did a great job together,” said Avicii.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7522051-volvo-cars-new-beginning-avicii/
In an effort to support the 42.1 million caregivers in the U.S. who are caring for parents and older loved ones, AARP and the Ad Council are unveiling a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) as an extension of their ongoing Caregiver Assistance Campaign. The campaign, created pro bono by agency DDB New York, is supported by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) who are urging their members to run the spots in the weeks leading up to both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7514151-ad-council-caregiver-assistance/
For more than 30 years, Clearblue® has connected women across the globe, allowing them to share in the same first “Mother’s Day” moment – the moment when they see their positive home pregnancy test. With a little help from former “Bachelorette” DeAnna Pappas Stagliano and country music artist Jessie James Decker, Clearblue® is proud to honor all moms, moms-to-be, and women who are trying to conceive with a video reminder of the joy of pregnancy announcements, just in time for Mother’s Day.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7511851-clearblue-mother-s-day-video/
In recognition of National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day on May 9, 2015, Hill’s Pet Nutrition is encouraging pet parents to plan ahead by creating a pet emergency go-kit and following several easy tips to ensure the safety of their pets during a crisis.
“The best thing a family can do in the case of an emergency is be prepared, and that includes having a plan in place for your pets,” said Kostas Kontopanos, President of Hill’s Pet Nutrition North America. “We hope that families take into account some simple steps that will help them feel ready to respond should disaster strike.”
Hill’s recommends building a Pet Emergency Go-Kit in order to cut down on time in the event of a crisis, allowing families to focus solely on getting to safety as quickly as possible.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7481151-hill-s-pet-emergency-go-kit/
AARP Travel, a valuable resource for America's 76 million baby boomers who spend over $120 billion annually in leisure travel, today announced new insights into Multi-Generational family vacations (www.aarp.org/multigenvacation) - trips that include three generations or more, such as kids, parents, aunts/uncles and grandparents all traveling to one destination to vacation together.
The new research conducted by AARP Travel of people 45 and older offers valuable insights into multi-generational vacations including why families are going, where they're going, what they do on these family vacations, the challenges to plan them and why they create memories of a lifetime. AARP is also giving away a family vacation for six for an Alaskan cruise, Grand Canyon adventure, or Hawaiian getaway to one lucky sweepstakes winner. A daily prize drawing is also held and each day one winner will receive a gift card. Visit http://www.aarp.org/travelsweeps to participate in the sweepstakes.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7488431-aarp-travel/
A recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) survey found that nearly 60 percent of American adults have not practiced what to do in a disaster by participating in a disaster drill or preparedness exercise at work, school, or home in the past year. Further, only 39 percent of respondents have developed an emergency plan and discussed it with their household. This is despite the fact that 80 percent of Americans live in counties that have been hit with a weather-related disaster since 2007, as reported by the Washington Post. With the number and severity of weather-related disasters on the rise, the America’s PrepareAthon! is an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and communities to take action to prepare for specific hazards through group discussions, drills, and exercises.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7500251-fema-national-prepareathon/
It’s not the first question a parent asks. It’s likely not the fourth or fifth. But for parents like Brian and Diane Vollmert, the question of how to pay for their son, Scott, to receive the best care while providing for their family became an unmanageable challenge.
“From the very beginning, Scott didn’t fit cleanly in any category. He wasn’t clearly autistic. He wasn’t clearly developmentally delayed. He had characteristics of both,” said Diane. That combination of Autism Spectrum Disorder and developmental delay can add up to more than $2.4 million in care over Scott’s lifetime, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Pediatrics last year. An astronomical sum for most Americans, including the Vollmerts.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7422152-northwestern-mutual-special-needs/
As the country celebrates the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, Dallas-based nonprofit Earth Day Texas gears up for its fifth annual event. Founded in 2011, the organization expects more than 75,000 attendees during the three-day event.
Earth Day Texas takes place April 24, 25 and 26 at historic Fair Park in Dallas.
Confirmed speakers include Karenna Gore, author and daughter of Al Gore; Bill White, former mayor of Houston; David Yarnold, president of the Audubon Society; Dan Patrick, Lt. Governor of Texas; B.A. Norrgard, Tiny House advocate; Laura Turner Seydel, chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation; and Louie Psihoyos, Oscar®-winning director of The Cove.
Seven-time Grammy Award winner Paul Winter will perform on Saturday, April 25, at 4:30 p.m. Grammy nominated artist Michael Martin Murphey will perform on Sunday, April 26, at 4:45 p.m.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7500951-earth-day-texas/
For families who have a dependent with special needs, financial planning often takes a back seat to the necessities of daily life; but it also bears an increased importance.
“April’s Autism Awareness Month offers a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of planning for families who are caring for a dependent child, sibling or spouse with special needs,” said Ruthann Driscoll, JD, CLU, CFP®, director of advanced planning at Northwestern Mutual. “Crafting a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs of the dependent with special needs — for today and for tomorrow — and balancing that with the needs of the rest of the family is essential to achieving lifelong financial security.”
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7422151-northwestern-mutual-autism-awareness/
T. Rowe Price has launched Star Banks Adventure, an online game and mobile app, as a fun way for kids to learn financial concepts that will help them manage money in the future. Our 2015 Parents, Kids & Money Survey found that three-quarters of parents and kids think that game apps are a good way to teach kids about financial matters. Star Banks Adventure, now available for download on iOS and Android devices and online at starbanksadventure.com, is designed with a tile-matching concept to reinforce financial education topics and engage kids in an epic adventure to save the galaxy from financial chaos.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7455231-t-rowe-price-financial-education
Trekking through the Himalaya (with a short stop at Mt. Everest’s base camp), sailing the Ganges River, crossing the North Pacific Ocean on a container ship, meditating with monks in a Tibetan monastery – these are not the typical activities you might expect during a family vacation with two young children. But the Kirkby family is on an extraordinary adventure halfway around the globe – and inviting everyone to come along. Travel Channel’s mesmerizing and cinematic new series, “Big Crazy Family Adventure,” premiering Sunday, June 21 with back-to-back episodes at 9:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, follows wilderness guide, writer and award-winning photographer Bruce Kirkby throughout this epic trip – from his home in Kimberley, British Columbia, to a remote monastery in the Himalaya – with his wife, Christine Pitkanen, and their two young boys: Bodi, 7 and Taj, 3. There’s just one catch: on their 13,000-mile adventure they won’t be taking ANY airplanes. To fully experience the life-changing and serendipitous moments that exploring the world provides, they’ll get to their final destination through surface travel only – canoe, container ship, ferry, high-speed train, river boat, tuk tuk, pony, their own eight feet and more. The series is comprised of nine, hour-long episodes.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70380510-travel-channel-big-crazy-family-adventure/
