R|com Creative Blog

R|com Creative is working with the Los Angeles Fire Department to create a new series of education materials based around an important initiative called Ready, Set, Go! Essentially, there has been some ongoing debate about the value of staying at your residence, as opposed to evacuating. In Southern California, we live in not only earthquake country, but wildfire country as well. And when they strike, people often prefer to stay and protect their property.

The initiative for not leaving, often referred to as “Stay and Defend,” was gaining ground earlier this year with several departments, as there have been some stories of people who have elected to ignore officials and as a result, participated in saving their structures. It’s important to remember that many homes don’t burn as a result of the fire front in a wildfire. They burn because of spot fires that start as the fire moves through, and without resources to suppress those spot fires, the home burns.

Just as this “Stay and Defend” option began to get people’s attention, Australia suffered through a terrible wildfire incident and many lives were lost. Australia has been known for its serious wildfire devastation, including Hobart in 1967 (1400 homes lost, 62 dead); Victoria in 1983 (2400 homes lost, 71 dead), Canberra in 2003 (500 homes lost, 5 dead), and Victoria in 2009 (3000 homes lost, 173 dead). Many of the victims in the Victoria fires this year elected to stay behind, and then attempted to evacuate, but too late. They were caught on the road and died.

Ready, Set, Go! as an initiative is being supported by a wide array of Southern California emergency services agencies. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s position is clear: If there is a wildfire, prepare your home and family, get set to evacuate if required, and when asked, or even before that, leave the area. Your home can be saved. Once you die, coming back is apparently problematic.

Our program will include a series of components – and it will highlight the use of digital technology and Web 2.0 capabilities. A video/DVD will tell the story of why its important to leave and how to prepare. A brochure will be available to schools, senior centers, council district offices, and LA City Fire Stations. Separately, a digital magazine will be created and it will be available to anyone who is interested in the Ready, Set, Go initiative. And finally, information will be available via the MySafe:LA public education website.

We’re enthused about the project, and once complete, are committed to seeing it reach as many people as possible, so the citizens of Los Angeles can be properly prepared.

The 30th Annual Telly Awards have been announced and R|com Creative has earned three separate awards in this year’s competition. We are honored that the Telly Awards have seen fit to honor us for our film and video endeavors.

Earthquake 9-1-1 earned awards in the Charitable and Public Safety categories.

Firing Up Our Future, the DVD produced to support the 2008 Greater Alarm Gala for the LAFD Museum and Memorial earned an award for fund-raising.

“These awards are really for our clients, and for our crew, as they are the ones we endeavor to please,” David Barrett, managing director for R|com Creative said. Producer and Director Cameron Barrett added, “we are thrilled that our peers find quality in our work, and adding these new awards to our long list of past achievements is an honor.”

For three decades, the Telly statuette has been a symbol of creative excellence. Each statuette is hand-crafted by the same firm that produces the Oscar® and Emmy® Awards.

The LAFD uses Twitter to broadcast updates on Major Emergencies

There’s been a lot of buzz about Twitter of late. No wonder. With millions of users, and truckloads of new people signing up every day, it’s now easy to follow the antics of your friends, co-workers, or even Darth Vader. Much of the recent buzz has centered around the possible acquisition (assimilation?) of the company by Google. Other news stories and editorial pieces have asked if Twitter is for real, or is just a flash in the pan.

Twitter is for real – and perhaps more so because of mobile devices. The combination of 140 character micro-blog style entries and the broadcast abilities from computer to mobile device make Twitter a powerful technology. but Twitter isn’t just for kids, my sister-in-law, or even Demi Moore. Twitter can be an important business and public outreach technology as well. (See? I buried the lead again!)

Twitter is not limited to social commentary. It can be used for a wide variety of important communications solutions. Imagine setting up your servers to tweet you if they encounter pending failures or issues. Many law enforcement and fire agencies are now using Twitter to broadcast emergency incidents, evacuations, and street closures. Public safety, notably in a large city, can be an excellent environment in which to use Twitter.

Twitter is an ideal tool for a trade show, as it would allow reminders for keynote presentations, special events, prizes, etc. And, the most common device to receive these tweets is a mobile device. Now, combine the analytic results of such activities and any entity using both technologies can improve their communications, outreach, and effectiveness.

When our team works with clients who are interested in developing better relationships with their customers, or who wish to reach a wide audience easily, we are careful to give proper consideration to how the technology might be used. Just having the technology isn’t enough. There is work involved after the technology is installed or configured. The fantastic thing is, these technologies are avaiable to us, and our expertise lies in how to best use these new tools to improve business, communication, and in some cases, life itself.

For the past seven years, my wife and I have been involved with several organizations that involve public safety, but until the past few years, we were at a distance. For the past two years, we’ve been actively involved in the development of public safety education and fire safety training materials. It is a daunting, but rewarding position to be in.

A series of school children after experiencing a public safety fair in Los Angeles, California

I think the first thing that comes to mind relative to this work is how important it is to reach adults through children. I am amazed at the lack of interest many adults have when presented with issues of personal or home safety, only to show genuine interest when the same issues are brought home by their children. And make no mistake, nearly all of us can benefit from some form of education on fire, earthquake, heart attack and other matters.

Many of our clients are about performance and return on investment. It’s a money thing. Totally understandable – and part of what we all do. When working in public safety, it seems that there is never enough money, and the rewards are related to saving a life, rather than making a profit. For some, that would be a no-win scenario. For both my wife and I, however, it is something that we feel strongly about. And, with every new DVD, online video, or training website, we feel more connected to the community and to the people we live around.