When smart metering was in its infancy in California, ckdt principal, Stephan Burckhardt, helped build awareness around intelligent homes and this new technology. He was involved in a large public affairs campaign for major urban waste disposal issues in Switzerland, which has some of the toughest environmental standards worldwide.

ckdt created environmental and social reports for major global companies, and Stephan developed strategic communications for an industry-leading 3BL (triple-bottom line) project in Ghana.

Burckhardt with sustainable energy guru and recipient of ten honorary doctorates, Amory Lovins.

The communications and marketing components surrounding issues of migrating to best practice clean technology, and, even more importantly, building the required political will, stakeholder consensus and public buy-in are complex and more critical than ever.

The public will not move to large scale behavioural change without B2B and consumer stakeholders

1.   Understanding the issues
2.   Seeing the benefit of the “move to clean” while accepting inevitable down-sides
3.   Forming an emotional link and buy-in to the above and
4.   Leveraging these into permanently changed behaviour (the most difficult and critical step)

Strategic marketing and values-based environmental communications are key success factors, especially with adverse or conflicting economic drivers, one for which ckdt has been and is making significant and lasting contributions.

Contact ckdt today to discuss your green, clean energy technology or service issues and see how carefully crafted and well executed communications and branding can significantly contribute to your bottom line success.

He has superior technical skills in communications, is dedicated and involved, has an imaginative approach to his work and is a constructive and open-minded team player.

- Tom Engelsman, President, Landis & Gyr Energy Management (now part of Toshiba)

I think the new website is excellent — really excellent.  It’s comprehensive, professional, and persuasive.

- Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Chairman, CSR Developments; Director, Triton Logging

We are very pleased with Stephan’s work; he is proving very thorough and easy to work with… Great job!

- Stuart Harrison, VP Marketing / Sales, Domestic Automation Company (PG&E smart metering trial)

In its second phase of growth, StarFish Medical wanted to reach a broader international market. ckdt helped the company better define its USP, differentiate its brand, and strengthen its online presence with target audiences from engineering to R&D and senior management.

Marketing activities included market research, advertising, media relations, video production, and a new website with a non-proprietary CMS, video and animation.

Talk with someone who knows technology. Contact ckdt today.

CSRD (Clark Sustainable Resource Developments – now Triton Logging) developed a major resource project in Africa. The mandate of ckdt was for a new website and an in-depth backgrounder of this complex, triple-bottom-line (3BL) project.

It gave this resource start-up higher visibility, the professional look it deserved, and better exposure to its stakeholders, partners and funders across three continents.

After 40 years, the hardwood trees in Lake Volta are still ready for harvest

CSRD had signed an agreement with the government of Ghana that would allow them to harvest the submerged hardwood in the world’s largest man-made lake.

With the recent agreement to join operations with Triton Logging, the project will now go ahead to make this operation the largest source of “green” tropical hardwood in the world (no release of carbon from harvested timber).

The backgrounder, written and designed by Burckhardt, included highlights and sections on the 3BL areas of the environment and community, as well as research and operations.

Talk with someone who knows technology and the service business. Contact ckdt today.

I think the new website is excellent — really excellent.  It’s comprehensive, professional, and persuasive.

- Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Chairman, CSR Developments; Director, Triton Logging

Great work!  It looks terrific. Very creative, very informative.

I think it takes the viewer to parts of Ghana, it almost places them there.

- Michael Bush, CEO, CSR Developments

To help launch technology start-up Oprius Software at an industry event in Los Angeles, ckdt provided a marketing strategy and an integrated marketing campaign that included corporate identity management, web strategy, writing, media relations, and advertising specialties.

Primary site structure Oprius Software

The company went from being unknown to becoming a visible player in its target niche by quickly putting itself on the map in a highly professional manner.

Oprius was able to start on its hard climb to profitability in a very short time, especially considering the current economic challenges in the marketplace.

Talk with someone who knows technology. Contact ckdt today.

Researchers on microchimerism at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) wanted to provide an online platform for peers and researchers, as well as affected patient populations.

ckdt created a simple website that includes commonly used, inexpensive CMS tools. This makes for easy updating by the research staff without the need for technical knowledge.

The microchimerism.org website is unusual because such research is normally not made available to a broad community. The researchers felt that due to the ground-breaking nature of this area and its potential impact, the latest information needed to be widely accessible.

Talk with someone who knows healthcare marketing. Contact ckdt today.

We love the website! We were truly impressed by the service and expertise of ckdt in creating a site for us. They were prompt, efficient, and excellent listeners — really understanding our specific needs.

- J. Lee Nelson, MD; Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Professor, Rheumatology, University of Washington

The website was optimally created for any browser and operating system with a simple interface for viewers. They made it extremely easy for us to maintain, thus minimizing costs. ckdt also helped us with search engine optimization, and our website has been number one with major search engines like Google and Yahoo!

- C.S. Chennakesava, PhD, Prof Lee Nelson Lab, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

This production was a contribution to the fundraising efforts the technology industry association VIATeC makes every year.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and food have been collected and raised for the Mustard Seed food bank over the past years for the Holiday season.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1frq4F_ufE[/youtube]

The video not only

The video not only inspired member companies to give more in a competitive spirit, it served as an image piece to demonstrate the tech sector’s lively, fun and generous culture, and attract more talent to the area.

Talk with someone who knows the service business. Contact ckdt today.

Installation in Turkish travertine limestone, carved in China

Chinese craftsmen have been carving stone for thousands of years. ckdt helped make this craft available to home owners, designers, and architects through a marketing strategyand website for Dancing Stone.

Its products are custom manufactured to exacting quality standards and detailed specifications in a specialized factory in the Beijing area.

Using a soft market introduction for the company, ckdt created a corporate design, website, advertising and printed collateral including basic materials for a trade show presence.

After the photography of existing home installations in Western Canada and the United States, ckdt chose a distinguished visual identity that emanated craftsmanship and high-end design.

Using a visually driven approach, the website makes use of product photography, testimonials, background information and technical specifications to provide an online presence that would support the word-of-mouth marketing such a business is often primarily based on.

Through SEO techniques for a stronger web presence, the site is now reaching customers all over North America enabling the company to ship its products through various ports of entry across the continent.

Talk with someone who knows the service business. Contact ckdt today.

Our integrated online and print campaign, in a highly specialized and dry technical publication, obtained a high level of recall even years later. ckdt created a series of image

ads with complex intellectual challenges aimed at high-IQ scientists. The full-page ads drove them to the corporate website for the solutions.

Discovery Technologies ad campaign drives web traffic

Once the pharma research start-up had its target audience on their site, it was able to start creating a relationship by involving them in the company’s sophisticated technology.

The integrated e-branding campaign enabled Discovery Technologies to position itself as the go-to market leader in its biotech research niche.

ckdt followed up with corporate publications, which have a longer shelf-life, to re-enforce the company’s successful launch. Six years after its conception, Discovery Technologies was sold for $6 million.

Talk with someone who knows technology. Contact ckdt today.

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis asked ckdt to create a Europe-wide campaign that would help attract the best and brightest university graduates in science, medicine, engineering, and business.

The theme of “Be Curious”, which ckdt developed, was a perfect fit for this life sciences company. After being taken to job fairs at leading universities in one country, the project was broadened into a multi-langual campaign across Europe.

Media included advertising, posters, convention booths, direct mail, and internet marketing.

A supplemental campaign with a theme of “Dare to Succeed” was aimed at MBAs.

Talk with someone who knows healthcare. Contact ckdt today.

When the insurance company Zurich Financial Services felt the need to raise its international profile in front of key audiences, it turned to ckdt communications to find a way.

Many areas of sponsorship had already been taken for years by other vendors, but Zurich wanted not only a category of its own, but also one that fit its philosophy and positioning.

Zurich Financial Services sponsors world rowing

Rowing was the perfect answer.

The team effort, partnership, precision timing, and special dedication in this quiet and powerful discipline matched the company’s coporate values. It provided an ideal platform to carry its messages to a wide audience in cooperation with the World Rowing Federation FISA.

ckdt services included an image campaign, event marketing, television spots, merchandising, and related activities.

Working closely with the client in a cross-disciplinary team, ckdt also developed a strategy for a first-of-its-kind intranet solution for the group, which could be implemented worldwide.

Talk with someone who knows how to market financial services. Contact ckdt today.