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Category: Environment

Marketing and Sales Tips for Small Businesses – Part Deux

Posted on August 28, 2015August 28, 2015 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

We continue in Part Deux (hey, the founders are French!) of Marketing and Sales Tips for Small Businesses. It’s all about how your employees can create a great customer experience so that customers can return over and over again!

Staff Training

Take the time to train your staff so that they are better equipped with selling to customers. You can make it a party by reaching out to your vendors and sales reps for games, toys, and other products.

Email Newsletters

Newsletters are a FREE way to let your customers know about the latest specials, events, etc. Involve employees where they can provide some content. Such as a section on a sales’ person’s favorite toy and why, along with a picture of their friendly face.

In addition, give your employees access to vendors’ newsletters. Email newsletters can be great tools for employees to learn more about the items they are selling. Newsletters provide valuable tips, promotions, demo videos, etc. Was a product in a popular magazine? Was a celebrity spotted with an item sold in your store? Newsletters can provide great talking points for the latest products!

Social Media

Like Newsletters, Social Media is another free way to let your customers know what is going on in your store. Are your employees playing a heated game of Spot it? Take a picture and/or video and post to your fans! Employee selfies wearing the latest fun gear? Employees will enjoy sharing something special that happened at the store and will make them feel a part of what makes your store special.

le twitter image — Twitter fun at Learning Express Roseville

Employee Contests

You can create employee contests or challenges based on the number of particular products sold within a period of time or based on who will be the first one to reach an objective.

Ask your vendors to sponsor the prizes. It doesn’t hurt to ask!!

Celebrate Summer but don’t Let the Summer Slide. Keep Kids Engaged Through Game Play!

Posted on July 7, 2015March 24, 2020 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

When I was a kid and summer approached, the song by Alice Cooper played in my mind. “School’s out for summer…” I think most Americans know that song or at least can sing that famous line. So many kids are relieved to have the school year over and that includes my 7 year old. I want my child to enjoy being a kid with everything that summer has to offer. There is endless swimming, hiking, camping, road trips and so much more! I have such fond memories of my summers as a child and I want the same for him.

Spot It! Splash being played on a slip n slide.

Being a parent to a school age child, I worry that no school for that long of a period will cause a regression in his learning. Luckily you can make the summer months about playful learning! At Blue Orange we strive to create and publish games that are fun but still provide elements of learning. Whether it’s working on improving processing speed or practicing reading words, we have a wide variety of games to help you and your kids. Last year we wrote a blog about some games that help with preventing summer learning loss. This year, we have NEW games plus some travel favorites.

My son loves the Spot It! games so I usually try to keep a game in the car or in my bag. I love that this game builds his speech and language skills and keeps him sharp. He wins nearly every time! You can even get versions in different languages like Spanish and French that work on simple sight words (match the word to the picture). For those long road trips, I recommend Spot It! On The Road. Not only is it great to play with siblings in the car or during those rest stops but you can play Travel Bingo with the cards. And if your destination is at a campsite, bring along Spot It! Gone Camping.

For those parents that want a little bit more reading and math in their child’s summer time, try Super Genius. There are 5 games. They are stored in a cute magnetic box for easy storage and travel.

SupGenius_Collection1_Flat

First Words, Reading 1, Reading 2, Addition, Multiplication 1

What do you do to prevent the summer slide? Post your comments below!

Why Play is Important in Child Development

Posted on May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

Parents want to give the best opportunities to their children. Music lessons, language lessons, extra tutoring, after school learning programs, the list can go on and on. We all want to give our kids the advantages and opportunities to succeed and/or perhaps we didn’t have as children. All of those activities are wonderful opportunities. However, play sometimes gets a bad reputation as being frivolous. On the contrary, play is very important in child development! If you want to learn more, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report about the importance of play in promoting healthy child development (read here). Play can reduce stress and anxiety for kids AND adults so make some time to get silly! The National Lekotek Center , a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, provides an array of services to improve the lives of children with special needs through the utilization of toys and play. They have 20 wonderful reasons to encourage play for ALL Children.

Top 20 Reasons to Encourage Play for ALL children

Play advances many cognitive skills like learning to focus and paying attention to details.
Play produces an active, alert, but non-stressed frame of mind that benefits a child greatly.
Play opportunities help a child develop problem-solving, organizational and planning skills.
Play promotes both long-term and short-term memory.
Play stimulates language, negotiation and communication skills.
Play teaches a child how the world works from gravity to how things move, float or fly.
Play experiences allow a child to explore symbolic play, imitation and his own creativity.
Play allows a child to build confidence, one trip down a slide or throw of a ball at a time.
Play provides the feedback a child needs to develop self-knowledge and self-esteem.
Play is an excellent way for a child to connect to nature and to explore its many facets.
Active play can enhance a child’s mood, coping abilities and defuse emotionally charged events.
Play teaches the cornerstones of relationship building, cooperation and compromise.
Leadership along with group skills are learned through team or collective play.
Active play promotes a healthy body for children and lowers their risk of obesity.
Play promotes brain development through the use of both the body and mind.
Play can teach a child the lessons of strengthening and balancing his body and coordinating his hands and eyes.
Play stimulates resiliency by prompting the child to try again and learn patience towards self and others.
Play fosters courage to swing higher and jump farther.
Play teaches empathy by allowing a child to explore the role of both winner and loser.
Play leads to engagement and enjoyment that provides a child with both physical and emotional release.

Occupational Therapy for Kids and the Role of Game Play

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

Autism Awareness Month is over but the work for helping those on the autism spectrum continues all year long. At Blue Orange Games, we get a lot of praise on our games from professionals that work with special needs kids. We are absolutely humbled by this. As a mother to a special needs boy with autism and ADHD, this personally touches my heart. We work hard on creating games so that people of ALL skill sets and abilities can play and have fun.

Neal Carlson is an Occupational Therapist in the public school sector. We initially started talking when he reached out to us regarding Spot it! to share how he utilizes this game with his students. Read about his love of games and the lessons that are taught for his own kids and the kids that he works with.

Why I Love Games

By: Neal Carlson, OT

One of my jobs as a school-based occupational therapist is to analyze the steps of an activity and determine what skills are necessary to complete it. Take copying something from a smart board, for example. A student must be able to see and process the words, replicate it on a notebook and visually return to the correct place on the board. Being successful at this task requires skills such as visual acuity, shifting attention, visual memory, motor coordination, and postural stability, just to name a few. In short, my job is to determine what skills students need to be successful in school.

That is why I love games. My experience as a therapist and a parent has taught me that games have so much to offer. They provide fun and engaging opportunities to develop skills on so many levels. Below are a few reasons why I am such a big supporter of games in my practice:

1. Games are adaptable – A little creative goes a long way. One of my students was having difficulty copying accurately from a board like in the example I provided above. I determined that it was difficult for him to shift from a stimulus that was close (his notebook) to one that was far away (the smart board). I taped a Spot It card to the wall and had my student sit 5-feet away with the remaining cards. By locating the matches, he was able to build skills essential for school success in a fun way.

2. Games are a form of play – Many people underestimate the value of play as it relates to child development. Games teach important social skills such as taking turns, healthy competition and being a good sport. I have seen so many of my students beam with pride after doing well in a game or showing good sportsmanship after losing. These are important in every phase of life. And if I can step up on my soapbox for a minute…with our society so electronics-centric, traditional games are also an awesome way for families to connect.

3. Games are skill-building – All the best games build skills. Chess is a great example. The reason why it has been around for so long (and why it is taught in many schools), is because it teaches higher-level cognitive skills such as critical thinking, pattern recognition, and planning. Chess has been linked to academic development, but I always say that many other games achieve the same effect. Games help to build so many skills. To name a few: visual-motor processing speed, attention, fine motor coordination, memory, communication, and emotional regulation.

4. Games are fun – The reason why I value games as much as I do is because GAMES ARE FUN! They bring people together. I can still remember the enjoyment I felt as a kid playing Clue with my friends. Now, as a parent and occupational therapist, I get to see the impact games have had on my own children and the children I provide services to at school.

In addition to working as an occupational therapist, Neal also writes music for TV/film and teaches guitar. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two children.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint by Planting Trees and Helping Small Scale Farmers

Posted on April 22, 2015May 27, 2015 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

Every year members of our sales team pack up their vans and head out across the country to visit current and prospective stores. While we take pride in this unique aspect of our company, we are also aware of the impact that multiple cross country trips in a van has on the environment.

What exactly is the impact? Well, for example, it is emitting 67 tons of CO2 just in the year, 2014. That is the reason that we have teamed up with the outstanding organization, the Pur Projet to reduce our carbon footprint as a company.

The Pur Projet organization has a vision to change the world, “Our mission is to integrate social and environmental innovations to the heart of business and corporate activities, to regenerate, revitalize and preserve the ecosystems we depend upon.” With that said, Pur Projet believes that their partnered organizations have ‘Pur(e)’ intentions to better the social and environmental issues that exists on our planet. The organization provides native trees for the reforestation on small producers’ cocoa plantations in the Amazon.

Pur Projet says it right! By giving back to the environment that gives companies, like Blue Orange, the resources to produce the products that are sold, is only fair. Pur Projet goes on to say, “By integrating these concerns within their sectors and activities, Pur Projet partner organizations offer a vision and means that lead to concrete projects to improve social and environmental activities and products.” Trees are planted following agroforestry systems improving the yield of cocoa trees while preserving soil and water quality and protecting biodiversity.

Since 2000, 952,000 miles were driven by Blue Orange, releasing 370 tons of CO2, which means that 1,110 trees have been planted to date. This past year, 2014, Blue Orange vans drove 152,000 miles consuming 10 liters/100 km of gas producing 67 tons of CO2 emissions. This means that 201 trees were planted in 2014 to offset our carbon footprint! When a tree has reached it’s level of maturity, it will take 14 years for the tree to offset one year of 67 tons of CO2 emissions.Not only does this help to shrink our carbon stamp and to fight against global warming, but there are also co-benefits with social and environmental issues.

The Pur Project shares that, “Small-scale farmers and their families account for 4.2 billion people or two-thirds of the world’s population. They can, if supported financially, fight efficiently against climate change by applying agroforestry models that incorporate trees to their existing crops.” As a result, 1,500 farmers cultivate Fair Trade and Organic certified cocoa to increase and diversify their earnings. While planting trees reduces carbon footprint and global warming, giving work opportunities to small-scale farmers makes the Pur Projet a win-win organization!

In 2014, our 201 trees have been planted by farmer, Elias Villacorta, in a forest area of Peru. The type of tree depends on the location and the square footage, but the type of tree planted could be a Caoba or Capirona tree.

We are so proud to be able to reduce our carbon footprint as a company, but even prouder to do so with a world changing organization with Pur(e) Intentions, such as Pur Projet.We understand the need to work towards the preservation of our planet. We believe it’s important to take steps to reduce the environmental impact of our business and to share our passion for sustainability.

For more information, visit: www.purprojet.com
How to get involved: http://purprojet.com/en/how-to-get-involved

All photos are credited to: Christian Lamontagne

Playing to Preserve our Planet

Posted on April 18, 2014April 22, 2014 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

We at Blue Orange Games invite you to join our mission to preserve our planet and its resources.

Since its creation in 2000 by two game enthusiasts, Julien Mayot and Thierry Denoual, Blue Orange has pioneered green initiatives within the toy industry and beyond. Our commitment to conservation sets us apart, and can be traced back to the initial naming of the company which is based on a poem by Paul Eduard. The poet writes, “The earth is blue like an orange.” Although surrealist at first, the verse asks us to question our place and perception of the planet we inhabit. From space, the earth is blue, but as you get closer a myriad of colors and textures make up our home.

Nature supplies us with most of the materials for our games: wood, tin, natural resins, and paper. We use natural and recycled products in an effort to minimize plastic which never degrades. The bulk of our packaging is made from recycled cardboard. Based in one of the most eco-conscious cities in the US, San Francisco, we are proud to contribute to our city’s recycling efforts. We depend on earth’s resources to survive, but we realize that they are not infinite. We are committed–not only to creating fun and educational games–but to using natural materials and replenishing earth’s resources along the way.

In 2006, we founded a program to replenish the environment and make our business more sustainable. For every tree used in our wooden game production, we plant two in the forests of China. So far, we have planted over 125, 000 trees!

Yunhe Town, Zhejiang Province – China.

Last year, we partnered with Save The Bay, the largest organization working to protect and restore the San Francisco Bay. On my ride to work, I look out the window and take in the bay. I’m fortunate to work for a company that donated five percent of its wholesale revenue to Save The Bay. As I settle into my new role here, I’m excited about inspiring kids and that our efforts help conserve the planet.

Another partnership is with Pur Projet, a company based in France that helps businesses offset their carbon footprint through reforestation of the Amazon. To offset our CO2 emissions in 2013, we planted 903 trees in the Alto Huayabamba forest in Peru. The process known as “Insetting” supports local, socio-environmental innovation as it transforms our endeavors into pure projects.

San Martin region, Amazonia – Peru.

Our partnerships reflect our deep commitment to having the smallest environmental footprint possible. The effort begins in how we manufacture our toys, continues in how we bring them to you, and ends in how you play. Knowing that our games are created in the most eco-friendly manner is its own reward, but we are also grateful for our Dr. Toy Green Toy Company Award.

A benefit of playing our games is that they don’t need electricity. In this digital age, kids (and just a few adults) escape for hours in video games. Although fun, video games do require energy. For our games, all you need is the power of your mind and some strategizing–no outlets required! So in addition to interacting with each other, learning, and having fun, players inadvertently conserve earth’s resources!

It is sometimes challenging to imagine a day, let alone an hour, unplugged from our beloved gadgets; but the rewards of doing so could foster more conscious kids, aware of how everyday activities widen or shrink our environmental footprint. Our games are a great way to introduce children to the concept of recycling, reforestation, and conservation. Join us in our efforts to play sustainably.