the geldner group

Getting federal projects through better proposals

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:55:21 +0000

Geldner Group agency principal, Linda Geldner, R.A., just completed presenting a workshop on proposal writing and getting federal projects for the Association of General Contractors in San Diego. The all-day event entitled "Triage for Success" was taught jointly by Geldner and Paul Stout, LEED, of PowerSummit and featured insights into the proposal development process for defense and federal contracting. The class proved so successful that two more are now being offered. For more information, visit http://www.agcsd.org.

Our clients

Mon, 03 May 2010 22:40:42 +0000

Current

Past

Pacific Bell (AT&T)
Browning
Almeco
Olympian Sports
Office Automation Systems
Pier 1 / Nurseryland Garden Centers
Octus

Look-alike Logos

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:01:29 +0000

I went to a fundraising event the other night and, on arrival at the hotel, immediately noticed that the hotel's logo was very similar to a logo project I'd worked on during the 80's for Ektelon, a racquetball and tennis company. (Just to be clear, I was on the client side at Ektelon -- the agency of record was The Phillips Organisation). Here are the two logos:

Which led me to find other logos that have that 3-part flame look to them. In order they are the Epilepsy Foundation, Seagrave Fire Apparatus and Camp Fire Girls.

Then I found an interesting article on the same subject with some great examples: When logos look alike . It's from the fun and educational website, LogoDesignLove.

Clearly, if you are involved with logo design, it becomes more difficult to come up with original ideas given the heavy proliferation of graphic communications, clipart and software that makes designing a lot easier than it was years ago. It pays to search the web just to be sure you aren't copping something too closely. :-) Google Image Search can be used to find similar images but it doesn't always work on graphic files. There may be other resources out there so let us know if you find something interesting or useful!

Disclaimer: Logos above are copyright their respective holders and our use of them is purely educational.

Cash for clunkers - a waste of taxpayer dollars?

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:34:05 +0000

I'm reading more and more from leading environmentalists and economists that the Obama administration's Cash for Clunkers program will not have all the wonderful effects its proponents have been espousing. This issue has hit close to home for us, since my wife and I are now shopping for a new car to replace our Sebring convertible.

According to most experts, the positive environmental impacts being touted are negligible and in fact, may be a net negative. Here's why. Every car we take OFF the road has to be disposed of. Fluids are hazardous waste, plastics have to be separated out, metals crushed and melted, and parts that can't be recycled either end up in a landfill or they're burnt. It all takes energy!

Plus, while you may be saving some amount of fuel in the future by taking a guzzler off the road today, you have actually increased the total carbon footprint required to get someone from point A to point B. Keep in mind -- the clunker is already built!! Replacing it with a new car adds the total carbon it took to PRODUCE the new vehicle back into the picture. The bottom line is that we are likely using MORE carbon to recycle and dispose of the old car and replace it with new than we save in fossil fuels.

On the economic side, the sale of some 125,000 (maybe 250,000) new cars is just a drop in the bucket for new car sales. According to many industry analysts, SOME production lines may now stay open an extra ONE day over the year as the result of Cash for Clunkers. Big whoop!

Then there's the cost to the U.S. taxpayer for financing this giveaway to the automotive industry -- $1 billion, now $3 billion on top of federal ownership of Chrysler & GM -- all when many analysts think the industry was beginning to turn around on its own. Plus, and this should drive you crazy, OVER 50% of the money is going to purchase foreign cars. Not the cars that you or I as taxpayers now build, but something from Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, etc.

On a philosophical basis, should MY tax dollars be used to reward someone else's bad behavior? Our Sebring doesn't qualify for the program because it gets 1 mpg too much. So those of us who have already been doing the right thing will pay for those who don't.

More reading here to prove my points:

Analysis: Clunker cash won't drive true recovery

Cash for clunkers effect on pollution? A blip

What consumers want

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:03:42 +0000

Joseph Pine offers an interesting viewpoint on what's driving (or should be driving) future markets in the scramble for consumer dollars. It's a video from a 2004 presentation at TED. Many of the things he talked about then, like Starbucks ability to sell 15¢ worth of coffee for $2.50, have come to fruition today. Agree or disagree, it's food for thought.