LFS Comes Together to Support Life With Cancer

Over the past year, LeapFrog Solutions has been working with Life With Cancer, an organization through inova dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of those affected by cancer by providing education, information and support. During the holiday season, the LFS team began collecting donations from our employees which were then pooled and matched by the company. Yesterday, CEO Lisa Martin and Account Manager Megan Yamamoto presented Joanne Royaltey, Director of Leadership Giving at Life With Cancer, with a compiled donation of $1,110.00. This donation will go towards the Life With Cancer's Appearance Center, which will have a small full service beauty salon on one side and a ‘cancer boutique’ on the other that will have a vast array of supplies (hair care, skin care, make up, wigs, clothing, inspirational items, etc) that cancer patients need to address appearance issues and image recovery while they undergo cancer treatment.

If you would like to donate, please visit www.lifewithcancer.org. They are a wonderful organization and are truly inspirational .

This Just in From the West Coast!

Joe Petraglia, a former Art Director at LFS, stopped by the office just before Christmas break to visit and wish everyone a happy holiday. Joe now resides in San Diego and enjoys going to the beach on his lunch breaks (life is hard!)

While we miss him here at LFS, we are so excited about the opportunities he is a part of now!

Great to see you back at the pad Joe!

Check Out The Talent!

Congratulations to our amazing creative team! Especially designer Jamie Spencer who created this innovative brand logo for our client Alakai. Jamie won an American Graphic Design Award for this logo and is featured in the November/December 2010 issue of Graphic Design USA.

A Very Merry Christmas From LFS!

Christmas Eve Eve was a holiday cheer filled day here at LFS, we even had a K9 helper visit (even if her holiday jacket didn't fit). After a rousing game of Jenga, our employees made their holiday journeys home to their family and friends for the holidays. We hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Cheer!

Thanks to all of our great partners for their wonderful holiday treats! We froggies sure do love sugar!

With Our Powers Combined

Our LeapFrog Solutions and Kensington Creative combined team ventured out in the snow yesterday to visit our client Exxon Mobil. Our teams have really come together seamlessly both in the office and outside.

With Our Powers Combined

Our LeapFrog Solutions and Kensington Creative combined team ventured out in the snow yesterday to visit our client Exxon Mobil. Our teams have really come together seamlessly both in the office and outside.

Spreading Holiday Cheer to Those Who Need It

The LeapFrog Solutions Team is banding together to help provide much needed items to the Life With Cancer organization. This tree, which sits in the lobby of their facility (a large house in Fairfax) is decorated with numerous ornaments containing wishes and needs. LFS hopes to be able to make many of these needs a reality this season through our employee and company donations.

You can make donations to Life With Cancer HERE

Happy Holidays from LeapFrog Solutions!

November Hop To It!

WARNING:
Think Before You Send
Going Back to Basics on Email Etiquette

by Carita Eleazar

The beauty of doing business in today's digital world is that most day-to-day conversations with clients are conducted via email and are consequently documented word-for-word. This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is easy to go back to the history of a conversation and dig up important information by a quick "search" thereby saving you a humiliating phone call to the client asking to repeat what he or she said. On the other hand, anything you write can and will be held against you. In our industry, we hear a lot about branding but what we do not hear is the importance of email etiquette and how it reflects our own personal brand.

What does your email etiquette say about your personal brand? Here are a few things to consider before you send your next message like a hot potato:

1. Use your "To:" wisely. Have you ever seen your name on a distribution list and wondered if you need to take action or if someone else on that list is taking action? You decide to ignore it and then during the next production meeting you realize the ball got dropped because everyone decided to ignore the message. Avoid confusion or duplication of effort by directing your message specifically to those who need to take action. Think about what value your message will bring to the intended recipients. Does your client's boss' boss really need to know that you completed the status report? Does he even know who you are?

To read more click here

Carita Eleazar, Account Manager and author of this article, has worked in three different marketing communications agencies managing a variety of clients and projects from multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to complete rebranding initiatives. She holds a degree in communications with a concentration in public relations.

New Froggies

In late August, LeapFrog Solutions acquired Kensington Creative Worldwide, Inc., a graphic design studio and marketing agency based in McLean, Virginia.

“This is a very exciting time for LeapFrog Solutions, Inc.,” said Lisa Martin, President and CEO of LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. “Joining forces with Kensington Creative will greatly enhance our ability to deliver a full range of marketing communications services to our commercial and government clients including branding, messaging, print and web development and media relations.”

Kensington Creative Worldwide was founded in 1994 with the vision of building a marketing services agency that would combine exceptional marketing solutions with extraordinary customer service. Partners Kathie Libert and Frank Henry spent their careers with large advertising agencies and media companies and wanted to create a different kind of agency — one that would develop solid relationships with clients based onpartnership, trust and shared objectives.

“The integration of Kensington Creative with LeapFrog Solutions will serve to strengthen the marketing capabilities of both companies,” Kathie Libert said. “The opportunity to unite these dynamic teams was too powerful to ignore.” Frank Henry added, “The combined offerings and talented staff of LeapFrog Solutions and Kensington Creative give us a powerful presence in the marketplace.”

Kensington Creative’s clients have included Exxon Mobil Corporation, AT&T Government Solutions, Litton PRC, Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Microsoft, the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, the National Park Foundation, the National Youth Leadership Forum, the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association and more.

Kensington Creative’s staff will relocate to the LeapFrog Solutions offices in Oakton, Virginia. Terms of the private acquisition were not disclosed.

LFS Appoints New President

LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. (LFS), a full-service strategic marketing communications and technology firm, announced today that it has appointed Richard Bodson as President of the company.

Bodson brings 32 years of communications, information technology, management consulting, and training leadership to LFS. His experience includes 21 years with large companies, including General Dynamics IT, DynCorp I&ET and EDS, as well as 11 years with small businesses such as RSIS and FCBS. Most recently, Bodson was a consultant to multiple federal contractors including LFS. Prior to consulting, he was an executive vice president at NetStar-1 which acquired AVIEL Systems, Inc. where he was the Chief Operating Officer.

“We are looking forward to Dick enhancing the LeapFrog Solutions team,” said LFS founder and CEO Lisa Martin. “His experience organizing and growing companies of all sizes, as well as his work across nearly all government agencies and in the private sector will greatly benefit our existing and future customers.”

Over the course of his career, Bodson has been responsible for teams supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense, all Department of Defense military branches, the Department of Homeland Security, and a variety of civilian agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, General Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, intelligence community, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior and State. He has extensive experience with the management of services spanning marketing communications and the use of relevant technologies including full lifecycle systems development, desktop support, network and data security and training.

Bodson, who earned his B.A. degree from the University of Virginia, has been a guest lecturer for undergraduate and graduate level programs at several colleges, including the National Defense University.

CLICK HERE to read the Washington Post article published about our new President.

LeapFrog Solutions Participates in NVTC Study on Leadership and Change

LeapFrog Solutions was one of more than 70 companies that participated in a study on leadership and change sponsored by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. The study concluded that change, driven by technological advances, customer shifts and economic uncertainty, is disruptive and will continue. Respondents also noted that companies are leveraging change to create strategic business opportunities. “The government market has opened up,” said Lisa Martin, president and CEO of LeapFrog Solutions. “There are new opportunities for small business that were not possible before. Organizations with a sound infrastructure, track record and customer focus can capture these opportunities.” Finally, the study showed that companies must have the right talent pipeline to be successful. “A key ingredient to successfully expanding our company is having employees with a deep pride in what we do,” Lisa said. “I believe in building a workforce that is team-oriented, customer-centric, flexible, hardworking and entrepreneurial.” The complete study can be found here.

LeapFrog Solutions Nominated for Blue Diamond Award

Each year, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce nominates companies and individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the community. This year, we were proud to be nominated for the prestigious Blue Diamond Award in recognition for our work with The American Red Cross, The Greater Washington Sports Alliance, Life With Cancer, and with The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Over the course of the past year we have worked with each of these organizations individually to help them achieve their goals. The 80 page bid book which we created for the Greater Washington Sports Alliance helped win them the bid for the 2012 Fire and Police Games! Another great organization that we are associated with is Life With Cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The Life With Cancer House is a refuge for cancer patients, survivors and their families. As part of our work, we donated funds that were used to purchase and stock a tropical fish tank up in the children’s area and we are working with the staff to identify other projects where we can contribute our talents. For more information on Life With Cancer, please visit their website .

We look forward to more work within the Washington metropolitan community and were very honored to be recognized with all of the other very deserving nominees.

Yesterday, the LFS office experienced a power outage for about 30 minutes. Here is how the LFS team reacts to power outages. What a great group of froggies!!! (even in the dark)

See you laters, never goodbuys

Our star Account Executive, Jen Fagan, has hopped on to another opportunity and we wish her the very best!!! Jen was an amazing member of our team and will be missed at LFS by our staff and clients alike. In true LeapFrog Solutions fashion, Jen will be missed but never out of touch!

With her moving on, we welcome our new account manager Carita Eleazar! She comes from a great agency background and has a lot to offer the LFS team. We are very excited to see where 2010 is taking LeapFrog Solutions!

Babies!

LFS celebrated the exciting news that our own Kim Danielson will soon be the mother of a beautiful baby girl. The entire team got together to celebrate with Kim, and her husband Dave!

Our impromptu shower was full of cute pink baby clothes, toys, and a other items that Kim and Dave will need for their little one.

Congratulations to the two of you. We cannot wait to meet your daughter!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

The LFS Team was at a video shoot for one of our clients last week and we thought about what necessities you should always have when shooting a video.

Our Emergency Pack would include:

• Translucent powder makeup
• Large makeup brush
• Hair brush
• Hair spray
• Scissors
• Digital camera

Is there anything that you this is a "Must Have" on a video shoot?

Let us know!

Abbi Boose - LeapFrog intern and George Mason University Student who is leaping ahead of her classmates

Abbi Boose, a communication major with a concentration in public relations at George Mason, is interning at LeapFrog Solutions. She has accepted the challenges of her internship and knows that the opportunity will lead her to success. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences recently caught up with Boose for an interview to hear a little more about her experience at LeapFrog Solutions - read more to hear what she had to say. click here>

Life with Cancer House

Yesterday LeapFrog Solutions conducted their annual all staff off-site meeting where the team reflects on the last year and focuses on the future endeavors as a company. This year's off-site meeting was particularly special as it was held at the Life With Cancer House. The Life With Cancer House is a refuge for cancer patients, survivors and their families. Their mission is to enhance the quality of life of those affected by cancer by providing education, information and support.


The Life With Cancer House can help people meet the
challenges of living with cancer by providing education, information on and support, free of charge, no matter
location or where the patient receives treatment.

This location and the people who work there are inspiring and full of spirit. This house is not a pace of sadness but a place of love, laughter and life! The LeapFrog Solutions team was so touched that Lisa Martin provided donation in the name of the company towards getting the children s fish tank up and running!

LeapFrog Solutions is proud to have the opportunity to contribute to the wonderful things that the Life With Cancer House is doing for its community. To see more photos from the LeapFrog Solutions off-site check out our flickr page.

For more information about our program and services or to speak with a Life with Cancer staff member, please call 703-698-2526.