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C o n s u m e r E l e c t r o n i c s D a i l y N e w s T h u r s d a y, J a n u a r y 7 , 2 0 1 6 4 2 GIRL SCOUTS: REVOLUTIONIZING THE REVOLUTIONARY An interview with Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. CEDN: What is Girl Scouts showing off at CES this year? AC: Last year, we unveiled the first dig- ital sales platform that let girls sell cook- ies and learn valuable lessons through a website or a mobile app. Digital Cookie revolutionized how girls learn the five skills of goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics, adding a digital layer that taught exciting new things – like online marketing, using digital dashboards, dig- ital money management – about the world of e-commerce. It left us with an interesting chal- lenge: taking our biggest, boldest, most advanced cookie sales experience ever, and making it even better. The answer was Digital Cookie 2.0. We are excited to demonstrate these updates, which, I'm proud to say, take a big step forward in the fun, functionality and educational opportunities made available to girls. CEDN: What's new for 2016? AC: With input from girls, Digital Cookie 2.0 provides a more robust, per- sonalized, hands-on, entertaining learn- ing experience. Our enhanced cookie website lets girls tell their cookie story to customers, and explain how their earn- ings will improve their community. There are fun new interactive activities, like quizzes, games, videos and tools like goal calculators that expand girls' under- standing of the business cycle. It teaches skills about running an e-commerce busi- ness, including revenue projection and digital customer acquisition and manage- ment. Girls can now earn all age-appro- priate Cookie Business badges using both Digital Cookie and offline activities, while exploring ways to invest their earnings back into their communities. As the leading "multichan- nel" entrepreneurial program for girls in grades K-12, Digital Cookie 2.0 expands the mobile app feature to all girls, allowing for a selling experience that mirrors today's retail markets. The original mobile app, available in select councils last year, will be joined by a new app for girls in other areas, which replicates the transactional elements of their sites. CEDN: Was the first iteration of Digital Cookie successful? AC: Digital Cookie was a major success, and brought the Girl Scout Cookie Program into the twenty-first century. Girls who combined Digital Cookie with traditional methods were more likely to increase their year-over-year sales. Over 350,000 orders were placed online, driv- ing the sale of nearly 2.5 million addi- tional boxes of cookies and an additional $10 million for our local councils. That money was used to bring girls the Girl Scout experience, and by girls to fund philanthropic Take Action projects in their communi- ties. CEDN: What is the long-term vision for Digital Cookie? AC: Ultimately, Digital Cookie is about building tomorrow's leaders, and instilling the skills, values and knowledge girls need to succeed in our fast paced, e-and m- commerce world. With Digital Cookie, girls learn skills, giving them an edge when entering the workforce, and cus- tomers can support girls' STEM education while purchasing their favorite snacks. It's a win for girls, customers and our future, as we build girls of courage, confidence and character, poised to make the world a better place. Visit www.girlscouts.org/dig- italcookie to learn more. For more information, go to www.girlscouts.org or stop by booth #74760. SKIPSTONE LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE FOR CONSUMERS An interview with Troy Ontko, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Skipstone LLC. CEDN: What Does Skipstone do? TO: Skipstone is a video platform. The difference between Skipstone and other video platforms is that Skipstone's patent pending technology allows for interactiv- ity between the brand and the consumer. As a consumer watches the main video, he or she can ask a question, view the answer video and as it ends, return to where he or she left off on the main video. CEDN: What are the benefits of this interaction? TO: Skipstone is like a trusted product expert that knows the features and bene- fits of a product or service and shares those features that are important to us. Perhaps the most important aspect of Skipstone is that it allows the brand to hear the consumer for the first time. Most advertising and marketing pushes infor- mation to the consumer. Skipstone hears the consumer's voice telling brands what his or her expectations and demands are. Imagine the power of the analytics avail- able with this new technology. CEDN: Who should use Skipstone? TO: Any brand that wishes to engage with prospects and customers before, during and after the sale. Brands can use Skipstone to share the features and benefits that are impor- tant to the consumer. Skipstone allows consumers to tell the brand what is important to them. Brands may also use Skipstone as a way of building brand loyalty. This works when brands create content that is more about engagement and less about selling. A great example of this is when we ask a brand where the name of a specific product came from. Additionally, Skipstone is a wonder- ful way to inform. The best example is what we did is with asklearnvote.com, where anyone can virtually engage with any candidate to learn their positions on the issues that matter to the voter. CEDN: What happens if a consumer has a question you didn't prepare for? TO: Skipstone offers the consumer the ability to have new or unanswered ques- tions answered. What better way for brands to make sure they satisfy con- sumer demands and see new market desires than this direct link to the con- sumer? Consumers will get their answer via email, text message or live chat if the brand supports it. CEDN: Are analytics available to brands? TO: Yes, and at a level never before experienced. The best way to know what someone is thinking is to hear his or her questions. Imagine a real-time focus group of actual shoppers interacting with a brand and telling the brand exactly what inter- ests them. Skipstone will categorize and rank consumer interest as well as show trends in market demands. CEDN: Where does Skipstone reside? TO: Brands will be able place Skipstone links on their website and the websites of their partners, social media, etc. Skipstone will be available on every screen from laptops to mobile devices, even at point of sale. We will also showcase the link on www.goskipstone.com. For more information, visit www.go skipstone.com, call 734.646.3869 or stop by booth #81052. EMFIT PROUD TO ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF SAFEBED Emfit launches Safebed, a completely contact-free and all-automatic wellbeing and health tracking system for seniors. After successful breakthrough among pro athletes, Emfit turns its contact-free heart rate variability enabled sleep tracker to help with seniors' wellbeing and safety. Safebed is an ingenious health and wellbeing tracker designed with seniors needs in mind. It improves the safety and security of seniors and helps maintain their independence so they are able to live on their own for a longer time. There's absolutely nothing to wear or carry, and no need to turn equipment on and off. Safebed is completely discrete and undetectable. A highly durable sen- sor is simply installed under mattress and paired with Wi-Fi. Safebed tracks sleep quality and quantity, heart and breathing rates, and even heart rate variability. Changes in long-term trends can give very valuable information about health and thus ensures wellbeing. With Safebed a senior citizen can easily ensure personal wellbeing. Seniors can live by themselves, in their own homes, and family members won't need to worry about whether everything will be okay. Loved ones receive a daily sum- mary and notifications via email or as push-notification via a phone applica- tion; for example, if a daily routine changes or if there is too long an absence from bed at night. Heikki Raisanen, Chief Executive Officer of Emfit, about an incident from just a few days back: "I got a notification from Safebed on my phone telling me that my 89-year old mother, who lives three hours away, had possibly fallen down. It was 25 min- utes past mid-night. She had already been sleeping but then left and had not returned to bed in 45 minutes. I called my brother and told him to go check on our mother. Turns out, she had fallen, broken her hip and needed med- ical help. She had surgery and now she is recovering. Safebed truly provides safety to elderly living alone. Because, after all, who wouldn't want to live in their own home as long as possible, instead of being institutionalized. We at Emfit want to make it possible. This is our way of thanking our mothers and fathers for tak- ing loving care of us. Now it's our time to return the favor." About Emfit Ltd. Emfit is a global leader in quasi-piezo- electric ferroelectret sen- sors and actuators. Since 1990, Finnish company Emfit has pioneered the development and manufacture of these electro active polymers. Emfit also develops and manufactures whole prod- ucts with focus in health tech. Today, Emfit is the world's leading manufactur- er of ferroelectret sensor and actuator material for various applications, includ- ing paper machinery, sports equipment, music instruments, touch-sensitive human interfaces, smart building solu- tions and more. For more information, visit www.emfit.com or stop by booth #73526.