Boston PR Agency CerconeBrown & Co. Kicks off Green House Experiential Marketing Event

The CerconeBrown & Co. Green House is now underway in one of the nation’s only mutli-family net-zero homes out in Boulder, Colo.

In this one-of-a-kind experiential marketing program, the nation’s top editors are immersed into the most eco-friendly services, products and technology around to gain deep insight on Smart Living, a sensible lifestyle that helps save money and decrease a person’s negative impact on the environment. Some of the most planet-friendly and eco-conscious brands — from Ford to 3M to LG to Tupperware — are combining forces at this distinctive media relations event to revamp press members’ views on sustainability and how they will report to their millions of readers and viewers.

As you might expect, this feat doesn’t come without its fair share of good old-fashioned hard work. The Boston PR Agency crew has been working nearly 20-hour days (wow!) behind the scenes to transform a house surpassing LEED-Platinum certification into a platform for sustainable living. And through undying effort and lots of sweat (but thankfully no blood or tears), the CBC team has hit the ground running — and pretty fast to say the least.

To give you an idea of the kind of energy needed to pull off such an exhilarating event, here’s an inside look at the personal work journal of the CBC crew on site in Boulder:

6:30 a.m. – The day starts bright and early with the team opening the 300th (that’s an understatement) box of Tupperware product to stock the pantry.

7:30 – It’s time to change over the 25th load of laundry (talk about a workout!) in an amazing LG energy-efficient washer and dryer with the new Sweet Sleep organic bedding.

Not too sure how this happened, but cardboard somehow manages to get into the washer machine, and explodes everywhere.  It looks like the Terminator got a little too carried away in a paper factory. Luckily CBC had an LG energy efficient vacuum to save the day and clean up the Terminator’s mess.

Finally, the sheets come out of the wash looking more wrinkled than a shar pei puppy.  Just their luck, there’s no iron in sight.

8:30 – The ever-resourceful CBC team puts their heads together, and calls in a cleaning crew that comes through and goes to town!

8:30 – 10:30 -The architect, realtors, developers, owner, sponsors, mattress delivery crew, contractor, Ford team, 3M sponsors and CBC Green House team are all in and out of the house preparing for the open house to kick off at 11 a.m. (panic mode handled with grace and poise).

11:00 – CBS channel 4 arrives. An interview with the developer and architect commences.

Noon – Super interns Max and Chase head out on a Target run. CBC then meets with the Boulder film crew to do some creative collaborating and document the next three weeks.

1:00 p.m. – No time to rest!  The CBC crew begins drafting the sponsor and editor materials.

3:00 – A Tupperware representative arrives, and more merchandising continues.

4:30 – midnight – CBC continues to set up the house and merch, merch, merch (this stands for merchandising).

This is just a morsel of the effort that goes into creating such an amazing event…stay tuned for more of the CBC Green House frenzy!

Summer House 2010: Media Relations Nantucket Style

Today marks the end of the second session of Summer House 2010, hosted by Boston PR Agency Cercone Brown & Co.  And after beach games, water sports, exploration and plenty of great food and cocktails, we’re ready to do it all over again…

The Summer House (and its Park City-based Winter House) brings the best of the national lifestyle media together with some of the the year’s best new products in a setting that can’t be beat.  They get to really experience these products in a real-life setting, literally living with them for three-day “sessions.”

The second session of Summer House welcomed editors from O, Oprah Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour and more, kicking off with a sail on the Endeavor and watching the sun set in PF Flyers during a game of Bocce Ball. Their next morning began by taking on the waters of Nantucket, sea kayaking with Columbia Sportswear and continued with a challenging cross-island scavenger hunt, all while outfitted in New Balance, head to toe. A cocktail party hosted by Jambu soon followed along with a delectable dinner with the lovely ladies of Vineyard Vines. The media ended their session with massages provided by Palmers and boarded their planes with an endless amount of product knowledge and the memories of an island retreat.

Next up, we’ll host journalists from NBC Today, Good Morning America, Maxim, Men’s Health, Outside and others.  32 outlets in all.

Time and time again, we hear how unique the Summer House is. Brands and journalists have both continually acknowledged the difference in our approach to experiential marketing. Companies gain the benefit of enhanced personal relationships with press, while journalists gain positive brand impressions and new brand introductions, all while enjoying everything the island has to offer.

Education through real life experience…it works, and the last five years continue to confirm what our vision was five years ago: to create something different, something that truly changes consumer PR.  Here’s to the next five years.

Media Relations: MAXIM Takes Some Shots

Full Metal Jackasses?  Not exactly…

The Orvis Media Shootout is one of the full brand immersion media relations events we do each year at Cercone Brown & Co. The idea is to give the media an authentic experience that encompasses every aspect of our clients’ brand: the product, the culture, the people … all without hard selling.

For the Shootout, everyone from the Wall Street Journal and CNN to NBCToday and Self take a step inside the legendary world of Orvis.  They shoot, flycast, eat game, see bird dogs in action … you get the point.

Anyway, MAXIM had such a great time they went back to for another shot at the clays.  This “Full Metal Jackasses” video says it all.

Social Media ROI System Now Available

Social media ROI — especially linking social media ROI to sales and real business growth — has been elusive… until now.

Through our partnership with Overdrive Interactive, we now offer the industry’s first social media ROI system. This Social Media Dashboard compiles all social media touch points, from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube Channels.

But what’s more, you can also bring in feeds from Google Analytics, your call center, e-commerce sales and event retail sales.   The result is an overlay that ties together your social media efforts with the real-time results that will make any CFO happy.  Contact Anne Houseman for a demo.

CBC Launches New “Green House” Media Relations Program

For several years, CBC Summer House (Nantucket) and Winter House (Park City) has seen producers and editors from the likes MTV, NBC Today, the New York Times live with the best new products from companies ranging from Ford, Honda and Subaru to Columbia, Pepperidge Farm and Wente Vineyards.  The result is an indelible, authentic experience that fuels coverage online and off.

Now the scene moves to a Net-Zero community in Boulder, Colo. for the Green House in August and feature all eco-friendly products ranging from innovative building materials, smart appliances, electric cars and many other objects of Smart Living.  We expect the elite of the green media in attendance, and many household names are getting on board (we’ll drop names soon.)

More than a media experience, the Green House will also feature the results of an ambitious research project conducted by our partner on the program Kickstand that seeks to identify the trigger points for companies to move consumers from green intentions to green buying.  The results and house products will also be reach the masses through a consumer-facing, multimedia website and social media campaign.

Visit cbcgreenhouse.com or contact Caroline Budney at to learn more.

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Green Mountain Coffee, Orvis & Dr. Kracker Join CBC Client Roster

Green marketing (including organics) and outdoor gear are two main areas of emphasis for our business at Cercone Brown & Co., and Q1 saw both categories grow with the addition of the new clients Green Mountain Coffee, Orvis and Dr. Kracker.

Green Mountain is working with our brand activation group (events and online promotions) to push their social responsibility initiatives, including its commitment to Fair Trade.  While Orvis is working with our lifestyle PR group to extend it reach through online and traditional media coverage.

The company you may not recognize is Austin-based Dr. Kracker, but chances are that you’ve tasted work of the founder, George Eckrich.  George started Whole Food’s bakery program back in the 80s, where he remained for nearly 25 years.  He left and created Dr. Kracker, a line of organic flatbreads and crackers available nationwide and building a fanatical following.  Cercone Brown recently hosted a bread-making seminar with some of the best food-press in the nation in NYC.  Check out some photos from the Whole Foods event!

Stay tuned, as more new business news is imminent!

Boston Advertising and PR Agency Cercone Brown & Co. Wins Silver 2010 Bulldog Award for “Best Green Campaign”

Agency’s Earth Day Campaign for Nalgene Highlights Nation’s Least Wasteful Cities; Urges Environmental Responsibility Across U.S.

Boston, Mass. (May 7, 2010) – Advertising and PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. (CBC) was recently bestowed one of the PR industry’s top honors: a 2010 Bulldog Award for “Best Green Campaign.”

Recognized from a total pool of 800 submissions, the Boston PR agency earned a Silver award for its “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” program, developed for reusable bottle icon Nalgene.  The program combined social media, online marketing and traditional media relations to reach millions across America.  The Twitter campaign alone reached more than one million prospects.

“Many ‘experts’ will have you believe that social media alone is the silver bullet for PR campaigns today.  But it’s really the combination of traditional media relations and social media marketing that makes the online universe come alive,” said Cercone Brown & Co. partner Len Cercone.  “Creating content that people want to share is the key, whether that be from journalist to reader or person to person.”

Launched in April, the news was featured on the home page of USA Today, AOL, numerous green and news blogs and scores of TV stations, newspapers and magazines nationwide.  Each piece of coverage fueled sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other social sites, as well as through the campaign site itself.  As a result, the news reached more than 4 million people within one month.

“Thanks to our partnership with CBC, Nalgene continues to think beyond the bottle,” said Tiffany Teaford, product manager/product development lead ,Nalgene-Outdoor. “The award-winning Least Wasteful Cities campaign reflects Nalgene’s broader mission of empowering people to create change, once choice at a time.”

The Campaign: America’s Least Wasteful Cities

During a time when many Americans sought to make environmentally friendly decisions in their lives, the “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” campaign identified wasteful behaviors in everyday actions.

As the focal point of the campaign, Cercone Brown & Co. designed an online research survey, polling 3,750 participants in the largest 25 cities (based on DMA) on waste-focused habits – from recycling, to using public transportation, to shutting off lights. When the results were tallied, San Francisco earned the title of America’s Least Wasteful City, while Atlanta ranked last.

With the news launched just prior to Earth Day, Boston PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. leveraged traditional public relations tactics along with social media tools, including Twitter and Facebook, to spread the word directly to consumers and online press alike.

In addition, the PR agency deployed a content-filled online microsite, which educated millions of Americans on their own wasteful behaviors, while providing an intimate setting for consumers to interact with the Nalgene brand.

Visitors were invited to purchase a special Nalgene bottle designed by Cercone Brown & Co., with a portion of the proceeds going to the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the world’s waves and beaches.

The prestigious 2010 Bulldog Award for the “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” campaign underscores Cercone Brown & Co.’s commitment to developing campaigns yielding socially responsible outcomes.

“As an action-oriented advertising and PR agency, we feel a tremendous amount of accountability toward our clients, the general public and the environment around us,” said Caroline Budney, director of corporate social responsibility at Boston PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. “With the ‘America’s Least Wasteful Cities’ campaign, we encourage the general public to make environmentally-responsible decisions by highlighting the impact simple, everyday actions can make.”

In addition to developing campaigns for individual clients, PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. is renowned for its annual Green House event, where the nation’s top “green” editors are immersed in the latest practical and planet-friendly products, services and technologies. This year’s experiential marketing event will take place in Boulder, Colo. in August. For more information on getting involved, visit the Green House website at http://www.cbcgreenhouse.com/.

About Cercone Brown & Co.

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Cercone Brown & Co. (CBC) provides branding, advertising, public relations and promotions services to companies in a range of industries. Founded in 2001, the company has worked with leading brands that include adidas, GMAC Insurance, Hasbro, Nantucket Nectars, Orvis, Cognos, Sperry Top-Sider, K2, The Timberland Company, Vibram and ZOOTS. For more information, visit www.cerconebrown.com, join the Cercone Brown Facebook page and follow Cercone Brown on Twitter.

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Cercone Brown & Company Raises $4,023 for Haiti Relief

The tunes were spinning, the drinks were flowing and the dance floor was thumping. Sound like a typical Friday night? Perhaps for some, but for the folks at Cercone Brown & Company (CBC), it was a way to help relieve the devastation in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake.

Last Friday, CBC employees, family and friends gathered at The Vault in Boston to raise funds for the Red Cross Haiti relief efforts. With an initial door donation, the revelry-for-a-cause featured dance-worthy tunes by DJ Drama, lip-smacking cocktails with Triple Eight Vodka and scrumptious appetizers for all.

During the festivities, guests opened up their wallets for the cause and also took their chance at winning a slew of raffle prizes, including gift certificates to area restaurants, individual cooking lessons, a private party at Crush boutique and Celtics tickets. The most coveted prizes? Three sets of Red Sox tickets, including opening day, Green Monster seats and regular season admission.

“We know that times are tough for a lot of people right now, so it was amazing to see such an unbelievable turnout, and everyone was extremely generous,” said Robin Whalen, CBC account supervisor and lead organizer of the event.

After a whirlwind evening, the shindig raised approximately $4,000, one hundred percent of which will be donated to the Red Cross. For those who were unable to attend, CBC encourages direct donations to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development fund.

Cercone Brown & Co. Haiti Disaster Relief Fundraiser 1/22

Join CBC this Friday, January 22 from 6pm to 9pm at the Vault in downtown Boston for an afterwork gathering of great drinks, great prizes and a great cause.

Hosted by Boston advertising and PR firm Cercone Brown & Co., some of Boston’s best will be lending a hand, from the Red Sox and Celtics to Nantucket’s Triple Eight Distillers and some of the city’s finest chefs. And every nickel raised will go to the American Red Cross to help the dreadful suffering of the disaster victims in Haiti.

Just $20 bucks covers you: free food, great drinks from Triple Eight (starting at 8:00 p.m.), music and a chance at amazing prizes:

Red Sox tickets, Celtics Premium Club seats in the Heineken Boardroom, one-on-one cooking lessons with Chef Rich Garcia of Tastings Wine Bar and Bistro, a private party hosted by chef Jay Silva of Bambara in the Hotel Marlowe, and gift certificates to Garden at the Cellar, a private party at Crush Boutique in Beacon Hill, and more.

Follow us on Twitter for updates: twitter/cerconebrown and friend us on Facebook to get the invite @ “cerconebrown”.  News as it happens.

Pepperidge Farms Signs on to Winter House 2010

Public relations news: With the first Cercone Brown Winter House 2010 session just hours away, brands keep signing on.  Pepperidge Farm is the latest in what is considered to be a great group…perhaps further evidence that the economy is thawing.

Our PR pros on site have some great plans for the New York media set arriving to Park City today.  Over the next two weeks, they’ll eat, drink, ski, ride, hike…you name it.  All while experiencing the best new products of 2010.  As far as public relations programs go, this remains to be one of the most effective…mainly because it gives journalists a chance to look, touch and use the products without being harassed by pushy public relations agencies (yeah, I know we can be pushy too…just not now!)

Even last year when all marketing was at a stand still, both the Cercone Brown Winter House and Summer House was jammed packed with name brands and big time publications (online and off), as well as morning shows and networks.

Our PR staff onsite will keep things posted as things get rolling in Park City.

Cercone Brown & Co. Honored as One for the “Best Online Marketing Campaign for 2009”

Boston Advertising & PR Firm One as Six “Honorable Mentions from 800 Submissions for “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” Campaign for Bottle-Maker Nalgene

Blending social media marketing, interactive design, and press relations has become a hallmark of Boston advertising and PR firm Cercone Brown & Co., helping brands such as GMAC Insurance, adidas, Quiksilver and others build campaigns that drive awareness, sales leads and ROI.

On October 21st, the firm was honored for Best Online Campaign for 2009 for the prestigious Platinum PR Awards for its “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” work for reusable bottle icon Nalgene. Cercone Brown & Co. was among the top eight companies with the Best Online Campaign out of a total pool of 800 submissions.

With thrift and conservation on the minds of many Americans, the campaign put the spotlight on wasteful behavior in our nation’s top cities. “The Nalgene Least Wasteful City Study” ranked 23 waste-focused habits of urban Americans, from recycling, to using public transportation, to shutting off lights. When the results were tallied, San Francisco earned the title of America’s Least Wasteful City, while Atlanta ranked last.

Launched just prior to Earth Day, the program leveraged social media networks including Twitter and Facebook as primary channels.

“From a simple strategy of creating usable, compelling content, the effort quickly caught fire and extended beyond our hopes,” said Caroline Budney, director, social responsibility, Cercone Brown & Co.  “Almost immediately the ‘Net reacted with Twitter the clear epicenter of activity, as our frequent tweets were fueled by the tweets of columnists and bloggers.”

In total, the campaign reached more than 1 million on Twitter alone, and was extended by numerous television and print new stories. The campaign allowed Nalgene to strengthen its online community, adding fans to Facebook and followers to Twitter, making direct conversations with important alpha consumers easier and stronger.

The Platinum PR Awards

Del Monte Foods, GE, Time Warner Cable and American Express are among the organizations competing for honors in the 2009 Platinum PR Awards. Presented by PR News, the leading information resource among communicators, this highly competitive program honors the best PR campaigns and initiatives of the year.

The finalists in this year’s awards program included corporations, nonprofits and agencies large and small. The award winners were announced at an October 21, 2009 awards luncheon at the Grand Hyatt in New York City and in PR News’ Platinum PR Awards special issue in October.

The awards were judged by a blue-chip panel that includes PR executives from corporations, agencies, nonprofits and associations, and leading educators and industry consultants.

“It is remarkable how far the PR discipline has come in the past few years in terms of impacting an organization’s bottom line and reputation,” says Diane Schwartz, vice president and group publisher of PR News. “This year’s finalists in the Platinum PR Awards reinforce how powerful public relations is in moving the needle.”

PR News’ Oct. 26 Platinum PR Issue profiles the top PR campaigns of the year and will serve as a users guide to PR departments of all sizes and missions. Coverage will include profiles of the top innovative campaigns, the smartest communications initiatives and the people behind them.

Best Online Campaign? Cercone Brown Named Finalist for PR News Platinum Awards

As readers of this blog know, Cercone Brown is deep into online marketing and social media.  As a communications firm with a large PR component, we’d better be these days.  Now our work is being recognized on a national stage.  Cercone Brown & Co. Named Finalist for “Best Online Marketing Campaign for 2009” for the PR Platinum Awards.

The firm was selected from from 800 submissions for its “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” Campaign for bottle-maker Nalgene.  We’re off to NYC for the luncheon this morning.

We’ll write more about the campaign, how and why it worked, and lessons learned.  For now, keep your fingers crossed.  There’s a quick case study posted here, which we’ll change into an easier to use flash version this week.  Also, check out the release we’re issuing this morning…

Boston, Mass. (October 21, 2009) — Blending social media marketing, interactive design, and press relations has become a hallmark of Boston advertising and PR firm Cercone Brown & Co., helping brands such as GMAC Insurance, adidas, Quiksilver and others build campaigns that drive awareness, sales leads and ROI.

Now the firm is being recognized as one of the nation’s best as a finalist for the prestigious Platinum PR Awards for Best Online Campaign for 2009 for its “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” work for reusable bottle icon Nalgene.

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Erika Brown Pinch Hits for Fmr. Mass House Speaker Tom Finneran on WRKO

As the lone liberal in a famous den of conservatives, Cercone Brown & Co. partner Erika Brown took her seat at the mic as guest host of Fineran’s Forum on Boston’s WRKO-AM 680.  Filling in for vacationing Tom Finneran, the former Massachusett’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Brown used her knowledge of consumer trends to hold her own with co-host Todd Fineberg.

The conversation ran from the GMAC Insurance Driver’s Test, which yearly ranks Massachusetts at the botton of all drivers in the USA, to stemming the tide of obesity in light of the study released today by the American Heart Association.

Overall, a great showing for Erika and the Agency.  Seems all that media training of clients must have rubbed off!

We’ll post excerpts from the show as soon as it’s available.

Cercone Brown & Co. Wins Prestigious New England Direct Marketing Association Award for Best B-to-B Website

Boston Advertising & PR Firm’s Own Site Takes Silver in Interactive Category

June 15, 2009 — When it comes to online public relations and interactive marketing, Boston social media marketing and PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. is practicing what they preach.

The firm’s own website has won a 2009 Silver NEDMA interactive award for best B-to-B website. Co-developed with partner agency, Overdrive Interactive, the site is designed to be an in-depth look at the online and interactive capabilities Cercone Brown can provide to its clients ranging from social media to online PR and marketing to website development.

“We live in an age where businesses must constantly evolve their online identity to align with their brand and messaging in innovative and well-crafted ways. To be recognized for our website efforts thus far by NEDMA is truly flattering,” said Cercone Brown Partner Len Cercone.

The site is designed to be more than a showcase for the firms work, and is meant to help prospects quickly answer their most important questions when researching an online PR and marketing agency. The site is also used as a new business tool and thus reflects the Cercone Brown brand, messaging and culture, in addition to its advertising, media relations and online marketing campaigns.

“What’s funny about winning this award is that we’re always lamenting that we’re too busy to do our own marketing.  The site is really just a fraction of what we hope it will become,” said Cercone.

Future plans for the website include adding more interactive features and feedback, as well as truly displaying the agency’s full creative and media relations capabilities both in the social mediasphere and beyond through case studies, blogs, white papers, and inventive campaigns perfectly executed.

About Cercone Brown & Co.
Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Cercone Brown & Co. (CBC) provides branding, advertising, public relations and promotions services to companies in a range of industries. Founded in 2001, the company has worked with leading brands that include adidas, GMAC Insurance, Hasbro, Castrol GTX, Nantucket Nectars, Orvis, Cognos, Sperry Top-Sider, K2, The Timberland Company, Vibram and ZOOTS. For more information, visit www.cerconebrown.com.

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41 Million Licensed Americans May be Unfit for Roads, According to Fifth Annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test

Most Knowledgeable Drivers in Idaho and Wisconsin, Least Knowledgeable in New York; Economic Concerns Trigger “Drive Less” Trends Across U.S.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released today found that 20.1 percent of licensed Americans – amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road – would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today. When probed on driving behavior, 30 percent of those surveyed say financial strains have triggered a desire to drive less and seek out new ways to save money.

Overall, findings from the fifth annual survey indicate the number of drivers with knowledge of basic road rules is decreasing, with this year’s test scores lower than last year’s (76.6 percent vs. 78.1 percent).

Idaho and Wisconsin drivers tied for first in the nation, with an average test score of 80.6 percent; New York drivers ranked last, with an average score of 70.5 percent. This is the second time Idaho ranked first and the second time New York has ranked last in the survey’s five-year history.

“When we began this campaign five years ago, we embarked on a mission to help drivers become more aware of the rules of the road,” said Wade Bontrager, senior vice president, Affinity Division, GMAC Insurance.  “We’ve seen the results ebb and flow, and this year, scores are down. This reiterates the fact that each and every one of us need to continually be brushing up on safe driving practices.”

In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with the lowest average test scores in the Northeast, while the states in the Midwest held the highest averages. When comparing genders, men are still more likely to pass the test than women, but the gap is considerably smaller in 2009 (81 percent of males versus 79 percent of females) than in 2008 (87 percent of males versus 80 percent of females).

Respondents continued to have difficulty on questions about yellow lights and safe following distances, while almost all drivers answered correctly what a solid line meant.

Additional key findings from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test include:

•    With Age Comes Wisdom: The older the driver, the higher the test score. Drivers 35+ years old were most likely to pass. The age group with the highest failure rates was young adults (18 to 24 years old). White males older than 45 received the highest average score.
•    The Northeast had the lowest average test scores (74.5 percent), the South had the highest failure rate (41 percent). The Midwest had the highest average test scores (79 percent) and the lowest failure rates (15 percent).
•    Idaho and Wisconsin replaced Kansas’s 2008 ranking as most knowledgeable; New York replaced New Jersey’s 2008 ranking as least knowledgeable.

Survey Says: Economic Concerns Causing People to Drive Less
In addition to the 20-question DMV exam, GMAC Insurance posed subsequent questions exploring participants’ planned driving habits for the following year and their take on mileage-based auto insurance programs (pay-as-you-drive insurance). These findings reveal:

•    Approximately 30 percent of drivers surveyed reported they plan on driving less within the following 12 months, with the primary reason being “worry over the economy” (74 percent). Twenty-four percent indicated they plan on driving less to “reduce expenses due to financial problems.”
•    Ninety-three percent of respondents had never heard of a “pay as you go insurance” pricing model for automobile insurance.
•    However, one-in-three drivers (35 percent) would enroll in a “pay as you go insurance” program, such as the GMAC Insurance Low-Mileage Discount (OnStar.GMACInsurance.com), if their insurance company offered one.

State Rankings
Where are the most knowledgeable drivers in the nation?  The following is a complete list of state rankings for the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test.

1    ID            19    NM            37    LA
1    WI            20    NC            38    TN
3    MT            21    VA            38    MS
4    KS            22    IN            40    SC
5    SD            22    MI            40    MD
5    NE            24    AR            42    CT
7    UT            24    TX            43    FL
8    WY            26    AL            44    DC
8    IA            26    NV            45    MA
8    OR            28    WV            46    RI
8    MN            29    IL            47    GA
12    AK            30    AZ            48    CA
12    ND            31    ME            49    HI
14    VT            32    DE            50    NJ
15    CO            33    NH            51    NY
15    MO            34    OH
17    OK            35    KY
17    WA            36    PA

The survey, which polled more than 5,000 licensed Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is designed to gauge driver knowledge by administering 20 actual questions taken from state Department of Motor Vehicles exams. The margin of error for the total sample surveyed is 1.4 percent.

Get in the Driver’s Seat:  Take the Test Yourself
GMAC Insurance encourages the public to put their skills to the test at www.gmacinsurance.com.  Play a quirky driving game, take the written test itself, compare your score to the national average and challenge friends to top your score via email and Facebook.  Also, see how your state ranked in previous years and, most importantly, brush up on safe driving tips.

The GMAC Insurance survey was administered by TNS, a leading market information resource and the world’s largest provider of custom research and analysis. The national sample was comprised of 5,183 licensed drivers in the United States, aged 16-60+. For more information about TNS, please visit www.tns-us.com.

For more information about GMAC Insurance coverage and to find a local independent agent, call 877-468-3466, or visit www.gmacinsurance.com.

The GMAC Insurance Group is one of the largest automobile insurers in the United States and is a wholly owned subsidiary of GMAC Financial Services. GMAC Insurance Personal Lines offers a variety of property and casualty products, including personal auto, RV, motorcycle, commercial auto and homeowners insurance.  With a nationwide network of claims professionals, local independent agents and a 24-hour, toll-free claims hotline available 365 days a year, GMAC Insurance provides superior claims service for its customers.

About GMAC Financial Services
GMAC is a bank holding company with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. GMAC specializes in automotive finance, mortgage operations, insurance, commercial finance and online banking.  As of March 31, 2009, the company had approximately $180 billion in assets and serviced 15 million customers around the world. Visit the GMAC media site at http://media.gmacfs.com for more information.

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