Rhizome Images helps clients with responsible marketing efforts

SEATTLE, WA – RHIZOME IMAGES® has teamed up with DV STUDIOS, a design and marketing agency in Kansas City, Missouri to plant a Client Grove, through their stock purchases to help the environment and green their marketing efforts at the same time. The Client Grove is a tree dontation program that lets companies choose which American Forests ReLeaf Fund they would like to contribute to, and encourages the planting of at least 100 trees. An interactive, online grove tracks the purchased images and records how many trees were donated.

DV STUDIOS’ interest in planting a Client Grove began when the design firm purchased pictures from the RHIZOME IMAGES Collection for work on a project for TXU Energy. One of the largest electric utilities in Texas, TXU Energy serves more than 200 million customers a year. Dedicated to improving their conservation footprint, TXU Energy asked DV STUDIOS to create a series of brochures and mailers for their ‘green’ marketing efforts. A project that fell naturally within the guidelines of RHIZOME IMAGES’ own mission of sustainability and environmental support, DV STUDIO owner, Micah Sonderman, knew she would find the photos she needed in the RHIZOME IMAGES Collection. “I had worked with Robert Pennington before,” says Sonderman. “I knew about his commitment to the
environment so I was certain I could find what I needed within his Collection.” In fact, Sonderman purchased three images from the RHIZOME IMAGES Collection, which immediately kicked in RHIZOME IMAGES’Picturesque Forest Project donation process. “Every time you purchase a image from the Collection,” explains Sonderman, “RHIZOME IMAGES donates trees to an environmental cause.”

Jen Pennington of RHIZOME IMAGES contacted Sonderman to inquire whether DV STUDIOS would be interested in being part of the Client Grove pilot program. Additionally, Rhizome Images would put together a client certificate for Sonderman to give to her client. Pennington thought the Client Grove would fit the firm’s business profile and touch on a personal note. “I knew Micah was from Mississippi,” explains Pennington, “And I knew there was a Katrina ReLeaf Fund. The Client Grove seemed like a natural fit.”

Sonderman agreed. “When I realized planting a Client Grove would contribute to the reforesting of where I grew up, I signed up immediately.” An ideal way for the DV Studios to integrate its concern for the environment with a wish to run an environmentally sound business, the Client Grove was a perfect partnership. “This was easy,” says Sonderman. “I purchased images I needed to complete a job, and got so much more bang for our buck.”

In this case, the original purchase resulted in the donation of eleven trees to the Katrina ReLeaf Fund through American Forests’—the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation. With a matching donation from DV STUDIO’S, a total of twenty-two trees have been planted along the ravaged Gulf coast.

DV STUDIOS was started in 2001 by Sonderman and her husband, Jason. The firm has grown from an intimate artist’s concept in Seattle, WA to a thriving family business based in Kansas City, MO. Their client roster ranges from small, individually owned businesses to international clients including MasterCard, TurboTax, Colgate Palmolive, T-mobile, and Microsoft.