Ivanette Bonilla Chief Communications & Government Relations Officer of Kidde | CEOs You Should Know
March 26, 2025 • 18 mins
Ivanette Bonilla Chief Communications & Government Relations Officer of Kidde | CEOs You Should Know
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone of the Steve Doll sign. Welcome to this
week's edition of CEOs. You should know I am thrilled
to be joined by even that, the chief communications and
government relations officer for KIDDA. Thanks for having me, Thanks
for being here today. We're so excited to be able
to have a conversation and dive into a little bit
more about your background and all about KIDDA. So why
don't we kick off today learning more about you. Can
(00:21):
you share a little bit about your background and your
journey and what led you to KIDDA.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, so I have an interesting background. I actually studied
industrial engineering wow. Yes, And I started my career as
a research and development engineer. I started working with Procter
and Gamble and worked for a couple of years. Moved
to manufacturing, so I worked as a process engineer for
a pharmaceutical plant that we had in Puerto Rico, where
(00:46):
I'm from actually, and then I moved into communications. After
you know, I did the technical thing. I liked it,
but really my passion was more on the creative. I
wanted to move into the commercial side of the business,
and so that's when I made a move and it's
been a great transition.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I just love the work I do.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That's awesome. Yeah, And of all the brands out there,
you've worked with a lot of different well known brands
within the industry. What ultimately led you to Kida?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So I've always been driven by brands that have a mission,
that have a purpose. And so while I was a
precter and Gamble, I worked with many different brands, including Always,
and that brand was really focused on helping girls get
the confidence through puberty. And now with Kita, it's a
different purpose, but it's all centered around helping save lives.
And so what greater mission and purpose than that. I mean,
(01:34):
it can't beat that. So for me, that was like
a no brainer.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, absolutely, very fulfilling mission. And kid has been the
trusted leader in fire safety for over one hundred years.
What do you think is the key to maintaining that
leadership in the industry.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, I think it's a relentless focus on consumers and
people at the end of the day, a focus on quality,
making sure that your products their life safety products, so
you have to have that, and then a focus on innovation. Right,
you can't get stuck otherwise it's one hundred year old
brand we wouldn't be around if we didn't have innovation
and if we really didn't at the end of the day,
(02:07):
really care about the people that we're serving. So at
the end of the day, it's all.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
About that, absolutely. And I think the amazing thing that
I've got to experience firsthand is all the really great
work you guys do for the community. You've been really
the champion of closing the gap with fire safety. Many
people sometimes underestimate the risk I think of house fires.
Can you share some of the surprising fire safety stats
and tips that everybody really should know.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I think that's one of the biggest issues that we see.
People don't think that it's going to happen to them.
That's why when we talk to people, they don't even
know what smoke alarm they have or what carbon monoxide
alarm they have if they have it right, and so
people actually think. There's forty percent of people think that
they're going to win the lottery or get struck by
lightning before having house fire.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
It's wild.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's wild.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah. And actually in the US there's a house fire
every eighty eight seconds, okay, yeah, and every year about
three thousand people die in house fires in the US,
which is you know it's unheard of, right, like, yeah,
one too many exactly. And so when you look at
the statistics, three out of five house fire deaths happen
in properties where they don't have working smoke alarms. The
(03:17):
alarm might be there, but the battery might have been
removed right or you know, it started chirping, they took
it down and they forgot to yes, exactly, so many
times that's what happens. But when you see the numbers
and you see the statistics, smoke alarms can actually double
the chances of you escaping a house fire safely. So
at the end of the day, just by having the device,
testing it, making sure it's working that in itself, and
(03:40):
being prepared, preparing your family if there's an emergency, making
sure everyone knows what to do. That's what's going to
make the difference. And that's what we try to focus on.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Absolutely and a great, great focus area to have you
guys have been you mentioned this earlier, really at the
forefront of innovation when it comes to home safety. Can
you share a little bit about the innovations that you've
gone through in the last few years.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Absolutely, the smoke alarm and coo alarm category has been
it's really an industry that doesn't move fast in terms
of innovation, right, But for Kida, we've been really focused
on leveraging technology, leveraging innovation to move the needle. So
just last year we launched a new line of products
called Kita Detect and the products themselves has twenty five
(04:24):
percent faster detection, three times more precise detection. And the
thing is every second counts. You only have about two
minutes to escape a house fire, right, so if you're alarmed,
you know, does detect it faster, you have a better
probability of getting out right. So with new sensing technology
we can do that. The other thing is reducing nuisance alarms.
So when you're cooking, for example, if that smoke alarm turns,
(04:47):
you know, goes off and it's not really a fire
and you, for example, remove batteries or do something.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
To it that puts you at risk.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And so by reducing nuisance alarms with technology, then it
makes sure that people are safe, right, So that's.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
One of the things we do.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And then the other new technology that we have is
smart technology. Right, everything smart in the home, So why
not the smoke alarm, right, and the smoke and co alarm.
And so we just recently talked and launched a new
partnership that we have with Ring. Okay, so kidda thinks
smoke alarm and smoking with the ring right, with Ring
technology embedded in it, so that you know, if you
(05:23):
already have Ring products and you have the Ring app,
then it's all integrated in one place. Right, and if
you're out and about and if anything happens, you're gonna
have no.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Notification right on your phone.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
How cool is that? Right?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That is really cool. I think one of those Yeah,
you got one.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Absolutely. One of the biggest initiatives you guys have really
giving back to the community is Costs for Alarm, which
addresses fire safety among all communities. Right. Can you share
a little bit about the inspiration behind that program and
what really led to it.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, So Kida has been working on community risk reduction
for decades, you know, one hundred year old brand. Yes,
we've do this for a long time. But it was
really in twenty twenty two, about three years ago, that
there were two fires that happened in the beginning of
the year in January back to back less than a
week apart. One was the Philadelphia fire and one was
(06:13):
here in New York City in the Bronx. Between those
two fires, twenty nine people died, seventeen of which were children,
which again is kind of like, how is that happening? Right?
And so for us, while we're in the business and
we've seen this happen time and time again, that was
so shocking.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It really shook us to the core.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
We really were motivated to double down on the effort
and want to do more. And so that really put
the Cause for Alarm journey in motion. And the name
of the campaign is kind of a play on words, right.
So you look at the statistics, for example, the black
community nearly twice as likely to die in a house
fire children every day a child dies of a house fire.
(06:53):
Like those are alarming statistics, right, yep. But when you
have smoke alarm, when you have seal alarm, your probabilities
of a escaping double like I mentioned, right, So it
is Cause for Alarm, right, staggering statistics, but products and
education that can help you save you know, your family,
protect your family. So so really that's what put it
in motion. And you look at the stats and they
(07:15):
repeat themselves, you know, same communities being impacted time and
time again, and.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So the elderly as well, people with disability, pets.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Pets sometimes obviously don't know what to do and many
times firefighters come and find them, you know, unfortunately you know,
passed away. So that's one of the things that really
got us, you know, to focus on that effort. And
so the Cause for Alarm campaign has three pillars. We
focus on three things. One is education. We feel education
is like super important. Right. If you don't know, you
(07:44):
don't know, you don't know, right, people won't be aware
that with these products, you know, you can be better protected.
Knowing what to do if the alarm sounds. Also your kids,
if you have kids them, knowing what to do. Many
times firefighters find kids hiding, right, and some times it's
too late, and so we don't want that to happen
to anyone. Yeah, so we want to focus on education,
(08:05):
access to products, right, making sure that people know that
the smoke and CEO alarms can help protect you, making
sure that you have making sure that the people know
too that they expire.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
They have a ten year life some people.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Some people have alarms in their house years they're like
twenty years old.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Like, no, that's not really going to protect.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Try to get the innovation you guys have.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
They need to get the innovation.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They need to make it a priority, right Fire CEO
safety make it a priority. So that's two, and then
three is driving systemic change. We work a lot to
make sure that you know the standards and codes and
regulations also require that right as new buildings and new
homes are are being built, that they have those fire
and co safety measures integrated into it so that we
can help protect more people hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I mean, it's great work you guys are doing to
raise awareness of it in the education part, Like after
I heard this is yesterday, it resonate home with me
or I'm I'm a father of too, so as soon
as they hear it. Obviously the cistics around children. I
went home to my wife and was like, what is ours?
What fire alarm do we have? So we're all just speeding.
We do have kid of product, So to throw that
out there. Sticking on the education topic, obviously, that's probably
(09:09):
one of the most important pillars raising that awareness to
prevent those fire tragedies. Can you tell us a little
bit about your creative campaigns Beeps to Last, Get Out Fast,
and how Kit has been using that storyline to really
impact change.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, so that's one of the things that in our
category we have to do be creative because again we
aren't necessarily the sexiest of categories. Right, It's not a
new phone or a new tennis shoe. So as we
think of the importance of smoke alarms and seal alarms,
how can we connect with people, right, how can we
grab their attention?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
It's a busy world.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I get it, We're all busy, right, but how can
we do something that gets your attention and really teaches
you something at the most simplest of levels. Right, So
Beeps that Last Get Out Fast so is really centered
around children and making sure that they know what to
do in the event of a five which and the
reality is if that alarm sounds, you get out fast, right,
(10:03):
don't hide, don't look for anything, just get out. And
then for parents to work with their kids so that
they can practice that and that they also have a
meeting spot. It's not just get out of your house
and keep walking. No finest spot where you can meet
so that then together you can call nine one one
and whatnot so we created the jingle Beep set Last,
(10:23):
get Out Fast. It's kind of a catchy tune, and
we have a video that goes with it, and we
use that in our educational efforts. We created a children's
book as well, and we use that. Yeah, we use
that in schools and in summer camps as well to
spread the message. We give it to firefighters when they're
doing their efforts as well. So we try to share
resources obviously with the communities that we work with as well.
(10:47):
And then last year we created what we call the
Living Jingle, which was taking that jingle and having kids
that had survived fires sing it, you know, hearing it
from their voices, right, they were able to get out
testfully and they want to teach others how to do
that too.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well. I've had the pleasure of being able to hear
the jingle and see the video, and I can tell
you it definitely really resonates in a really creative emotional way.
So great job, Thank you, great job with that. So
partnerships also play a huge role in the fire safety awareness, Right,
how is kid of working with organizations like the Home
Depot and iHeart me to spread these critical messages.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Yeah, well, it takes a village, right this work.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
You can't do it alone. We have we have not
done it all alone. We have to work with others. That's
the most effective way to make change. So we've been
working with the Home Depot for many years and really
focus on driving the education but also doing donations to
fire departments across the country. So we work with them
and they help us take the donations to the firefighters.
(11:46):
Sometimes we have drive by events where the fire trucks
come and we load them with the different you know,
smoke and co alarms. So Home DEEPO has been a
big part of that, and obviously iHeart is a partner
that started from the beginning with us and help us
spread the word. Of course, with the re that you
guys have and the ability to connect with people across
the country with such an important message and also leveraging
(12:06):
your talent.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Again, it's making it relevant. When people hear.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Messages from people that they connect with or they hear
they're more likely to pay attention. So honestly, it's like
the best of all worlds coming together right for a
common cause.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Or we're very grateful to be part of the partnership.
So thank you for utilizing us absolutely looking you ahead.
I know we talked about the different innovations within KIDDA.
What's next? Are there other products? Are the strategies that
you guys are looking forward to in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, So we're excited about the Ring partnership. We announced
it in January, but the product actually is going to
hit the stores in April.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Okay, Yeah, so that for.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Us, we're like waiting, just waiting for that because I
think it's going to be a great partnership as people
integrate it, you know, the Ring product, it's embedded in
a product that many.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
People already have.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
But then it also has the opportunity to people to
subscribe to a twenty four to seven of fire and
Coeo monitoring service, which is really neat again making life simple.
We're all busy, and if you get integrated into your
phone right or into something that already exists that you have,
why not.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
So that's really exciting. We're really looking forward to that.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And then we continue to find ways to connect our
products to other home safety opportunities. So we also have
you probably don't know this, but we also have a
water leak detector, We have heat alarms, gas alarms, so
we have fire escape ladders of course as you're creating.
So we have a full scope of products that we provide,
(13:34):
and from an innovation standpoint, we're really focused on continuing
the connected device space and looking to provide solutions for
other home hazards. Really becoming a home safety holistic provider.
So that's what we're focused on.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
That's great. Yeah, So in addition to the products and
the development and the innovation, what's next in the next
few years when it comes to raising awareness around fire STAFY,
what are some of the key goals or different benchmarks
you have set?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, so we our main goal is really closing that
fire protection gap. There's only about thirty percent of homes
in the US that are protected to the NFPA standards.
NFPA is the National Fire Protection Association, So our goal
is really to close that gap through education and coming
up with these creative campaigns, working with you guys on
spreading the message. So our job is not done and
(14:23):
we'll continue to try to find creative ways connecting with communities.
We have an event coming up at a local Bronx
Home Depot store hoping to spread the message wide, you know,
cast a wide net, and so we won't stop. You know,
our job's not done and we'll continue to work with
our partners to further the message.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I love to hear that. I look forward to seeing
that happen too. So let's talk a little bit about you.
So you are a working mom of for you balance
obviously a demanding career, but still maintain your family life.
What motivates you every single day? And what advice would
you give our listeners to continue to do so.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Some people ask me how do you do it?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I'm like, I don't know now, But for me, you know, motivation,
my kids, my family, my faith, and honestly a job
that gives me the opportunity to make a positive impact
people's lives. Like that's so rewarding. So really that's what
drives me every day. And then in terms of advice,
you know, I would just say, like, you know, especially
(15:19):
for young women maybe thinking about a career and engineering,
or a career in communications or even government relations, like
you know, opportunities are so many, right, yeah, if And
I think it's so important for young people to believe
in themselves. Sometimes we have these doubts in our heads
of like can I really do this well, actually, yeah,
Like you know, you need to believe in yourself before
others will, So that's like the first thing. And then
(15:41):
having the confidence to speak up. I remember when I
started my career, looking back now, it's like, well, I
was kind of shy to speak up or ask questions
like no, you know, you have the same right as
the other person has been there, you know, twenty years,
So that's really important.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
And then you know, you will.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Have obstacles that come up, but it's okay. You know,
you get up and you keep going. You can't give up, right,
So so for me, that's that's been the three things
that I.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Always go by and I would share as advice.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
That's great advice. So we talked about a lot of
exciting stuff right personally and professionally and about Kidda. But
what's next? What's next for you? What's next for Kida?
What are you excited about?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Yeah, well, I'm excited about continuing our mission to be honest,
you know, continuing to work with our partners to share
this great message, coming up with creative ways to do that,
using technology to solve those problems. Really you know, trying
to embed ourselves into people's lives in a relevant way,
in a meaningful way, and I really just you know,
we hope to make fire and CEO safety a priority
(16:38):
and that people you know do that as well, because
at the end of the day, is about you know,
helping protect your family, you know, and really that's the
crux of the work that we do.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Absolutely well. You educated our listeners today a ton about
fire safety. But if there's one thing you want everyone
to take away that's tuning in about fire and CEO safety,
what would.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
That be That it matters, fires safety matters you know,
we need to pay attention to it, you need to
take action. Nobody's going to do it for you, so
educate yourself on what it is. And it's as simple
as having the right alarms and detection smoke alarms and
COEO alarms and then preparing your family and the event
of fire. Hopefully it never happens to you, but if
(17:18):
it does, then you're you're going to be prepared. It's
all about being prepared. So really again, it's making it
a priority and making it a part of your everyday life,
just as any other part of your home life.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Great advice if anyone is tuning in that wants to
learn more about KIDA or some of the initiatives you
guys partake in. What would your advice be.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, so we have Kida dot com as our website.
You can go there and learn more about all our
products and all our innovation. And then you can go
to couse for Alarm dot org to find out more
information about our social impact campaigns, educational materials.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
We have toolkits, we have the beeps.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
That last video there, the living jingle, all sorts of
really creative fun tools for families to use as they
prepare their fire escape plans.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Awesome. Why I encourage everyone to check it out. It
really is an amazing cause and an amazing initiative. So
thank you for doing such phenomenal work.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Thank you so much, and thanks for your partnership.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Thanks sold Well, thank you for coming in today. We
really enjoyed learning about your background, learning more about KIDDA,
and learning about all the amazing work you guys do.
So really appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Awesome Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Thank you everybody for tuning in and next week for
next week's edition of CEOs. You should know
Hi, everyone of the Steve Doll sign. Welcome to this
week's edition of CEOs. You should know I am thrilled
to be joined by even that, the chief communications and
government relations officer for KIDDA. Thanks for having me, Thanks
for being here today. We're so excited to be able
to have a conversation and dive into a little bit
more about your background and all about KIDDA. So why
don't we kick off today learning more about you. Can
(00:21):
you share a little bit about your background and your
journey and what led you to KIDDA.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, so I have an interesting background. I actually studied
industrial engineering wow. Yes, And I started my career as
a research and development engineer. I started working with Procter
and Gamble and worked for a couple of years. Moved
to manufacturing, so I worked as a process engineer for
a pharmaceutical plant that we had in Puerto Rico, where
(00:46):
I'm from actually, and then I moved into communications. After
you know, I did the technical thing. I liked it,
but really my passion was more on the creative. I
wanted to move into the commercial side of the business,
and so that's when I made a move and it's
been a great transition.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I just love the work I do.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That's awesome. Yeah, And of all the brands out there,
you've worked with a lot of different well known brands
within the industry. What ultimately led you to Kida?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So I've always been driven by brands that have a mission,
that have a purpose. And so while I was a
precter and Gamble, I worked with many different brands, including Always,
and that brand was really focused on helping girls get
the confidence through puberty. And now with Kita, it's a
different purpose, but it's all centered around helping save lives.
And so what greater mission and purpose than that. I mean,
(01:34):
it can't beat that. So for me, that was like
a no brainer.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, absolutely, very fulfilling mission. And kid has been the
trusted leader in fire safety for over one hundred years.
What do you think is the key to maintaining that
leadership in the industry.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, I think it's a relentless focus on consumers and
people at the end of the day, a focus on quality,
making sure that your products their life safety products, so
you have to have that, and then a focus on innovation. Right,
you can't get stuck otherwise it's one hundred year old
brand we wouldn't be around if we didn't have innovation
and if we really didn't at the end of the day,
(02:07):
really care about the people that we're serving. So at
the end of the day, it's all.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
About that, absolutely. And I think the amazing thing that
I've got to experience firsthand is all the really great
work you guys do for the community. You've been really
the champion of closing the gap with fire safety. Many
people sometimes underestimate the risk I think of house fires.
Can you share some of the surprising fire safety stats
and tips that everybody really should know.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I think that's one of the biggest issues that we see.
People don't think that it's going to happen to them.
That's why when we talk to people, they don't even
know what smoke alarm they have or what carbon monoxide
alarm they have if they have it right, and so
people actually think. There's forty percent of people think that
they're going to win the lottery or get struck by
lightning before having house fire.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
It's wild.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's wild.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah. And actually in the US there's a house fire
every eighty eight seconds, okay, yeah, and every year about
three thousand people die in house fires in the US,
which is you know it's unheard of, right, like, yeah,
one too many exactly. And so when you look at
the statistics, three out of five house fire deaths happen
in properties where they don't have working smoke alarms. The
(03:17):
alarm might be there, but the battery might have been
removed right or you know, it started chirping, they took
it down and they forgot to yes, exactly, so many
times that's what happens. But when you see the numbers
and you see the statistics, smoke alarms can actually double
the chances of you escaping a house fire safely. So
at the end of the day, just by having the device,
testing it, making sure it's working that in itself, and
(03:40):
being prepared, preparing your family if there's an emergency, making
sure everyone knows what to do. That's what's going to
make the difference. And that's what we try to focus on.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Absolutely and a great, great focus area to have you
guys have been you mentioned this earlier, really at the
forefront of innovation when it comes to home safety. Can
you share a little bit about the innovations that you've
gone through in the last few years.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Absolutely, the smoke alarm and coo alarm category has been
it's really an industry that doesn't move fast in terms
of innovation, right, But for Kida, we've been really focused
on leveraging technology, leveraging innovation to move the needle. So
just last year we launched a new line of products
called Kita Detect and the products themselves has twenty five
(04:24):
percent faster detection, three times more precise detection. And the
thing is every second counts. You only have about two
minutes to escape a house fire, right, so if you're alarmed,
you know, does detect it faster, you have a better
probability of getting out right. So with new sensing technology
we can do that. The other thing is reducing nuisance alarms.
So when you're cooking, for example, if that smoke alarm turns,
(04:47):
you know, goes off and it's not really a fire
and you, for example, remove batteries or do something.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
To it that puts you at risk.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And so by reducing nuisance alarms with technology, then it
makes sure that people are safe, right, So that's.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
One of the things we do.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And then the other new technology that we have is
smart technology. Right, everything smart in the home, So why
not the smoke alarm, right, and the smoke and co alarm.
And so we just recently talked and launched a new
partnership that we have with Ring. Okay, so kidda thinks
smoke alarm and smoking with the ring right, with Ring
technology embedded in it, so that you know, if you
(05:23):
already have Ring products and you have the Ring app,
then it's all integrated in one place. Right, and if
you're out and about and if anything happens, you're gonna
have no.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Notification right on your phone.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
How cool is that? Right?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That is really cool. I think one of those Yeah,
you got one.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Absolutely. One of the biggest initiatives you guys have really
giving back to the community is Costs for Alarm, which
addresses fire safety among all communities. Right. Can you share
a little bit about the inspiration behind that program and
what really led to it.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, So Kida has been working on community risk reduction
for decades, you know, one hundred year old brand. Yes,
we've do this for a long time. But it was
really in twenty twenty two, about three years ago, that
there were two fires that happened in the beginning of
the year in January back to back less than a
week apart. One was the Philadelphia fire and one was
(06:13):
here in New York City in the Bronx. Between those
two fires, twenty nine people died, seventeen of which were children,
which again is kind of like, how is that happening? Right?
And so for us, while we're in the business and
we've seen this happen time and time again, that was
so shocking.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It really shook us to the core.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
We really were motivated to double down on the effort
and want to do more. And so that really put
the Cause for Alarm journey in motion. And the name
of the campaign is kind of a play on words, right.
So you look at the statistics, for example, the black
community nearly twice as likely to die in a house
fire children every day a child dies of a house fire.
(06:53):
Like those are alarming statistics, right, yep. But when you
have smoke alarm, when you have seal alarm, your probabilities
of a escaping double like I mentioned, right, So it
is Cause for Alarm, right, staggering statistics, but products and
education that can help you save you know, your family,
protect your family. So so really that's what put it
in motion. And you look at the stats and they
(07:15):
repeat themselves, you know, same communities being impacted time and
time again, and.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So the elderly as well, people with disability, pets.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Pets sometimes obviously don't know what to do and many
times firefighters come and find them, you know, unfortunately you know,
passed away. So that's one of the things that really
got us, you know, to focus on that effort. And
so the Cause for Alarm campaign has three pillars. We
focus on three things. One is education. We feel education
is like super important. Right. If you don't know, you
(07:44):
don't know, you don't know, right, people won't be aware
that with these products, you know, you can be better protected.
Knowing what to do if the alarm sounds. Also your kids,
if you have kids them, knowing what to do. Many
times firefighters find kids hiding, right, and some times it's
too late, and so we don't want that to happen
to anyone. Yeah, so we want to focus on education,
(08:05):
access to products, right, making sure that people know that
the smoke and CEO alarms can help protect you, making
sure that you have making sure that the people know
too that they expire.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
They have a ten year life some people.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Some people have alarms in their house years they're like
twenty years old.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Like, no, that's not really going to protect.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Try to get the innovation you guys have.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
They need to get the innovation.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They need to make it a priority, right Fire CEO
safety make it a priority. So that's two, and then
three is driving systemic change. We work a lot to
make sure that you know the standards and codes and
regulations also require that right as new buildings and new
homes are are being built, that they have those fire
and co safety measures integrated into it so that we
can help protect more people hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I mean, it's great work you guys are doing to
raise awareness of it in the education part, Like after
I heard this is yesterday, it resonate home with me
or I'm I'm a father of too, so as soon
as they hear it. Obviously the cistics around children. I
went home to my wife and was like, what is ours?
What fire alarm do we have? So we're all just speeding.
We do have kid of product, So to throw that
out there. Sticking on the education topic, obviously, that's probably
(09:09):
one of the most important pillars raising that awareness to
prevent those fire tragedies. Can you tell us a little
bit about your creative campaigns Beeps to Last, Get Out Fast,
and how Kit has been using that storyline to really
impact change.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, so that's one of the things that in our
category we have to do be creative because again we
aren't necessarily the sexiest of categories. Right, It's not a
new phone or a new tennis shoe. So as we
think of the importance of smoke alarms and seal alarms,
how can we connect with people, right, how can we
grab their attention?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
It's a busy world.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I get it, We're all busy, right, but how can
we do something that gets your attention and really teaches
you something at the most simplest of levels. Right, So
Beeps that Last Get Out Fast so is really centered
around children and making sure that they know what to
do in the event of a five which and the
reality is if that alarm sounds, you get out fast, right,
(10:03):
don't hide, don't look for anything, just get out. And
then for parents to work with their kids so that
they can practice that and that they also have a
meeting spot. It's not just get out of your house
and keep walking. No finest spot where you can meet
so that then together you can call nine one one
and whatnot so we created the jingle Beep set Last,
(10:23):
get Out Fast. It's kind of a catchy tune, and
we have a video that goes with it, and we
use that in our educational efforts. We created a children's
book as well, and we use that. Yeah, we use
that in schools and in summer camps as well to
spread the message. We give it to firefighters when they're
doing their efforts as well. So we try to share
resources obviously with the communities that we work with as well.
(10:47):
And then last year we created what we call the
Living Jingle, which was taking that jingle and having kids
that had survived fires sing it, you know, hearing it
from their voices, right, they were able to get out
testfully and they want to teach others how to do
that too.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well. I've had the pleasure of being able to hear
the jingle and see the video, and I can tell
you it definitely really resonates in a really creative emotional way.
So great job, Thank you, great job with that. So
partnerships also play a huge role in the fire safety awareness, Right,
how is kid of working with organizations like the Home
Depot and iHeart me to spread these critical messages.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Yeah, well, it takes a village, right this work.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
You can't do it alone. We have we have not
done it all alone. We have to work with others. That's
the most effective way to make change. So we've been
working with the Home Depot for many years and really
focus on driving the education but also doing donations to
fire departments across the country. So we work with them
and they help us take the donations to the firefighters.
(11:46):
Sometimes we have drive by events where the fire trucks
come and we load them with the different you know,
smoke and co alarms. So Home DEEPO has been a
big part of that, and obviously iHeart is a partner
that started from the beginning with us and help us
spread the word. Of course, with the re that you
guys have and the ability to connect with people across
the country with such an important message and also leveraging
(12:06):
your talent.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Again, it's making it relevant. When people hear.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Messages from people that they connect with or they hear
they're more likely to pay attention. So honestly, it's like
the best of all worlds coming together right for a
common cause.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Or we're very grateful to be part of the partnership.
So thank you for utilizing us absolutely looking you ahead.
I know we talked about the different innovations within KIDDA.
What's next? Are there other products? Are the strategies that
you guys are looking forward to in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, So we're excited about the Ring partnership. We announced
it in January, but the product actually is going to
hit the stores in April.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Okay, Yeah, so that for.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Us, we're like waiting, just waiting for that because I
think it's going to be a great partnership as people
integrate it, you know, the Ring product, it's embedded in
a product that many.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
People already have.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
But then it also has the opportunity to people to
subscribe to a twenty four to seven of fire and
Coeo monitoring service, which is really neat again making life simple.
We're all busy, and if you get integrated into your
phone right or into something that already exists that you have,
why not.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
So that's really exciting. We're really looking forward to that.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And then we continue to find ways to connect our
products to other home safety opportunities. So we also have
you probably don't know this, but we also have a
water leak detector, We have heat alarms, gas alarms, so
we have fire escape ladders of course as you're creating.
So we have a full scope of products that we provide,
(13:34):
and from an innovation standpoint, we're really focused on continuing
the connected device space and looking to provide solutions for
other home hazards. Really becoming a home safety holistic provider.
So that's what we're focused on.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
That's great. Yeah, So in addition to the products and
the development and the innovation, what's next in the next
few years when it comes to raising awareness around fire STAFY,
what are some of the key goals or different benchmarks
you have set?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, so we our main goal is really closing that
fire protection gap. There's only about thirty percent of homes
in the US that are protected to the NFPA standards.
NFPA is the National Fire Protection Association, So our goal
is really to close that gap through education and coming
up with these creative campaigns, working with you guys on
spreading the message. So our job is not done and
(14:23):
we'll continue to try to find creative ways connecting with communities.
We have an event coming up at a local Bronx
Home Depot store hoping to spread the message wide, you know,
cast a wide net, and so we won't stop. You know,
our job's not done and we'll continue to work with
our partners to further the message.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I love to hear that. I look forward to seeing
that happen too. So let's talk a little bit about you.
So you are a working mom of for you balance
obviously a demanding career, but still maintain your family life.
What motivates you every single day? And what advice would
you give our listeners to continue to do so.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Some people ask me how do you do it?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I'm like, I don't know now, But for me, you know, motivation,
my kids, my family, my faith, and honestly a job
that gives me the opportunity to make a positive impact
people's lives. Like that's so rewarding. So really that's what
drives me every day. And then in terms of advice,
you know, I would just say, like, you know, especially
(15:19):
for young women maybe thinking about a career and engineering,
or a career in communications or even government relations, like
you know, opportunities are so many, right, yeah, if And
I think it's so important for young people to believe
in themselves. Sometimes we have these doubts in our heads
of like can I really do this well, actually, yeah,
Like you know, you need to believe in yourself before
others will, So that's like the first thing. And then
(15:41):
having the confidence to speak up. I remember when I
started my career, looking back now, it's like, well, I
was kind of shy to speak up or ask questions
like no, you know, you have the same right as
the other person has been there, you know, twenty years,
So that's really important.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
And then you know, you will.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Have obstacles that come up, but it's okay. You know,
you get up and you keep going. You can't give up, right,
So so for me, that's that's been the three things
that I.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Always go by and I would share as advice.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
That's great advice. So we talked about a lot of
exciting stuff right personally and professionally and about Kidda. But
what's next? What's next for you? What's next for Kida?
What are you excited about?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Yeah, well, I'm excited about continuing our mission to be honest,
you know, continuing to work with our partners to share
this great message, coming up with creative ways to do that,
using technology to solve those problems. Really you know, trying
to embed ourselves into people's lives in a relevant way,
in a meaningful way, and I really just you know,
we hope to make fire and CEO safety a priority
(16:38):
and that people you know do that as well, because
at the end of the day, is about you know,
helping protect your family, you know, and really that's the
crux of the work that we do.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Absolutely well. You educated our listeners today a ton about
fire safety. But if there's one thing you want everyone
to take away that's tuning in about fire and CEO safety,
what would.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
That be That it matters, fires safety matters you know,
we need to pay attention to it, you need to
take action. Nobody's going to do it for you, so
educate yourself on what it is. And it's as simple
as having the right alarms and detection smoke alarms and
COEO alarms and then preparing your family and the event
of fire. Hopefully it never happens to you, but if
(17:18):
it does, then you're you're going to be prepared. It's
all about being prepared. So really again, it's making it
a priority and making it a part of your everyday life,
just as any other part of your home life.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Great advice if anyone is tuning in that wants to
learn more about KIDA or some of the initiatives you
guys partake in. What would your advice be.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, so we have Kida dot com as our website.
You can go there and learn more about all our
products and all our innovation. And then you can go
to couse for Alarm dot org to find out more
information about our social impact campaigns, educational materials.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
We have toolkits, we have the beeps.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
That last video there, the living jingle, all sorts of
really creative fun tools for families to use as they
prepare their fire escape plans.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Awesome. Why I encourage everyone to check it out. It
really is an amazing cause and an amazing initiative. So
thank you for doing such phenomenal work.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Thank you so much, and thanks for your partnership.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Thanks sold Well, thank you for coming in today. We
really enjoyed learning about your background, learning more about KIDDA,
and learning about all the amazing work you guys do.
So really appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Awesome Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Thank you everybody for tuning in and next week for
next week's edition of CEOs. You should know
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