Press Release
Teaching kids about money isn't rocket science
ING DIRECT launches contest for kids, summer savings tips for parents
Toronto, ON - June 21, 2010 - ING DIRECT wants to get more kids and their parents talking about money and is encouraging them to visit Planet Orange® (www.orangekids.ca), an interactive web experience for children using rocket ships and an outer space theme that makes learning about money entertaining and educational. And this summer, by exploring Planet Orange, kids get a chance to win great prizes in a first-ever Planet Orange contest, while learning more about how money works.
"We want to help kids learn that saving money can be fun," says Peter Aceto, President & CEO of ING DIRECT. "On Planet Orange, kids get to play a number of adventure games that help them discover the importance and value of money. We believe that exploring the concepts of earning, spending and saving in a virtual world will go a long way in preparing kids for their real world savings adventures."
Planet Orange, launched by ING DIRECT last September, features Amy and Cedric, two astronauts that children can choose to help steer them through four quirky cities on the planet. Space travelers must "earn" the money to fuel their space ships and can only "purchase" items for their space ship if their budget permits. The adventure begins on Mandarin Mountains, the planet that teaches the value and importance of money. Tangy Town is the second stop where children learn about budgeting, banking and paychecks. Naval City makes children aware of credit, interest and inflation. The last stop, Orangeopolis, introduces investing, stocks, diversification and risk. After the tasks are completed on each continent, the children are given a brief quiz of lessons learned and earn a certificate for answering all the questions correctly.
Parents and teachers may find that they can learn a thing or two from Amy and Cedric as well. It's not everyday that we think about the concept of compounding interest, both as it relates to savings and debt. With interest rates on the rise, the impact of compounding interest may force Canadians to take a serious look at their spending and saving habits.
Compounding interest is one of the most important concepts explored on Planet Orange and through the summer contest developed by ING DIRECT in partnership with OWL and chickaDEE magazines, kids will have the chance to win a Grand Prize of a $250 ING DIRECT Children's Savings Account, a piggy bank and a book, Money, Money, Money: Where It Comes From, How To Save It, Spend it and Make it, published by Owlkids Books. If left in a high-interest savings account, that $250 would double in about 20 years*.
- Second prize is a $100 ING DIRECT Children's Saving Account, piggy bank and book.
- Third prize is a $50 ING DIRECT Children's Savings Account, piggy, bank and book.
- Ten runners up will win a piggy bank to start their savings.
The contest ends on August 31, 2010. More details can be found at ingdirect.ca/contest.
All kids have to do to enter is visit orangekids.ca, sign up as an astronaut, complete their first mission called Mandarin Mountains, print out a Certificate of Exploration, and then mail it in to the Planet Orange Contest. (Kids will get their parents to help them fill out their name, age, address, phone number, parent's name, e-mail and signature).
ING DIRECT is also providing Summer Savings Tips for Parents, offering ideas about how to have family fun while saving money, such as Get Crafty, Take them to the Market, and Take the Party Outside. There are also tips to encourage parents to teach kids about giving. The Savings Tips will be tweeted from @SuperStarSaver daily, from June 21 to June 27, and also reside on ING DIRECT's Facebook page - www.facebook.com/superstarsaver.
® Planet Orange and Orange Kids are trademarks of ING Bank of Canada.
* Assumes 3% interest rate, compounded annually.
About Planet Orange
Planet Orange at www.orangekids.ca is an exciting new planet in the deepest reaches of outer space that helps kids learn about earning, spending, saving and investing. Planet Orange gives children a chance to embark on a variety of targeted space missions and discover the importance and value of money, along with personal finance lessons through fun and engaging games and activities.
While on Planet Orange, children in grades one through six can rocket through space to four different continents that teach the fundamentals of earning, saving, spending and investing. The interactive, space-themed website comes fully equipped with a Teacher Resource Center that includes teacher tutorials, free lesson plans and supplemental information and tools to enhance the learning experience. There is also a Parent Centre that walks parents through the site and addresses how ING DIRECT protects the privacy of their kids online.
The Planet Orange space missions allow children to select and steer their astronaut through four quirky cities on Planet Orange. Space travelers must "earn" the money to fuel their space ships and can only "purchase" items for their space ship if their budget permits. Through the able assistance of space guides Cedric and Amy, adventures begin on Mandarin Mountains, the planet that teaches the value and importance of money. Tangy Townis the second stop where children learn about budgeting, banking and paychecks. Naval City makes children aware of credit, interest and inflation. The last stop, Orangeopolis, introduces investing, stocks, diversification and risk. After the tasks are completed on each continent, the children are given a brief quiz of lessons learned and earn a certificate for answering all the questions correctly.
On breaks between missions, Planet Orange travelers can hang out at their space station and spend Obux - Planet Orange outer space money - on games, decorations and costumes for their avatar astronaut. When Obux run low, there are always plenty of ways to earn more.
About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT is Canada's leading direct bank with over 1.6 million Clients and more than $29 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT gives the power of saving to all Canadians by offering high-value, simple products such as high interest savings accounts with no fees or service charges, and low rates on mortgages. Low cost, index based mutual funds are sold through ING Direct Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and has paid more than $4 billion in interest to Clients. ING DIRECT is open for banking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at ingdirect.ca, on mobile devices at m.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1-800-464-3473).
Follow Peter Aceto on Twitter at: Twitter.com/CEO_INGDIRECT
And find ING DIRECT at: Facebook.com/SuperStarSaver; Twitter.com/SuperStarSaver; YouTube.com/SuperStarSaver
