Hooray for Thursday: Launching Ottawa This Week

Notice anything different in your mailbox recently? No, not that surprise “gift bag” left by Halloween pranksters. We’re talking about the inaugural copy of Ottawa This Week, a new weekly newspaper that landed on doorsteps across metro Ottawa last Thursday.

Ottawa This Week features “hyper-local” content such as neighbourhood news, humorist Charles Gordon, community calendar and special events listings, and local sports scores. And it promises to be invaluable for families planning their shopping and activities — just in time for the weekend!

This last became the focus of the kick-off campaign.

In keeping with their local commitment, publisher Metroland Media chose Banfield-Seguin to help launch their newest paper in the heart of Ottawa. We developed OC Transpo king boards proclaiming Thursday the new start of the week, while radio spots brought excited pro-Thursday declarations to a fevered pitch.

Print ads in Metroland’s surrounding community newspapers heralded the coming of Ottawa This Week to readers and to potential advertisers who would, for the first time, be able to reach the entire region. In OTW itself, one ad calls upon readers to submit their local event information, sports scores, and letters to the editor, while another encourages local businesses to advertise locally. Not a bad idea, really.

Since Metroland publishes over 100 community newspapers in Ontario with a combined distribution of nearly 5 million copies, advertisers can target specific neighbourhoods or connect with the entire region while enjoying some of the lowest CPMs (costs per thousand) of any media in the area.

So this Thursday, have a look in your mailbox and rejoice — the weekend is almost here!

ng Connect Solution Concept Series

The BSL office has felt noticeably quiet this last week and a half, as many of us have been sporadically swept offsite to participate in a series of videos for our clients at ng Connect.

In this new world of network-driven content, the Solution Concept video series will illustrate how demand is the driving force behind emerging opportunities in consumer technologies and solutions. Each video details how the multi-partner, multi-discipline ecosystem approach of ng Connect is ideal – not only for conceiving and developing solution concepts, but for quickly evolving them from ideation to market reality. If commercialized, these solutions have the potential to revolutionize a great many industries, from professional photography to advertising to perhaps most critically – our health sector.

A significant project in scope, the video series recently graduated from the months-long planning stage, and was quickly kick-started into production. Shooting a series of three videos, that require multiple days and locations for each, is not easy. The project has required a sizeable expansion in the number of hands on deck, and the BSL Video Team has been expanded for the occasion.

Throughout the shoots, BSL has spared no opportunity to take advantage of the new toys in our video department. All three videos are being shot with the Canon 5D, and to convey the journalistic approach the series calls for, the camera (along with BSL Motion Media Director Sean Cusson) has been strapped to the Steadi-cam for days (a handy tool for creating a smooth ‘spectator’ look and feel for each shot). The project has also required the recruitment of some outside talent including a Productions Manager, Sound Technician and Locations Manager, to further ensure high-quality production from all angles.

The team is at it again today, with all shooting scheduled to be fully wrapped by next week. Several of us were lucky enough to be part of the big project, and have been capturing the moments on Flickr as they happen.

Going Once, Going Twice…

BSL struck the ol’ proverbial gavel this week, in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. Breaks for Breast Cancer is a nationwide event that encourages companies across the country to host an office-wide coffee break and ask for donations in exchange for coffee and baked goods.

BSL saw this as a gleaming opportunity to stage one of our classic bake sale/auction bonanzas, to give our donations a little boost. Having previously hosted such events to support the United Way, these auctions require several of us to slave in our kitchens the night before, to produce an excessive spread of delicious treats on which the staff can grossly overbid.

This year welcomed the usual (albeit impressive) range of baking mastery from the employees – the temptation of which was greatly enhanced by our seasoned auctioneer, Ms. Carolyn Eaves. Carolyn knows how to strike that perfect balance between selling both the product and the cause itself – a balance that had some staff bidding up to $80 in one shot!

We are please to report that the event was a smashing success - despite a palpable office-wide sugar crash later that day. But it was all worth it to be able to support such a critical cause. Breast cancer is a startlingly common disease, affecting virtually everyone – family members, friends, co-workers, and of course the brave fighters themselves. Showing our support was a no-brainer.

And as the daughter of a woman who just recently kicked her cancer to the curb, I can tell you I did not think twice about paying 15 bucks for a cupcake.

Bridging the Gap

This week we helped Alcatel-Lucent launch the official website for their new brand Optism, a game-changing solution for the mobile advertising industry. With many key players involved in the game, Optism was created to leverage the opportunities that lie within the valuable network/subscriber relationship, and pave the way for true one-to-one advertising, by way of a little something called Permission Marketing.

Permission Marketing begins with network operators adding value for their subscribers in exchange for submitting more personal information, which operators can then translate into an audience profile. As part of the exchange for a greater network value, subscribers are then asked to opt in to receive advertising that specifically suits their needs and wants, based on their customer profile.

For advertisers, this is highly appetizing. Permission Marketing in the mobile space is making the dream of one-to-one advertising become a reality. Marketers have long fantasized about being able to speak directly to their customer, and now that network operators are able to harvest this inventory of valuable and volunteered audience information – the relationship between customer and advertiser just got a whole lot closer.

Optism forms partnerships with leading agencies, brands and mobile operators worldwide, to ensure that each link grabs its place in the value-chain. Operators benefit from a stronger relationship with their subscriber while generating revenue from this new advertising inventory. Advertisers are able to engage one-on-one with a receptive audience, through interactive and measurable campaigns. And finally the subscriber is benefitting from a network relationship that now offers them greater value, while being targeted by advertising that is tailored specifically to them, without the extra clutter.

Everyone wants a piece of the mobile ad pie, and Optism is serving everyone up a slice. Check out their website that was branded, designed and developed by BSL.

Another Close-up on QNX

The BSL video team was at it again yesterday, for another shoot with our clients at QNX Software Systems. For those who don’t know – QNX has been developing highly reliable software that has impacted virtually every sector you can think of. From aerospace to coal mining, cars to microwaves, even online shopping and hospital bed monitoring – QNX technologies are everywhere, and they’re evolving the way we live.

Starring the Connected Car once again (alongside the talent of QNX Product Marketing Manager Andy Gryc), this particular video will be promoting yet another collaborative innovation called Nokia Terminal Mode – the latest game-changer for in-car infotainment. Nokia Terminal Mode is another example of how QNX is helping transform the enjoyment, safety and convenience of our day-to-day lives.

The day itself was a fairly well rounded success – from the achingly beautiful weather (despite Sean’s palpable disdain for the sun) to our always-amicable clients, to the teams’ impressive penchant for problem solving on the spot (lighting and noise control are certainly two of the more challenging variables) – we all left the shoot feeling pretty good.

Check out our Flickr page for a glimpse of the team at work. Or take a look at our first shoot to see how it all began.

From the Mall to Montreal

BSL headed to Montreal recently with our longtime client Place d’Orleans Shopping Centre, as we staged a full day shoot for their new fall campaign. Together BSL and Place d’Orleans have spent the last two years building on a fresh, new brand image for the shopping centre – one that reflects style, sophistication and a real focus on fashion.

This particular photo shoot gives a behind-the-scenes look at what’s coming hot off the racks this season. Place d’Orleans is enticing shoppers to make all of their own custom looks for fall, so what better place to draw inspiration from than backstage at a fashion shoot?

Taking place in a Montreal loft-style studio, the shoot brought together a dynamic group of people who were all after the same thing – getting that perfect shot. Or shots, rather. And this team was a definite testament to the small world that is this business. Our Art Director Tim happened to work with Stylist Patricia Coté over a decade ago, and he also went to school with and even modeled for Photographer Patrizia Castiglione – this extra dash of chemistry surely contributed to the success of the shoot.

These ongoing, branded campaigns always feature one model that embodies the style of the season. Since the launch of these campaigns, the new Place d’Orleans brand has been represented by a hot mix of subjects, each with their own unique look. After taking inventory of these past looks, it was decided that the fall campaign was destined for a brunette. We flew the lucky recruit, Pamela Bernier, in from NYC but are proud to note that her talent is in fact homegrown, right outside of Ottawa. Her career has recently hit it big and we managed to snag her while she tours the globe.

Armed with some big talent and an arsenal of eclectic outfits, the team was ready for success. You put a group of creative people in a room with an espresso machine and anything’s possible. In fact, the shoot called for a series of backdrops, all to be constructed in the same location. This was seen as a welcome challenge. The events of the day were actually so inspiring that before the day was done, the team had already done a few test shots of their vision for the 2010 holiday campaign.

QNX Video Shoot

It was another bang-up job for the BSL video team this past Thursday, as we headed out to the offices of QNX Software Systems, to shoot a three-minute video for a brand new client.

Without tangling you in too much technical jargon, it’s pretty easy to describe QNX’s awesomeness in a nutshell. For the last thirty years this company has been developing ultra-reliable software that has impacted a TON of what we do on a day-to-day basis – from changing the way we use the Internet or take medicine, to the development of sustainable technologies in the home or improving your online shopping experience – the sky seems to be the limit for how QNX touches our lives.

Starting bright and early before sunrise, our team got to work prepping for the talent – and in this case the talent was the client himself – Andy Gryc, QNX Product Marketing Manager – as well as the QNX Connected Car. The QNX Connected Car is one of their latest game-changing innovations featuring a slew of state-of-the-art bells and whistles, including the Apple iPod Out – the very focus of the video itself.

Shooting was well underway by 9am and things were looking good. Andy appeared to be something of a natural, and pairing his talent with the seemingly limitless capabilities of our Canon 5D made the men behind the camera, John and Sean, pretty impressed with the outcome. All scenes were wrapped by 1pm, and the footage was already into production by 3pm (superhuman talents aside, our team still needed to eat). Fast forward a cool 24 hours after the shoot itself and the client already had the rough cut in hand.

But we can’t hog all of the glory. We owe the uber-efficiency of this shoot to a mélange of variables – really good technology + natural talent and lovable new client + positive attitudes across the board = an excellent chance for success. Thankfully we were able to capture some highlights of this magical mix on our BSL Flickr Page.

Happy Birthday BSL

The gang at BSL got together and celebrated our 37^th anniversary this past Friday. As a matter of fact, we actually have a few official milestones we can celebrate – but we found another one, giving us the gleaming excuse to have a "happy hour on steroids" after a very busy week.

Yes, the discovery of one simple legal document confirming the original Banfield as an official corporation on August 13^th, 1973 enabled us to toast to the BSL back-story. And anyone who has worked at BSL understands that these kinds of events can end in myriad ways – sometimes it’s half the company playing pool at the Elmdale til 1am, other times it’s the whole company bustin’ moves in the Market. In this case it wound up a select few, fulfilling a fictional obligation to finish the leftover alcohol and engaging in simultaneous power chats at the boardroom table.

Quite fittingly, the photos I took of the occasion happen to be just as blurry as my memories of it. But somehow I’m still able to classify it as a night to remember.

More Bells and Whistles for BSL

I was at a party this past Friday, and found myself in the company of two wildly passionate photographers. Cut from two very different cloths (one a professional photographer and videographer for a popular salon downtown and the other a critically acclaimed, somewhat controversial trailblazer on the Ottawa art scene) these two spent the better part of the evening gushing over how the Canon 5D has changed their lives and work as they know it. Under normal circumstances this topic would be considerably irrelevant to me – but since BSL has picked up their own 5D recently, I could actually admit I knew what the fuss was about.

This year the BSL Digital Studio has been getting some serious nips and tucks, since welcoming Motion Graphics Specialist Sean Cusson. As BSL’s New Media Director Sean has been largely responsible for this boost – by bringing his own skills to the table, training other staff in new media (such as 3D animation), and adding some shiny new tools to the box.

Since the face lift BSL is now able to make the majority of our clients’ digital dreams come true in house – with full capability to produce high-quality photography and video, after effects, rendering, editing – a considerable gamut. But beyond the technology itself, Sean’s close connections with the video industry have also given BSL access to a large pool of local talent – making the search for the perfect subject a breeze.

Like they say – the proof is in the pudding. And since we love pudding here – we’ll let the tools and talent speak for themselves. Check out this video we did for the Canadian War Museum and Museum of Civilization – all shot with the 5D. And here’s a sneak peek at a video shoot we just had for a very – *ahem* – exciting new project (also shot with the 5D, featuring some hot, fresh talent).

The Museum Experience

This is a Motion Graphics piece we recently did for The War Museum & Museum of Civilization. If you're attending Bluesfest this year, you can see it playing on the jumbotron! Or whatever that big screen thing is called.