13.12.12
Latest Issue of Brainstorm in the "Mail"
It's our final enewsletter for 2012! This issue celebrates some truly successful collaborations with our clients, awards won, new staff and offers some insights on measuring ROI. Read all about it in the latest issue of Brainstorm.
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7.12.12
Grandmothers Advocacy Network and Banfield-Seguin Celebrate GRAN's New Brand
Every now and then, in the marketing communications world, we get the chance to work with an organization that is truly making a difference. Working with the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) was one of these times.
On November 20th, our clients dropped in on Banfield-Seguin, giving us the chance to celebrate the success of the rebranding together. GRAN representatives from across Canada were present, and it was an occasion for tremendous gratitude, and even a few tears — on both sides.
We want to thank Banfield-Seguin, your president Nancy Webb and the team that worked on this project,” said Peggy Edwards, proudly wearing her GRAN t-shirt adorned with the new logo. “The new brand is working so well for us — it has unified the Grandmothers Advocacy Network and made us an even stronger force to be reckoned with.”
“I was hesitant about working with an outside company to do our branding,” said Hilary Elliott, GRAN representative from Calgary. “I wasn’t sure of the process and if they would ‘get it’. How could they possibly come up with the right look & feel to represent all that we do and represent? When the logo options were presented, we were amazed by the designs and the fact that you understood us so well.”
When asked to say a few words about the experience working with GRAN, Director of Strategy Christina Flavell reminisced about that initial creative presentation. “We finished taking you through all the logo and tagline options and there was a brief pause, and then you all burst into applause. It was the most amazing and gratifying experience I think I’ve ever had in this business.” Associate Creative Director Peter Mulder agreed, saying, “We can’t thank you enough for your enthusiasm and passion throughout the project. It was such a pleasure for all of us to work with your organization.”
Another GRAN representative, Marilyn Coolen from Halifax, shared her experience with the new brand. “We boldly applied to present at the World AIDS conference in Washington this year — never thinking that we would be accepted, being first-time applicants. Imagine our surprise when we heard we got accepted! We were so proud to have a banner with the new logo and tagline at our booth. And it worked! The new brand got people’s attention and they were drawn to our booth to find out more. As a result GRAN has established a new network of contacts farther afield.”
Overall, it was an evening that left us all glowing. It was an encouraging reminder that regardless of what we do day-to-day, there are always opportunities to give back and try to make the world a better place. It may sound sentimental, but it’s true. GRAN is out there doing it every day. Take a moment to learn more about GRAN and their amazing accomplishments as a “a voice for grandmothers and children orphaned by AIDS in Africa” at www.grandmothersadvocacy.org.
Over the past six months, Banfield-Seguin had the opportunity to work on a re-branding effort with GRAN. GRAN is a network of grandmothers and grand-“others” who advocate in Canada and around the world on behalf of children in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS, and the grandmothers who raise them.
On November 20th, our clients dropped in on Banfield-Seguin, giving us the chance to celebrate the success of the rebranding together. GRAN representatives from across Canada were present, and it was an occasion for tremendous gratitude, and even a few tears — on both sides.
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| GRANS front row, left to right: Marilyn Coolen, Andrea Beal, Gillian Sandeman, Pat Evans, Peggy Edwards, Hilary Elliott, Val Swinton, Linda Watson, Bonnie Johnson. GRANS back row, left to right: Kathleen Wallace-Deering, Marjorie Kort, Janet Wilkinson. BSL TEAM left to right: Christina Flavell, Peter Mulder, James Laing, Christine Hume, Bianca Manga, Nancy Webb. |
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| Peggy Edwards & Nancy Webb sharing the new GRAN umbrella! |
When asked to say a few words about the experience working with GRAN, Director of Strategy Christina Flavell reminisced about that initial creative presentation. “We finished taking you through all the logo and tagline options and there was a brief pause, and then you all burst into applause. It was the most amazing and gratifying experience I think I’ve ever had in this business.” Associate Creative Director Peter Mulder agreed, saying, “We can’t thank you enough for your enthusiasm and passion throughout the project. It was such a pleasure for all of us to work with your organization.”
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| Marilyn Coolen tells us about GRAN going to Washington, DC! |
Overall, it was an evening that left us all glowing. It was an encouraging reminder that regardless of what we do day-to-day, there are always opportunities to give back and try to make the world a better place. It may sound sentimental, but it’s true. GRAN is out there doing it every day. Take a moment to learn more about GRAN and their amazing accomplishments as a “a voice for grandmothers and children orphaned by AIDS in Africa” at www.grandmothersadvocacy.org.
4.12.12
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s our Campaign for the NAV CENTRE
It’s one of those places you really have to see to believe. A hidden gem along the banks of the St. Lawrence, the NAV CENTRE is Eastern Ontario’s largest conference and meeting facility. It’s fully equipped for productive business meetings and events, including excellent services to help you focus on business success. NAV CENTRE also has resort-like features (including a full-service spa and gym facilities) that will impress bosses and colleagues alike.
This comprehensive offering formed the basis of our campaign: “Be a Meeting Hero”. With budget cuts and an unstable economy, the role of event planner in many companies now falls to whoever is willing to do it. And it’s not easy!
NAV CENTRE has accepted the challenge of making “accidental planners” look like the Meeting Hero of their organizations. The secret is in its competitive pricing and excellent service offering.
The campaign hinged on a website landing page (navcentre.ca/hero) and included print and online display ads, electronic direct mail pieces as well as Google Adwords and LinkedIn ads.
Perhaps you’re responsible for planning a company meeting or retreat? What are you waiting for? You could become the next meeting hero…
This comprehensive offering formed the basis of our campaign: “Be a Meeting Hero”. With budget cuts and an unstable economy, the role of event planner in many companies now falls to whoever is willing to do it. And it’s not easy!
NAV CENTRE has accepted the challenge of making “accidental planners” look like the Meeting Hero of their organizations. The secret is in its competitive pricing and excellent service offering.
The campaign hinged on a website landing page (navcentre.ca/hero) and included print and online display ads, electronic direct mail pieces as well as Google Adwords and LinkedIn ads.
Perhaps you’re responsible for planning a company meeting or retreat? What are you waiting for? You could become the next meeting hero…
NAV CENTRE Campaign landing page
NAV CENTRE Campaign lead gen form
3.12.12
Vlogging In: Place d'Orléans Contest Connects with Ottawa Fashion Elite
To continue evolving the Place d’Orléans brand into a premier fashion destination, Banfield-Seguin proposed the Vlogger Search Contest, designed to reach fashionistas in a real and relevant way.
The contest began with a call for video entries, which were then narrowed down to 10 finalists. It all culminated in a spectacular event in which finalists were given a gift card and 90 minutes to shop, before filming a vlog describing their shopping spree strategy and its outcome. An experienced judging panel selected the winner, Amanda L. Conquer, who received $300 per month for six months in Place d’Orléans gift cards to keep shopping, shooting, and sharing her exciting finds online.
This dynamic, multi-faceted back-to-school promotion was designed to engage key audiences, tap into the “haul video” phenomenon (a recent Ottawa Citizen article on the subject can be found here), and potentially discover an online personality who could act as brand ambassador for the shopping centre.
To promote the event, we blended social media and local fashion community outreach with traditional marketing, including in-mall signage, radio and online advertising.
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| Fashion vlogger Search Facebook Contest Page |
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| Banner ad on Loulou |
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| © Remi Theriault with LJ / Twenty York Street, Emily / Tinfoil Tiaras, Zara and Michelle / Ottawa Vélo Vogue, Emmett / Hippie Lace, Julie Lan / Pop Champagne, Grace / 613 Style, Marcia B Creative, Justyna Baraniecki / Chameleonic and Nini / The Fine Balance. |
We received incredibly positive feedback from the ambassadors who described the contest as “the best event ever” and generated 21 blog posts as well as numerous mentions of @placedorleans and the #vloggersearch contest. Ultimately, the initiative reached 485,000 people on Twitter and 30,000 people on Facebook.
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| Winner of the Vlogger Search Contest - Amanda L. Conquer (Photo: Brent Gervais) |
To make it all happen, Banfield-Seguin partnered with Made in Blog to reach out to the blogger community, and with Parade! to bring together the branded multimedia experience. The secret to success, though, was the tremendous support and enthusiasm of our clients at Place d’Orleans.
27.11.12
Banfield-Seguin’s Newest Team Member? Just Ask for Kelly
Our newest Kelly — Banfield-Seguin now boasts three! — has a great deal of experience in project management and media planning for marketing campaigns across all media. She previously held positions at Acart and kbs+p (formerly Allard Johnson Communications).
Originally from Montreal, Kelly is now very involved in the Ottawa charitable community. She is the current Marketing Director for the CHEO BBQ and a past organizer of the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life. All of which fits perfectly with her passions for good food, travel, and healthy living.
Kelly brings her expertise to our client services team as an Account Executive.
A Designer in Motion: New Team Member Joins Banfield-Seguin
Our new Motion Graphics Designer joins Banfield-Seguin fresh from a 32-episode stint with TheSideProject as a graphic artist and animator, helping to bring a new TVO kids show called Beats in Bites to life.
Before that, Annette was freelancing in motion graphics for a wide variety of clients, including McMillan Agency, 27Forty Studios, Affinity Productions and Muse Fuse.
Her experiences included designing 2D and 3D motion graphics, compositing and creating VFX in videos in web and broadcast media for both government and the private sector.
Prior to her motion design career, Annette was an accomplished professional photographer. She put her technical and artistic skills to work at commercial shoots and events of all description — from weddings to corporate events to rally car races.
We look forward to putting her skills to work at Banfield-Seguin, as well!
26.11.12
A New Brand Takes Flight!
Even for a seasoned marketing communications agency, it is always a rare treat when you can build a new international brand from the ground up.
While we love the opportunity to evolve or refresh a brand, to be there from the very start is an exhilarating experience. Especially when that brand is a real forward-looking, future-changing concept like AireonSM.
So what exactly is Aireon, all about?
Aireon will leverage the power of the world’s furthest reaching Iridium network to enable — for the first time ever — a truly global, pole-to-pole aircraft tracking and surveillance capability.
Aireon is an innovative new company bringing together global commercial aviation companies and air navigation service providers, and plans to transform the business of air traffic management on a global scale by providing a surveillance infrastructure that will enable optimization of air operations around the world—while offering exciting new applications and business opportunities.
Using private capital, Aireon will provide the first opportunity for global air traffic monitoring starting as early as 2017. Aireon is truly a world’s first. Imagine being tasked with branding a potentially world changing concept that doesn’t quite exist yet. It is aspirational yet within reality’s reach. It was an exceptionally exciting assignment.
The team at Banfield-Seguin was in a unique position to handle the challenge of branding this new company—with our extensive and intimate experience in the telecommunications industry, particularly in satellite communications—we started out with a strong understanding of the client’s needs.
From name development to messaging, to web design, social media strategy, video and print production, our team worked closely with Aireon’s leadership team and the key stakeholders at Iridium to ensure consistency in messaging and a unified look and feel throughout all materials right down to the live web broadcast of the launch press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC on June 18.
Under Creative Director John Charette’s lead, the team was challenged with creating a brand that was not only unique but also accessible—with a diverse audience set that includes both industry experts and outsiders—the brand had to be credible but also easy to understand while existing in a tightly controlled and regulated industry.
The brand would have to be strong enough to entice the industry, relevant legislators, potential investors and partners while building excitement for a service that will only be fully available in 2017.
“Aireon was able to reap the benefits of working with a full-service marketing communications team that directed every facet of communications for a truly integrated approach,” said Charette. “Our team was able to facilitate a cohesive conversation about the corporate offering with the core proposition at the centre of each element.”
While Banfield-Seguin was able to provide a full-service offering, this was by no means a singular effort. Banfield-Seguin worked closely with Moveable Online who developed the website, and FTI Consulting who led the public relations support for the launch press conference on June 18. Brand development and execution was made possible by collaborative efforts with the Aireon marketing team.
“A project of this magnitude required a team that was able to understand all facets of the communications strategy, and integrate them into a full executed brand. We had very high expectations for this program which Banfield far exceeded. We could not have asked for a better result.”
- Julia Wilton, Executive Director, Corporate and Marketing Communications
Editor’s note: The Aireon launch recently took home five Davey Awards for various components of the integrated campaign. Read more...
While we love the opportunity to evolve or refresh a brand, to be there from the very start is an exhilarating experience. Especially when that brand is a real forward-looking, future-changing concept like AireonSM.So what exactly is Aireon, all about?
Aireon will leverage the power of the world’s furthest reaching Iridium network to enable — for the first time ever — a truly global, pole-to-pole aircraft tracking and surveillance capability.
Aireon is an innovative new company bringing together global commercial aviation companies and air navigation service providers, and plans to transform the business of air traffic management on a global scale by providing a surveillance infrastructure that will enable optimization of air operations around the world—while offering exciting new applications and business opportunities.
Using private capital, Aireon will provide the first opportunity for global air traffic monitoring starting as early as 2017. Aireon is truly a world’s first. Imagine being tasked with branding a potentially world changing concept that doesn’t quite exist yet. It is aspirational yet within reality’s reach. It was an exceptionally exciting assignment.
The team at Banfield-Seguin was in a unique position to handle the challenge of branding this new company—with our extensive and intimate experience in the telecommunications industry, particularly in satellite communications—we started out with a strong understanding of the client’s needs.
From name development to messaging, to web design, social media strategy, video and print production, our team worked closely with Aireon’s leadership team and the key stakeholders at Iridium to ensure consistency in messaging and a unified look and feel throughout all materials right down to the live web broadcast of the launch press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC on June 18.
Under Creative Director John Charette’s lead, the team was challenged with creating a brand that was not only unique but also accessible—with a diverse audience set that includes both industry experts and outsiders—the brand had to be credible but also easy to understand while existing in a tightly controlled and regulated industry.
The brand would have to be strong enough to entice the industry, relevant legislators, potential investors and partners while building excitement for a service that will only be fully available in 2017.
“Aireon was able to reap the benefits of working with a full-service marketing communications team that directed every facet of communications for a truly integrated approach,” said Charette. “Our team was able to facilitate a cohesive conversation about the corporate offering with the core proposition at the centre of each element.”
While Banfield-Seguin was able to provide a full-service offering, this was by no means a singular effort. Banfield-Seguin worked closely with Moveable Online who developed the website, and FTI Consulting who led the public relations support for the launch press conference on June 18. Brand development and execution was made possible by collaborative efforts with the Aireon marketing team.
“A project of this magnitude required a team that was able to understand all facets of the communications strategy, and integrate them into a full executed brand. We had very high expectations for this program which Banfield far exceeded. We could not have asked for a better result.”
- Julia Wilton, Executive Director, Corporate and Marketing Communications
Editor’s note: The Aireon launch recently took home five Davey Awards for various components of the integrated campaign. Read more...
19.11.12
Global Sustainability Initiative Partners with Banfield-Seguin to Amplify Online Presence
Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and Ottawa marketing communications agency Banfield-Seguin are celebrating the launch of GeSI’s newly revamped online presence – an important step towards future growth and success for the international e-sustainability organization.
Formed in 2001 and based in Belgium, GeSI brings together many of the world's major Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies with international organizations to work on finding solutions for a more sustainable future through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation.
GeSI contracted Banfield-Seguin in early 2012 to redesign its website and overall digital presence. The objectives of the multifaceted project were to encourage growth in GeSI membership, to support members' collaboration, ideation and project development, and to better communicate the critical role of the organization.
“Working closely with GeSI, Banfield-Seguin used its content management framework to plan, design and build the new GeSI website and blog. We also developed a new private collaboration environment for partners and members, guided the use of social media properties, targeted e-newsletters and e-DMs, and set up measurement tools to track engagement,” said Scott Duncan, Senior Digital Strategist at Banfield-Seguin.
“GeSI is extremely pleased with the end result delivered by Banfield-Seguin – our new website is simply amazing as evident from the positive feedback of GeSI members. The BSL team has been extremely professional and provided an excellent quality of service,” said Luis Neves, Chairman of GeSI.
To learn more about GeSI and the work of its growing network of members and partners worldwide, visit the brand new website: www.gesi.org
Formed in 2001 and based in Belgium, GeSI brings together many of the world's major Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies with international organizations to work on finding solutions for a more sustainable future through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation.
GeSI contracted Banfield-Seguin in early 2012 to redesign its website and overall digital presence. The objectives of the multifaceted project were to encourage growth in GeSI membership, to support members' collaboration, ideation and project development, and to better communicate the critical role of the organization.
“Working closely with GeSI, Banfield-Seguin used its content management framework to plan, design and build the new GeSI website and blog. We also developed a new private collaboration environment for partners and members, guided the use of social media properties, targeted e-newsletters and e-DMs, and set up measurement tools to track engagement,” said Scott Duncan, Senior Digital Strategist at Banfield-Seguin.
“GeSI is extremely pleased with the end result delivered by Banfield-Seguin – our new website is simply amazing as evident from the positive feedback of GeSI members. The BSL team has been extremely professional and provided an excellent quality of service,” said Luis Neves, Chairman of GeSI.
To learn more about GeSI and the work of its growing network of members and partners worldwide, visit the brand new website: www.gesi.org
13.11.12
Social Media and Return on Investment
Great! Social media tools are free to use! I can put a video (for free) on YouTube, and have it watched by thousands of people. I can set up a Facebook page (for free) and really connect with my customers. I can post beautiful pictures of my products to Pinterest to be coveted everywhere. Sweet!
But wait! Social media isn’t entirely free. There are management and content development costs to consider.
So what gives? How can I convince my colleagues (or gulp, my boss or my investors) to pay to use something that’s free? By focusing on impact.
What follows are some approaches I use when considering ROI. They aren’t all financial.
Non financial impacts include brand recognition, visibility for products, key people or concepts, and customer insights. These impacts can be measured many ways: looking at your search engine results, using perception metrics (provided by services like Radian6), doing your own analysis of the feedback you receive on Facebook or Twitter, using Facebook Insights or Tweetdeck. Depending on your business model, you many also be able to leverage your social media efforts to encourage stronger partnerships.
Financial impacts include cost reduction and revenue generation.
Of these two, cost reduction is the easiest to achieve and to measure. In the marketing communications business, we sometimes break down our communications into two categories – paid media (traditional advertising in print, radio, TV or online) and earned media (social media, blogger outreach and public relations fall into this category).
Here’s how cost reduction impacts work: If you have paid $1 to reach one customer through paid media, and it costs 25 cents to reach that customer through social media (by dividing the cost of managing social media by each time you reach a customer), you have reduced your costs by 75%. Bam!
The other financial impact looks at revenue generated by your social media efforts. Set a line in the sand (your sales and revenue growth at a moment prior to starting on social media), and then measure at monthly or quarterly increments after your accounts are up and running. If the rate of revenue generation or sales has increased more than the cost of running your social media, then you’ve taken an important step toward generating a positive return on social media investment. You must of course also consider outside factors – other marketing efforts and changes in the macro-economic context, for example. The more closely you can attribute sales or revenue growth to your social media efforts, the stronger your case.
In most circumstances, a combination of both approaches should be considered. For example, generating positive perceptions will assist in growing your community, and in turn lowering your cost per acquisition or boosting revenue.
In another post, I’ll talk about a methodology that brings them all together.
But first things first: what kind of impact is most important to you?
But wait! Social media isn’t entirely free. There are management and content development costs to consider.
So what gives? How can I convince my colleagues (or gulp, my boss or my investors) to pay to use something that’s free? By focusing on impact.
What follows are some approaches I use when considering ROI. They aren’t all financial.
Non financial impacts include brand recognition, visibility for products, key people or concepts, and customer insights. These impacts can be measured many ways: looking at your search engine results, using perception metrics (provided by services like Radian6), doing your own analysis of the feedback you receive on Facebook or Twitter, using Facebook Insights or Tweetdeck. Depending on your business model, you many also be able to leverage your social media efforts to encourage stronger partnerships.
Financial impacts include cost reduction and revenue generation.
Of these two, cost reduction is the easiest to achieve and to measure. In the marketing communications business, we sometimes break down our communications into two categories – paid media (traditional advertising in print, radio, TV or online) and earned media (social media, blogger outreach and public relations fall into this category).
Here’s how cost reduction impacts work: If you have paid $1 to reach one customer through paid media, and it costs 25 cents to reach that customer through social media (by dividing the cost of managing social media by each time you reach a customer), you have reduced your costs by 75%. Bam!
The other financial impact looks at revenue generated by your social media efforts. Set a line in the sand (your sales and revenue growth at a moment prior to starting on social media), and then measure at monthly or quarterly increments after your accounts are up and running. If the rate of revenue generation or sales has increased more than the cost of running your social media, then you’ve taken an important step toward generating a positive return on social media investment. You must of course also consider outside factors – other marketing efforts and changes in the macro-economic context, for example. The more closely you can attribute sales or revenue growth to your social media efforts, the stronger your case.
Return on Investment =
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Revenue Generated – Cost
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Cost
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In another post, I’ll talk about a methodology that brings them all together.
But first things first: what kind of impact is most important to you?
6.11.12
Banfield-Seguin Wins 14 Davey Awards!
Banfield-Seguin is thrilled to announce that, together with our clients, we have been selected to receive a total of 14 trophies from the 8th Annual Davey Awards.
Banfield-Seguin demonstrated its versatility by winning awards with clients from both the private and public sectors, and for businesses located regionally, nationally and internationally. Our award-winning work also spanned various industries from telecommunications to culture to retail. We are also very proud to have been recognized for projects in many of our different areas of expertise as a full-service agency, including print, web and video.
Many of the 2012 Daveys we received were for components of integrated campaigns, including five for the website and video we developed for the launch of an entirely new brand and company, Aireon, a future provider of global air traffic surveillance.
Another two awards came for the website and video produced as part of our campaign to help global telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent enter the core routing market with its new 7950 XRS.
It is also important to us that we won for projects with long-standing clients such as global satellite communications company Iridium (2), Canada’s National Arts Centre (3), shopping centre Place d’Orleans (1) and non-profit Bon Appetit Ottawa (1). For a detailed list of our 2012 Davey Awards wins, check out the document at the end of this post.
Banfield-Seguin is very grateful for these distinctions from the Davey Awards, and would like to thank our clients and everyone involved who worked tirelessly on making these projects a success.
About the Davey Awards:
With nearly 4,000 entries from across Canada, the US and around the world, the Davey Awards honours the finest creative work from the best small firms, agencies and companies worldwide.
The Davey Awards is judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 200+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
Banfield-Seguin demonstrated its versatility by winning awards with clients from both the private and public sectors, and for businesses located regionally, nationally and internationally. Our award-winning work also spanned various industries from telecommunications to culture to retail. We are also very proud to have been recognized for projects in many of our different areas of expertise as a full-service agency, including print, web and video. Many of the 2012 Daveys we received were for components of integrated campaigns, including five for the website and video we developed for the launch of an entirely new brand and company, Aireon, a future provider of global air traffic surveillance.
Another two awards came for the website and video produced as part of our campaign to help global telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent enter the core routing market with its new 7950 XRS.
It is also important to us that we won for projects with long-standing clients such as global satellite communications company Iridium (2), Canada’s National Arts Centre (3), shopping centre Place d’Orleans (1) and non-profit Bon Appetit Ottawa (1). For a detailed list of our 2012 Davey Awards wins, check out the document at the end of this post.
Banfield-Seguin is very grateful for these distinctions from the Davey Awards, and would like to thank our clients and everyone involved who worked tirelessly on making these projects a success.
About the Davey Awards:
With nearly 4,000 entries from across Canada, the US and around the world, the Davey Awards honours the finest creative work from the best small firms, agencies and companies worldwide.
The Davey Awards is judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 200+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
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| List of 2012 Davey Awards Wins |
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