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Posts Tagged ‘public relations’

Presenting…The EC Interns!

Monday, April 5th, 2010

It’s April, which means that the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and students everywhere are celebrating that school is almost over. I say “almost” because we here at Engine are pleased to be working with three dynamic, talented interns from Loyalist College, for the month of April (just before graduation). We love working with the college, and are excited to be able to collaborate with them once again. Jerika and Laura hail from Loyalist’s Advertising program, and Micheal is a post-grad Public Relations student. They were awesome, and put together small bios to help me introduce them to you.

Without further ado, let me present the EC Interns!

Jerika

Jerika

Jerika has over two years of experience in marketing and communications…Well, in the Advertising Program at Loyalist College that is. She will graduate in June 2010, and wants to focus her career in communications. She’s energetic, a real people person, and a go-getter. Jerika loves to travel and always wants to learn new things.

Laura

Laura

Laura Wallis is a small-town Manitoba girl with big ambitions. She moved to southern Ontario 3 years ago with the hopes of becoming a writer, and found her calling in the Advertising Program at Belleville’s Loyalist College. After graduating in June of 2010 she hopes to stay in Belleville and find a job in the industry. In her spare time she enjoys daydreaming and chatting with her family back home in the prairies. With a previous certificate in Web and Graphic Design, Laura has a lot of experience in front of a computer (preferably a mac).

Micheal

A charismatic, energetic and passionate student, Micheal has just completed his fifth and final year of college, with Sales & Public Relations as his majors. Micheal has a passion for jet skiing, billiards, cooking, baking and a full body glass of Cab Merlot; or even a rich Shiraz. His wide range of skill

Micheal

sets including a vast knowledge of customer service, a broad knowledge of Adobe CS4 and a creative mind accompanied with top-notch writing skills, makes him an asset to Engine, and any team that he has the privilege of working with.

We plan on keeping these guys very busy! They’re already working hard, and we’re looking forward to a great month with them.

Make sure to follow them on Twitter: @JerikaBradford, @ellewallis and @MichealBMcCaul.

Welcome to the team Jerika, Laura and Micheal!

Tags: Marketing, mentors, public relations, twitter
Posted in Public Relations | View Comments

CARE Canada: International Women’s Day

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

We all know that I’m an advocate for non-profit organizations that focus on social justice. Being in PR and marketing, I’m always interested to see what new, innovative methods non-profits are using to communicate their messages, and champion the needs of their clients.

One of my favourite non-profit organizations to watch is CARE Canada. Last year, I was fortunate enough to interview their President, Kevin McCort, an incredibly passionate, creative leader in the field. Kevin and his team stepped up to the plate in a big way recently in Haiti, partnering with Oxfam and Save the Children to create the Humanitarian Coalition. Jointly, they raised over 13 million dollars to bring aid to those affected by the earthquake.

CARE’s work extends far past disaster relief. Their mission is to fight poverty through the empowerment of women and girls in developing nations. Using education, economic development, health care and HIV/AIDS programs, as well as disaster and conflict relief, CARE Canada is working with communities around the world to achieve their goals.

The results are inspiring, to say the least. You can imagine my excitement when I was contacted by their Communications Manager, Kieran Green, who wanted to give me the scoop on their plans for International Women’s Day!

International Women’s Day, held annually since 1911, on March 8, is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To kick it off tonight, CARE is hosting the 1-night-only Canadian premier of “Half the Sky Live”, inspired by the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It features live musical performances, celebrity commentary, and chronicles the struggle of poor Ethiopian women who overcome sexual violence and discrimination. It’s the first time a non-profit development group like CARE has commercially released a film to both entertain and raise awareness of a global issue.

On Monday, March 8, CARE will be celebrating International Women’s Day with an innovative awareness campaign. I’m going to let Kieran tell you about it:

With our focus on empowering women at the core of our poverty-fighting work, International Women’s Day is a natural fit for CARE for spreading the word about our work, and about the importance of women in the fight against global poverty.

This year we were looking for something that could be both a symbol, and also a simple activity for engaging Canadians, and raising awareness about International Women’s Day. We thought about the red ribbon for AIDS, the pink ribbon for breast cancer research, and about the wrist bands other causes have adopted. We wanted to do something in that vein, but at the same time unique and attention-getting.

Then we remembered the old folk tradition of tying a string around your finger to remind yourself of something you don’t want to forget. The idea was born. So for International Women’s Day we want all Canada to wear the string as a reminder of all the things the women of the world have achieved, and of all the things that are yet to be done.

It’s easy to do – you don’t need to buy a ribbon or any special equipment. Just cut a piece of string, or wool, or yarn, or ribbon, and tie it on your finger. And it’s not just for this year. Our dream is for the string to become the globally-recognized symbol for International Women’s Day year after year.

How fantastic is that?! Taking a familiar tradition (the “awareness” ribbon), and giving it a unique twist (the “reminder” string) is such a cool idea. It’s easy, the audience understands the concept, and through the use of social media, people can become a part of the campaign in ways that just weren’t available in the past. Through Facebook and an interactive Flickr album, supporters will be able to take part in this initiative in a deeply personal way.

A mentor of mine once said to me, “Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be loved. And everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves.” CARE Canada’s International Women’s Day campaign fits this bill. We’ll be taking part. Will you?

Tags: events, guest contribution, inspiration, non-profits, public relations, social media
Posted in Public Relations, Social Media | View Comments

Why We Should All Be a Little More Like Steve Nash

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge sports fan. I think Sunday’s match up between Canada and the USA in Olympic Men’s Hockey, was the first time I’ve watched a full, televised game…Ever. But before you start throwing sweaty gym socks at me, I have to admit that I really, really enjoyed it. How could you not?! I can finally understand why sports is such big business.

Hockey aside, I’m not totally ignorant as to what happens in the world of professional sports, and who the players are. One name that’s always stood out is Steve Nash. I know he’s an amazing basketball player. I know that he didn’t even start playing basketball until he was in eighth grade, and that at a mere 6’3″ he beat the odds in terms of making it big. I even know that he’s a five time All-Star and two-time NBA MVP with career per game averages of 14 points and 7.6 assists. That’s right.

But when I picked up February’s Fast Company Magazine and saw him on the cover, I was intrigued. What business lessons could I learn from an NBA player?

It turns out that there aren’t many lessons we can’t learn from Steve. This reluctant “anti-brand,” household name, holds up in his off-court ventures as well as he does on the court.

Here are my Top 10 reasons we should all be a little more like Steve Nash:

1. He gives 100% – No one can call Steve a slacker.

2. He focuses on opportunities rather than setbacks – The man plays pro basketball despite the odds against him, namely height and a serious back injury.

3. He trains hard – Whether physically prepping for his day job, or becoming an intern at a marketing firm for the summer to understand this side gig, Nash isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

4. He’s not afraid of failure – He improvises on the court, and off. The man isn’t afraid to take risks.

5. He gives back – Remember when we were talking about corporate social responsibility a few weeks ago? Steve takes “giving back” to heart. The Steve Nash Foundation is a prime example of this.

6. He’s action-oriented – Rather than simply waiting for others to do the work, he takes on jobs himself, like writing scripts for commercials, and producing his own videos. He does it all. (See #4.)

7. He embraces change – Despite his reluctance to become a “brand,” he assumed the role with zeal when he saw how much good he could accomplish by doing so.

8. He’s a new media pro star – Production company (Meathawk Productions)? Check. Viral videos? Check. Twitter account? Yup. If Nash is doing it, maybe you should too.

9. He’s humble – With so many people feeling the need to “be somebody”, Steve exudes a reluctant celebrity status, marked not by the need to impress, but to make a difference.

10. He plans ahead – He knows he’s not going to play basketball forever, and has already assumed other roles to plan for this future. Staying innovative counts.

Steve is changing the game of business by making his own rules, and forging ahead with intent and creativity. How are you changing your game?

Tags: branding, corporate social responsibility, inspiration, public relations, social media, twitter
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media | View Comments

Toronto Works for Haiti

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Today is one of those days when I’m amazed by the connections, and opportunities for community building and business, that social media allows. I’m even more awestruck by being surrounded by so many people working passionately for the cause of Haiti.

Why focus on Haiti on a business blog? Because it’s the perfect example of how so many elements that we’ve been discussing in this forum (ie. social media, cause marketing, corporate social responsibility) come together to make a measurable impact on society.

Today my friend and colleague in the social media space, Sophie Bifield, introduced me to her friend and colleague, Elliot Ng. Elliot is the founder of Toronto Works for Haiti, a group of volunteers in Toronto offering professional services in exchange for donations to Haiti.

Their goal is to raise $5,000 for relief efforts before March 18, 2010.

Currently they stand at 20 volunteers with skills ranging from administrative services to professional editing,
social media marketing, and realty. There are no overhead costs, and they’re asking that all donation go directly to the organizations they support, namely the Humanitarian Coalition, the Canadian Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. All the recipients of the goods and services have to do is let them know how much they’re donating so they can keep track of their efforts.

Founder of Toronto Works for Haiti, Elliot Ng

Here’s Elliot’s take:

After hearing about the earthquake, I felt that it would not be enough to for me to just make a donation to the charities. I asked myself, “What can I do to offer more? How can I help people in Haiti even though I am in Toronto?” On top of that, my professional background helped me put my own spin on it: coming from the business background, I understand the need for businesses, and naturally I started connecting the dots. Why don’t I try to find other like-minded individuals who are compassionate and want to mobilize our skills for this great cause? So I picked up the phone and pitched to my friends: Roxanne Chow, Katherine Lee, Kilim Park, and Mark Savel. They liked it! Roxanne gave the group the name we are using now. Katherine started creating the structure of the organization. Kilim started writing on our blog. Mark suggested ideas on how to make this idea bigger. It snowballed and the rest is history.

There are a few things I love about this idea:

It raises money for a great cause.
It allows small business owners to make an impact on a global scale.
It creates awareness for small business, and is a great PR opportunity.
It creates opportunity for collaboration, and networking.
It’s a simple idea that your business could easily adopt for any cause you’re passionate about.

What do I want you to do?

Take some of the ideas we’ve dissected and apply them to your own business strategy. The bottom line for you is increased awareness, networking and sales.
Get involved with Toronto Works for Haiti or another local group like New Mercy Ministries, both to help with relief efforts, and to network with some brilliant, talented people.
Join the Toronto Works for Haiti Facebook group, and voice your support. Put their logo on your profile to spread awareness.

Whatever you do, make sure you act now. If not for Haiti, then for the cause you care about. Everybody wins! And you know I love a good win-win.

Tags: bloggers, corporate social responsibility, facebook, guest contribution, inspiration, public relations, small business, social media
Posted in Social Media | View Comments

Cause Marketing

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Spread the word! Cause marketing is good for your business.

It’s hard to bring things back to business as usual when the world is suffering in such plain view. There are always causes to support, funds to be raised, and people who will be in need. But this morning Haiti was rocked again by aftershocks, and the rest feels small to me again.

I mentioned last week that I had planned to be on a plane to Haiti for two weeks of humanitarian relief work, as of January 27. That trip has since been cancelled. I’m not going to talk a lot about me here, but since I had told you last week, I thought I would update the status of said venture.

But let’s bring this back to you. Why should your business care about Haiti, or any cause for that matter? Because it’s good marketing strategy.

Wikipedia says:

Cause marketing differs from corporate giving (philanthropy) as the latter generally involves a specific donation that is tax deductible, while cause marketing is a marketing relationship generally not based on a donation.

Yesterday, Kerry gave a great example of cause marketing (although you might argue that because a donation was involved it wasn’t pure CM). Lou’s Cozy Grill in Belleville, Ontario ran a promotion to raise money for Haiti relief. The benefit is two-fold: money raised for a good cause and great PR for Lou’s. Who doesn’t like a win-win?

I’m loosely classifying this under “cause marketing” because even though it wasn’t strategically executed, I love the fact that they gave it a shot. I don’t know how much money they raised, but I’ll remember their effort, and I’ll swing by to grab a coffee. While I’m there, I might buy a sandwich, or grab breakfast–whatever. The point is that consumers want to know that the brands they align themselves with support a vision beyond their own bottomline.

A clearer example is found in the actions McDonald’s restaurants implemented to support and promote the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour initiatives. For example, all Canadian McDonald’s restaurants turned off their roadside pole signs and roof beam lighting to conserve energy for Earth Hour. The support wasn’t monetary–it was action driven. McDonald’s was trying to build a reputation as a socially responsible organization, and both McDonald’s and WWF benefited from increased awareness. That awareness translates into dollars. It’s an indirect root to acquire sales and revenue, but it’s good business.

And that’s where you step in. Does your marketing plan allow for cause marketing initiatives? What organizations do you align yourself with? Are you maximizing these low-cost opportunities for PR?

If not, we can help. Contact Engine Communications today to shift your marketing plan into high gear.

Tags: corporate social responsibility, Marketing, non-profits, public relations, small business
Posted in Marketing | View Comments

Please Don’t Be “That Guy”

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

We're laughing at him, not with him. You don't want to be "that guy" online. #epicfail

It’s really no secret that I’m a political junkie. I just love it. I’ve worked on political campaigns of various stripes–provincially and federally. I’ve worked for a Member of Parliament–one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date. (How many people can say they had sushi on the Prime Minister’s patio–twice?!)

A lot of people’s eyes glaze over when they hear talk of elections, politics, and Stephen Harper’s sweater vests. I however love these things, and will continue to bore people well into the future with my lively discussion of said passions. It’s part of who I am.

As a result, I’ve been a little more aware than most about what I post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Working for a politician, I’ve always felt that you represent that person when you’re in public–online or off. Especially around election time, when the vultures come out in all camps, you’ve got to stay on top of what you say, who you say it to, and…what people tag you in on Facebook.

Today I found myself reading my morning Commentz, and thinking about “discovering who I am,” as I did yesterday on the blog. This is what I see: Another young candidate caught in compromising Facebook albums. Really? Really?! (Click here for the full story.)

Emmanuel Pleitez says that he doesn’t have anything to hide; that he purposely didn’t untag the pictures, or ask for them to be taken down. He says he’ll go through the pictures with questioning voters, and explain them one by one. Really? Really?!

This is the kind of mistake that costs you an election–and worse, your reputation. I am all for being genuine. That was part of my argument yesterday. No, I don’t think you should pretend to be someone you’re not online or in any area of life. Being real is key to utlizing social media, building relationships, and creating “Brand You.” But in this case, being “real” cost votes, and worse, it cost’s reputation.

Reputation and image are of the utmost importance in politics and business. Last month I had the opportunity to speak to the students in the Art & Design Foundation program at Loyalist College, and this was the same message I gave to them. You might think your online profiles are just for fun, but how would you feel if a potential employer (or voter) Googled you? Would you be proud of what they might find? If the answer is no, then you need to think twice about what you share online.

It’s not about ‘hiding’ anything. In my mind, if you’re doing things you feel you need to hide, then you need to reevaluate your actions–that’s just common sense. The issue is that a tremendous amount of information is being shared, some you can control, some you can’t. It’s time for young professionals to take control of the pieces they can.

Look at your profiles. Question the messages you send about who you are. I don’t want to say, “grow up,” but I will tell you this: You don’t want to be “that guy.”

Tags: branding, public relations, social media
Posted in Public Relations, Social Media | View Comments

Posts Tagged ‘public relations’

Presenting…The EC Interns!

Jerika

Jerika

Laura

Laura

Micheal

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