Here’s a selection of Elettra stories including client work and other agency news.
Summer is almost here (if only someone would tell that to the sun!) and everyone is craving burgers at the beach. It's the perfect time for the opening of Nimby Burger...check out some of the coverage below... Vancouver Foodster Nimby Burger Opening
Foodists Nimby Burger
Vitamin Daily Beachside Burgers
Kitsilano.ca Nimby Burger to call Kits Beach Home
(photo: Foodists.ca)
24hrs Vancouver picked up the results of Tuesday's Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.
Hollie Shaw, Financial Post
Noise Digital has launched the Tic Tac Small Fun Revolution for Ferrero Canada, a new digital brand campaign aimed at engaging 18-to-29-year-olds through sharing videos and creating and uploading creations that feature Tic Tacs or Tic Tac boxes. "A 'small fun revolution' is a way of seeing the world," says Trevor Carr, president and chief executive of Noise Digital. "Fun is everywhere -- you just need to look for it. The campaign provides the platform to share some fun with each other." It involves the site www.tictacsmallfun.ca,a branded YouTube channel, a Facebook fan page, Twitter, display advertising, two iPhone applications and social media. Noise also conducted a cross-country search to find artists to become Tic Tac Ambassadors, resulting in a video of a musician performing with Tic Tacs and their cases and a stop-motion film of two Tic Tac cases playing tennis.
More than 700 of the city’s chefs, sommeliers and food critics gathered yesterday at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel for the 21st Annual Vancouver magazine Restaurant Awards. The gala brought them together to celebrate excellence in B.C.’s culinary industry.
“Between the Olympics and the recession, it’s been a whirlwind year in the food and beverage industry,” said Vancouver magazine editor-in-chief, Gary Stephen Ross. “Yesterday’s event offered everybody a well-deserved break and an opportunity to socialize, have fun, and reflect on their successes.”
Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar took top honours, being named Restaurant of the Year and winning Gold in the Best Seafood category. It was also a finalist in Best Service, Best Regional and Best Formal Japanese (Raw Bar at Blue Water). And Blue Water’s chef, Frank Pabst, was recognized as Chef of the Year, having played an integral role on Vancouver’s culinary scene since 1993. Originally from Germany, Pabst worked at Lumière and Pastis before joining Blue Water in 2003.
Sinclair Philip was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while his Sooke Harbour House won Best Vancouver Island. Since opening their restaurant and inn 31 years ago, he and his wife Fréderique have been internationally lauded for their pioneering use of fresh, local ingredients, many from their own garden.
In a year that saw a variety of exciting new openings, Campagnolo won the title of Best New Restaurant. Thai hotspot Maenam took Silver, while Jean-Georges’s Market won Bronze as well as nabbing Design of the Year.
Perennial favourites Vij’s, Le Crocodile and Tojo’s won as Best Indian, Best Formal French and Best Formal Japanese. CinCin and Araxi reclaimed their titles of Best Last Course and Best Whistler. Uva Wine Bar took Gold as Best Bar/Lounge.
For a list of the full results, please click here.
Noise Digital leads integrated campaign for Ferrero Brands
Toronto, ON and Vancouver, BC; May 12, 2010 – Ferrero Canada has launched the Tic Tac Small Fun Revolution, a fully integrated digital brand campaign for its Tic Tac brand. The national campaign was created by Noise Digital and is part of a brand re-launch that is seeking to engage youth aged 18 to 29.
“A Small Fun Revolution is a way of seeing the world. Fun is everywhere; you just need to look for it. It may not change your life, but it’ll definitely make it a bit more fun," says Trevor Carr, President & CEO, Noise Digital. “The campaign provides the platform to share some fun with each other.”
The campaign is designed to engage the target audience with ‘small fun’ moments whether that is by sharing videos created by Tic Tac Ambassadors; creating and uploading their own content using Tic Tacs or their iconic boxes; or by downloading one of two iPhone games.
The campaign asks visitors to join the Small Fun Revolution by submitting their own Tic Tac creation for a chance to win 24 hours of small fun with $5,000. The first 1,000 submissions also receive a Tic Tac T-shirt.
“The goal of the campaign was to re-engage consumers with the Tic Tac brand by tapping into an existing online fan base and sharing that sense of fun,” continues Carr. “By turning Tic Tacs into a whimsical piece of entertainment content, we are activating social media network platforms and encouraging users to share content with their networks.”
The Tic Tac Small Fun Revolution is supported across numerous digital platforms: www.tictacsmallfun.ca, a branded YouTube channel, a Facebook fan page, Twitter, display advertising, two iPhone applications, SEO and a comprehensive social media outreach program.
Another facet of the campaign is a unique partnership with Much Music. There is a co-branded microsite on muchmusic.com, VJ mentions, a Much On Demand takeover day (May 10th) and three ten-second branded promo commercials.
“The engagement strategy that Noise developed is innovative in that we are not depending on a large paid media component,” says Gabriel Verkade, Sr. Brand Manager for Tic Tac. “Rather than spend large amounts of media dollars on driving traffic to a brand site, we understand that consumers want to engage with quality content on their own terms, meaning when they want and, more importantly, where they want. So we focused on creating engaging content and making it available on a variety of social media network platforms."
To seed the site with content that could easily be shared across multiple social media platforms, Noise conducted a Canada-wide search to find artists to become Tic Tac Ambassadors. The result was three videos: one that features a musician performing using only Tic Tacs and their cases; a stop-motion film of two Tic Tac cases playing tennis; and a mousetrap-style, domino-effect featuring the mints.
The campaign launched on April 26th and has already gained significant traction. The two iPhone games, Small Fun Hockey and ‘Mazing have been downloaded 9,000 times in more than 90 countries. Despite the fact that paid media didn’t start running until May 10th, there have already been 10,000 social media mentions.
On May 21st, Kits Beach will have a walk-up burger stand where the food is as good as the view. Nimby Burger, located at the corner of Cornwall & Yew, is a fresh take on the beachside burger window, and will offer quality burgers, hand-cut French fries, and real ice cream milkshakes. “Nimby Burger was inspired by countless road trips down the coast to California with my father, Bus Fuller,” says Jeff Fuller, President of the Joey Restaurant Group. “There is nothing quite like the taste of the burgers from those beachside joints in California. There’s just something about the surf and the sun, with a juicy burger and a shake.”
Though Nimby Burger at Kits Beach will be a casual, walk-up window, the focus is still on fresh, quality ingredients. The burgers and cheeseburgers are made from 100 per cent premium chuck beef and topped with crisp lettuce and red ripe tomatoes. Nimby’s French fries are made from hand-cut Yukon Gold potatoes, which are fried to order and sea-salted. A chocolate, strawberry or vanilla ice cream milkshake tops off the perfect seaside meal.
“My father and I have always talked about opening a classic burger shack in our own backyard,” says Fuller. “But we decided it would be even better to open it in Vancouver’s backyard…Kits Beach.”
Nimby Burger’s uncomplicated menu includes just five well-made items. Prices range from $2.99 for a basic burger, to $5.49 for a Dooblay (double burger with cheese). Milkshakes are $2.99, and French fries are $2.49.
During the summer, Nimby Burger will be open from 11am daily.
Hollie ShawPublished: Friday, April 09, 2010
Nature's Path Organic Foods has selected Noise Digital to market its organic granola bars after a North American agency review. "We did our due diligence in looking at agencies and Noise was by far the best integrated agency demonstrating examples of truly customized marketing solutions," said Rosy Atwal, senior brand manager at Nature's Path. Nature's Path, a privately held, family owned business based in Richmond, B.C., makes breakfast foods and snacks sold in 40 countries. Noise will be responsible for promoting a trial of Nature's Path organic granola bars in key North American markets. The campaign will include online and retail promotions at retail. As lead agency, Noise will will be responsible for strategy, media planning and buying, and campaign execution.
UPDATE: We have now filled our volunteer roster for this event. Thank you to everyone who offered to volunteer! Elettra Communications, producer of Vancouver magazine’s Restaurant Awards, is looking for student volunteers to assist with Vancouver’s premier restaurant industry event. This opportunity will appeal to students who have an interest in public relations, publishing, marketing, or event management. Now in its 21st year, Vancouver magazine’s Restaurant Awards is the biggest event of its kind in North America. Twenty of the city’s top food critics form the judging panel and vote on the best dining experience in more than 30 categories. The event itself includes a reception and awards show. The annual extravaganza welcomes more that 700 restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers, suppliers, and food and wine critics.
Dates:
Volunteers will assist with a range of activities including:
Benefit to you:
Dress code: All black. No jeans; no running shoes/sneakers. How to apply: If you would like to volunteer for this opportunity, please contact simone@elettra.ca. In your email please provide a brief introduction to yourself, and include a description of your current course of study and your contact information.
“If we don’t focus on this age group, then our membership will slowly dwindle and we won’t have the critical mass to be able to continue doing business,” said Kelly McNeill-Sproxton, marketing manager for Vancity.
Central 1 Credit Union, the umbrella organization that represents credit unions in B.C., is leading the charge with a $2 million marketing campaign that will target 18-to-29-year-olds – who loosely fit into the generation Y demographic – across a number of advertising mediums.
In the next couple years, Central 1’s goal is to double its percentage of 18- to-29- year-old members.
According to Martin Reed, Central 1’s director of marketing and creative services, credit unions have traditionally targeted consumers above the age 30.
At that age, he said, consumers begin to more seriously consider financial products and services like mortgages, loans and RRSPs.
To read more, click here.
The North Shore Outlook just uploaded their feature on the upcoming West Vancouver Yacht Club Southern Straits Classic.
If you are looking for a way to kick off the Easter weekend, come and watch competitive sailing up close.
Here are the details:
The West Vancouver Yacht Club is proudly hosting the 42nd Annual Southern Straits Classic. This sailing regatta is a West Coast racing tradition and an Easter Weekend ritual for sailors, their families and the community.
More than 60 boats and 400 sailors will race across Georgia Strait in this challenging overnight event - a true test of sailors’ strategy, skill and endurance. Racers from around the Pacific Northwest, and as far away as Hawaii, will participate in this year’s event.
In addition to the on-water activity, there will be family and community activities taking place near the start line at Dundarave Pier. The community is invited to begin their weekend with a pancake breakfast benefiting the Lions Society, followed by music from the West Vancouver Pops Band. There will also be a live commentary about participating boats as well as a special visit from the Easter Bunny.
Festivities will begin Good Friday April 2nd at 9 a.m. The race’s starting sequences will begin at 10:25 a.m. Easter celebrations will continue at Dundarave Village on Saturday, April 3rd with their annual Easter Egg Hunt.
Dundarave Pier 25th Street and Bellevue Ave. West Vancouver
For more information, please visit www.southernstraits.ca or call WVYC at 604.921.7575.
The initiative was part of Joey Restaurant Group's Cup of Care program to help address hunger in its communities. In Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto, the company donated 10,000 cups of nutritious soup to community groups, and its staff volunteered more than 100 hours at food banks, shelters, and community drop-in centres.
Noise Digital to lead online strategy for credit union cooperative advertising program
Vancouver, BC; March 23, 2010 – Central 1 Credit Union, the central financial facility and trade association for the B.C. and Ontario credit union systems, has engaged Noise Digital as its digital agency of record for the Cooperative Advertising Program for the Credit Unions of BC.
The agency has been tasked with building awareness of the credit union brand amongst 18 to 29-year-olds in British Columbia. Noise won the account after a competitive bid process that began before Christmas.
“This is an exciting assignment for us because the Credit Unions of BC are interested in exploring how Digital can anchor their overall marketing direction, not just sit at the fringe,” says Mark Nishiguchi, Managing Partner, Noise Digital. “Given the target audience, it makes complete sense to focus the strategy online.”
While BC credit unions have a solid membership base of 1.7 million – more than 1 in 3 British Columbians – research has shown that many in the next generation of potential members are unaware of credit unions and how they differ from banks. The long-term goal of the program is to educate this target market on the benefits of credit unions and grow the membership base. Many in the target audience share the values of the credit union system: honesty, community, trust and loyalty.
“We were looking for a partner who had demonstrated success in delivering a digital strategy to this market,” says Martin Reed, Director, Marketing & Creative Services, Central 1. “What pleased us about Noise is that they really challenged our idea of what Digital could be and they are stretching us in a new direction.”
The agency’s first assignment will be a fall marketing campaign. While still in the early stages of development, the campaign will focus on a new community program and will likely include social media, OOH, and a variety of online and offline activation tactics. The campaign will include new TV spots created by Wasserman + Partners Advertising.
