Noise hired as advertising AOR for insurance company Vancouver, BC; June 14, 2010 – Canadian Direct Insurance announced today that it has named Noise as its advertising agency of record. Noise has been working as Canadian Direct’s digital agency for the past six years and has now been tasked with providing full service to Canadian Direct.

The bold move comes as agencies and clients around the world are trying to determine whether marketing efforts should be led by traditional or digital agencies. In this era that Forrester has dubbed the Adaptive Marketing Era, significant confusion has arisen for marketers as to the roles of different agencies.

“After working with multiple agencies for the past few years, we wanted to find one strategic partner to handle all of our needs,” says Trisha Tyrrell, Senior Manager, Business Development, Canadian Direct. “Ultimately with the way that lines have blurred between traditional and digital advertising, we needed an agency capable of executing any kind of integrated campaign across any platform.”

Canadian Direct’s goals for Noise are to develop strategic marketing initiatives and increase brand awareness. While online tactics are a priority, the agency will be responsible for all creative execution including TV, print and radio.

The announcement is notable as it is rare to see digital agencies offered the opportunity to lead. According to Sean Corcoran, a Senior Analyst with Forrester “most interactive marketers don't trust their traditional agencies with digital work and yet most don't believe their interactive agencies are ready to lead yet either.”

One of Noise’s strengths is its mix of in-house talent. The agency’s creative team is lead by co-creative directors Brock Ellis and Michael Milardo. Ellis’ background lies in digital, while Milardo’s experience was gained at tier one advertising agencies such as Rethink, TBWA, BBDO Berlin, and Ogilvy Copenhagen.

“I have a great deal of comfort with Noise’s ability to deliver offline work,” continues Tyrrell. “Given their team and their track record with us, I am confident that they will deliver. In six years of working with them, they have never failed me.”

“This opportunity proves what we have been preaching for years: ultimately all work is digital,” says Trevor Carr, President and CEO, Noise. “Our clients are now giving us more opportunities to lead their entire account. It is a vote of confidence in the model that we have created and the teams that we have built in Vancouver and Toronto.”

Last week a rare bottle of Rémy Martin Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac was sold at the Aldeasa Duty Free store in the International Terminal of Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The bottle of Remy Martin cognac sold for $34,000 to a couple who were on their return home to Mainland China. Anthony Gismondi writes about the significance of the sale in the Vancouver Sun.

Elettra Communications is looking for a star intern. This position will appeal to students or recent graduates who are looking to start their Communications career. Ideally, candidates will be enrolled in or will have completed a public relations or communications program. The chosen candidate will gain valuable experience in media relations, event coordination, and account/office administration.

The ideal candidate will have strong writing skills, an impeccable work ethic, and a demonstrated interest in public relations.

This position is four days per week (Monday- Thursday). It is an unpaid internship with a monthly honourarium of $500.

Interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter to simone@elettra.ca no later than Monday, June 7.

Burger Alert

by: Sheryl Kristie Yen BC Business Magazine has posted their shots from the Official Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards Afterparty at the Joey Bentall One Wine Room.

The Okanagan's new GoGo magazine also covered the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Click here for the full article.

by: Sheryl Kristie Yen BC Business Magazine has posted their shots from the Official Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards Afterparty at the Joey Bentall One Wine Room.

Here are a few, but you can check out the rest here.

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.