Today in our ongoing series, “Two Minutes With”, we're talking to Elettra Account Manager Lorna Allen.  

Favourite quote:

I love inspirational and witty quotes so it’s hard for me to pick just one. But here are two I like and think of often.

Mark Twain: A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t.

Anais Nin: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

Somebody wise also once told me to remember to "be the you that you know you are" which I always try to remember.

Favourite place to visit:

Top of my list is the South of France especially the Cote D’Azur. I used to go to Cannes and Antibes every spring when I lived in Europe and I thoroughly enjoyed the food, the Kir Royals, and the beautiful coastal scenery.

I also have a very special place in my heart for Hong Kong.  Truly the most colourful and vibrant city I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.  It has it all: beautiful beaches, world class shopping, the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, and that iconic cityscape. 

Favourite author:

Daniel Woodrell – the novelist who penned Winter’s Bone, Tomato Red, Give Us a Kiss and many more. I really enjoy his “country noir” style and think he is very underrated.

Oxford comma: Yay or nay?

I’m an Oxford comma convert.  But only since moving to Canada.  My English teacher did not believe in it and my punctuation habits were deeply ingrained.  My colleagues at Elettra have made me see the light on this one though and I think it definitely clarifies meaning when listing things.

If you didn’t work in PR, what would you choose to do?

I would be a full time film journalist.  I dabbled in this field when I lived back in the UK and the highlight of my year was attending film festivals, working red carpets and interviewing actors and directors.

Why do you choose to live in Vancouver?

I fell in love with Vancouver back in 1999 when I lived here on a temporary working visa. It is such a beautiful city and I love how accessible everything is.  I made up my mind to come back and live here again and 14 years later I finally did just that.

What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

I go through phases.  At the moment it is probably either Hello by Adele or Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.  It is nearly Christmas after all!

Fun fact about you:

I once had drinks with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Venice

If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

It would be to go back in time and be present when Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. His words have inspired so many people over the years and I think it would have been incredible to have been present to hear and witness it first hand.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

Hmm…my love of cinema brings a lot of people to mind.  But sadly my favourite film characters don’t always meet the most pleasant of ends.  For that reason, I think Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice would be preferable. However, my friends would probably say I’m more like Bridget Jones (in fact they have done so...many times).

Harbour Centre is one of the most iconic towers in the Vancouver skyline, and never is it more radiant that at Christmastime when the top is decked with festive red lights. It's a downtown holiday tradition that's spanned more than 30 years.

Yesterday, the Elettra team took Vancouver Sun up to the very top of the tower to see the hanging of the lights. It's a massive job for the Harbour Centre crew. They fearlessly hang 1,100 lights 200 metres above the city streets. Be sure to enjoy their hard work by looking up when you're walking around downtown this holiday season.

Media professionals and public relations / communications practitioners enjoy a symbiotic relationship.  It’s important to know what types of stories appeal to specific outlets and reporters and how they like these stories to be pitched.

Lorna Allen from our team recently took over responsibility for supplying journalist profiles on the CPRS Vancouver website. Her first subject was Tim Renshaw, managing editor at Business in Vancouver.

Check out the article here.

Finders & Keepers: How the world’s most powerful consumer is changing everything

This winter we’re cozying up with a few books. And if they’re good reads, we’re going to tell you about them. We're starting with Finders & Keepers, by Spring Advertising Creative Director, Rob Schlyecher.

In Finders & Keepers, Schlyecher tells us that the demographic information - age, gender, education, etc. - that marketers have long relied on to make decisions actually reveals very little about how consumers spend money. Demographic info comes up short because it does nothing to explain how a consumer feels.

There is a better way, according to the author, to understand consumers' purchasing decisions. Based on extensive research done in Australia the findings of which were tested in real estate market in the US, Schlyecher identifies two groups called, not surprisingly, Finder and Keepers. (There are actually three if you count the Finder’s upstart cousin, the Evolving Finder).

Finders value discovery and the time spent in, well, finding. When it comes to a product or company, they like information - they want to know about the provenance of a product and the story of how it was crafted. They value design, innovation, and authenticity. They love sharing the story of their discovery. Price is only a piece of information for the Finder, it’s not the deciding factor for their purchase. And in fact, they may be downright distrustful of a discount.

Keepers, in contrast, are very price sensitive. They like a deal, but they don’t want to spend a lot of time getting it. They value brand highly, especially as it relates to status and established trust in the product they know. They are not particularly adventurous.

How does this work in practice? As just one of many examples, Schlyecher suggests a true Finder who is a chocolate lover would make the extra effort to visit the Thomas Haas Patisserie (a bastion of authenticity and craftsmanship if ever there was one) in an out-of-the-way industrial park tucked behind an automall in North Vancouver. We suppose a Keeper with a chocolate craving would probably be pretty happy picking up whatever's on sale in the grocery aisle.

Schlyecher argues that, for several reasons including Finders not being price sensitive, companies that appeal to Finders can be recession proof. But for those companies going after Keepers based on pricing tactics, it’s ultimately a death spiral (the book offers up the poignant example of Circuit City) - that is, unless you’re Walmart, of course.

Granted, this is a massive oversimplification of Schlyecher’s thesis, but for the in-depth goods on Finders & Keepers (and how it could apply to your own company), we suggest you pick up a copy of the book. It’s a great read.

As a public relations agency,  the concept of Finders and Keepers bears thinking about. After all, PR is all about telling a story. And it works best when that story is about innovation, quality, service, and experience. In fact, PR is downright ineffectual if it’s trying to tell a lowest price story.  It would seem that PR is made for Finder companies. We’ll certainly be giving the Finders and Keepers philosophy considered thought in the future.

The Elettra team is over the moon to have been recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and to have been awarded a Silver Leaf Award of Excellence for Media Relations. What’s more, we were the only public relations agency in Vancouver to pick up a Silver Leaf award this year.

For a full list of the winners click here.

We received this accolade for our work on the opening of Mahony & Sons Stamps Landing restaurant, which opened last summer. 

It was a really fun project to work on and it was exciting to watch the various stages of the transformation of the former Monk McQueen’s.  The end result is a stunning location with a beautiful patio area, and thoughtful and authentically Irish input.  Not to mention a fabulous and extensive menu.  It was a pleasure telling the world about it!

We thank Mahony & Sons for bringing us on board and we wish all the other BC Silver Leaf winners “congratulations” on their achievement.

I think that warrants a celebratory glass of bubbly at Stamps Landing, don’t you?

BC Aviation Council's Silver Wings Awards at YVR's South Terminal

The critical first step in planning a gala is selecting the right venue. To help take anxiety out of venue choice, here are some tips from Elettra’s event team.

Decide whether you prefer a traditional or non- traditional venue

Traditional venues include hotels, conference centres, and restaurants. A non-traditional venue can be anywhere, really – a farmhouse, an airplane hangar, or an outdoor plaza to name just a few. The appeal of non-traditional venues is obvious – they tend to be more interesting, creative, and unexpected than the (often) beige four walls of a hotel ballroom. Start by asking yourself if this element of surprise is important to your organization and your guests.

While the cost of hosting at a hotel or conference centre may seem high at first glance, remember that a non-traditional venue is usually a blank slate. That means you’ll need to consider the cost of bringing every single spoon, glass, and chair to the event site. Not to mention the audio-visual and décor required to make the space come alive and the extra event planning and labour hours required to pull it all together.

But when it comes together…wow, you can truly blow your guests away! Elettra worked with the BC Aviation Council (BCAC) on their Silver Wings Awards. For their 20th anniversary they didn’t want the typical hotel ballroom, so we turned YVR’s South Terminal into a gala awards show venue, complete with staging, AV, and a dinner buffet. It was so worth the time and effort to create something unexpected for BCAC’s guests.

Venue size

A half-full room, no matter its size, suggests that an event is not a success. Before booking your venue, do some serious thinking about how many people will attend. Is your invite list 500? Consider realistically how many people will come at the ticket price point you are setting.

Hotel and conference spaces offer a bit more flexibility on room size as ballrooms often have air walls that can divide up the space. This means you can often make adjustments to your venue footprint once you have a sense of how ticket sales are going. In a pinch you can also use pipe and drape to section off a space, but this isn’t ideal and it’s much better to choose the right size of space in the first place.

Location & accessibility

How easy is your event to get to? The answer to that question has a direct bearing on RSVP numbers. Is your event in the downtown core and starting right after work? Great. Have you chosen a far-flung spot that’s not easy to get to via transit? No problem, but you’ll need to budget for shuttles or taxi vouchers to facilitate guest transport.

Atmosphere & décor

Oftentimes hosts treat décor as a “nice to have,” but it’s every bit as critical to the event’s success as food and drink. A good event manager will insist that this is part of the plan. When choosing your venue, consider what it will take to create the desired atmosphere for your guests. If you choose a beautiful spot like Vancouver Art Gallery’s Rotunda, it might not take much more than a bit of lighting and some florals, but if you choose a windowless ballroom or a warehouse, be prepared to devote some serious budget and effort to creating an atmosphere worthy of your event.

Have an event you need help planning? Contact Gwen or Simone at Elettra Communications. We have a combined 30 years' experience in creating successful events of all shapes and sizes. 

Welcome to our new feature, Elettra Communications' Word of the Week. 

We're word lovers, that's for sure, so each week we're going share a word that is inspiring or intriguing us.

This week it's alacrity, which means brisk and cheerful readiness.

Usage: "We are approaching this challenge with alacrity."

Today in our ongoing series, “Two Minutes With”, we're talking to talented graphic and web designer, Michael Young.  In addition to being an in-demand designer, Michael is also exceptionally handy with a camera. In fact, he's Elettra's go-to photographer for shooting building interiors/exteriors for our PR campaigns.

Check out Michael's online portfolio here.

Favourite publication: Montecristo is simple, tasteful, and always interesting.

Favourite quote:  Creative work can often go under-appreciated. Hemmingway sums it up nicely with..  "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

Favourite food: There is nothing better to eat in the world than a carefully loved and lightly seasoned, grilled Wagyu steak with a peppercorn cream sauce on the side, paired with a dark full bodied stout.

Favourite font: The obvious choice - Helvetica is perfect when kerned and used properly and obviously boring when not. In graphic design, it separates the amateurs from those who care.

Best piece of career advice you have received? Get paid doing what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. Sounds cliché but I'm very happy that I took it to heart, I love what I do and wouldn't change it for the world.

Why do you choose to live in Vancouver? It's home, I was born and raised here. It wasn't until I left that I truly appreciated how beautiful it is.

What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod? It's always changing but right now, anything by Mø.

What is your favourite PR campaign (local, national, or international): Sony (allegedly) acted as though Kim Jung Un was going to engage in war due to The Interview film. The buzz that came from this was enormous. 

Michael Young shooting for Mahony & Sons Stamps Landing

Michael Young shooting for Mahony & Sons Stamps Landing

Vancouver film buffs will have the opportunity to catch a number of critically acclaimed international films over the next fortnight at the 34th annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), which kicks off on Thursday.

As a former film journalist and self-confessed film fanatic, I am really excited about this year’s selection of films. It is chock-full of features and documentaries I have been looking forward to seeing.

I’m also excited to be volunteering in the VIFF media office where I get to combine my passion for communications and my love of cinema!

One of the perks of volunteering is that I get a pass granting me access into most screenings so have eagerly scoured the VIFF schedule and selected the movies I most want to watch.

Here are the top five movies I intend to check out:

Room

Lenny Abrahamson’s adaptation of Emma Donaghue’s powerful bestseller is at the very top of my list.

While the subject matter may not be for everyone (it’s inspired by the horrendous Josef Fritzel case) the film generated rave reviews at Telluride and Toronto – even winning the People’s Choice Award at the latter.

Brand: A Second Coming

Documentarian Ondi Timoner’s film about British comedian and activist Russell Brand is screening in the documentary section of the festival.

This promises to be a revealing and intimate portrait of Brand’s life over the last few years and his struggle with addiction. 

Beeba Boys

I’m a sucker for a gangster film so when I saw the trailer for Beeba Boys, a film about a ruthless mobster loosely based on “Bindy” Johal, I was very intrigued.   A gangster film set in Vancouver and directed by a woman no less!

I love seeing this city on the big screen and it’s especially nice to enjoy it for itself and not as a stand-in for a US location.

London Road

Received enthusiastically at TIFF, this unorthodox musical recounts the chaos that followed the murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich, England in 2006.

Evolving from the stage musical of the same name it is based on actual taped interviews conducted with inhabitants of London Road, the quiet residential street from where the victims were picked up.

45 Years

This drama generated glowing reviews from critics and earned Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay best actor awards at the Berlin Film festival earlier this year.

It tells the story of an older couple whose lives are rocked when the husband receives a letter revealing that his past love’s frozen body has been recovered from the Alps five decades after she fell to her death.

By Lorna Allen

Welcome to the new Elettra Communications website. We’ve got to say, there’s nothing quite like a fresh start and a new look to put a spring in a PR agency’s step.

Putting together a new website is a great opportunity for a bit of organizational soul searching. It’s as much about honing in on what we do best, as it is getting crystal clear about the kind of work we really want to do. You know, the stuff that makes us excited to come to work every day.

And we think we’ve pretty much nailed it with our Services page. There it is all in one place – the media relations, communications strategy, events, and community relations work that makes us so grateful to be working as communicators.

Of course, launching a new website is the perfect time to make sure your SEO i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. Thanks to Leanne Kedrosky on our team for supporting that process.

Thanks to Michael Young for the photography of our beloved office space. We think it really makes the website sing.

And thanks to everyone in the office for putting up with weeks of hearing me say “what about this?” and “how about that?” and giving their honest, but ever constructive, feedback.

- Simone Abt

Vancouver’s first ever Literacy Month is in full swing. Decoda Literacy Solutions kicked off events with a flag-raising at Vancouver City Hall on UNESCO-designated International Literacy Day.
 
Local dignitaries including City Councillor Kerry Jang joined Decoda representatives at the Commemorative Flag Plaza to launch Literacy Month and Literacy is Life, the literacy organization’s month-long awareness and fundraising campaign. 
 
What’s more, BC Place, Canada Place, Science World and the main entrance of the provincial Legislature in Victoria lit up in Decoda purple that evening in support of Iiteracy in BC. 
 
The Literacy is Life campaign will run through the end of September and features a fun team trivia challenge to raise funds to support the provision of literacy resources in 400 communities throughout BC. Companies, organizations, and members of the public are encouraged to get a team together in support of the campaign. 
 
The Vancouver Literacy Team Trivia Challenge takes place on September 29 at Red Card Sports Bar & Eatery on Smithe Street from 6-9pm.
 
The campaign also offers a letter writing contest whereby children, youth and adults are asked to explain what literacy means to them, how it has impacted their lives and what they have done to increase literacy in their community. 
 
To get involved and learn more about the resources available go to www.literacyislife.ca or keep an eye out for #literacy is life!

As a British/Irish transplant in Canada (I’m from Northern Ireland) I had previously thought that the basics of PR would be pretty much the same no matter where one was in the western world.

I was wrong.  I learnt, I mean learned, that very quickly upon landing my first PR position in Vancouver.

While the principles and objectives are very much the same there are some subtle, and some not-so-subtle, differences between practicing PR in Belfast and Vancouver. I’ve summarised, or rather, summarized, some of these differences below:

The first hurdle?  Canadian spelling.  A confusing mix of American and English, I didn’t even know there was such a thing until I started having to use it on a daily basis. And why doesn’t Microsoft acknowledge it in its spell-check options? After 16 months I think I’ve finally mastered the usage and it’s almost second nature now, however, I do fear my former colleagues and journalist friends back home may be silently judging me each time I use it in a Facebook post.

PR Terminology.  I’ve been met with my fair share of confused looks since taking up this position due to the terminology I use.

Here what I previously referred to as a Diary Note is a Media Advisory.  The content I normally used in the Notes to Editor section below my press release is now used in a fact sheet.

Photography.  Back in Belfast our main goal was print media. As a small region with very limited regional radio and television programming, most of which was taken up with political reporting, generating broadcast coverage was rarely achievable no matter how compelling the client’s story may be.  However, the golden rule for getting plentiful print coverage in Belfast was to have a quirky, colourful image accompanying your media release….featuring at least one attractive female. Hence, no matter the story - whether it be business, trade or lifestyle - a model was generally booked for a photo shoot and I was off on the hunt for props and costumes.

Here in Vancouver I have had more contact with broadcast media in the last 16 months than I did in 6 years in Belfast.  There is definitely more human interest content on news shows here.  It can be the daily newspapers that are the hardest nuts to crack.

Quirks aside…the biggest challenge was learning an entire media market from scratch.  Radio and TV call signs also stumped me for a bit but in time I’ve become familiar with the various channels, their programming and the types of content they carry.

The last 16 months have been a fantastic learning experience and this has greatly widened my outlook and made me more adaptable and flexible in my role. Having the opportunity to gain experience in your chosen industry in different cultures and countries is something I would thoroughly recommend to anyone.

Welcome to our ongoing series, “Two Minutes With”. We’re getting to know a little more about the Elettra team, our clients, and our partners/suppliers. Today we chat with Elettra Account Coordinator, Leanne Kedrosky.

​Favourite place to visit: My favourite place I have been is Positano, off the Amalfi Coast of Italy. It is incredibly beautiful and calm.

Favourite food: Banana milkshakes – what a treat.

Morning beverage of choice: Black coffee to kick my mornings up a notch.

Favourite social media site: Pinterest – there is so much inspiration! Whether it’s what to cook for dinner, new makeup tricks, or how to make a bookshelf from pipe (tried it, love it!).

If you didn’t work in PR, what would you choose to do: Ideally, I would be a pirate. Realistically, I would be a professional equestrian.

Natural talent you wish you had: I’ve always wished I could sing – you don’t want to hear my family sing Happy Birthday. We are the most out of tune bunch.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

Thor! Ability to fly, manipulate weather, have super strength and agility, and be incredibly intelligent? Yes please! Plus, being friends with the rest of the Avengers would be a great time.