Communication Creative 184

Table of Contents 2. A Message from the IABC/Toronto President 3. A Message from the Ovation Awards Organizers 4. OVATION Awards Gala Sponsors

5. 2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

15. IABC/Toronto Awards of Distinction 15. 2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award 15. Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award 16. Independent or Small Agency of the Year 16. Agency of the Year 16. Corporate Communications Department of the Year 16. People‘s Choice Award

17. 2009 OVATION Awards Winning Entries Communication Management

17. Brand Communication 22. Community Relations 28. Electronic and Digital Communication 40. Employee/Member/HR Communications 68. Issues Management and Crisis Communication 74. Marketing Communications 86. Media Relations sponsored by News Canada 113. Social Responsibility including Economic, Societal and Environmental Development 138. Special Events Communication Skills 150. Audiovisual 156. Electronic/Interactive Communication

160. Publications 170. Writing Communication Creative 184. Publication Design Awards of Distinction 189. 2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award 192. Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award 197. People‘s Choice Award 203. OVATION Awards Judges 204. OVATION Awards Judges‘ Biographies 211. 2008/2009 IABC/Toronto Board 212. 2009 OVATION Awards Committee Members

A Message from the IABC/Toronto President

In 1985, IABC/Toronto established the OVATION Awards to challenge communicators to take stock of their best campaigns and subject them to the scrutiny of accredited and accomplished peers – who select those few that exemplify excellence in communications.

This year, communicators throughout the chapter demonstrated a heightened drive to excel by submitting a record breaking number of entries to both the OVATION Awards and the Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award. There was also a range of contenders for our other Awards of Distinction, which include the 2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK PR Student of the Year Award, as well as the Corporate Communications Department of the Year, Independent/Small Agency of the Year and Agency of the Year awards.

The resulting winners span the spectrum of agency, corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors. As such, they showcase diverse campaigns – from a light-hearted ‗road show‘ that mixes ping-pong with a 60s icon to boost a confectionery company‘s market share, to socially responsible initiatives that shift consumer behaviour and divert waste from landfill or ease electricity use. And the metrics show: communications can generate measureable results and prompt beneficial change.

As a volunteer-driven organization, we are indebted to Linda Andross, ABC, VP Accreditation & Standards and her team of judges, led by Amanda Brewer, ABC and John Cappelletti, ABC, M.Ed. To further honour our winners and the organizations they represent, this year‘s judges crystallized their findings to tell guests at the 2009 OVATION Awards gala ‘why‘ top winners stood out.

Credit also goes to Trell Huether, VP Awards, and his team, who agonized over each detail, long before and after the judging process, to make the 2009 OVATION Awards program a success.

We‘re also grateful for our sponsors, including MAVERICK Public Relations, News Canada, Fusion Design Group and Canadian Press Images, who helped make the event possible.

On behalf of IABC/Toronto, I congratulate all of the 2009 OVATION Award and Awards of Distinction winners. Thanks also for inspiring other communicators and profiling our profession‘s capability to deliver bottom-line results, so we may ‗Be Heard™‘ in wider circles. Together, let‘s ensure ‗word gets around.‘

Leslie Hetherington, APR, MBA President, IABC/Toronto

A Message from the OVATION Awards Organizers

It is with sincere gratitude that we acknowledge all of the entrants, judges, advisors, sponsors and volunteer organizers who were involved with the 2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards.

The OVATION Awards recognize the high standard of excellence found in the Greater Toronto Area communications community and with each passing year, we continue to be amazed by the creativity and professionalism achieved by each entry. The calibre of this year‘s submissions demonstrated the high level of skill required in producing successful communications as the competition for audience continues to grow.

This year‘s tagline, ‗Word Gets Around,‘ emphasizes how great communications need to be stronger and more relevant than ever in order to overcome the barrage of information faced by people on a daily basis. The programs created by this year‘s winners have been honoured for successfully rising above the noise to deliver their intended messages to their desired audiences.

In 2009 we saw a record number of OVATION entries and in total IABC/Toronto awarded 17 Awards of Excellence and 32 Awards of Merit. We also received a record-breaking number of entries for the Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award and the IABC/Toronto MAVERICK Student of the Year Award.

Our sincere thanks is extended to the co-directors of judging – Amanda Brewer, ABC and John Cappelletti, ABC, M.Ed – and the team of more than 30 judges who had the difficult task of selecting this year‘s winners.

A big thank you also goes to our amazing team of more than 20 volunteers led by directors Lyndsay Carter, Amanda Flude, Erin Jennison, Katie O‘Dell and Diana Spremo. Your creativity, enthusiasm and hard work have gone a long way to make the entire OVATION Awards program a success.

We also extend many thanks to our sponsors for their support: The Canadian Press Images (who provided the evening‘s photography); Fusion Design Group (our design partner for the gala and event‘s striking creative); MAVERICK Public Relations; and News Canada.

We hope you enjoy reviewing the following winning entries and look forward to seeing your next entry in the 2010 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards.

Trell Huether Linda Andross, ABC VP Awards, IABC/Toronto VP of Accreditation and Standards IABC/Toronto

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Gala Sponsors

We would like to acknowledge our generous sponsors:

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Communication Management This division includes projects, programs and campaigns defined by a communication plan. Entries in these categories might include a combination of communication materials, or might focus on a single communication tool within a larger campaign. Entrants must demonstrate how their project applied a full range of planning and management skills, while the Work Plan addresses how the entry relates to and affects the organization's overall business strategies.

Brand Communication This category includes strategies for new brands and for repositioning existing brands. Winners in this category demonstrate the research used to shape brand changes. Programs include brand architectures, changes to corporate identities and design solutions that address the challenges of brand communication.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Rebranding of Horizon Utilities Corporation Entrants: Sandy Manners, Horizon Utilities Corporation; Robert Palmese, Palmese View Photodesign Group; Hilda Mackow, Mackow Energy & Marketing Consultants Entry Entrant Company: Horizon Utilities Corporation

Community Relations Programs targeted at community audiences, including not-for-profit and volunteer organizations.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) View Entrants: Anna Larson, Jennifer Jenkins, Grace Mendoza, Halton Region Entry Entrant Company: The Regional Municipality of Halton

Customer Relations Programs targeted at customer audiences, including customer relationship management and customer research.

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: The Allstream Global Forum: An Evening with Steve Forbes Entrants: Christine E. Gerritse, JoAnne Tomasone, MTS Allstream Entrant Company: Allstream

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Electronic and Digital Communication These programs are computer-based communication projects produced for internal or external audiences that primarily use electronic production and/or delivery tools. They may include electronic newsletters, electronic annual reports, websites and intranet sites. This category includes predominantly one-way electronic communications: published content that audiences access online.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Neilson Dairy gets Savvy with Ontario Moms Entrants: Roanne Argyle, Kerry Collings, Ashley Ballantyne, Daniel Tisch, APR, View Argyle Communications Entry Entrant Company: Argyle Communications

Award of Merit Title of Entry: A savvy way to talk about travel insurance: The creation of SavvyTraveller.ca Entrants: Tracey Bochner, APR, Anne Locke, Gina Kohn, Paradigm Public Relations; Joel Donin, Jonathan Bolton, Travel Guard Entrant Company: Paradigm Public Relations

Award of Merit Title of Entry: The transformation of sunlife.com (www.sunlife.com) Entrants: Sabita Singh, ABC, Lorraine Dal Cin, Wendi Phillips, Marilyn View Whittingham, Jeannette Cantin, Bev Sauder, Sun Life Financial; Katherine Entry Fletcher, iStudio; Dan Skeen, Quarry Entrant Company: Sun Life Financial

Employee/Member/HR Communications Targeted primarily to internal employee or member audiences, programs that create awareness and influence opinion and/or behavioural change, or focus on management communication, ethics, morale, internal culture or change management. Examples: any type of internal communications program, project or campaign (employee benefits, health and welfare, compensation), or member/employee recruitment or retention campaigns.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: CH2M HILL – It‘s a Hero‘s Work Entrants: Chris MacEachern, Pauline Graf, Samuel Cheung, Flora Gordon, Beth View Entry Duthie, CH2M HILL Canada Limited Entrant Company: CH2M HILL Canada Limited

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Trust, Quality and Excellence – Living Our Corporate Values View Entrants: Gary Williams, ABC, Ivana Di Millo, Gary Kent, City of Mississauga Entry Entrant Company: City of Mississauga

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Discover Barrick View Entrants: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC, Barrick Gold Corporation Entry Entrant Company: Barrick Gold Corporation

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Perfect Fit: A Communications Strategy for KPMG Recruiting View Entrants: Angie Andich, Gillian Welsh, Kim Murray, Janine Jorgensen, Christobal Entry Ramirez Entrant Company: KPMG in Canada

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: The MDS Advantage 2008 Pulse Survey View Entrants: Nadia Corbiere, Janet Ko, Barbara Moffat, Loris Parekh, Entry Shahin Bonakdar, MDS Inc. Entrant Company: MDS Inc.

Issues Management and Crisis Communication Programs whose objectives, strategies and tactics address trends, issues and/or stakeholder attitudes that have a significant positive or negative impact on an organization. Examples: programs or projects surrounding such issues as labour relations, mergers/acquisitions, crises, change management, the environment or public policy.

Award of Excellence View Title of Entry: Take a Load Off Toronto Entry Entrant Company: Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited

Marketing Communications Programs aimed at marketing products and/or services to an external audience

Marketing Communications with Budget Greater than $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Crock-On: Revitalizing the Crock-Pot Brand View Entrants: Dita Zemanek, Nicole McKnight, Elizabeth Stunt, Genevieve Chalifour, Entry Cohn & Wolfe; Jamie Libregts, Jarden Consumer Solutions Inc. Entrant Company: Cohn & Wolfe

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Thermador Debuts in Canada 2007/08 Program Entrants: Sarah Waldock, Martine Lévy, Emily Ward, DDB Public Relations Entrant Company: DDB Public Relations

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Marketing Communications with Budget Greater than $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Agent Provocateur comes to Canada Entrants: Martine Lévy, Sarah Waldock, Elyn Kirby, Sally Byun, DDB Public Relations Entrant Company: DDB Public Relations

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Engaging the Customer: Property Assessment in Ontario Entrants: Michael Jacoby, Cathy Ranieri Sweenie, Laurette Sharpe, Elizabeth McMullen, Paul Galaski, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) Entrant Company: Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Take a Load Off Toronto View Entrant Company: Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited Entry

Media Relations – sponsored by News Canada Programs focusing on the news media as the main channel used to reach target audiences. Use of a standardized media measurement system, such as Media Relations Rating Points (MRP), is recommended, as evidence of media campaign metrics.

Media Relations with Budget up to $50K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Franklin Templeton Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum Entrants: Daniel Tisch, APR, Jason Graham, Kaleigh Sainthill, Laura LaMontagne, View Argyle Communications Entry Entrant Company: Argyle Communications

Award of Merit Title of Entry: L‘Oréal Paris Beauty Tubes on YouTube Entrants: Anik Gagnon, Julie Tremblay, L‘Oréal Paris; Cathy Cowan, Margaret View Batuszkin, Sonja Andic, Cowan & Company; Bruce Parlette, Tantara Multimedia Entry Entrant Company: Cowan & Company

Media Relations with Budget of $51K up to $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Canadian Tourism Commission: Canada, The World‘s Second Most-Powerful Tourism Brand: A Rise to the Top Entrants: Martine Lévy, Keka Dasgupta, Sarah Waldock, DDB Public Relations Entrant Company: DDB Public Relations

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Media Relations with Budget of $51K up to $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Amp Your Game National Gaming Tour Media Relations Entrants: Paula Oreskovich, Maureen Juniper, Liz Luzza, Lauren Grant, Matthew Juniper, PraxisPR; Hélène Reeves Entrant Company: PraxisPR

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: 40th Anniversary of the Caramilk Secret Entrants: The Team at Strategic Objectives Entrant Company: Strategic Objectives

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: The Johnnie Walker Pillars of Responsibility Entrants: The Team at Strategic Objectives Entrant Company: Strategic Objectives

Media Relations with Budget Greater than $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: The Henkel Play Fair...Play Clean Hockey Contest View Entrant: Diana Robinson, Diana Robinson & Associates Entry Entrant Company: Diana Robinson & Associates

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Lucy Waverman Allergy-Friendly Recipes for EpiPen View Entrants: Saskia Brussaard, Ron Hall, Alison Crocker, Porter Novelli Canada Entry Entrant Company: Porter Novelli Canada

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Petro-Canada Canadian Athlete Family Program Announcement Event Entrants: Lisa Kimmel, Robyn Adelson, Stephanie Kohls, Melissa Graham, Janice Keyes, Tanya Anand, Lisa Bruce, Andi Argast, Alicia Storey, Mariane Leduc, Chantal Morin, Edelman Public Relations Entrant Company: Edelman Public Relations

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: New Stride Canadian Brand Launch View Entrants: The Team at Strategic Objectives Entry Entrant Company: Strategic Objectives

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Social Responsibility: Economic, Societal, and Environmental Development Communications on a currently "hot social responsibility topic" that demonstrate efforts by you, your client and/or your employer to build community/public awareness and potentially influence change in one or more areas of:

 health and welfare, sustainable environmental development, literacy, economic revitalization, or cause-related issues in areas such as education, cultural preservation, indigenous/heritage protection, poverty reduction and/or other societal benefits.  designed to raise awareness and support where the primary objective is to address and enhance the long-term well-being of one or more communities

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Save the Leopard Frog: It Can Be Easy To Be Green Entrants: David Gordon, Cohn & Wolfe; Bernadette Fernandez, Credit Valley View Conservation Entry Entrant Company: Cohn & Wolfe

Award of Merit Title of Entry: The Henkel Play Fair...Play Clean Hockey Contest View Entrant: Diana Robinson, Diana Robinson & Associates Entry Entrant Company: Diana Robinson & Associates

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Brita FilterforGood Entrants: Lisa Kimmel, Stella Mok, Andi Argast, Michelle Easton, Edelman Public Relations Entrant Company: Edelman Public Relations

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Earth Hour in Ontario‘s Schools: Using Earth Hour to Promote Environmental Education View Entry Entrants: Lisa Gibbens, Rene Vidulin, Christina Mottola, Ontario Ministry of

Education Entrant Company: Ontario Ministry of Education

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: More Blue and Green for a Better Planet Entrants: Samantha Booth, Carleen Carroll, John Watson, Shirley McLean, Regional View Municipality of Halton; Pier 8 Group Entry Entrant Company: Regional Municipality of Halton

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Special Events Any event marking a significant occasion that supports the goals of the organization, including entries developed and implemented using major events as the pivotal communications tool. Examples include: Large fundraisers, cause-related marketing events, an anniversary, official opening, product launch, road show, conference, customer event, employee appreciation event and large marketing-driven sponsorships.

Special Events with Budget up to $50K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Philips Canada Movember Campaign 2008 Entrants: Paul Keable, Jessica Kasparian, Natalie Little, Elpi Klapas, Veronica Langvee, Samantha Shecter, MS&L; Court Elliott, Philips Canada Entrant Company: MS&L

Award of Excellence View Title of Entry: Take a Load Off Toronto Entry Entrant Company: Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited

Special Events with Budget of $51K up to $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety View Entrants: Melanie Rego, Lori Cooper, Jennifer Thompson, Megan McCann, elevator Entry communications inc. Entrant Company: elevator communications inc.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: The Passion behind PawsWay: Launching Canada‘s First Pet Discovery Centre Entrants: Jennifer Duggan, Environics Communications; Mary Siemiesz, Jenine LaFayette, Nestlé Purina PetCare Canada Entrant Company: Environics Communications

Special Events with Budget Greater than $100K

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Agent Provocateur comes to Canada Entrants: Martine Lévy; Sarah Waldock, Elyn Kirby, Sally Byun, DDB Public Relations Entrant Company: DDB Public Relations

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Thermador Debuts in Canada 2007/08 Program Entrants: Martine Lévy, Sarah Waldock, Emily Ward, DDB Public Relations Entrant Company: DDB Public Relations

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Special Events with Budget Greater than $100K

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition Launch Event Entrants: Robyn Adelson, Sandra D‘Ambrosio, Angie Di Rezze, Alicia Storey, Mariane Leduc, Sarah Burgess, Edelman Public Relations; Sandy Sinclair, Ginger Grcic, Michelle Sinclair, Marisa Pedatella, Sandra Paulini, Hasbro Entrant Company: Hasbro Canada and Edelman Public Relations

Communication Skills These categories look at communication pieces that highlight such technical skills and expertise as editing, writing, design and photography. They recognize:

 importance of project's goals  demonstration of measurable results  strategic alignment with the organization's business goals and  emphasis on the creative process of project execution

Audiovisual Programs using sound, video, film slides, CDs or a combination of all or any of these elements, including such projects as video programs, audio-only programs, slide and sound programs, and films.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Mississauga: Location of Choice for the Life Sciences Industry View Entrants: Marie Fitzpatrick-Hall, ABC, Kevin Mellors, Richard Stone, Alex Lo- Entry Basso, City of Mississauga Entrant Company: City of Mississauga

Electronic/Interactive Communication Includes computer-based communication projects, using electronic production and/or delivery mechanisms to provide audiences with information including:

 interactive programs allowing substantial user control re: internal audiences, external audience and presentations  electronic newsletters and annual reports  internet (www) websites, intranet (internal websites), wikis, podcasts, blogs

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Enermodal‘s Signature Green Education Kiosks View Entrants: Caitlin Carpenter, Donna Carpenter, Enermodal Engineering Entry Entrant Company: Enermodal Engineering

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Publications External or internal publications in all formats (except electronic): magazines, newspapers, magapapers/tabloids, corporate social responsibility reports, newsletters, annual reports and special purpose publications.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Beyond Borders View Entrants: Nancy White, Andy Lloyd, Barrick Gold Corporation Entry Entrant Company: Barrick Gold Corporation

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Barrick News View Entrants: Andy Lloyd, Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC, Barrick Gold Corporation Entry Entrant Company: Barrick Gold Corporation

Writing Encompasses original material written for a particular communications project, such as:

 personality profiles, recurring features or columns  other features, editorials and advertorials  original writing of news stories, news article(s), news releases, or interpretive/expository articles  marketing and sales promotion materials  speeches, scripts  writing for online distribution  technical writing

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Address to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Entrants: Linda Andross, ABC, Ken Evans, Tanya Elliott-Briden, Shannon Morton, Dan Ovsey, APEX Public Relations Inc.; Steve Vitale, Tara Smith, UPS Canada Entrant Company: APEX Public Relations Inc.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Gold Security Standards View Entrant: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC, Barrick Gold Corporation Entry Entrant Company: Barrick Gold Corporation

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Announcing Barrick‘s Tire Management Strategy View Entrant: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC, Barrick Gold Corporation Entry Entrant Company: Barrick Gold Corporation

2009 IABC/Toronto OVATION Award Winners

Writing

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: Nestlé asks, ―Are you a Halloweenie?‖ Entrants: Alison George, Janet Grdovich, Ashley Ballantyne, Daniel Tisch, APR, View Argyle Communications Entry Entrant Company: Argyle Communications

Communication Creative Demonstrating effective communication that:

 includes innovation, creativity, strategic alignment with an organization's business goals  showcases creative talent and design.

Photography Original photography created or commissioned for a particular communication project. Can be single photo or photo essay.

Award of Merit Title of Entry: Fashion with Compassion: The Rollout of New Pink Cashmere Bathroom Tissue for Breast Cancer Awareness Entrants: The Team at Strategic Objectives Entrant Company: Strategic Objectives

Publication Design Design of internal or external publications in all formats (except electronic): magazines, newspapers, tabloids/magapapers, newsletters, annual reports, brochures and leaflets.

Award of Excellence Title of Entry: The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada Annual Report 07-08 View Entrant: George James, The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada Entry Entrant Company: The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada

IABC/Toronto 2009 Awards of Distinction Winners

2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK Student of the Year

Winner: Jess Bennett

IABC/Toronto and MAVERICK Public Relations are pleased to announce that View Jess Bennett of Seneca College‘s Corporate Communications program has been named Entry 2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK Student of the Year!

Each year, a student from an accredited institution is given the award for demonstrating excellence in communications and the greatest potential to be the best all-round future professional.

Bennett is an accomplished blogger, writing about her passion for food on her blog ‗Sift, Dust & Toss.‘ Her writing has been featured in both The Toronto Star and Macleans.ca.

Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award-Making a Difference

Winner: Apex Public Relations Inc.

Roberta (Bobbie) Resnick, ABC, APR, MC and IABC Fellow, is a public relations pioneer who was one of the founders of the Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Resnick boasts a successful track record of more than fifty years as a View communicator, volunteer, award winner, consultant, entrepreneur, educator and mentor. Entry

This philanthropy award in her name recognizes outstanding leadership, contribution to the profession and service to the community and/or not-for-profit sector.

IABC/Toronto is pleased to announce APEX Public Relations Inc. as this year‘s recipient for its entry ―Charity Starts at the Office-Creating on Your Bike‖.

IABC/Toronto 2009 Awards of Distinction Winners

The following three awards celebrate exceptional OVATION winners. For each OVATION Award of Excellence won, a winner receives three points and for each Award of Merit won, the winner receives one point. The company in each category with the highest point total wins the award.

These results have been secretly tabulated and were announced for the first time at the OVATION Awards gala on May 28, 2009.

Independent or Small Agency of the Year (Nine or less employees) Winner: Diana Robinson and Associates

Agency of the Year (Ten or more employees) Winner: Strategic Objectives

Corporate Communications Department of the Year Winner: Barrick Gold Corporation

2009 IABC/Toronto People’s Choice Award

This award is voted on by the membership of IABC/Toronto in an online poll. Every OVATION Award of Excellence is eligible; members vote for the program they feel was the most successful.

Winner: Toronto Hydro-Electric System View Title of Entry: Take a Load Off Toronto Entry

OVATION Award Winning Entry

Communication Management Brand Communication

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Rebranding of Horizon Utilities Corporation Entrant‘s Name: Sandy Manners, Director of Corporate Communications Organization Name: Horizon Utilities Corporation Time Period: January 1, 2007 – December 2007

Brief Description: In March 2005, Hamilton Hydro Inc. and St. Catharines Hydro Utility Services Inc. merged to form Horizon Utilities Corporation, creating Ontario‘s third largest municipally owned electricity distribution company. Although the Research Phase of the project took place in the second half of 2006, the brand launch took place on March 1, 2007 with the transition to the new brand being completed by December 31, 2007. *(Detailed timeline included in Appendix 1.)

Business Need / Opportunity Hamilton Hydro Inc. and St. Catharines Hydro Utility Services Inc. merged to form Horizon Utilities Corporation in March 2005. Minor reorganizations took place at the time of the merger and operations were maintained in both communities. Recognizing that both companies possessed recognizable brands in their respective communities, a management decision was made to continue to use the two company‘s existing logos in conjunction with the name Horizon Utilities Corporation in order not to create any confusion on the part of the consumer. (See Appendix 2 for sample of how the Horizon Utilities name was used with the two logos of the merged companies.)

In the spring of 2006, a Communications Audit revealed that employees were continuing to identify themselves as either a ―St. Catharines employee‖ or a ―Hamiton Hydro‖ employee. This was characterized as the ―shadow of the merger‖ effect.

Although many of the financial and operational benefits of the merger had been realized, there was growing concern that the workforce appeared to be polarizing resulting in employee dissatisfaction and labour difficulties. Employees appeared to be feeling somewhat adrift without any strong sense of identification with the new company. Their sense of ―belonging‖ and feeling of pride in the organization had dropped. The report indicated that employees were set in their ways and did not particularly support or understand the new direction of the newly merged entity.

* The Appendices are not included in the Winning Entries Booklet. Continued on next page

In addition, a year into the merger, the company was concerned that the Horizon Utilities name was not recognized in the communities of Hamilton or St. Catharines, or in the utility industry. The executive team felt that they were not seeing the benefits they expected from being recognized as a major player in the utility sector.

One of the company‘s key business strategies was to continue to grow the organization through mergers and acquisitions. The company felt that the establishment of a strong, identifiable brand would differentiate it from other utilities and assist in its merger efforts.

In addition, the company made the business decision to create two new companies. One would be a holding company likely called Horizon Holdings and the other would be a non-regulated company that would focus on providing new energy services and would likely be called Horizon Energy. In preparation for setting up these two companies, the organization wanted to test consumer reaction to the approach and the selected names. Note: although addressing this need was built into the Rebranding Project, this aspect of the project will not be an area of focus for this award submission.

Entrant‘s Role in the Project In the summer of 2006, as the Director of Corporate Communications for Horizon Utilities Corporation, I was charged with developing a strategy to rebrand the company. My role was to manage the project from beginning to end.

A brand consultant, Hilda Mackow, was hired to assist with the development of a Brand Strategy. In addition, a marketing research firm was hired to conduct focus groups and provide summary reports.

I wrote all of the brand launch materials, planned and organized the launch event, and supervised the roll-out of the new brand including overseeing and approving the production of all printed materials that required rebranding.

The new logo was designed by Robert Palmese of Palmese Photodesign Group in Hamilton. The majority of the graphic design work for print materials was performed by Robert Palmese and Perry Bisutti of Palmese Photodesign Group in Hamilton.

Intended Audiences Target audiences for this project were identified as: employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, communities served, other utilities, communities served by other utilities that the company wished to merge with, media, government (regulatory bodies), and financial institutions.

Goals/Objectives Objective - The objective of the Rebranding Project was to develop a new logo and brand strategy to engage employees and to support the organization‘s growth strategy, for launch by March 1, 2007 and completion of the changeover by December 31, 2007. The success of the Rebranding Project would be measured by a) the acceptance of the new brand by employees, b) the lack of legacy materials missed during the changeover process, c) improved brand recognition and enhanced company image as measured by a customer survey, d) meeting the required launch date, and d) coming in on budget.

Budget - The budget established for this project was as follows: 2006 $65,000 2007 $374,000 A detailed budget is included in Appendix 3. Continued on next page

Solution Overview Research A brand consultant, Hilda Mackow, was hired to assist in the development of a Brand Strategy. Together, we reviewed the following documents to gather background material for the Brand Strategy: 2006 Employee Satisfaction Survey, 2006 Customer Service Survey, annual reports, 2005 Community Report, merger documents and a summary of media coverage over the past year.

The Brand Strategy summarized the company‘s vision, mission, objectives, goals, beliefs, values, guiding principles and value propositions. This information was used to develop a preliminary outline of the desired brand character and attributes.

I held briefing sessions with three graphic design teams to initiate work on the development of a new logo. (Appendix 4) In September, preliminary logos were evaluated by Hilda, me and a small selection of key opinion leaders (Appendix 5). The top designs were selected for presentation to the Senior Executive Team.

In October 2006, an offsite Brand Strategy Workshop was held for the company‘s Senior Executive Team. The workshop was facilitated by Hilda Mackow. I developed and presented a presentation entitled Building the Horizon Brand (Appendix 6). During this workshop, the group viewed brands of other utility companies for comparison purposes. (Appendix 7) The top designs for the new logo were presented and voted upon by the group. The preferred logo was approved for focus group testing pending approval of the rebranding budget.

In November, 2006, I made a presentation to the Senior Executive Team detailing the roll-out plan for rebranding in 2007 along with a proposed budget. (Appendix 8) The plan was approved for implementation.

A company specializing in focus group testing was hired to conduct focus groups with residential customers, commercial customers and industrial customers in Hamilton and St. Catharines. Hilda and I developed the screening document and research protocol for brand testing. (Appendix 9)

I arranged to have the preliminary logo design unveiled to employees during an employee meeting in December. All employees were provided with the opportunity to answer a questionnaire to gather their first impressions of the new logo and to vote on various signature lines. (Appendix 10)

I presented the Employee Feedback and Focus Group Results to the Senior Executive Team in January 2007. (Appendix 11) At this session the logo and tag line were finalized. Hilda and I completed the 2006-2007 Brand Research and Brand Strategy document. (Appendix 12) At this point, Hilda completed her contract with the company. I was solely responsible for the remainder of the branding Project.

Implementation and Challenges Due to the scope of the project and a lack of company resources to devote to the project, the Senior Executive Team decided that the changeover to the new logo would extend from March 1 to the end of 2007. I developed a roll-out timeline and task list to capture all the items that would require rebranding (Appendix 13) and commenced meetings with Supply Chain Management, Fleet Management, Information Services, Customer Services, etc. to begin work on the changeover.

Continued on next page

The biggest challenge arose when a newly hired Supply Chain Purchasing Agent who had been assigned to the Rebranding Project left the company after only a few weeks. Responsibility for managing the production of all print materials (stationery, business cards, forms, cheques, etc.) fell to me. This caused some delays behind the scenes but, by focusing efforts on items required for the brand launch, the roll-out continued smoothly.

Brand Launch to Employees (Appendix 14) - The changeover to the new brand commenced on March 1, 2007 (the second anniversary of the merger) with a ―soft launch‖ to employees. The term ―soft launch‖ referred to the fact that the company wished to keep the launch low-key. A press release was sent out but no media were invited to the launch event.

The launch consisted of the official unveiling of the new brand to employees at a breakfast event at each site. At this event employees received a branded folder containing a letter from the President and CEO on new stationery, a document entitled ―Who are we? What our new logo says about us.‖, and a copy of the company‘s new brand standards. Employees also received new business cards, a mousepad, and a winter jacket embroidered with the new logo. A company vehicle sporting the new logo was stationed at each location. Photos were taken.

The new brand was reinforced to employees with the mailing of a new, branded employee newsletter, followed by the mailing of the 2006 Community Report to employees in April.

Brand Launch to Customers (Appendix 15) - Bills with the new brand were mailed to customers commencing in May 2007 and contained a letter from the President and CEO introducing the new logo and offering customers a copy of the 2006 Community Report.

Brand Launch to Suppliers (Appendix 16) – A letter was mailed out to suppliers informing them of the new brand.

Brand Launch to Other Utilities (Appendix 17) – A letter from the President and CEO was sent out to the CEOs and other individuals in other Ontario utilities.

Brand Launch – Other Materials (Appendix 18) - The company‘s fleet of vehicles was changed over gradually with the final truck being branded in the late fall of 2007. (See noted page in Community Report in Appendix 15.) Signage on company buildings was replaced in the spring of 2007 with the exception of the signage for the head office building on John Street. Metal plaques and a large custom-designed sign were installed at this location in March 2008.

All stationery and forms were rebranded by the end of December 2007. (Appendix 19 – List of materials being rebranded and a selection of samples of rebranded items.)

A series of energy conservation tips advertisements were designed with the new logo and appeared on a regular basis in 2007 in local publications. (Appendix 20)

Measurement / Evaluation The results of the Rebranding Project were excellent. The project was completed on-time, came in under budget and accomplished the other three key objectives set out for the project.

Continued on next page

Employee Acceptance – The launch event for employees was very successful. Employee acceptance of the new brand was much quicker than expected. After some initial reservations, the vast majority of employees expressed the fact that they liked the new logo. The distribution of a high-quality jacket at the launch event created immediate visibility when employees wore them in the community and helped employees identify with the new logo. For about eight weeks following the launch in March (until the weather turned too warm for the jackets), everywhere you looked employees were wearing their branded jackets. Employees told stories of running into fellow employees in local malls, arenas or restaurants and saying hello, despite the fact that the employees may never have met before. The branded jackets went a long way towards creating a feeling of pride in employees in belonging to an... identifiable organization. Although no official measurement was done, employees commented that employee morale seemed to have been boosted as a result of the rebranding. Two years later, the majority of employees continue to wear the jackets.

Of notable significance, by the end of 2007, employees were no longer referring to themselves as a Hamilton Hydro or St. Catharines Hydro employees.

Changeover of Materials – With only a couple of exceptions, the changeover to the new brand was complete by December 31, 2007. The only outstanding item at the end of 2007 was the installation of a large sign on the exterior of the head office building in Hamilton. This sign had been designed and purchased in 2007 but installation took place once the weather got warmer in the spring of 2008.

The only legacy items that turned up in 2008 were a form used by one department and some manuals that need to be updated before they can be rebranded.

Improved Brand Recognition and Enhanced Image - Brand recognition by customers was expected to take a few years since the name of the community‘s utility company is not of great importance for most people. In fact, industry surveys reveal that many consumers in Ontario simply refer to their local utility company as ―the hydro company.‖ However, results on an annual UtilityPulse Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted in the spring of 2008 in Hamilton and St. Catharines indicated an increase in brand recognition and showed a significant increase in ―attributes linked to a hydro company‘s image.‖ Complete results are included in Appendix 21 but highlights include:

Attributes Lined to a hydro utility‘s image Before After rebranding rebranding 2007 2008 A good corporate citizen 61% 66% A leader in the industry 54% 62% A leader in energy conservation 50% 59% A financially well managed organization 41% 48% Involved in the community and contributes to worthy local 33% 41% causes Keeps customers well informed 78% 84%

Within the utility industry, the distinctive Horizon brand is now highly recognizable. Anecdotal reports indicate that the new brand accomplished the goal of setting Horizon Utilities apart from the pack and imbued the company with fresher, more modern image.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management

Community Relations

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Active and Safe Routes To School (ASRTS) Entrants Name: Anna Larson, Jennifer Jenkins, Grace Mendoza Organization‘s Name: The Regional Municipality of Halton Time Period of Project: March – December 2008

Brief Description: This work plan describes management of communications for Halton Region‘s ASRTS pilot. Campaign resulted in partner engagement and increased awareness.

1. Business Need / Opportunity: Located on the north shores of Lake Ontario, the Regional Municipality of Halton serves more than 450,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Creating and improving safe, healthy, liveable, inclusive communities is a key theme in Halton Region‘s Strategic Plan.

One key goal of Halton Region‘s Health and Social Services Committee (HSSC) is to promote and enhance the delivery of preventative health services by increasing the proportion of Halton residents at a healthy weight, by promoting physical activity, promoting healthy eating, and preventing obesity. This focus on healthy weights comes in response to some alarming statistics:

 The obesity rate in Canada has increased dramatically in the last 15 years: from two to 10 percent among boys and from two to nine percent among girls. (www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/176/8/S1)  Fifty percent of adults and 24 percent of youth are now considered to be overweight or obese in Canada. (www.cflri.ca/eng/regionalhealth/documents/heaviest_regions.pdf)  Currently, less than 50 percent of Halton students aged 12 to 14 are physically active for even 15 minutes every day in their leisure time. (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2005)  Fewer people walk anywhere – this increase in car travel contributes to poor air quality.

To address these issues, one action Halton‘s HSSC Plan recommends is supporting the implementation of Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) in Halton elementary schools. As a first step, in 2008 the Halton Region Health Department conducted an ASRTS pilot with eight schools in the Halton District School Board (HDSB). Continued on next page

Green Communities Canada, a national association of non-profit organizations, promotes and champions the program in Canada. The organization defines the program as ―promoting the use of active and efficient transportation for the daily trip to school, addressing health and traffic safety issues, while taking action on air pollution and climate change.‖

ASRTS has three main concepts: 1. Increasing physical activity by having children walk to school (International Walk to School Day, Walking Wednesdays) 2. Decrease idling and emissions by having children walk to school and/or parents drop their children a block away (Walk a Block and No Idling Schools) 3. Establishment of safe routes to school by creating supportive infrastructure and initiatives (Walking School Bus, Walking Buddies, Walkabouts).

To help guide communications around the Halton initiative, the Communications Specialist conducted a literature review. The findings pointed to traditional media sources as the primary source of information for most people in similar walking programs, particularly local media, considered a highly credible source of information by consumers (www.saferoutesinfo.org). According to the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, 73 percent of Ontario adults read weekday community newspapers, or approximately 5.8 million Ontarians weekly - the single largest average reach of any media.

Best practices indicate that local media attention surrounding an ASRTS program can help grow a program by making more people aware of its existence and helping to garner support from local elected officials. Promoting ASRTS programs through the media may also impact safety surrounding schools and neighbourhoods. Announcing the launch of a program in the news media can alert local drivers that more children will be walking or bicycling in the neighbourhood, possibly encouraging them to be more alert.

Posters have also proven effective in past campaigns. The most popular components in Green Communities successful No Idling at School project were the poster and information cards. Additionally, many schools inserted information into their school newsletters, informing parents of the no idling project and encouraging them to comply. Research also showed that barriers to walking included safety concerns, lack of infrastructure, time and weather.

Based on this information, along with discussions with the project manager, representatives from the school board and with the pilot schools, the Communications Specialist designed and implemented a communications and media relations plan to support the objectives of the Active and Safe Routes to School pilot project.

2. Entrants‟ Roles in the Project: Anna Larson is a Communications Specialist in Halton Region‘s Strategic Communications division. Anna works together with staff from across the Region to develop and implement strategic communications for regional initiatives such as the ASRTS pilot. Jennifer Jenkins is a Health Promoter for the Halton Region Health Department and the Project Manager for the ASRTS pilot. The Health Department delivers a variety of public health programs and services.

Grace Mendoza is the Halton Region Graphic Design Specialist who designed the posters and other collateral material used in this campaign.

Continued on next page

3. Intended Audiences: Partners: ASRTS is community-based initiative that taps into the demand for safe, walkable neighbourhoods. Individual jurisdictions adapt the program to meet their unique needs and to be successful, rely on the support and participation of a broad cross section of the community. In Halton Region, this includes the Halton District School Board, Halton Regional Police Service, four Local Municipalities and their traffic engineers, Regional and Municipal Councillors, and public health nurses. These constituencies were represented on the ASRTS Steering Committee.

Pilot Schools and their communities: HDSB originally put forward a pool of 12 schools. Halton Region narrowed these to eight, based on pre-determined criteria. The final eight included two schools in each of Halton Region‘s four municipalities. This meant winning the support of school administrators and teachers, parents of children attending the schools, the children themselves and the local communities. These jurisdictions include both city and rural surroundings and the schools include both elementary and middle schools.

Media: The plan aimed to win the support of the local media (seven local newspapers and two television stations), to help promote our key messages with our intended audiences.

4. Goals / Objectives: The program‟s goal was to assist eight elementary schools to get their students walking to school by supporting the implementation the ASRTS program. Specific program objectives were to conduct a pilot study with eight HDSB schools by December 2008:  identify enablers and barriers to walking to school  prepare recommendations to assist the schools in getting students to walk to school  create an action plan for implementing the recommendations  encourage development of ―champions‖ from key groups, e.g., councillors, school board and school staff, in order to build support for the program‘s next phase  conduct an evaluation of the pilot study for results and ‗lessons learned‘ in order to consider expansion of the program to all schools in the region

The communications objectives were:  by December 2008, develop and execute a communications campaign that at least 80 percent of pilot participants find helpful in implementing the pilot at their schools  generate positive and sustained media coverage to build stakeholder support for and enhance awareness of the ASRTS pilot with the target audience  media coverage in all four Local Municipalities, with at least one television placement  achieve a Media Relations Rating Points (MRP)© score of 80 percent or higher, at a cost per thousand of less than $1

5. Solution Overview: The ASRTS pilot communications plan is based on proactive stakeholder engagement and low-cost media relations, taking into account the following lessons learned from research:  Messaging would need to address barriers: safety (stress police/volunteer/traffic engineer participation); lack of infrastructure (ensure signage/sidewalks/bikeracks in place); time (stress quality, not quantity); weather (dress appropriately)  Messaging would be distributed via poster campaign, school newsletters and local media, which has proven successful in other jurisdictions  Pilot schools would customize their own campaigns/activities  Support and buy-in from Regional Council and partners would be a key component in the pilot‘s success Continued on next page

Key messages For parents/schools/local communities  Less traffic congestion at our schools and better air quality…because Active and Safe Routes to School is here  Let them walk to school…because Active and Safe Routes to School is here  Be alert and drive safely…because Active and Safe Routes to School is here  Walking or biking to school with friends…a tradition worth maintaining  Visit www.halton.ca/asrts to learn more

For students  Walking to school is hot, driving is not  Less traffic congestion at our schools and better air quality…because Active and Safe Routes to School is here  Celebrate winter…walk to school to make friends, have fun, get fit and stay safe!

For partners  Walking or cycling to school is a great way to keep fit, improve our air quality and help create safe, healthy and liveable communities

Strategies and Tactics Implement a communications and media relations campaign to build stakeholder support, encourage students and educate parents and staff at the eight pilot schools about the benefits of participating in the ASRTS pilot, and raise awareness within the pilot school communities about the ASRTS program.

Strategy 1 – Build stakeholder support  Tactic: Engage partners through a consultative process. The campaign began with a kick off forum in April that included a working session. Participants included schools, partners, elected officials and media. Halton‘s Regional Chair and guest speakers provided encouragement and practical advice. In August, the Project Manager and Communications Specialist met with the HDSB communications manager to discuss the next phase of the plan. We also coordinated with the Local Municipalities to share and further develop communications around special School Route signage. Through e-mail, we invited feedback from local traffic engineers, police and Councillors. We identified and engaged champions (at the school board and with elected representatives) through periodic updates.

Strategy 2 – Educate parents and encourage students  Tactic: Encourage pilot schools. In September, the Project Manager and Communications Specialist attended a meeting with school administrators from the eight schools. Principals provided their ASRTS school activity lists. We used the meeting to develop and obtain approval on an event/photo opportunity calendar and provide attendees with a starter kit (posters, signage, parent letter template, backgrounder, FAQs, useful links/resources, short article template to be used in school newsletters/web sites.) The Specialist attended several Walking School Bus sessions and took photos, which were provided back to the schools. Media coverage was posted on the site and shared with participants. A closing ceremony is planned for early 2009 at which appreciation plaques for each school, as well as several champions, will be awarded.

 Tactic: Address barriers. Over the spring at the eight pilot schools, walking routes were mapped and neighbourhood walkabouts took place. These resulted in some immediate infrastructure changes, such as special walking routes signs, an increase in traffic light timing for students crossing major... Continued on next page

...intersections and additional bike racks. Media and elected officials were invited to the walkabouts. Messaging was developed and promoted to try to overcome perceived barriers such as time and weather.

 Tactic: Update website. Updated material for the public was posted, with a separate page for pilot school participants. The page provided background to the project, tracked progress and served as a repository for key reports, posters, useful links and other resources. We asked our partner organizations to link to the site and included the link on our promotional material.

 Tactic: Develop print collateral. Wagon stickers were designed and a walking school bus kit was provided to each school at the launch. A series of posters, signs and slogans (one for younger students, one for older students and one for parents) was developed and distributed. We also made best use of the many resources offered by Green Communities, and provided links to the pilot schools for existing materials, e.g., winter walking, anti-idling.

Strategy 3 – Raise awareness  Tactic: Develop and implement a media relations plan: Through photo opportunities and media releases we communicated our messages with both our target audience and the Halton community at large. We also:  asked our partner organizations to feature ASRTS in newsletters  invited a local television reporter to accompany one of the schools on its Walking School Bus days  wrote letters to newspaper editors when the opportunity presented itself  liaised with Councillors to explore additional promotional opportunities, e.g., COGECO cable television series (That Green Show), councillor newsletters, etc.

 Tactic: Use “free” communication vehicles: Local newspapers provide Halton Region with free space to educate the community on programs and services. We made good use of these opportunities:  Masthead (120 words/week in seven local newspapers) (used three times)  Simply Halton (full page/month in six local newspapers) (used once)  Chair‘s column (used twice)  Councillor and school newsletters, pre-arranged newspaper columns through other regional partnerships

Budget The budget for the entire pilot project was $16,000. Each school received a starter kit (wagon, walking school bus, mascot) ($1,500) as well as $1,000 for local use ($8,000). The budget included funds to cover teacher release time ($2,000.) Another $2,500 went towards the kick-off forum (speakers/refreshments) and as well as $1,000 for courier, printing costs, mileage and meetings. About $1,000 went towards the communication program for stock photography, sign production and printing. Media coverage was achieved at no cost.

6. Implementation and Challenges: Since the project had a relatively small communications budget ($1,000), we made effective use of media relations, low cost print materials, coverage through partner publications and existing resources. Part way through the campaign, school closures, especially related to single track and French immersion programs, along with issues related to bussing versus walking to local schools, affected the pilot project. One of the schools dropped out of the pilot because of the closure issue. In response, we revamped our messages, focusing more on increasing physical activity, and less on walking to school. Continued on next page

7. Measurement / Evaluation: Objective: by December 2008, implement a communications campaign that at least 80 percent of pilot participants find helpful in implementing the pilot at their schools.

Result: A focus group was held with the principals involved in the pilot program in January 2009. One hundred per cent of respondents reported that they found the information provided useful.

Objective: generate positive and sustained media coverage to build stakeholder support for and enhance awareness of the ASRTS pilot with the target audience  media coverage in all four Local Municipalities, with at least one television placement  achieve an MRP© score of 80 percent or higher, at a cost per thousand of less than $1 Result: The pilot was covered by all of the local papers, two television stations (one station ran two stories). Coverage appeared every month of the pilot (except July). Partner newsletters (Schools, Green Communities, School Board, Local Municipalities) covered the pilot as did several blogs. Coverage reached approximately 1,825,705 people and achieved a 91 percent MRP score, at no cost.

Other evidence of success: Internet: Web traffic nearly doubled from September to October. In September, there were over 50 poster downloads.

More students walking to school: During the period September to December 2008, 75 percent of the pilot schools saw an increase in active transportation by students eligible to walk to school (i.e., living within the allotted distance.)

Third party support: Seven of the eight Halton District School Board schools fully completed the pilot project. HDSB is now looking at expanding the project to all schools. The Halton District Catholic School Board has contacted the project team about joining the initiative in the coming year.

The Project Manager was asked to speak at an Ontario ASRTS workshop on the pilot. Local Councillors and/or Mayors attended most of the walkabouts. One Councillor worked with the project team to complete a segment for a local cable show, That Green Show. A Board Trustee and former HDSB Chair participated in the filming and was a vocal supporter, as was the HDSB Education Superintendent.

According to one school principal, ―It was a pleasure to be a part of the initiative.‖ This low-cost communications campaign ensured partner engagement, boosted community awareness and played a key role in the pilot‘s success. The stage is now set for a proposed rollout of the program across the region.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management

Electronic and Digital Communication

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Neilson Dairy gets Savvy with Ontario Moms Entrant‘s Name: Argyle Communications Organization‘s Name: Neilson Dairy Time Period of Project: May – August 2008

Brief Description: Argyle Communications managed a program with Neilson Dairy and SavvyMom media to create an interactive microsite and digital communications program that educated Canadian moms about the benefits of DHA Omega-3 and Neilson Dairy products

BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY: Neilson Dairy is one of Ontario‘s largest producers of milk. In 2004, Neilson launched Dairy Oh!, the first milk with the added health benefits of DHA Omega-3. One year later, several competitive brands introduced their own DHA Omega-3 milk, thus creating a much more competitive retail environment.

In 2008, Neilson Dairy challenged Argyle Communications to build consumer awareness and understanding for the established brand by building a link between the health benefits of DHA Omega- 3 and Dairy Oh!, and establishing an emotional connection between the brand and its target audiences.

The first step was research. Cadence Research provided some insights that shaped Argyle‘s program recommendations:

Omega-3 DHA  Awareness of and interest in Omega-3 was high among Awareness High Low consumers, while awareness Understanding Moderate Very Low Infants and understanding of DHA Target Audience All ages (a specific type of omega-3 Young Children essential fatty acid) was Heart very low. Brain ―Cure all‖ Brain  People who bought Dairy Perceived Benefits Oh! did so because they saw Skin & Hair development it as an easy way to get Weight Management Omega-3 into their... Digestion Continued on next page Marketability Currently High Currently low

...children‘s diets, since Omega-3 is good for brain development.  Knowing the brain benefit of Dairy Oh! would be enough to satisfy consumers.

Consumer awareness and understanding of Omega-3 and DHA is described in the chart above..

ENTRANTS‘ ROLES in the PROJECT:

Team Member Role Roanne Argyle, Account lead. Developed program recommendations and provided oversight vice president throughout implementation. Kerry Collings, Overall project lead. Primary client contact, responsible for implementation of senior consultant program and planning content and key messages; managed budget. Ashley Co-managed program implementation and acted as secondary liaison with client. Ballantyne, Managed and liaised with SavvyMom team for approvals process; wrote and associate developed content. consultant Daniel Tisch, Strategic counsel. APR president

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Research revealed that the most important target audience included moms with children aged 2 – 12 years, and, moms buying milk for their families. The team also identified the following attitudes and behaviours in the target ―mom‖:  She wants to give her children all the advantages she can;  Education is important to her; she wants her children to reach their intellectual potential;  She is health- and nutrition-conscious;  She actively manages her children‘s diets to ensure they get the nutrients she deems important;  She has a ―children-first‖ attitude; and  She is informed and receptive to fortified foods.

Life Mantra: ―Feed the brain, feed the body.‖

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: Our overarching communications objectives were to: Engage consumers about the brain health benefits of DHA Omega-3, while ensuring interaction with the Neilson Dairy Oh! brand, as measured by unique visitors to an online site and click-throughs on sponsored links. Support sales-driving initiatives for Dairy Oh! among target audiences, as measured by an increase in sales during the campaign period.

SOLUTION OVERVIEW: In order to develop a solution, Argyle reviewed and considered the research described above to draw the following conclusions: There was a need and opportunity to educate moms further about the brain health benefits of DHA Omega-3, while promoting the benefits of the Dairy Oh! brand; Online communities were increasingly influential as a resource for moms, and the credible ones are widely used as information sources with the ability to influence purchasing decisions; and There was a potential to target a very specific audience through an online community. Continued on next page

STRATEGY: Based on this analysis, our strategic recommendation was to leverage a trusted ―Mom Voice‖ to deliver credible brand and health information about DHA Omega-3 while giving moms the information they needed to make educated decisions about dairy products for their children and families.

To find the most credible voice, we proposed partnering with an established and focused online community. After meeting with and researching a variety of leading social media sites and online Canadian communities for moms, Argyle recommended launching a partnership program with SavvyMom.ca. With a solutions-oriented approach, SavvyMom is dedicated to connecting, informing, entertaining and providing inspiring solutions for moms‘ everyday living. SavvyMom products include a bi-weekly national and regional opt-in newsletter, SavvyMom Today, and a website (www.savvymom.ca).

TACTICS: To ensure maximum exposure with the SavvyMom community, and present various opportunities for educating subscribers on the brain health benefits of DHA omega-3 and Dairy Oh!, Argyle Communications implemented the following tactics:  Key messages focusing on brain health benefits and Dairy Oh! brand information.  Sponsored e-mails: A 350-word feature article based on key messages. Argyle used two Ontario-wide insertions: one to launch the microsite, and one mid-program to announce refreshed site content. Each email featured tips for consuming DHA Omega-3, explanations of DHA omega-3, images of the product and Neilson‘s ―Cowntess‖ mascot, and a link to the Dairy Oh! microsite for more information.  Sponsored links: A 35-word key message-driven blurb with hyperlink. Argyle used four Ontario insertions with links to Neilson site and microsite content. Each week featured a different DHA omega-3 and Dairy Oh! fact.

Campaign Details

Ad Type Edition Creative Specs Publication Date Sponsored Email Toronto/Ottawa up to 350 words of text, 3 URL's 13-Jun-08 Sponsored Link Toronto/Ottawa up to 35 words of text, 3 URL's 16-Jun-08 Sponsored Link Toronto/Ottawa up to 35 words of text, 3 URL's 19-Jun-08 up to 35 words of text, 3 Sponsored Link/LB/Sky Ottawa URL's/728x90/160x600 26-Jun-08 up to 35 words of text, 3 Sponsored Link/LB/Sky Toronto/Ottawa URL's/728x90/160x600 03-Jul-08 up to 35 words of text, 3 Sponsored Link/LB/Sky Toronto URL's/728x90/160x600 10-Jul-08 Sponsored Link Toronto/Ottawa up to 35 words of text, 3 URL's 17-Jul-08 Sponsored Email Toronto/Ottawa up to 350 words of text, 3 URL's 23-Jul-08 Sponsored Link Toronto/Ottawa up to 35 words of text, 3 URL's 31-Jul-08

Microsite June 13 - Aug 31

 Homepage button: A direct link from SavvyMom.ca to the Dairy Oh! microsite.  Road block: An ad unit on the website. We used two Ontario-wide insertions, each which included sponsored link, leaderboard, skyscraper and box, featuring Dairy Oh! branding and a link directly to the microsite.  Online coupon as an incentive for SavvyMom subscribers to encourage trial and frequency of use of Dairy Oh!  Neilson Dairy Oh! microsite: The cornerstone to the campaign was an interactive and informational Neilson Dairy Oh! microsite hosted on SavvyMom.ca. The microsite offered information about the functional benefits of DHA Omega-3 while building the link between this essential nutrient and the Dairy Oh! brand for SavvyMom subscribers. Content was developed by the Argyle team, including key messages, nutrition tips, and brand information. Layout and design was managed by the SavvyMom team.

Key microsite elements included:  Welcome page with further information about the site.  Product and brand information with a link to Dairy Oh! brand site - www.dairyoh.com.  Use of the Cowntess to build recognition and brand association and link to packaging information.  DHA Omega-3 top ten. Answers to everything you need to know about the brain health benefits of DHA Omega-3, brought to you by the Cowntess and the team at Neilson Dairy.  A DHA Omega-3 savvy mom forum, which invited moms to answer the question, ―What do you need to know about DHA omega-3?‖ Argyle later used these questions to drive content on the microsite to give readers a reason to come back.  Reader questions: introduced a month after the site launched and featuring answers to each question.  A product trial opportunity through two separate coupon initiatives: o A coupon offering a free two-litre carton of Dairy Oh! o A coupon offering savings of $1.00 on the purchase of a four-litre bag of Dairy Oh!

IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES: Budget & Timing The budget for the program was $26,000 in fees and $20,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. The microsite launched on June 13, 2008 and was live until August 31, 2008. The first sponsored email was sent on June 13, 2008 with sponsored links, site ads and emails throughout June and July. The last sponsored link launched on July 31, 2008.

Challenges The coupon opportunity housed on the site was immediately popular. The first offering, for a free two- litre carton of Dairy Oh!, was quickly lifted by an outside site that scrapes free coupon giveaways. The number of downloads of the coupon jumped from a few hundred to thousands. The Argyle/Neilson team responded by locking the coupon so that only SavvyMom subscribers could redeem it. They also received feedback that SavvyMoms were unable to redeem the coupon in some grocery stores. To remedy this, the team changed the coupon offering to $1 off a 4 litre bag of Dairy Oh! This helped to solve both challenges cited above. Continued on next page

The Dairy Oh! microsite project was a first-time implementation for SavvyMom, and therefore there were limited benchmark measurement and evaluation tools available against which to measure program results. Nonetheless, both parties viewed this experience as an important learning opportunity in its own right.

MEASUREMENT/EVALUATION OF OUTCOMES: By aligning the brand with a trusted online community for Ontario moms, Argyle Communications was able to build awareness, understanding and a connection to Neilson Dairy Oh! among its key audience through this targeted, memorable and interactive digital campaign.

Audience engagement / reach:  Through the partnership with SavvyMom, Neilson Dairy Oh! was able to communicate with 18,500 Ontario moms on a weekly basis over a three-month period.  Based on other SavvyMom client experiences, the Neilson Dairy program proved to be very successful. According to SavvyMom‘s analysis: ―The visits, click-throughs, questions asked and coupon requests have been high, proving that this is a topic of interest, presented in the concise, informative manner our readers expect and trust.‖  Based on additional metrics provided by SavvyMom, impression results for the microsite were as follows: o There were a total of 1,711 unique visitors to the microsite o The microsite button on SavvyMom.ca homepage received 70,168 impressions. o The sponsored email had a 6.86 % click-through rate. The industry average click-through rate is 0.2%. o Banner ads posted on the site resulted in a 0.82 % click-through rate. o Sponsored links produced a click-through rate of 3.22 %. o Following the launch of the microsite and coupon program, SavvyMom realized 238 new subscribers.

Sales support: SavvyMom.ca Campaign Results Summary

Client: Argyle Communications Neilson Dairy Report Run Date: July 8, 2008

RUN DATE Ad Unit EMAILS SENT Open Rate Calc Overall C.Thrus Overall C.Thru% C.Thrus to Ad Ad C.Thru 13-Jun Sponsored Email 16,489 46% 607 8.09% 515 6.86% 19-Jun Sponsored Link 16,450 50% 1145 13.89% 41 0.50% 26-Jun Sponsored Link/Leaderboard/Sky 1,901 67% 419 32.73% 8 0.63% 03-Jul Sponsored Link/Leaderboard/Sky 17,059 43% 1683 23.19% 63 0.87%

The SavvyMom partnership supported sales-driving initiatives for Dairy Oh! among target audiences through the information shared and product trial through couponing. The SavvyMom program contributed to a 10% increase in sales for the Dairy Oh! brand for the four weeks ended August 2, 2008 (Source: ACNielsen).

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management

Electronic and Digital Communication

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: The transformation of sunlife.com (www.sunlife.com) Entrant‘s Name: Sabita Singh, ABC, Lorriane Dal Cin, Wendi Phillips, Marilyn Whittingham, Jeannette Cantin, Bev Sauder, iStudio, Quarry Integrated Communications Entrant‘s organization: Sun Life Financial Time period of project: January 2008 to November 2008

Brief Description: In 2008, Sun Life Financial completed a comprehensive redesign, rewrite and rebuild of its corporate global website. The launch of the new flagship site in November 2008 marked a pivotal first step in revolutionizing Sun Life‘s online presence.

Business need/opportunity Sun Life is an international financial services organization that helps customers achieve lifetime financial security through our diverse range of protection and wealth products and services. We have more than 25 million customers and over 29,000 employees worldwide with the majority of our operations in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. Our corporate headquarters are located in Toronto, Ontario.

Many of our audiences, including shareholders, customers, distributors and the media, turn to our corporate website to learn about our company, find answers to their questions and perform important tasks. Prior to the November launch, Sun Life‘s corporate online presence was dated, did not tell a clear, compelling Sun Life story and did not reflect our market position as a strong, international financial services company. It also lacked social media tools to engage our customers and other diverse audiences. It was clear that we needed a full overhaul of the site, as soon as possible. Our goal was to launch a robust, user-friendly and fully search-engine-optimized site that would build our reputation as a strong financial company, make it easier to do business with us and improve our search engine rankings.

Dramatically improving the Sun Life web experience and strengthening our online presence was mandated as a top priority by Sun Life‘s executive team, who recognized the importance of the web in building our international reputation as well as building our customer base. Almost half of life insurance buyers researched their financial purchasing decisions on the internet in the last 12 months, according to a 2009 Forrester Research report. Continued on next page

In November 2008, Sun Life launched the new sunlife.com global site, a pivotal first step in revolutionizing Sun Life‘s online presence. Its modern design, innovative functionality and robust content has moved us quickly from an outdated site to one that helps position Sun Life as an industry leader in online communications.

This flagship site also sets the stage for our regional business sites to take great leaps forward with a consistent new design template that will help us achieve a one-company feel for our online presence worldwide.

Entrants‟ roles in the project Sabita Singh, ABC, oversaw the overall communications planning and provided counsel on the website strategy and site development. Lorraine Dal Cin provided guidance to the project team on site strategy and content development, ensuring global company needs and perspectives were represented on the site. Wendi Phillips was the project manager for site build and content strategy, liaising with our technical team, agencies, and content stakeholders. Marilyn Whittingham was responsible for the development of the measurement framework and search engine optimization strategy. Jeannette Cantin conducted content consultations and developed the tone and copy for the entire site. Bev Sauder provided technical support, conducted quality assurance testing and coordinated the appropriate resources to work on the build of the new site.

iStudio, our interactive agency, provided direction and guidance for the overall project, including competitor analysis, stakeholder consultations, development of website and content strategies, designing new look and feel of the site and building the templates for the site. Quarry Integrated Communications, our search engine optimization (SEO) agency, developed our SEO strategy, conducted analysis of competitors and keywords, provided SEO best practices and content development, and continues to provide monthly reporting and link-building updates.

Intended audiences To truly become leading edge, we commissioned a 140-page Web Site Trends report *[Appendix A] from iStudio to get a full understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of corporate sites around the world. Some of the report‘s key findings included:  Organizations are struggling to support their corporate brand at a global level  Successful sites emphasize the cultural and historical significance of their brand and products  Successful sites articulate their corporate vision, values and mission, and integrate these aspects throughout their sites  Leading corporate sites highlight access to content for secondary audience groups on the home By Country page and key landing pages while dedicating main sections of the site to corporate audiences such as investors and media

We found that Sun Life had an opportunity to respond to the growing interest in corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. In addition, we noted that few financial industry sites have taken the opportunity to be thought leaders, helping customers gain insight into global financial issues and trends – an ideal area in which to increase our visibility.

Financial services industry websites, and in particular corporate websites, cater to several key audiences, each in search of very different content. This pre-launch snapshot from October 2008 [Figure 1] shows the majority of our audience is currently North American, but we have visitors from...

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...around the world. Research indicated that some of our international audience come to sunlife.com in search of regional product information.

Figure 1: Visitors by country Many of them think they are on their regional site instead of the corporate site and then get frustrated when they can‘t find local content. Based on this finding, one of our top priorities was to provide several quick and intuitive ways to help these customers get to their country sites as quickly as possible. On average, we had about 190,000 visits to the site monthly. Visitors tended to enter and exit quickly, within a few minutes.

We wanted to develop a site that would not only make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for, but also build their understanding of Sun Life generally – our financial strength, the breadth of our offerings and operations around the world, our culture of corporate social responsibility. Many consumers think we are an insurance company and don‘t realize that we offer a wide range of wealth accumulation products as well. Our analytics indicated that most visitors are only on our site for a short period of time so we needed to find creative ways to help build their understanding of our company and the breadth of our offerings.

It was important to involve all of our internal stakeholders in the initial research phase, to understand what our audiences around the globe required. Working with a large in-house team and iStudio, we held over 30 stakeholder consultations, and created an advisory council to ensure a core group of corporate and country stakeholders had the opportunity to provide feedback on key deliverables of the project.

We also conducted extensive one-on-one meetings and developed a full audience analysis based on our stakeholder consultations and our website statistics [Appendix B]. By the completion of our stakeholder research, we‘d interviewed more than 60 corporate and country stakeholders from around the world. The input from these consultations was invaluable, and directly contributed to the development of our website and content strategies. This process also had the significant benefit of reconnecting and revitalizing our department‘s network with communicators, marketing and other functions worldwide, relationships we are now leveraging for other activities.

Goals and objectives We identified five main objectives in our website strategy [Appendix C]. 1. Position Sun Life as a strong, international company Profile global operations, executive leadership, balanced business strategy  Emphasize scale and breadth of product and service offerings and financial strength  Spotlight expanding international presence  Highlight key success stories globally  Relevant target metrics:  Increase traffic to country sites resulting from sunlife.com referrals by 20%  Increase page popularity in the About us section by 10%

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2. Make it easy to do business with Sun Life Offer a friendly and efficient experience to all primary audiences, from customers and investors to shareholders and media  Give visitors options, anticipate their needs, help them navigate quickly to their destination  Ensure visitors don‘t feel stranded, give them a ―go-to‖ place or person  Optimize content for search engines to help potential visitors find sunlife.com easily  Relevant target metrics:  Gain 10 Top 30 rankings in Google for key targeted search phrases by Q2 2009  Create 10 new quality links per month from external sites to sunlife.com through deliberate link-building efforts

3. Market Sun Life as a company  Tell our story in a rich, narrative, personal way  Provide products and services information in a generic way, but drive users to their own country sites for more information  Provide a ―selling opportunity‖ by telling them something about us they didn‘t know before  Relevant target metrics:  Increase the number of visitors who find what they need on sunlife.com by 20%  Increase the number of visitors using RSS and e-mail alerts, usage of rating and social bookmarking features by 20%

4. Build our brand and reputation online  Integrate our vision and values throughout content  Give prominence to real people (from leadership to customers)  Introduce thought leadership to communicate company‘s management perspective and aspirations for future growth  Relevant target metrics:  Increase visitors coming from search engines and 10 new quality referrals per month to sunlife.com

5. Enable a seamless, one-company experience  Give users quick, easy and seamless access to sunlife.com and our country sites  Ensure all visitors to Sun Life sites are exposed to the corporate, global information that reinforces the ―one-company‖ message  Relevant target metrics:  Gain a 10% increase in the click-through usage of home page Flash map and ―Choose your location‖ button

Solution overview All of our content, design and functionality planning was based on the findings of our preliminary research. Along with our website trends report and audience analysis, we also held search engine optimization (SEO) consultations.

Armed with our knowledge, we began to plan. It soon became clear that, given the magnitude of the project, it would take at least a year to create a truly leading-edge corporate site. We needed to improve the user experience immediately, so we took an interim step in March and introduced a refresh of the home page and four key landing pages [Appendix D].

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Once we had improved the user experience for the short term, we began our plans for the full rebuild of the site, including:  The creation of a robust web strategy [Appendix E] involving input from more than 60 global stakeholders.  The development of a more intuitive information architecture to direct all potential audiences to their specific information right away on the home page [Appendix F], whether a shareholder looking for a transfer agent, or a job seeker looking for information on opportunities at Sun Life. We also created multiple options on the home page to help international customers get to their country sites quickly.  The development of a more modern design which would ultimately be implemented on Sun Life web properties around the world to promote that one-company feeling [Appendix G].  The rewrite of all site content to bring the Sun Life brand to life, and to give our company a friendlier and more inviting personality by weaving our values throughout our pages, and introducing ―real‖ people, including executives and employees, on our website [Appendix H].  The introduction of rotating ―billboards‖ on our home page and main landing pages to provide ―quick facts‖ about our company and share the Sun Life story [Appendix I].  The implementation of a robust search engine optimization strategy to build the visibility of our global site in search engines, making us easier to find and therefore easier to do business with [Appendix J].  The addition of innovative social media functionality like RSS feeds, article rating and social bookmarking [Appendix K].  The development of a measurement framework to assess the success of the site based on the top five objectives outlined in the web strategy [Appendix L].  The creation of a site governance model to ensure the website continues to evolve while maintaining our original vision, goals and objectives [Appendix M].

Implementation and challenges We remained within our project budget of $790,000, which included $260,000 for an outside agency to assist with strategy, design, measurement framework and governance; $105,000 for our SEO agency and a contract hire to develop robust strategy and ongoing reporting; $410,000 for development, quality assurance and testing by our information technology team; $10,000 for a contract publisher and $4,000 for team recognition.

The aggressive timeline and size of this project required exceptional teamwork across multiple functional areas within Sun Life. Our information technology team, Public and Corporate Affairs, Legal, Linguistics team and other business areas were required for input, approvals, development and implementation of strategy, design, content and functionality.

A central cross-functional group met once a week, and more frequently as the launch date approached, to organize workloads, confirm timelines and deliverables, and most importantly, to brainstorm and find solutions to the inevitable challenges that regularly arose so the work could continue to move forward. The process designed for this project proved so successful, it will be a model for future large web projects at Sun Life.

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Other challenges we overcame included:  Obtaining input and approval from internal stakeholders around the world To meet our aggressive timeline, we needed rapid turnaround for reviews and approvals throughout the process. For example, we obtained feedback from over 30 people on our site designs in just four days. Our collaboration with our colleagues around the world was recognized as a key success factor.  Implementation of a program upgrade to the existing content management platform to support our new content, design and functionality This involved developing and testing functionality new to the content management system, publishing team and our development team, and intense quality assurance to ensure the site would operate properly at launch.  Creation of a “country site toolkit” To further our objective to create a seamless, one-company experience throughout all of our websites, we needed to develop tools to assist countries with implementing the new branding template.  Development of a full set of 103 wireframes of the website in advance of site build [Appendix N] This was a time-consuming process at the beginning of the project, but became crucial to every other step in the process, providing the multiple teams with a road map of design elements, functionality and content for each page.

Measurement/evaluation The ability to measure impact and analyze our results is extremely important to the communications team. One of the key components of this project was the development of a measurement framework to assess each of the key site objectives outlined in our web strategy. Note: At the time of this entry, sunlife.com had been live for just under two months so results are preliminary. We are assessing our site on a monthly basis going forward. We will also be conducting extensive site usability testing in Q1 2009. One project trade-off was we could not complete this step prior to launch given the aggressive timing.

We posted a benchmarking survey on our old and new site to compare the user experience. Following the launch, we actively encouraged employees, customers and other site visitors to complete the survey. The survey responses to date confirm the following achievements:

Objective: Make it easy to do business with Sun Life  90% of respondents found the content on the website to be clear and easy to read, with 60% ranking it ―very clear‖  A 12% increase in the response ―I love the design – don‘t change a thing‖  A 20% increase in the response ―I can find everything I‘m looking for easily and quickly‖  Sample quote: ―The site is very much improved, less complicated to locate information. Excellent improvements‖

Objective: Position Sun Life as a strong, international company  Over 50% of respondents have a better understanding of the company after visiting the site  Sample quotes:  ―Wow, this really shows how far reaching Sun Life is around the world. An easy way to find contacts in other sites and understand our operations around the world.‖

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 ―I was taken with the honesty, integrity and strong history communicated on the website. The colours/graphics/messages are contemporary without being trite. They said reassurance and staying power. A strong, positive message – refreshing in this negative climate.‖

As part of our objective to make it easy to do business with Sun Life, we optimized our website content to improve our web presence and search engine rankings. Whenever large-scale changes are made on a website, there is a risk of significant declines in search rankings. Instead, not only did we avoid a decline, we saw a marked improvement for 341 separate search phrases.

In just one month, our search engine optimization results are positive:  Overall, our cumulative search rankings improved by 300 positions  Over 100 first-place rankings on the keywords we are tracking, and over 650 Top 30 search results. In total, a 13% increase in first-place rankings compared to before our November launch  Top 10 results for some competitive generic search phrases such as ―financial planning company‖. These will further improve through our active link-building plan  We have increased our positioning relative to competitors. Many competitors saw their search rankings fall, while sunlife.com rose prominently

Overall, the project has been successful in meeting our objectives, and the broader objectives of Sun Life. It was recently nominated for a CEO award in a prestigious Sun Life recognition program. As Mary De Paoli, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, summarizes, ―Accomplishing sunlife.com‘s complete transformation in less than one year was no easy feat. This project is a true example of Sun Life‘s strategy in action – we leveraged our strengths across functions and around the world – to achieve outstanding results. The site exceeds our expectations for building Sun Life‘s profile in the global marketplace.‖

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management

Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: CH2M HILL – It‟s a Hero‟s Work Entrant‘s Name: Chris MacEachern, Pauline Graf, Samuel Cheung, Flora Gordon, Beth Duthie Entrant‘s Organization: CH2M HILL Canada Limited Time Period: January 2008 to June 2008 Brief Description of the Entry: It’s a Hero’s Work was CH2M HILL‘s entry into the 2009 competition for Canada‘s Top 100 Employers. Based on this entry, as well as the accompanying application, CH2M HILL was selected as one of Canada‟s Top 100 Employers, the Greater Toronto Area‟s Top 75 Employers, and Financial Post‟s Ten Best Companies to Work For.

Business Need/Opportunity According to the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC – January 2009), there are over 1,638 engineering companies in Canada. With an increased focus on infrastructure for cities, the landscape for Canadian consulting engineering firms has become exceedingly competitive. In taking on more projects to grow the firm and maintain a reasonable profit, the throttle on growth continues to people. Recruiting and retaining qualified engineers, scientists, planners, and support staff remains a focus for all firms in this sector. Within such a competitive environment, firms must offer an outstanding workplace to attract and retain top-quality staff. As part of this drive, CH2M HILL identified the Canada‘s Top 100 Employers awards program as a method of measuring how they compared to other firms in the same sector. Being named to this prestigious list was one of the program goals. However, the firm also used this as a driver to introduce improved working conditions and perks that would make them an employer of choice. Following significant planning and discussion, it was agreed that CH2M HILL could best respond to the competitive landscape, particularly from a ―people‖ perspective, by creating, developing, and delivering a winning submission to the Canada‘s Top 100 Employers awards program, managed by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and reported in Maclean‘s magazine, the most widely read weekly publication in Canada. Continued on next page

From 2004 through 2008, CH2M HILL had been shortlisted as one of the top 250 employers in Canada, but had never been named to the distinguished Top 100 list. The need had been established. It was time to seize the opportunity and break through. In delivering a winning submission, CH2M HILL would differentiate itself from other companies in the engineering field, and in a broader perspective, from all Canadian companies. The opportunity to tell CH2M HILL‘s story to all hiring candidates would be an important step in attracting the best and the brightest to the firm. Based on earlier research with companies named to Canada‘s Top 100 Employers list in previous years, it became abundantly clear that the significant upward trend in résumé submissions and name recognition to Top 100 firms was not a passing trend. It was a reality. A rising tide lifts all boats and being named to Canada‘s Top 100 Employers list had helped other companies to become primary sources for project opportunities, increased opportunities for profit potential, and attracting and retaining the best people in their industry. Entrants‟ Roles in the Project Chris MacEachern was the Project Manager for the submission. He worked with the team to develop the theme, key points of interest, overall management, and final implementation of the overall plan. Pauline Graf was the Project Coordinator for the submission. She helped to coordinate the efforts of the team, served as a creative force for the development of the submission, and helped bring the team together to complete their specifically directed tasks. Samuel (Sami) Cheung was a Graphic Designer for the submission. Sami helped to bring them into graphic focus, providing a template for the submission, and providing key inputs to our additional Graphic Designer, Flora Gordon. Flora Gordon was a Graphic Designer for the submission. Flora built upon Sami‘s graphic ideas, developed the overall look of the submission, and her insights were absolutely invaluable to the final submission. Beth Duthie was the Editor for the submission. Beth edited the final product and provided key insights to phrasing throughout the submission. Intended Audience Being named to the Canada‘s Top 100 Employers list depended on engaging a blue-ribbon Academic Advisory Board who oversaw the selection criteria for each year's competition. The distinguished panel members, drawn from universities across Canada, had each written or edited a major human resources textbook in Canada. This was the primary audience.

The secondary audience would be current and potential employees of CH2M HILL. This document would be the distillation of CH2M HILL‘s company culture – the only place where the best of what we do, and how we work, would be captured to celebrate all that was, and is, great about CH2M HILL. Being named to Canada‘s Top 100 Employers list would be the icing on the cake.

Goals/Objectives To develop the Top 100 list for 2009, the panel examined the recruitment histories of over 75,000 employers across Canada. From this initial group, 10,000 of the fastest-growing employers, plus 6,000 other companies and organizations in industries were included in the competition. Employers were asked to complete an extensive application process that included a detailed review of their operations and HR practices. A shortlist of over 2,000 employers was selected for the application process.

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In reviewing each employer's application, the panel reviewed eight key areas:  Physical Workplace  Work Atmosphere & Social  Health, Financial & Family Benefits  Vacation & Time Off  Employee Communications  Performance Management  Training & Skills Development  Community Involvement These criteria have remained consistent since the inception of the annual competition in 2000. In choosing the finalists, the panel considered how each employer compared to others in its industry and region. The list for 2009 included large and small employers from a range of industries, offering varying benefits and working conditions. What is common to all winners is that each is an industry leader: from architectural firms to community housing agencies, the employers chosen for 2009 are leaders in their industry in attracting and retaining quality employees.

By aligning the project goals with the requirements set forth by the blue-ribbon Academic Advisory Board, the submission needed to inform, inspire, and create interest in CH2M HILL. The measurements of these goals and objectives are not financial in nature.

Solution Overview The solution involved a submission that raised the bar in terms of telling the story of CH2M HILL. The submission had to:

Be organized within a compelling central framework Demonstrate the passion of CH2M HILL staff for their work Engage the Board with stories that proved the theme and showed how CH2M HILL ―walks the talk‖

In a company of 1,400 people, it is a difficult task to know everything about everything, particularly when it comes to sharing stories of interest. Engagement was initiated with several select test groups to discuss a very simple question:

What makes CH2M HILL so great?

CH2M HILL staff members truly believe they are providing an important service to others. They work deep into the night, often quietly beyond the recognition of their fellow citizens, to help provide clean water, safe roads and bridges, parks, and other elements that make for thriving towns and cities. These people are the unsung heroes of our communities. In fact, they are almost like Superheroes! This theme became the framework of the project. Implementation and Challenges Initial planning began in January 2008. The early months of the project would be used to collect information, sort through to find the most interesting stories, and weave these into a framework to present a single, seamless document that was convincing and compelling. Copy and production could not be finalized until the final weeks of May, as input was still being received.

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Challenges came in the form of some difficulties associated with getting the stories that demonstrated the passion of CH2M HILL staff – we knew the stories were there, we just had to really engage our employees to open up and share their stories.

In the final week of production, our Graphic Designer went away on vacation for three weeks. We engaged a replacement Graphic Designer. We worked through the Canadian Holiday weekend of Victoria Day, checking in with the team on an hourly basis to turn the concept into reality.

Measurement/Evaluation On September 8, 2008, we were informed that CH2M HILL had been named as one of Canada‘s Top 100 Employers. We had achieved our goal. We were asked to keep this news to just the core awards team until the official announcement in Maclean‘s magazine on October 2, 2008. However, keeping this news quiet proved to be as much of a challenge as producing the submission.

Staff were so excited to have finally made the list that the news spread through the company like wildfire. On the day after the official announcement, the President of CH2M HILL Canada Limited held CH2M HILL‘s first-ever cross-Canada, all-staff conference call to congratulate the entire firm on making the list. Copies of the winning submission were distributed to all offices, along with posters celebrating the win.

And, as if being named a Top 100 company was not enough, CH2M HILL was also selected as one of Greater Toronto‟s Top 75 Employers and Financial Post‟s Ten Best Companies to Work For. CH2M HILL was one of only four companies of Canada‘s Top 100 to win all three competitions.

As a Top 100 firm, CH2M HILL and the reasons for our selection are described on the website for Canada‘s Top 100 Employers: www.eluta.ca. The website lists job openings at CH2M HILL and, to- date, has received over 8,000 hits. Eluta.ca links to CH2M HILL‘s own website, allowing job seekers to apply directly.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Merit

Entry Title Trust, Quality and Excellence – Living Our Corporate Values Entrant‘s Name Gary Williams Organization‘s Name City of Mississauga Time Period of Project June 2007 to March 2008

Brief Description

An internal communications program that was aimed at connecting the significance of the City of Mississauga‘s corporate priorities and values with the daily tasks and jobs of all employees in a simple, effective and meaningful way.

1. Need / Opportunity

The City of Mississauga has been considered a municipal leader and an employer of choice. In fact, one of the four strategic priorities that drives the business of the corporation is to ―Continue to be an Employer of Choice‖. Our values are fundamental to the relationships we have with all our stakeholders and serve as the guiding principles for the City‘s corporate decision-making process.

As the organization stepped up its pursuit of employer of choice status, senior leadership recognized the importance of having clear, succinct values to guide employees and shape behaviours. The Communications Division was asked to: - clarify the values and what they mean; - illustrate to staff that we were living our values through examples all around us.

In the previous years, the corporation has communicated its values to the organization in different ways but because of the complexity of the delivery mechanisms which were used, employees never completely embraced them. They were also never clearly articulated in a manner that reinforced them as corporate priorities. The City‘s Leadership Team, made up of our senior management, wanted employees to live the values day-to-day and see them as guiding principles in the delivery of their jobs.

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Since our corporate values allow employees to discuss the commitments that they have to each other as employees, while speaking to our obligations to the citizens of Mississauga, there was an opportunity to reassert the meaning of our corporate values. There was also a strategic need to connect the corporate priority of ―Being an Employer of Choice‖ with our corporate values in a way that employees could understand them, relate to them and believe in them.

2. Intended Audience

The primary audience for this project was City employees, full time and part time. The workforce at the City of Mississauga is very diverse and includes office workers, satellite facility staff, Fire and Emergency Services staff, Transit and Works staff and many part timers that work in our community centres and libraries. Employees range from office workers to road maintenance staff, and include such positions as front line customer service staff, recreational program supervisors and fire prevention educators. Total employees, including part timers, is well over 6,000.

It was important to note that our audience had daily tasks that were as diverse as they were. So it was important to engage them all and collect as much of their input as possible. A great effort was made to ensure that each management division properly communicated the messages and engaged all employees.

3. Goals Objectives

The goal of the program was to provide a simple and effective way to better align the corporations strategic priority of being an employer of choice with our corporate values - engaging employees to believe and live the corporate values as their own. The time frame set out to achieve this goal was set at nine months.

Objectives: 1. To increase employee awareness of the City of Mississauga‘s corporate values by 40 per cent. 2. To increase employee understanding of how the City of Mississauga‘s corporate values relate to the service provided by employees to the citizens and customers of Mississauga by 35 per cent.

Based on research and benchmarking with comparable private and public corporations, the average employee awareness and understanding of corporate values ranged between 65 and 75 per cent. We set our objectives to reach between 65 and 70 per cent of our employees and considered this achievable within the timeframe and scope of the project.

4. Solution Overview

It was necessary to first work on simplifying the wording around the corporate values to something that would be quick and easy for employees to understand, remember and connect with their jobs. Through consultation and dialogue we boiled it down to three simple words and a tag line: Trust, Quality and Excellence: Living our Values or TQE. In previous years, the corporate values were always communicated with much more ―wording‖ and ―explanation‖ around the three values, which proved to confuse the meaning behind them.

Building on the simplification of the actual values themselves, it was necessary to put some context around each word while ensuring that the descriptions were not complex and drove right to the meaning. This would form the messaging of each of the subsequent communication vehicles that were used throughout the program. Continued on next page

Here is what was created for each value:

Trust: For our citizens, upholding the Public Trust is a critical responsibility that employees must live up to and be judged by. It is the open and responsive manner in which the City is governed. The City of Mississauga clearly holds the trust of the public at present and this allows us to effectively work with our citizens to achieve our goals. For employees, we understand the trust that Council and employees have in each other and how important it is. Without trust we have nothing. With trust we can achieve anything.

Quality: We deliver services and programs which enhance the quality of life of our residents. Delivering the right services that add value to our citizens‘ lives is critical. All our services have outcomes that impact our citizens‘ every day lives. If we are doing anything that does not improve or maintain their quality of life then we have to question why. For employees, the quality of service that we provide is key to how we are judged by the public. By attracting and retaining the brightest and the best we also build a quality workforce that can achieve Council‘s goals consistently.

Excellence: Serving as a model of excellence in public administration is Mississauga‘s reputation and responsibility. We continually need to deliver the right services in a superior way at a reasonable cost. For employees, the ability to deliver our services in an efficient and effective manner ensures that the citizens of Mississauga receive value for money.

The next step in the process was to echo the simplicity of the values with a clear, simple and effective logo that could be used in a variety of platforms. What was designed was a logo that incorporated the three values (trust, quality and excellence) as well as the tag line (living our values) with a simple design that used bright, vibrant colours.

With the creative and wording in place, the communications plan was next. We realized that in order to help employees ―live our values‖ we had to have a top down approach. Employees had to see that our leaders really believed in incorporating our values into everyday tasks. This top down approach modelled what it takes to be successful to our employees.

We identified our CAO/City Manager as our lead spokesperson, tapping into her already established employee communication channels to launch the messaging behind our values. In every communications opportunity that the CAO/City Manager had, TQE messaging was incorporated into it, providing employees with real ―working‖ examples of how TQE was and should be applied to employee‘s jobs. Two-way communication was imperative to the success of the project, and the tactics within the communications plan provide for as many face-to-face opportunities as possible.

It was also through the CAO/City Manager and her leadership team, made up of four City Commissioners, that the rest of the City of Mississauga‘s management team was brought on board to ―lead by example‖ and demonstrate to their employees how TQE can be applied to daily tasks.

The campaign focussed on simplicity and made sure not to saturate our employees with glitzy flyers, brochures and pins that just spit out corporate jargon. It was not the goal to become the ―flavour of the month‖ rather it was to demonstrate the importance of our values and how they related to employee‘s job in a subtle way.

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5. Entrants Role

As the communications lead on this project, I developed the strategy and executed the tactics. I regularly met with the Director of Communications and the City Manager‘s office for guidance and approvals. I also presented concepts to the CAO/City Manager for her consideration and approval. Once the project was in the full implementation stage, I liaised with the graphic designer to develop the look and feel of the communications tactics.

Ivana Di Millo, Director of Communications, was the champion and senior advisor on the project. Ivana‘s role, in addition to her advice, was to help articulate the values for the City‘s Leadership Team, ensuring that easy-to-understand language was applied.

Gary Kent, as the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the City Manager‘s office, was the client and provided strategic direction and advice on tactics and delivery.

6. Implementation

The communications strategy included a number of tactics aimed at supporting the overall goal and objectives, while at the same time ensuring the simplicity of the messaging was reflected in the tactics. As part of the strategy, several two-way communications tactics were included within the communications plan, providing as many face-to-face opportunities as possible. The plan was given a modest budget of $15,000 to communicate to well over 6,000 employees. Within the implementation plan there were many opportunities built in to encourage two-way communications, which was imperative to achieving our objectives. We wanted employees to tell their stories about what TQE meant to them and how they were incorporating it into their jobs. The more examples we received from employees the more it helped demonstrate what TQE was really about. It brought life to the words and exemplified the actions, providing that direct link to our strategic priority of ―continuing to be an employer of choice‖.

Tactics included the following: Video Message from our CAO/City Manager: Delivered face-to-face opportunities for those employees who couldn‘t attend one of her town hall sessions. Posted on our Intranet and e-mailed out to all staff. The message gave an introduction and overview of our corporate values (using the simplified wording) and encouraged staff to submit their TQE stories – all stories were posted on our Intranet site for all staff to see.

E-mail message from our CAO/City Manager: As a follow up to the video message. Reiterating the key messages and calling for employees to tell their story. This e-mail was printed and displayed/circulated to employees that did not have regular access to e-mail.

TQE web site on our Intranet: The Intranet site displayed employee TQE stories, defined what TQE was and provided staff with direction on submitting their stories.

TQE Footer on all Employee e-mails: A small TQE graphic was first provided to all senior staff at the City of Mississauga to add to their signature line in all e-mails sent out. The graphic was then shared with all employees to add to their own e-mails.

Double sided business cards for all staff: A TQE graphic with tagline was inserted into all new employee business card orders. Continued on next page

CAO/City Manager Town Hall Sessions: At the CAO/City Manager‘s bi-annual Town Hall spring 2008 session, there was a focus on TQE. The CAO also shared some employee stories. In subsequent Town Hall sessions, the CAO incorporated TQE messaging, providing examples where appropriate.

Employee Pay Stub Inserts: Reaching 100 per cent of employees a pay stub tactic was employed stretching over four pay periods (2 months). Each pay stub insert focussed on a different value every pay (every two weeks) leaving the final and fourth pay to focus on all 3 values.

 first pay – Trust  second pay - Quality  third pay - Excellence  fourth pay – all values (TQE)

The rationale for this approach was to first and foremost ensure that all employees received the message. It also gave us an opportunity to focus on one value at a time and to get employees thinking about each individual value and how it applies to their job.

TQE Contest: After each release of the TQE statements through the pay stub distribution and the CAO video and e-mail, a contest promotion was offered to staff. Staff were asked to give ―real work‖ examples of how they incorporated our values into their jobs, i.e. an example of incorporating ―Trust‖ into their job. Once they submitted their story they were entered into a draw to win a $200 voucher.

TQE Magnet: A simple magnet was created to hand out to employees at various meeting and staff gatherings.

Desktop TQE triangle: A pop-up TQE triangle was designed and printed to be distributed to all staff areas around the city. The triangle displayed all three values and the simplified messaging.

Senior management tool kit: A tool kit was created for all senior management to incorporate TQE into their staff meetings. The tool kit included a generic PowerPoint that could be incorporated into any presentation. It also included a video message from the CAO about TQE. Senior management was also encouraged to talk about TQE, providing examples of applying our values to their job, with employees.

TQE Stickers: TQE stickers were created to be applied to all meeting room white boards. This was done to keep the simple TQE visual front and centre, reminding staff that all discussions should incorporate TQE.

7. Challenges

Because of the diverse work force within the City of Mississauga there was a challenge in reaching every employee with the new simplified messaging, ensuring that it was presented/received in a way that was clear and easily understandable. It was also a fairly tight deadline of nine months to ensure employees really understood the message and how it applied to their job.

We overcame this challenge by making sure the CAO and senior staff fully understood the simplified messaging fully and the importance of providing examples of the application of our values. We also made sure the values were not over communicated, and employees were encouraged to tell their own stories rather than being told. This was the key to success and helped us successfully achieve our objectives within deadline. Continued on next page

The other challenge was overcoming the stigma that the corporate values roll out was just another ―flavour of the month‖ initiative handed down by senior management. How we overcame this challenge was to keep the tactics and communications subtle and put the focus on having employees submit their stories. It was very successful and had employees talking about TQE. More importantly it had employees understanding how TQE applied to their real life work. The two-way communication tactics employed throughout this campaign were a big reason why this challenge was overcome.

8. Budget

The budget that was dedicated to the TQE project was $15,000. The entire cost of the project came in at $14, 856.

9. Measurement / Evaluation of Outcomes

Feedback from employees have helped us validate that TQE really helps everyone understand how the City operates and the pride we have in our organization. The simple meaning of TQE sends a clear message on how we operate, while framing who we really are.

Further, when other organizations have engaged with us and we have used TQE as an example, they have given wonderful feedback about how it really is powerful and succinct, which is critical in any communications.

Employees really latched on to the opportunity to tell their own TQE stories. We received many more stories from staff then we anticipated as a result of the communications strategy. And the quality and passion that was reflected in the stories really showed how they grasped the true meaning of TQE and how it applies to their daily tasks.

Before we launched the program we took a survey of staff on their awareness and understanding of our corporate values. The survey was linked directly to our objectives as well. Below are the results of the survey and illustrates the successful achievement of our objectives.

Objectives June 2007 survey June 2007 February 2008 % increase question survey result survey result To increase employee Are you aware of the 32% 68% 81% 29% + 49% awareness of the City of City of Mississauga‘s YES NO YES NO Mississauga‘s corporate corporate values? values by 40 per cent. To increase employee Do you understand 30% 70% 72% 28% + 42% understanding of how the how the City of YES NO YES NO City of Mississauga‘s Mississauga‘s corporate values relate to corporate values the service provided by relate to the service employees to the citizens we provide our and customers of stakeholders? Mississauga by 35 per cent.

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We also saw a very positive result in our city wide employee survey in the following areas:  75.9 % of Mississauga employees said they were satisfied with the City of Mississauga as a workplace.  77.7 % of Mississauga employees said they were satisfied with their job at the City of Mississauga.

Both results saw an increase over the employee survey completed in 2006.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Excellence

Title of entry: “Discover Barrick” Lunchtime Information Sessions Entrant‘s name: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Entrant‘s organization: Barrick Gold Corporation Time period of project: July - August 2008

Brief description: A series of Discover Barrick lunchtime information sessions helped employees at Barrick‘s head office better understand the company, the mining business and key departments within the organization.

1. Business Need/Opportunity

Barrick Gold Corporation is the world‘s pre-eminent gold mining company with 27 operating mines and 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

With the gold market booming and the company growing by acquisition, the head office in Toronto experienced rapid growth during 2006-2008. It more than doubled in size during that period. Many of the new hires were from non-mining backgrounds. Most head office staff do not have the opportunity to travel to mine sites so they need other ways to learn about mining operations. A series of focus groups with new hires (joined within the last 10 months) held in December 2006 identified a need for better orientation and more education about the gold mining business, as well as more chances for these employees to meet each other. Various approaches were suggested and acted upon. One approach was the concept of a series of lunch-and-learn sessions about mining processes and the company. We developed a proposal and tested this idea with various managers and groups. Department heads supported the idea, and expressed interest in participating. The Barrick Entertainment Committee (the employee social group) was also supportive.

During the summer of 2007, we conducted a pilot project of five one-hour lunchtime sessions with pre- registered groups of 25-30 people. The model worked and the series proved popular. Each session was fully subscribed and employees‘ evaluations allowed us to gauge interest in various topics and assess the presenters. This stakeholder input enabled us to confidently recommend renewing and expanding... Continued on next page

... the program in 2008. It also created high expectations among employees that an expanded lunchtime series would be conducted in the summer of 2008.

2. Entrant‟s Role in the Project

As Director of Internal Communications, I organized and conducted the original focus groups, developed the concept and proposal, sold the lunch-and-learn concept, identified topics and internal experts and counseled them on their presentations, organized the timetable and promotional information, and introduced the guest speakers at the events. I had the assistance of the department‘s communications coordinator and a co-op student for logistics.

3. Intended Audience

The audience was 360 employees located at Barrick‘s head office in Toronto. The group included managers, professionals, administrative staff, and, during the summer, about 18 summer students. Half were new hires or in new roles in the past 12-18 months. New hires in Accounting, Finance, Supply Chain, IT, Human Resources, and other staff functions often do not have a mining or technical background. Few head office staff travel to mine operations. Focus groups told us they were anxious to meet people and learn about the business. New hires in technical roles also wanted to know more about the organization and the various functional departments. These employees are highly educated professionals in very busy jobs. They all have computers and are heavy users of email.

4. Goals/Objectives

Our goals for this program were:  To fulfill employees' need for background (especially new and office-bound employees), and to improve head office employees' understanding of the mining business  To encourage networking, learning and fun  To provide a venue for department heads to enhance their profile with employees

We set the following specific objectives for the 2008 program: 1. Attendance: Minimum of 30 attendees per session 2. Employees: Target was a minimum rating of 75% to agree they felt better informed. This was measured using evaluation forms filled out by attendees at each session. 3. Presenters: They would find this a positive experience and be willing to do it again to be measured by soliciting feedback from each presenter after the program was completed.

5. Solution Overview

 ―Discover Barrick‖ for 2008 was a series of seven lunchtime information sessions to help Barrick‘s head office staff in Toronto learn more about the company and the business. The program development was based on stakeholder input, including employee focus groups, managers, and a pilot project previously conducted.  The name/theme ―Discover Barrick‖ connotes exploration, a key aspect of mining. The graphic/logo shows a field geologist studying rock characteristics through a hand lens.  Sessions were scheduled for lunchtime on Thursdays during July and August. Input from employees told us this was the most convenient day on their schedules.

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 The most popular topics from the pilot project (Exploration, Metallurgy, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Development) were included. We added topics employees told us they wanted during the pilot (Continuous Improvement, Project Pipeline, and Risk/Assurance).  We sponsored a free pizza lunch to encourage attendance. We responded to a request for ―healthy‖ food options, adding sandwiches, wraps and a vegetable tray for future sessions. Numerous employees thanked us for this change on the evaluation forms in later sessions.  We announced the program by email broadcast and invited employees to register. Pre-registration helped us set expectations with presenters about audience size and make-up. It also helped us determine the size of the food order. We sent reminders before each session.  Registration response was immediate and overwhelming. Sessions filled up within days.  We worked with presenters in advance to advise them about audience numbers and needs, guidelines for time limits and content, and logistics. We prepared formal introductions that outlined their role and credentials.  Presenters prepared their own material, although we reviewed drafts and suggested revisions as appropriate. Presenters used Powerpoint presentations, but some sessions included exercises, film clips, and other elements.  We integrated evaluation methods into the plan. We counted attendance at each session. We gave attendees evaluation forms to provide feedback on the presentation and suggest additional topics. We surveyed presenters for their feedback.  We gathered all the slide presentations and recorded the audio, giving us a resource of background information on these topics to use for the future.

6. Implementation and Challenges

Resources: All arrangements and setup were conducted by internal staff, including the presentations which were developed by department leaders. Estimated total time commitments for the program include about 50 hours for the Director of Communications, 20 hours for the Communications Coordinator, and 30 hours for the co-op student. Numerous volunteers contributed a total of an hour for setup and teardown for each session. Costs for each session included $200 - $500 for food (depending on numbers) and, for five of the sessions, we spent $950 for sound equipment rental. Total expenditure of $8,715.60 was absorbed into existing expense budgets.

Timing: Head office employees are extremely busy early in the year and toward year end, so summer timing was recommended. Initially, senior management was skeptical people would attend lunchtime information sessions at all, especially in summer when people are anxious to get outside during lunch breaks and many are on holiday. We used the pilot project approach to show employees would attend. We also offered a free pizza lunch to encourage attendance.

Space: The biggest meeting room at head office is the boardroom which will hold a maximum of 30-35 people. We identified several nearby, low cost venues, but senior management rejected this expense, expressing concern busy employees might not trek to another building even if it‘s nearby. We made the boardroom work in two ways. For two presenters who were able to conduct a second session, we scheduled an additional session on Friday. For the five whose schedules could only fit in one presentation, we opened up the boardroom (the outer glass wall retracts into the ceiling), which enabled us to set up folding chairs facing a retractable presentation screen. We hired an audio-visual company to provide good sound and to record the presentations. This setup provided seating for up to 80 employees. This required special setup, and we recruited volunteers to help with setup and teardown.

Continued on next page

7. Measurement/Evaluation

The Discover Barrick series proved a simple, low-cost and effective way to achieve our objectives. We used three evaluation mechanisms, and the program exceeded expectations on all three.

1. Attendance/participation: Over the seven sessions, participation totaled 427 employees, for an average of 60 per session, well exceeding our minimum target of 30. We did a physical count of attendance at each session, and used a sign-in sheet so we could compare pre-registration against actual attendance. We found that the series appealed to employees from all levels across all departments. Attendees included students, administrative and professional staff, managers and even some executive vice presidents. We found that approximately 10% of pre-registered attendees did not show up; however this was offset by a corresponding number who showed up without having registered (people‘s schedules are somewhat unpredictable and their desire to attend can be affected by workload and deadlines on that day). In addition to actual attendance, employees were engaged and asked lots of good questions.

2. Employee evaluation forms: We placed a simple evaluation sheet and pencil on every chair so that attendees could quickly provide feedback and suggest additional topics. When we introduced the speaker, we always referred to the evaluation form and reminded people to provide their input. We compiled the results immediately after each session and provided the feedback from that session to that presenter. At the end of the series, we prepared a consolidated report of survey results. Key findings from the evaluations are *(see the Work Sample for the evaluation forms and the full consolidated results report):

 Of 427 attendees over the seven sessions, 340 filled out an evaluation form, for a response rate of 80%.  97% of respondents rated the presentations very good or excellent. All presenters received high ratings. No respondents rated any of the presentations less than 3 out of 5.  96% of respondents said the sessions helped them feel better informed.  99% of respondents said lunchtime information sessions are a good approach to providing employees with information.  Write-in comments about ―most important thing I learned today‖ identified understanding the role/activities/challenges of the various departments and the impact on the rest of the organization. This was a key goal of the program.  There were 92 write-in comments specifically complimenting the speakers on their presentations. The comments show the presentations were considered high quality.  Employees offered several suggestions for additional topics for future sessions.

A few sample comments include: ―Excellent. Thanks.‖ ―Do more of these.‖ ―It was extremely informative and interesting.‖ ―Excellent training.‖ ―Good idea on lunch and learn.‖ ―Very good introduction to the mining world.‖ ―Great presentation. These sessions are incredibly informative, plus necessary for new employees. We can use the knowledge to become advocates for Barrick.‖ ―Very inspirational!‖ Continued on next page * The Work Sample is not included in the Winning Entries Booklet

―Excellent presentation—well presented, interactive and informative.‖ ―Fantastic way to learn about the vital aspects of the company.‖ ―It was a very useful session to me, and it helps even if you are not involved in that part of the business. Thanks for arranging the session!‖ ―Fabulous!! Great idea. Thanks for doing this.‖ ―A simple delivery of a more complex process—very informative.‖ ―Great presentation—very interesting and presented in layman’s terms.‖ ―Thank you for the healthier lunch options—much appreciated.‖ ―Loved the animation videos.‖ ―Well worth the time.‖ ―I have just started at Barrick in the insurance dept and this was extremely informative and will assist me greatly in my position.‖

3. Presenters feedback: At the end of the series, we contacted each presenter with a quick email survey asking them to assess the organization and value of the sessions. All respondents said the sessions were well organized, it was a great opportunity to profile their department/function, and they would be willing to participate again. They suggested other people who would also be good presenters and other topics.

By recording and transcribing the presentations, we gained detailed information about key aspects of the company that we are now able to use in other ways. The presentations are being converted to an intranet version so that employees can access them and refer to them whenever convenient. This will make these tools an orientation resource for employees on an ongoing basis.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Excellence

Title of Entry: Perfect Fit: A Communications Strategy for KPMG Recruiting Entrant‘s Name: Angie Andich and the KPMG Communications team Organization‘s Name: KPMG LLP in Canada Time Period of Project: February to October 2008

Brief Description: This comprehensive, multi-faceted recruiting campaign targeted both external (campus recruits) and internal audiences (KPMG recruiters) to help KPMG attract top talent from universities across Canada. The campaign was designed to stand out in the highly competitive world of professional services recruiting.

Business Need / Opportunity

KPMG is a knowledge-intensive, people-based business that operates in the highly competitive Canadian professional services market. To meet client demand and drive business results, KPMG needs to attract the best and brightest employees from an increasingly limited talent pool. Forecasts show that staffing will only become more challenging in the future. Add to this external factors such as the demographic changes in Canada that will result in a shrinking labour market and a decline in the membership of the Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA) profession, and it becomes clear why recruiting is a key business priority for KPMG.

A major source of new hires for the firm is Canadian university campuses. Competition for high- performing students has always been fierce among public accounting firms. Traditionally, these firms were the only options for students looking to earn a CA designation. However, in 2007 the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants radically expanded the rules regarding who could train future CAs. With these new rules, accounting students could now choose to gain the experience they needed for their CA outside of the traditional public accounting firms. This meant that KPMG had to work even harder to recruit an audience already overwhelmed with recruiting brochures and job offers.

To help the firm reach its audience and drive recruitment, the KPMG Communications team needed to create a campaign that spoke to students on their level, addressed topics of interest, and used media that appealed to this demographic. Since the recruiters had front-line access to the students, it was critical to the success of the campaign that the Campus Recruiters were in full support of all of the campaign components. Continued on next page

Entrants‟ Roles in the Project

The Communications team (Angie Andich, Kim Murray and Gillian Welsh) designed, led, wrote and executed each element of the campaign. In addition to project managing the entire campaign, the Communications team also led the Creative Services team (Janine Jorgenson and Cristobal Ramirez) to create the layout, the image choices, and the look and feel of all collateral. The Communications team met with the internal clients to gain buy-in throughout the process.

Intended Audience

Audience Description Background Research Desired Conducted Outcome Primary Audience:  Canadian university students  Campus Recruiting Potential Potential Campus  Majority enrolled in business Focus Group Findings Campus Recruits programs 2005 Recruits  Generation Y with an average age  Campus Recruiting apply to of 21 Focus Group National KPMG  People and culture are the key Findings 2006 based on a factors when selecting an  National Campus positive employer Recruiting Overview impression  Want a ―friendly work 2007 of the firm environment‖ and ―good people to  Desktop research, and the work with‖ including published Campus  Value work-life balance articles and studies Recruiting Campaign  Want to be viewed as individuals Secondary  Primary point of contact for  Interviews Support the Audience: students  Informal feedback Campus Campus Recruiters  Decentralized group from 33 Recruiting different offices campaign  Focused on local markets by  Strong understanding of KPMG‘s delivering practice areas it consistently across the country

Goals / Objectives

Overall Goal of the Campus Recruiting Campaign: To help the firm attract top talent

1. Campus Recruiting Business Objectives:  Targets removed for confidentiality 2. Potential Campus Recruits Campaign Objectives –To have Potential Campus Recruits apply to KPMG based on a positive impression of the firm and the Campus Recruiting Campaign  Targets removed for confidentiality 3. Campus Recruiting Team Campaign Objectives – To engage Campus Recruiters and achieve support for the campaign  Targets removed for confidentiality Continued on next page

Solution Overview

In order to meet these goals and objectives, the Communications team produced a campaign with multiple components designed to resonate with our target audiences—potential Campus Recruits and Campus Recruiters. Research has shown that work-life balance, a friendly work culture, and respect for individuality are key elements in appealing to potential recruits. Therefore, the campaign centered on the key message that KPMG is a Perfect Fit, meaning that KPMG fits with your life both at work and at home.

FIT Magazine The cornerstone of the campaign was FIT Magazine, a glossy lifestyle magazine that integrated students‘ professional and personal interests in an entertaining and informative manner. Designed to appeal to recruits‘ desire to be viewed as individuals and achieve balance in their lives, story topics ranged from how to shrink your eco-footprint to the travel diary of an international secondee in Australia. The high-impact, colourful layouts and conversational tone were a dramatic departure from KPMG‘s traditional collateral and helped KPMG cut through the clutter and distinguish themselves from the competition in a unique way.

Slip-sheets In order to meet the request from both target audiences for local content, the Communications team created customized print-on-demand slip-sheets, including 21 local office profiles which featured information on KPMG offices across Canada.

Campus Recruiting Web Site The Campus Recruiting Web site provided information about KPMG‘s programs, including people programs designed to help employees achieve a balance between work and life. A key element of the 2008 campaign was the inclusion of video galleries on the site, which featured people from across the country sharing their personal stories about life at KPMG. Much like FIT Magazine, the content of the videos was balanced between personal and professional life.

Social Media - YouTube To target the Generation Y audience, the campaign included a KPMG YouTube channel, which featured videos that gave students a real-life look at KPMG‘s people, programs, and culture. The social media program was also designed to get recruiters actively involved in creating content for the national campaign. They were provided access to three Flip Video cameras and the Communications team created a customized YouTube Guide with advice on how to create content for the channel, literally placing recruiters in the director‘s chair.

On-Campus Presentation A new On-Campus Presentation was created for recruiters to use at all KPMG information sessions. While the outline of the presentation was set, recruiters were able to customize the information for their local market. Notes were included with the slide deck; however, the presentation was not scripted in order to allow recruiters to be creative in their presentation style. In order to ensure messages were consistent across the country, the section describing ―What is the Perfect Fit?‖ could not be customized. The presentation was 75 percent shorter than in previous years to allow for what the students wanted, which was more time to network with recruiters.

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Recruiter Launch A virtual campaign launch was held for recruiters in August to build enthusiasm and ensure that everyone was familiar with all elements of the campaign before heading out on campus. The launch presentation walked recruiters through the new FIT Magazine, the updated Web site, the streamlined On-Campus Presentation, and the new YouTube channel. Discussion was held around what the Perfect Fit meant and how to convey this message to students. Recruiters were encouraged to ask questions and share ideas.

Conclusion Each element of the Campus Recruiting Campaign was designed to give students a sense of KPMG‘s people, programs, and culture, and to reinforce the message that KPMG is the Perfect Fit for recruits. In order to appeal to a media-savvy Generation Y audience, new and creative solutions were employed, including a lifestyle magazine, a YouTube channel, and videos on the KPMG Web site. During the development phase of the project, the Communications team engaged recruiters by asking for their feedback on: people to interview for the magazine, YouTube channel, and Web site video project; ways to improve the On-Campus Presentation; and how to customize slip-sheets for their local markets. These consultations allowed recruiters to be part of the creative process and provided opportunities for the Communications team to clarify how each part of the campaign reinforces the overall Perfect Fit key message.

Implementation and Challenges

Timeline The campaign was created with tight timing, from February 2008 to delivery on September 1, 2008.

Budget By minimizing the use of external suppliers and leveraging in-house talent, including internal graphic designers, the Communications team was able to keep costs low and come in under budget. See Budget Breakdown in the work sample section for full details.

Challenges The Communications team overcame several challenges throughout the course of the project, including:  The design and content of FIT Magazine had to balance the need for a new high-impact format that appeals to Generation Y, with a requirement to meet KPMG brand guidelines. The Communications team consulted the KPMG‘s Creative Services and Brand & Regulatory Compliance teams in order to develop materials that met both objectives.  KPMG faces a great deal of geographical diversity with 33 offices across the country. To ensure representation of the different regions throughout Canada, KPMG people from various parts of the country were interviewed for FIT Magazine, and others were flown to Toronto to appear in the career videos on the Campus Recruiting Web site. In addition the campaign included tailored slip- sheets that could be printed locally. The Communications team ensured that every city received a customized office profile to help them market their office to their local audience.  A requirement to produce materials in English and French added complexity to the project. To ensure that both English and French campaigns launched at the same time, the Communications team consulted with the Translation group early in the process, kept them updated on the project status, and delivered final copy for translation months before the deadline for the campaign launch.

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Measurement / Evaluation

The Communications team built in a formal evaluation process for the campaign that focused on three key measurement tools:  Campus Recruiting Experience Survey 2008  Perfect Fit Campus Recruiting Marketing Feedback Survey Results 2008  Campus Recruiting Web site analysis 2008

By combining these three metrics, the Communications team was able to gain valuable feedback from a variety of perspectives, including our targeted audiences of Potential Campus Recruits and Campus Recruiters.

Campus Recruiting Business Results – With respect to business results, the campaign was a total success, with both application and acceptance rates exceeding the targets that were set.  Results removed for confidentiality

Results for Primary Audience of Potential Campus Recruits – According to survey results and KPMG Web site analysis, the campaign was well received by the primary audience.  Results removed for confidentiality

Results for Secondary Audience of Campus Recruiters  Results removed for confidentiality

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Employee/Member/HR Communications

Award of Excellence

Title of Entry: The MDS Advantage 2008 Pulse Survey Entrant Name: Nadia Corbiere, Manager, Global Internal Communications, MDS Inc. Organization Name: MDS Inc. Time Period of Project: March 2008 – November 2008

Brief Description: A comprehensive communications strategy to launch an employee engagement survey, communicate results, and communicate actions for managers to take. Because employees were required to enter their employee ID number at the beginning of the survey, and because managers would receive team specific results, our communications priority was to help employees overcome any concerns about confidentiality.

Business Need/Opportunity MDS is a global life sciences company headquartered in Mississauga. MDS consists of a Corporate centre and three business units: MDS Analytical Technologies, MDS Nordion and MDS Pharma Services.

MDS has undergone a tremendous amount of change since 2005, including a new CEO, new top-level leadership across the company, and the launch of a new global business strategy that lead to the divestiture of the founding business, the divestiture of product lines at MDS Nordion, a major acquisition, and two smaller acquisitions.

In 2007, MDS launched an employee value proposition, The MDS Advantage, to align employees to our new business strategy, clearly articulate where the company was headed in the future, and to highlight what employees could expect from MDS, their employer, and what MDS expected from employees in return. Work to create The MDS Advantage began in 2006 and was based on data from... Continued on next page

...employee focus groups, informal employee feedback, brainstorming sessions, and data collected from senior leaders. Senior leadership and employees from across the company were involved in vetting and refining The MDS Advantage. *(Sample A)

MDS implemented 23-question, internally managed Pulse Survey in 2007 to gather data on how well The MDS Advantage resonated with employees, and to identify its strengths and weaknesses. In early 2008, a decision was made to expand the Pulse Survey into a more comprehensive, externally managed, 40-question employee engagement survey. This would provide more robust data on how well MD was doing against The MDS Advantage, it would provide an employee engagement index for MDS overall and for specific teams, and it would enable teams across the company to develop action plans to help improve their team, based on survey results.

Our Global HR team owned the survey set-up and administration elements of the project, and they also selected Kenexa, an external provider of employee engagement surveys, as the survey vendor. The HR team also decided to make it mandatory for all employees to enter their employee ID number at the beginning of the survey. This decision was made to improve the quality of the data. In the 2007 Pulse Survey, employees were asked to self-select demographic information such as their location, business unit, and years of service, and many inaccuracies were found that compromised the quality of the data (i.e. 200 employees self-identified as being in HR, and we only have 106 HR employees). Having employees enter their employee ID would allow Kenexa to pull their demographic information directly from our Oracle database. In addition, a decision was made to provide all MDS managers with team- specific data (those who had five or more employees would receive data for their direct reports, those who had less than five would receive results from one organizational level up). We knew that these two factors would lead to confidentiality concerns among employees, and this was validated informally by members of HR, senior leadership and employees from across the business.

Our survey vendor, Kenexa, advised at the beginning of the process that MDS would need to achieve a minimum employee response rate of 65% to have confidence that the resulting data was representative of all MDS employees. They also advised that the average participation rate they experience when working with other companies was 75%. Our 2007 Pulse Survey participation rate was an outstanding 92% (employees were not asked to self-identify in 2007).

It was clear that we needed a high employee participation rate to realize a return on MDS‘s significant investment in the survey. This, coupled with leadership‘s high expectations following the 92% participation rate in 2007, and the anticipated employee confidentiality concerns, built the business case for developing a strong internal communications strategy and bold, creative tactics that would capture employees‘ attention and ease their confidentiality concerns. Internal Communications partnered with HR on the project, and focused solely on managing the communication elements of the survey.

Entrant‟ Roles in the Project

Nadia Corbiere: Responsible for the development of the communication strategy, and for crafting, finalizing and distributing messaging, and providing oversight on the project. Janet Ko: Review and final approval of communications materials, liaised with Executives. Barb Moffat: Managed the design of all creative, recorded and edited CEO audio messages, and Flash music. Loris Parekh: Built the Pulse Survey website on our intranet and managed the production of the Flash messages. Shahin Bonakdar: Recorded and edited CEO messages, assisted with the website development and updates, created email templates. Continued on next page

* The Samples are not included in the Winning Entries Booklet

Intended Audience(s) Primary Audience – All MDS employees  At the time of the survey, MDS had nearly 5,500 employees located in 26 countries.  Geographic distribution of MDS employees: 30% in Canada, 30% in the U.S., 30% in Europe, 9% in Asia and 1% in South America.  Communication audits and surveys conducted in our business units over the years consistently show that employees‘ most trusted source of information is their manager.  Approximately 1,000 employees were located in a manufacturing or lab setting, without access to a computer or email account, which created a need for non-electronic communications.  While employee surveys are commonplace in North America, they are not in Europe and Asia, and we knew we would need to take on additional steps for these audience segments. (This was addressed by HR, through conversations with our European Works Councils).

Secondary Audiences Global Leaders – Our top 60 Vice-Presidents, located around the world. Internal Communications has established a regular communication channel with this group. We regularly provide Global Leaders with communications materials to enable them to support major announcements and initiatives. We know, from informal feedback, that this group prefers to receive information in a simple, ready-to-use format.

PeopleLeaders – All MDS managers with direct reports, located around the world. This is another group that we have established a regular communications channel with. We regularly provide this group with communications materials to help support major announcements and initiatives. The information provided to this group is typically at less of a high-level than what‘s provided to Global Leaders, and we know from informal feedback that they want materials that are geared towards helping them answer questions from front-line employees.

Global Functions – MDS has three global functions: HR, IT and Finance. These functional employees are located in both our Corporate centre and all three of our business units around the world. A regular communications channel has been established with all three groups, including quarterly teleconference/WebEx sessions, which were leveraged for survey communications.

Goals/Objectives The overarching goal for internal communications was to:

Support MDS HR with a successful roll-out of The MDS Advantage 2008 Pulse Survey, and enable PeopleLeaders to act on their team-specific survey results.

Objectives . To overcome anticipated employee concerns about the confidentiality of the survey, to the extent that 80% of all employees complete the survey during the survey period (June 2-20, 2008). . Communicate Pulse Survey action planning requirements to all PeopleLeaders and have 80% of them develop an action plan based on their team-specific survey results, and submit it by November 15, 2008.

These goals and objectives were designed to support HR‘s objectives for the survey, which were to measure MDS‘s progress on the four key areas of The MDS Advantage, to measure employee… Continued on next page

…engagement across the company and for specific work teams, and to have individual work teams implement action plans to strengthen their teams and improve performance year-over-year. This in turn connects to MDS‘s overall goal to build a premier global life sciences company that attracts, retains and develops talent.

Solution Overview A brainstorm session was held with members of the communications and HR teams to come up with a theme that would tie all survey related communications together. As a result of the session an Olympic ―Get in the Game!‖ theme was chosen and further developed. Initial thoughts on the theme were also vetted through other members of HR and communications for feedback, and to ensure that everyone agreed the theme before tactics were developed.

The Olympic theme was chosen, and well received by those involved with the project, as it was timely (the survey period was June 2-20, and the Beijing Olympics were due to start in August) – and also resonated globally, particularly in Asia, where we‘ve heard through informal feedback that employees tend to often feel overlooked.

Our number one communications priority was to overcome any employee concerns about the confidentiality of the survey, and our internal communications plan was developed specifically to address this. Key messages were:  The survey is being administered by a third party (Kenexa) who is committed to confidentiality.  Kenexa will provide all results to MDS in aggregate form only (in groups of five or more).  Employees are being asked to provide their employee ID number to help improve the quality of the demographic data.

Tactical Outline – All tactics were developed in both French and English.

Pre-survey Tactics (March – May 2008) . Our CEO gave PeopleLeaders a heads-up on the survey on a regular call with PeopleLeaders. (March 7, 2008) . Meetings (in person and teleconferences) were held with all PeopleLeaders to educate them on the new survey and their role. All were provided with a slide deck (Sample B) and a Q&A document (Sample C). (April 2008) . Presentation to all Global Leaders (Sample B) at MDS‘s bi-annual leadership form, educating them on the new survey format and their role to support the survey. They also received the slide deck and Q&A. (April 28, 2008) . Our CEO and Business Unit Presidents spoke about the survey during April and May site- visits. (Sample D) . Global HR Teleconference - MDS‘s HR team was briefed (Sample E) during a regularly scheduled call, to enable them to answer employee questions, particularly about confidentiality. HR received the Q&A. (May 15) . Posters were emailed to all MDS sites and printed locally. (size: 11 x 17) (Sample F) Posters were developed in particular to reach those without access to a computer and email. (May 22) . The 2008 Pulse Survey site (Sample G) went live on MDS‘s intranet, MYMDS. The site included PowerPoint decks, survey timelines, survey eligibility criteria, a letter from Kenexa guaranteeing confidentiality, and a Q&A document. All additional communications tactics were posted to this site as they were released. (May 26) Continued on next page

. Teaser emails (Sample H) sent to all employees to begin raising awareness (May 26 & 28) . An audio message (Samples I and CD1) from our CEO was sent to all employees The message reinforced the importance of the survey, and provided information on how results would be used. (May 29)

Tactics During the Survey Period (June 2-20, 2008) . A Flash message to all employees to kick-off the survey.(Sample J (stills of the Flash) and CD2(Flash))(June 2) . Each MDS business unit sent a follow-up message to the Flash. (Sample K). Messages were customized to include any local incentives or contests. Corporate and two business units held a draw for a Nintendo Wii System, by having employees print and sign an online survey confirmation page. (June 2) . Employees received an email from Kenexa that included login information and a link to the survey site. (June 2) . Our CEO spoke about the survey during his quarterly call with PeopleLeaders. (Sample L) (June 6) . Our Chief Financial Officer spoke to all global Finance employees (Sample M) about the importance of the survey and provided an update on Finance participation during his regular Finance call. (June 10) . Our Chief Information Officer spoke to all global IT employees (Sample N) about the importance of the survey and provided an update on IT participation during his regular IT call. (June 11) . Regular participation updates, aligned to the Olympic theme, were sent during survey period. (June 2-20) . Regular reminders (Sample O), aligned to the Olympic theme, were sent to various audiences throughout the survey period. Kenexa‘s response rate tracking system was used to determine which areas of the business needed reminders, and audiences were targeted accordingly. (June 2- 20) . Answered employee questions on our online Q&A with our CEO. (Sample P) (June 2-20) . CEO and Business Unit Presidents spoke about the survey during site visits and employee meetings in June. . Our Business Unit communications team implemented additional Business Unit-specific and local communications tactics throughout the survey period, building on the Olympic theme. For example, some offered pizza lunches to locations who reached a target participation rate.

Post-Survey Tactics (June 21 – November 15, 2008) . A thank you message outlining next steps was sent to all employees. (Sample Q) (June 23) . Once Kenexa confirmed all participation rates, a Flash message to communicate participation rates was sent to all employees. (Sample R (stills of the Flash) and CD3(Flash)) (July 3) . MDS‘s global CEO, Stephen DeFalco, presented high-level results to all PeopleLeaders - September 5 (S) . Intranet site was updated to include survey results and information and actions for PeopleLeaders to take. (T) . Message to all PeopleLeaders with instructions on how to access their team-specific data, share it with their team, and on how to develop and implement an action plan for their team. The message included a link to the Kenexa resource centre for managers, a Manager‘s Guide and Q&A developed by us, and a link to the updated intranet site. (U) Continued on next page

. CEO audio message to all employees re: high-level results now posted to the intranet, and your manager will be holding an action planning meeting with your team to address your team-specific results.(V)

Budget – costs of the survey administration were part of HR’s budget, not communications. Poster design: $3,300 Flash #1 development: $6,000 Flash #2 development: $2,000 Translation costs: $2,500 $13,800

We made effective use of our budget by developing as many tactics as we could in-house, using equipment and resources we had on hand – i.e. the audio recordings were produced using previously purchased equipment. We also developed creative concepts and copy, and chose images and music in- house before handing the projects off to external vendors to do the technical build. The graphic design firm Amazing Grace designed the posters. Poster copy was developed by the MDS team, as was ―The MDS Advantage 2008 Pulse Survey‖ logo. The graphic design firm Stoneway Creative built the Flash presentations. Copy for the both Flashes was developed by the MDS team, and music was also selected in-house. Stoneway built off of the look and feel of the posters that were developed by Amazing Grace.

Resources The overall project consumed approximately 50% of my time during the pre-survey period, 50% of my time during the survey period, and 20% of my time during the post-survey period. Time of other team members is estimated at 5-10% during the pre-survey and survey periods, and 1-5% post-survey.

Implementation and Challenges Time and resources were a challenge during the survey period, as a number of other events occurred that required the attention of the communications team. During the survey period, MDS stock hit a multi-year low, our second quarter financial results were released on June 5, and a supplier cancelled a major contract at our MDS Nordion business. We expect that having these events occur during the survey period also impacted our results. Other challenges included participation in our European locations, which was addressed by HR working with the Works Councils for approval on the project. Employees without access to computers were also given the opportunity to complete the survey in a paper format – Kenexa entered these surveys manually into the database.

Our number one communication challenge was employee concerns about confidentiality; however, we had few employees voice concerns during the survey period. We believe that engaging leaders, managers and all of HR before the survey began was key, and they were also well equipped with Q&A to use with employees. In all tactics, the reasons why employees were being asked to identify themselves were clear and consistent, and we continuously reinforced that the survey was 100% confidential.

Measurement/Evaluation Our first objective was to achieve an overall participation rate of 80%, 8% above Kenexa‘s benchmark of 72%. We exceeded this objective with an overall 86% response rate, and the following Business Unit specific participation rates: Corporate and Global Services (total of 146 employees) – 97%: MDS Analytical Technologies (total of 1243 employees) – 91%; MDS Nordion (total of 584 employees) – 95%; and MDS Pharma Services (total of 3489 employees)– 83%. Continued on next page

Our second objective was to have 80% of all PeopleLeaders submit a team action plan, based on their team-specific survey results, by November 15. Overall, 84% of PeopleLeaders submitted before the deadline: Corporate and Global Services – 92%; MDS Analytical Technologies – 100%; MDS Nordion – 100%; and MDS Pharma Services – 75%. Teams across MDS are now implementing their plans and making improvements to their team.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Issues Management and Crisis Communication

Award of Excellence

Title of Entry: Take A Load Off Toronto Entrant‘s Name: Catherine Parry Organization: Toronto Hydro Corporation Time Period: April – May 2008

Brief Description: The Take a Load Off Toronto (TALOT) campaign invited Toronto residents to visit multiple retailers across the city to take advantage of a giveaway of 75,000 retractable clotheslines, discounts on energy-efficient specialty compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and cold water laundry detergent, incentives on peaksaver sign-ups and to learn more about electricity conservation.

BUSINESS NEED/ OPPORTUNITY

Toronto Hydro is an electricity distribution company serving residential and business customers in Canada‘s largest city. Toronto is one of the fastest growing cities and a leading financial, medical, commercial, communications and transportation hub. As the population increases, so does the strain on the electricity system. In Toronto, this means that sometimes the supply cannot meet the demand, especially during summer heat waves. Aggressive conservation, demand management and energy efficiency is needed to bridge the gap.

To this end, Toronto Hydro developed and executed a new mass market multi-retailer campaign combining public engagement, education, product discounts, giveaways and widespread marketing to encourage residents of Toronto to reduce their electricity use.

Typically, conservation programs focus on emerging technologies. What distinguished TALOT is that it encouraged Torontonians to go back to basics and try out old energy conservation practices like the clothesline. Clotheslines had been banned in many parts of the province (not Toronto!), as some find them ‗unsightly‘. However, not all Ontarians were in agreement. Mounting opposition was beginning to apply pressure on the Premier‘s Office and Ontario Ministry of Energy to re-examine these draconian laws and lift the ban. A formal 60-day review to lift the ban was called for by the Ontario Premier‘s office in January 2008. This created a serendipitous opportunity for dialogue around the comeback kid – the lowly clothesline.

Continued on next page

Toronto Hydro conducted a pre-campaign, online survey that indicated that approximately 35 per cent of Toronto Hydro‘s 580,000 residential customers use clotheslines during the summer months to line dry a portion of their laundry, leaving about 375,000 residential customers who did not use or have a clothesline. Of that, 97 per cent of respondents said they would consider using a clothesline if they knew it helped them conserve electricity or save money. Similar numbers of uptake and interest were seen for cold-water laundry detergent and specialty CFL light bulbs. The results of the survey demonstrated a need for a program that not only educated customers about these energy efficient products but also actively engaged them to change behaviours. This combined with growing awareness of the benefits of using a clothesline, set the stage for a dynamic program.

Entrant’s Role in the Project Catherine Parry is the Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs for Toronto Hydro- Electric System. From communication strategy development to detailed tactical planning, Catherine oversaw all aspects of Take a Load Off.

INTENDED AUDIENCES

Primary Audience: Toronto Hydro residential customers – 580,000 in total. Toronto is an ethnically diverse city. Predominant second languages in the City are: Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Punjabi, Italian, Portuguese and Korean.

Secondary Audience: • Stakeholders – The municipal and provincial government, and related agencies, (Ministry of Energy, and Premier‘s and Mayor‘s Office) who actively support and promote energy conservation; • News Media – Conservation during summer months is a high-priority for media who report on air quality index hourly and are a conduit of information to all audiences. In a 2004 Toronto Hydro Benchmark Survey on Perceptions of Brand and Corporate Performance it was determined: • Customers are theoretically committed to conservation but are less willing to invest time/money • Educating customers with respect to time commitment required and potential return on investment (what‘s in it for me) will likely increase interest • 94 per cent of customers felt ‗advising customers on ways to conserve energy‘ was a key role for Toronto Hydro. • 87 per cent felt Toronto Hydro is or should be developing and marketing technologies and programs that help customers to manage their energy consumption more efficiently • Both factors above play a key role in building trust, customer satisfaction and brand • Programs must be simple and campaigns innovative and highly visible to cut through the clutter, create awareness and drive participation

GOALS / OBJECTIVES

The focus for Take a Load Off Toronto (was market transformation. The goal was to encourage people to make a long-term shift to more sustainable behaviour, by creating a value proposition at the time when the customer was about to make a purchase. Toronto Hydro strives to be a leader in Ontario with respect to creating a culture of conservation. We have embraced the Ministry of Energy‘s directive to invest in conservation projects that result in measurable demand and base load reduction. In particular, Toronto Hydro recognizes the capacity and power of consumer-driven campaigns and the mass market arena as the largest opportunity for engagement and widespread education. Effective campaigns reduce electricity use, reduce the threat of blackouts and help create a healthier city. Continued on next page

The success of TALOT was tracked by the following objectives:

Objective 1: To create awareness for the Toronto conservation program and conservation actions through an integrated, multi-media campaign. Objective 2: To drive participation in all programs and reduce electricity usage as a result: a summer peak demand savings of 1.6 MW, annual kilowatt-hour (kWh) savings of 20 million, and net Total Resource Cost (TRC)* $3.9 million. Objective 3: To generate positive media coverage with 35 million media impressions and a MRRP score of 85 per cent. Objective 4: Engage multiple stakeholders (multi-retailer and manufacturers). Objective 5: Ensure program is easy to implement and measure and delivers tangible results. Objective 6: Provide positive visibility for Toronto Hydro.

* Measure of electricity. City of Toronto has a peak of 5000 megawatts (MW)

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Strategy: Toronto Hydro customers are looking for simple, low-cost and effective conservation tools. The challenge was to create a 2008 campaign that addressed our customers‘ interests and needs, and helped identify a new call to action. Since research results indicated there was both interest and opportunity amongst the target group, the clothesline product provided a positive TRC*, and there was no ban on clotheslines within the City of Toronto, Toronto Hydro decided to give away 75,000 free clothesline to wean people off of their electric dryers. TALOT in-store reps would distribute the free clotheslines to the first 500 customers at 144 retail events. The clothesline was the incentive to drive customers to the store, get them engaged and start to transform their purchasing habits towards energy-efficient products. Once there, instant rebates on cold-water laundry detergent and specialty CFLs were provided. This was the first campaign of its kind in Canada to actively promote the clothesline as a unique conservation tool with substantial summer demand savings and encouraged customers to return to the ‗good old‘ conservation methods. Toronto Hydro strives to make all of its conservation programs accessible to all customers. Toronto Hydro chose its retail partners carefully based on a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI). Four retailers were chosen: Wal-Mart, Zellers, The Home Depot and Costco Wholesale. Each had unique features that cater to a distinct customer base. The retail partnerships required active participation with the retailers providing additional discounts, marketing materials and reserved front-store space for the campaign as well as allowed access to retail associates for training and campaign logistics. Since a program of this magnitude requires significant resourcing, Summerhill Group was chosen, through a Request for Proposal process, to assist with program design and delivery.

Green Living Agency was hired for creative development. The communications strategy was multifaceted and included a significant ethnic media component. In addition, the public relations strategy targeted non-traditional home, fashion and lifestyle media. The creative developed was humorous and ‗cheeky‘ with a headline, ‗Take a Load Off Toronto and Let it All Hang Out‘ with a visual of bright board shorts.

Communications tactics: Supporting marketing tactics were selected to reach the diverse audience through multiple channels and drive them to the stores. The major tactics were: Radio advertising on five diverse radio stations, weighted Wednesday to Saturday leading up to each weekend‘s events Television advertising was placed on one local news station, featuring a banner in the traffic and weather segments Radio remotes were hosted at two events, at different retailers and on different radio stations, featuring live on-air coverage including conservation tips Newspaper advertising placed in one major daily newspaper, one daily commuter newspaper, eight community and six multicultural (non-English) newspapers to blanket the city and reach diverse ethnic groups in Toronto Direct Mail flyers in a captivating colour were sent to all Toronto homes and targeted apartments just prior to the start of the in-store events In-store booths & signage consisted of posters, banners, bag stuffers, and in-store announcements promoting the in-store booth and events. Retailers and manufacturer support (along with adding their own in-store signage) consisted of further discounts through special buys/promotions during the campaign events and pre-campaign marketing materials including placement in flyer, email blasts, etc. Hydro bill communications promoted TALOT campaign and referenced the website Toronto Hydro website featured a homepage banner and corresponding web page with complete campaign details

Media Relations: A two-pronged public relations outreach strategy was developed. Firstly, a prelaunch was executed to media outside of traditional energy and conservation reporters. A creative mailer positioning clotheslines as the season‘s must-have eco-chic, green accessory was distributed to Toronto‘s lifestyle, home and fashion media followed by media relations outreach. Media were instantly enamoured with the clothesline. Coverage was secured in Toronto‘s highest circulated newspaper, Toronto Star‘s Lifestyle section. Cityline, Toronto‘s popular home and fashion show for women, ran a two-minute segment including the program‘s key messages and conducted a clothesline giveaway with product shot and retail partner mentions. This was followed by a hard launch inviting media to the program kick-off event in Toronto Hydro‘s downtown location. A media advisory was issued two days before the event followed by proactive media calls. At the event, we handed out media kits containing: a media release, Q&As, a backgounder along with the clothesline and the featured board shorts. The event was well attended by news, City, energy, lifestyle and fashion media, which resulted in 110 pieces of national and local news coverage.

Launch Event Overview As it became apparent the ban was to be lifted, Toronto Hydro‘s marketing team recognized the opportunity to springboard off of this announcement to launch our clothesline give-away. The Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, and then Ontario Minster of Energy Gerry Phillips were invited and accepted the invitation to attend the launch where they would announce the lift of the ban - a huge coup for Toronto Hydro. The event venue, Toronto Hydro‘s lobby, was transformed into Toronto‘s largest electricity-efficient laundry room and the facade of the building was wrapped with a large clothesline. More than 200 people: NGOs, media, employees, industry & government stakeholders crowded into the lobby to witness the event. To raise awareness internally for the program, Toronto Hydro employees were asked to ‗Take A Load Off‘ their closets by donating gently worn clothes for various Toronto-area women‘s shelters. These donations became part of the logistical staging and propping at the event. Continued on next page

At the TALOT program launch, the Premier made Provincial (and laundry!) history by lifting the ban on clotheslines. Following this, Toronto Hydro announced it would celebrate by handing out 75,000 clotheslines to Toronto residents at Costco, Wal-Mart, The Home Depot and Zellers.

Program Key Messages: Toronto Hydro is proud to ―let it all hang out‖ on Toronto Hydro Laundry Day (THLD) on Thursday, April 24 in celebration of the use of clotheslines in our city; It‘s easy, just go to any Costco, Home Depot, Wal-Mart or Zellers to receive a free retractable clothesline; Take a load off Toronto! By using a clothesline for 25 per cent of your drying needs, you can reduce your household electricity consumption by 229 kWh per year. That‘s a savings of $30 for the year; If 75,000 people used a clothesline 25 per cent of the time, we could collectively remove close to 2,000 homes from the City‘s power grid; Did you know a whopping 85 to 90 per cent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to just heating the water? For additional savings, wash clothes in cold water. Compact Fluorescents (CFLs) use 75 per cent less electricity and last seven years.

Budget: The aggregated budget for this program was $821,960. This was broken into material costs (the cost of the clotheslines, CFLs and cold water detergent) of $350,087 and service costs of $471,873. Service costs were based on demonstrated kilowatt reduction. Service costs paid for advertising, public relations, marketing collateral, web, Summerhill etc.

IMPLEMENTATION & CHALLENGES

• We had to work within a tightly defined TRC* measures list and submit the program for approval, with budget, to a third party - Ontario Power Authority (OPA). Approval from the OPA was not secured until late December of 2007 leaving only three months to plan, submit an RFEI and choose retailers, order product, hire and train staff and develop the communications plan. We had to pay close attention to logistics, financial components and deadlines while managing multiple stakeholders and being creative! • Although we had invited them well in advance, we didn‘t get confirmation from the Premier and Minister until one week prior to our scheduled launch date. While we had planned to go ahead with a launch one way or the other, having the Premier and Minister attend meant adapting to new protocols, including different public relations processes, partners and security details. • It was important to understand the legal requirements of giving away a Toronto Hydro branded product. The giveaways came with clear instructions and warnings. After careful consideration, product testing stickers were added to the boxes at the last minute indicating the maximum weight of the clothesline. • Working with multiple retail partners can be extremely challenging to accommodate and ensure delivery. Great efforts were made to overcome insufficient product stock of discount items as well as improve in-store merchandising. • The rep hiring policy looks to place teams in stores within close proximity to where they live. Despite these measures, the first event day coincided with a city-wide public transit strike. With over 100 reps, a back-up transportation and carpooling scheme was set up the night before and was reinforced with a calling-chain the next morning ensuring that all but two reps reported for work. Internal Toronto Hydro staff, as well as three area coordinators were available to fill in where necessary.

*Total Resource Cost is the net difference between the cost of the program and the cost of generating, transmitting and delivering electricity. Continued on next page

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION

Objective 1: To create awareness for TALOT program and conservation actions

Measurable Outcome: The campaign generated over 52.5 million impressions, through marketing, advertising and public relations tactics. In a post survey over 50 per cent of respondents were aware of the program.

Objective 2: To drive participation in all programs and reduce electricity usage as a result: a summer peak demand savings of 1.6 MW and net TRC $3.9 million. Measurable Outcome: As a result of the in-store events: we gave away 75,006 clotheslines, sold over 17,000 specialty CFL bulbs, and sold over 3,000 packages of cold-water laundry detergent. This resulted in annual electricity savings of 1.6 MW of summer peak demand savings (100 per cent of target) and net TRC of $3,691,882.79 (95 per cent of target).

Objective 3: To generate positive media coverage. Measurable Outcome: The event generated 110 national, provincial and local broadcast, print and online stories. Toronto Hydro uses the Media Relations Rating Points System to evaluate overall campaign successes. Based on preset criteria, the event scored a total of 89 per cent and had a reach of 33.8 million media impression. The average MRP tone of coverage was 4.0.

Objective 4: Engage multiple stakeholders (multi-retailers and manufacturers). Measurable Outcome: Through an RFEI process four retailers were chosen. Through these retailers we partnered with five manufacturers.

Objective 5: Ensure program is easy to implement and measure and delivers tangible results. Measurable Outcome: One-stop, inexpensive solution for customers. Measurable results exceeded.

Objective 6: Provide positive visibility for Toronto Hydro. Measurable Outcome: In a subsequent brand tracking survey, Toronto Hydro‘s favourability rating was up 11 per cent from 71 per cent (2004) to 82 per cent (2008). This increase can largely be attributed to conservation initiatives such as this.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Marketing Communications Greater than $100K

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Crock-On: Revitalizing the Crock-Pot Brand Entrants: Dita Zemanek, Counsellor, Cohn & Wolfe; Jamie Libregts, Group Marketing Manager, Jarden Consumer Solutions Inc. Organizations: Cohn & Wolfe and Jarden Consumer Solutions Inc. Time Period: March 2007 – December 2008

Brief Description: To revitalize consumer interest in Crock-Pot and slow cooking and to increase the sales of Crock-Pots during the traditional fall slow cooking season, Cohn & Wolfe developed and executed a marketing communications campaign over two years (fall 2007 and fall 2008) leveraging the creative concept of ―Crocktober‖ – a month dedicated to encouraging Canadians to use their Crock-Pots.

Business Need/Opportunity

In spring 2007, Cohn & Wolfe (C&W) was asked by long-time client, Jarden Consumer Solutions Inc. (JCS), maker of kitchen appliance brands such as Crock-Pot, Oster, Sunbeam and Rival, to create a marketing communications campaign that would revitalize consumer interest in slow cooking and more importantly, increase the sales of Crock-Pot products during the traditional slow cooking season – the fall. JCS also wanted to create a campaign that could be executed over a number of years and could be extended with complementary promotional initiatives.

To gain further insight into consumers‘ perceptions of the Crock-Pot brand as well as Canadians‘ eating and meal preparation habits before developing a strategic plan, C&W analyzed research done by JCS and the client‘s marketing brief. C&W found that while brand recognition of Crock-Pot was high, Crock-Pot was seen as an old, tired brand. Slow cooking in general was found to be a cooking style associated with older generations, popular in the ‗70s but not appealing to today‘s home cooks, and many consumers in a younger demographic were mystified as to how slow cooking actually worked. Also, for more experienced cooks, slow cooking was not seen as exciting and gourmet, and most consumers surveyed thought that only recipes for chili and stew could be made in a Crock-Pot.

Essentially, C&W was tasked with making Crock-Pot and slow cooking ‗cool‘ again and encouraging sales of Crock-Pots. Continued on next page

Entrants‟ Role in the Project

Dita Zemanek (Counsellor), with the support and guidance of C&W senior managers, worked very closely with the JSC team in developing the Crocktober marketing communications campaign. Zemanek and C&W senior managers were responsible for developing the program‘s strategic direction and identifying tactics to accomplish the objectives. During the campaign‘s execution, Zemanek was responsible for overall project management, client counsel, identifying media, influencer and partnership opportunities and day-to-day client liaison. She was assisted by a team of two who contributed to the implementation of the plan. Nicole McKnight (Account Executive) was responsible for day-to-day project deliverables, including the drafting of media materials, media relations and implementation; Elizabeth Stunt (Account Coordinator) was responsible for media list management, writing pitch letters, developing collateral materials, program logistics and tracking coverage and results; Genevieve Chalifour (Counsellor, C&W Montreal) was responsible for executing the media relations tactics in the Quebec market.

Jamie Libregts of JCS was responsible for providing industry insights and research information, approving communications materials and the administration of the Crock-Pot.ca website.

Intended Audiences

 Consumers – quality-conscious female consumers between the ages of 25 and 45 looking for stylish and high-performing kitchen appliances, including: – Convenience User – time-pressured; wants to make a fast meal with minimum preparation – Entertainer – loves to entertain; takes pride in her home; central figure in families for key events – The Home Chef – loves to experiment; wants to be innovative/trendy in cooking; looking for new recipes  Influencers – home economists, cooking experts, celebrity chefs  Media, as a conduit – lifestyle, consumer, food & beverage, home & decor reporters/editors from daily and community newspapers, magazines, radio, television, trade and Internet

Goals/Objectives

Overall, the campaign‘s goals were to revitalize consumer interest in slow cooking, to reposition the Crock-Pot brand and slow cooking as cool and trendy, and to increase sales of Crock-Pot products during the traditional fall slow cooking season. To evaluate the campaign, C&W and JCS established the following measurable objectives:

BUSINESS OBJECTIVE 1. Increase sales of Crock-Pot products by 30 per cent, throughout the fall season in both year one and year two

COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES 2. Generate positive, branded media coverage for Crock-Pot during the fall season: – at least 20 million audience impressions across Canada in year one and an increase of 10 million audience impressions in year two over year one – achieve a Media Relations Rating Points (MR2P) score of 75 per cent or higher, and a cost per contact of less than $0.01 3. Generate over 10,000 unique hits to the new Crock-Pot.ca website during the month of October and over 10,000 entries into the Crock-Pot.ca contest in year one 4. Engage over 100,000 consumers through direct-to-consumer tactics in both year one and year two Continued on next page

Solution Overview To address the issues identified by the research and to achieve the business and communication goals set by JCS, C&W created the ―Crocktober‖ concept, an over-arching theme that encouraged Canadians to use their Crock-Pots during the peak fall month of October. This theme was the ―umbrella‖ under which all strategies and tactics would be executed. The Crocktober campaign was rolled out over two years (fall 2007 and fall 2008) through a multi-tiered marketing communications campaign that consisted of a variety of media relations activities, online contests and strategic sponsorships/partnerships.

C&W identified the following strategies:  Utilize the Crocktober concept, a branded over-arching theme, created by C&W, to break through the clutter and encourage media, influencers and consumers to renew their interest and use of Crock-Pots in the fall  Leverage consumer trend information to generate extensive media coverage with print, online, radio and television outlets across Canada throughout the fall  Utilize a credible third-party spokesperson to communicate the campaign‘s key messages from an unbiased perspective  Target consumers through an online contest, strategic sponsorships/partnerships and direct consumer outreach

Implementation and Challenges

IMPLEMENTATION  Themed Creative Concept: C&W developed the Crocktober concept and integrated it throughout all media and consumer materials, over two years, including the creation of a Crocktober logo, Crocktober section on the Crock-Pot.ca website and yearly Crocktober recipe booklet (used in media materials and as a marketing tool)  Media Relations: – Media Kit and Outreach: C&W created themed media materials highlighting key features of Crock-Pot products, leveraging consumer trends, timely news hooks (year one: fresh fall fare; year two: get out of the kitchen) and fresh, unique recipes – National Media Tour: C&W executed a national media tour in key markets with food and entertaining expert, Korey Kealey, through a variety of on-air interactive and educational cooking segments such as Crock-Pot cooking 101, simple meal ideas for the back-to-school routine, making Thanksgiving entertaining easy and delicious, and one-pot meals celebrating fresh fall fare – Matte Stories: C&W researched and wrote matte stories distributed in fall issues of News Canada in both 2007 and 2008. Each matte story included Crock-Pot product information, seasonal recipes and slow cooking tips – Broadcast Promotions: C&W managed a national broadcast prize pack program, complete with a fun and interesting DJ talk sheet to generate branded coverage, buzz and DJ chatter on the air-waves – Influencer Seeding: C&W conducted outreach to key influencers, including media, well- known ―foodies‖ and recipe book authors, offering product samples for them to test out at home. The goal was to have these influencers speak positively about Crock-Pot and generate word-of-mouth buzz

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 Crock-Pot.ca Contests: C&W developed themed online contests on the Crock-Pot.ca website encouraging Canadians to share their favourite slow cooking tips or their favourite activity outside the kitchen  Strategic Sponsorships/Partnerships: C&W sponsored direct-to-consumer contests and events (year one: Canada‘s Yummiest Mummy Contest; year two: the Crock-Pot Firefighter Chili Cook- Off at the Niagara Food Festival) to directly engage consumers

CHALLENGES  Perception of slow cooking: The Crock-Pot brand and slow cooking in general was seen as an old-fashioned style of meal preparation, synonymous with the ‗70s. Slow cooked meals were not seen as gourmet and brought to mind simple one-dish recipes. To challenge this perception, C&W included unique and interesting Crock-Pot recipes in both campaigns – from desserts to sides to trendy ethnic dishes – to entice the more adventurous cooks and showcase the versatility of the Crock-Pot in meal preparation.  Competitors: While there was good recognition of the Crock-Pot brand and most consumers used the term Crock-Pot interchangeably with slow cooker, competitors were aggressively marketing their own brands of slow cookers and encroaching on Crock-Pot‘s market share in the category. While the Crocktober concept served to differentiate the campaign from competitors as the word itself played on the Crock-Pot brand name, C&W also highlighted the Crock-Pot brand history and unique product offerings to showcase the innovative legacy of the Crock-Pot brand and differentiate Crock-Pot slow cookers from competitors.  Over-Arching Theme: In creating an over-arching theme for the marketing communications campaign, C&W had to be careful to come up with a concept that would not be too kitschy/corny/cutesy/hokey for media but would also resonate with consumers through the marketing activities. The Crocktober concept, with its creative and catchy play on words, was wholly embraced by consumers throughout the campaign while piquing media interest. While the Crocktober concept and logo were highlighted in direct-to-consumer tactics, they were used sparingly within communications tools directed to media so as not to come across as overly commercial.  Differentiating year one and year two: As the year two campaign built directly upon the year one campaign, it was very important to refresh the Crocktober concept while continuing to build on the success of the year one program. While new Crock-Pot products and new recipes were highlighted in year two, both campaigns leveraged current consumer trends to make each campaign more newsworthy to media and to differentiate year one from year two. For example, in 2007 the ―100 mile diet‖ and fresh food trend were popular, therefore C&W focused the campaign on fresh local produce and the healthy aspects of slow cooking. In 2008, C&W leveraged JCS research and consumer trends that pointed to consumers‘ desire to spend less time in the kitchen to prepare home-cooked meals. Thus the 2008 campaign centered on the concept of getting out of the kitchen while still cooking dinner, highlighting the ease of slow cooking and family-friendly recipes.  Budget: The budget for the Crocktober marketing communications campaign over two years was in the $125,000 to $175,000 range in professional fees and included planning, research, material development, execution and reporting. In order to maximize the budget, C&W implemented strategic and creative solutions, including using the JCS internal creative team to develop the Crocktober logo and other creative for collateral materials, sourcing recipes from Crock-Pot‘s internal recipe library and utilizing one communications vehicle (the Crocktober recipe booklet) for both media and consumer outreach.

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Measurement/Evaluation:

 Objective #1 – In year one, sales of Crock-Pot products increased by 137 per cent, and in year two by 117 per cent (over year one) with the most significant increases taking place in October and throughout the fall season  Objective #2 – In year one, C&W generated over 40 million media impressions through 272 editorial hits; in year two, C&W generated over 51 million media impressions through 415 editorial hits, with an increase in media impressions in year two of over 11 million impressions over year one o Editorial coverage was generated with top tier outlets; CTV‘s Canada AM, CityTV‘s Breakfast Television (all), CityLine, Chatelaine, Canadian House & Home, Décoration Chez-Soi, Globe & Mail, Sun Media, Canadian Press, La Presse, MSN.ca, Canoe.ca, CHFI and CHUM-FM o Media coverage included exclusive feature stories, product reviews, recipes, cooking/entertaining broadcast segments and radio giveaways/interviews o Approximately 30 per cent of editorial coverage included a mention of the Crocktober concept in addition to a Crock-Pot brand mention o During the two year program, C&W secured 55 unique television segments with spokesperson, Korey Kealey; over 90 per cent of television coverage included branded mentions of Crock-Pot and Crocktober o During the two year program, C&W distributed more than 330 Crocktober prize packs; over 50 per cent of on-air radio prize pack giveaways included extended and positive DJ chatter such as themed contests (eg. Crock or Not) or DJs discussing their favourite Crock- Pot recipes/memories – In year one and year two combined, C&W achieved a MR2P average score of 88.28 per cent and an average cost per contact of $0.0036 – C&W successfully seeded Crock-Pots with a number of celebrity chefs including Ricardo Larrivée and Massimo Capra, key media contacts including Bonnie Stern (columnist, National Post) and Elizabeth Baird (food editor, Canadian Living), and important influencers including Donna-Marie Pye (celebrated slow cooker recipe book author) and Noreen Gilletz (respected foodie, highly influential with Canada‘s Jewish community) – Following the year one campaign, media (from print, television and radio outlets) and influencers pro-actively contacted C&W for information concerning Crock-Pot and slow cooking, outside of the fall season  Objective #3 – In year one, Crock-Pot.ca was visited by over 21,000 unique consumers in October and the Crock-Pot.ca contest generated over 16,000 unique entries, driven through public relations efforts alone – In year two, Crock-Pot.ca was visited by over 26,000 unique consumers in October and the Crock-Pot.ca contest generated over 22,000 unique entries, driven through public relations efforts alone  Objective #4 – In year one, over 300,000 consumers were reached through Crock-Pot‘s participation in Canada‘s Yummiest Mummy Contest through contest entries, contest votes, page views and banner impressions; in year two, over 100,000 consumers attended the Crock-Pot Firefighter Chili Cook-Off at the Niagara Food Festival

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 Additional Successes – The Crocktober concept was successfully repurposed in year two; C&W will be executing a third Crocktober program in fall 2009, focusing on the economical aspects of slow cooking – In both year one and year two, JCS utilized the Crocktober concept throughout complementary promotional initiatives including in-store demos, point of purchase displays, sales promotions and retailer initiatives – Based on the success of the Crocktober campaign in Canada, the JSC corporate office, located in Florida, repeated the program successfully for the United States in 2008

– ―The goals for our Crock-Pot campaign were tied to our need to re-energize the Crock-Pot brand and re-introduce slow cooking to an entirely new generation. Cohn & Wolfe far exceeded our wildest expectations in this regard. We are overwhelmed with the results we have been able to achieve, from soaring sales to media buzz; slow cooking has seen a resurgence in the Canadian marketplace. Their innovative approach to re-establishing our presence in the Canadian market has been key in making this campaign a huge success. It has been a real pleasure working with C&W and their entire team.‖

– Jamie Libregts, Group Marketing Manager, Jarden Consumer Solutions Inc.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management

Marketing Communications Greater than $100K

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Take A Load Off Toronto Entrant‘s Name: Catherine Parry Organization: Toronto Hydro Corporation Time Period: April – May 2008

BUSINESS NEED/ OPPORTUNITY

Similar numbers of uptake and interest were seen for cold-water laundry detergent and specialty CFL light bulbs. The results of the survey demonstrated a need for a program that not only educated customers about these energy efficient products but also actively engaged them to change behaviours. This combined with growing awareness of the benefits of using a clothesline, set the stage for a dynamic program.

Entrant’s Role in the Project

Catherine Parry is the Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs for Toronto Hydro- Electric System. From communication strategy development to detailed tactical planning, Catherine oversaw all aspects of Take a Load Off.

INTENDED AUDIENCES

GOALS / OBJECTIVES

The focus for Take a Load Off Toronto (TALOT) was market transformation. The goal was to encourage people to make a long-term shift to more sustainable behaviour, by creating a value proposition at the time when the customer was about to make a purchase. Toronto Hydro strives to be a leader in Ontario with respect to creating a culture of conservation. We have embraced the Ministry of Energy‘s directive to invest in conservation projects that result in measurable demand and base load... Continued on next page

reduction. In particular, Toronto Hydro recognizes the capacity and power of consumer-driven campaigns and the mass market arena as the largest opportunity for engagement and widespread education. Effective campaigns reduce electricity use, reduce the threat of blackouts and help create a healthier city. The success of TALOT was tracked by the following objectives:

* Measure of electricity. City of Toronto has a peak of 5000 megawatts (MW)

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

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Execution: The campaign ran for three weekends April 26 to May 11, 2008 and included: Hiring and training 101 TALOT representatives (three-four reps per event), executing 144 in-store events. Communications tactics: Supporting marketing tactics were selected to reach the diverse audience through multiple channels and drive them to the stores. The major tactics were: Radio advertising on five diverse radio stations, weighted Wednesday to Saturday leading up to each weekend‘s events Television advertising was placed on one local news station, featuring a banner in the traffic and weather segments Radio remotes were hosted at two events, at different retailers and on different radio stations, featuring live on-air coverage including conservation tips Newspaper advertising placed in one major daily newspaper, one daily commuter newspaper, eight community and six multicultural (non-English) newspapers to blanket the city and reach diverse ethnic groups in Toronto Direct Mail flyers in a captivating colour were sent to all Toronto homes and targeted apartments just prior to the start of the in-store events In-store booths & signage consisted of posters, banners, bag stuffers, and in-store announcements promoting the in-store booth and events. Retailers and manufacturer support (along with adding their own in-store signage) consisted of further discounts through special buys/promotions during the campaign events and pre-campaign marketing materials including placement in flyer, email blasts, etc. Hydro bill communications promoted TALOT campaign and referenced the website Toronto Hydro website featured a homepage banner and corresponding web page with complete campaign details

More than 200 people: NGOs, media, employees, industry & government stakeholders crowded into the lobby to witness the event. To raise awareness internally for the program, Toronto Hydro employees were asked to ‗Take A Load Off‘ their closets by donating gently worn clothes for various Toronto-area women‘s shelters. These donations became part of the logistical staging and propping at the event.

IMPLEMENTATION & CHALLENGES

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• The rep hiring policy looks to place teams in stores within close proximity to where they live. Despite these measures, the first event day coincided with a city-wide public transit strike. With over 100 reps, a back-up transportation and carpooling scheme was set up the night before and was reinforced with a calling-chain the next morning ensuring that all but two reps reported for work. Internal Toronto Hydro staff, as well as three area coordinators were available to fill in where necessary.

*Total Resource Cost is the net difference between the cost of the program and the cost of generating, transmitting and delivering electricity.

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION

Objective 1: To create awareness for TALOT program and conservation actions Measurable Outcome: The campaign generated over 52.5 million impressions, through marketing, advertising and public relations tactics. In a post survey over 50 per cent of respondents were aware of the program.

Objective 5: Ensure program is easy to implement and measure and delivers tangible results. Measurable Outcome: One-stop, inexpensive solution for customers. Measurable results exceeded.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Media Relations up to $50K

Award of Merit

2008 Franklin Templeton Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum

Entrant‘s Name: Keith Damsell, Sarah Kingdon, Daniel Tisch APR, Jason Graham, Kaleigh Sainthill, Laura LaMontagne Entrant‘s Organization: Franklin Templeton and Argyle Communications Client Organization: Franklin Templeton Investments Time Period of Project: May to July 2008

Brief Description: In the summer of 2008, Franklin Templeton Investments and Argyle Communications collaborated on one of the major investment media events of the year: the Franklin Templeton Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum. By using eye-catching visuals, branding FT portfolio managers as experts in four highly relevant fields, and delivering customized approaches to media both on-site and across the nation, the FT/Argyle team earned coverage in 89 media outlets — reaching an audience of 13.5 million.

BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY

Franklin Templeton Investments (FT) is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the world.

The summer months are typically a quiet period in the financial sector, both in the Greater Toronto Area and across the country. Franklin Templeton Investments (FT), one of the world‘s largest mutual fund companies, uses this period to build relationships with and attract attention from financial advisors — its primary selling audience — and retail investors — its primary buying audience. The primary tool to reach these audiences was the 2008 Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum — one of the largest financial forecasting and market overview events in Canada.

FT‘s in-house public relations team and external public relations firm, Argyle Communications, saw an opportunity to extend the reach and impact of this event dramatically by targeting business and investment media — not just in Toronto, but across Canada. Continued on next page

To prepare for the assignment, the FT/Argyle team conducted the following research and preparations:

 performed a media audit to identify recent coverage trends, to help develop potential news gaps and angles;  interviewed portfolio managers to establish investment trends and angles in their area of investment expertise;  researched and identified potential issues in each portfolio manager‘s fund for possible media questions;  met with FT‘s marketing team to understand current sales and marketing objectives, which would help select the funds and managers we would promote most aggressively; and  reviewed recent research on investor attitudes and behaviour, to position the event correctly.

ENTRANTS‟ ROLE IN PROJECT:

FT takes the lead in setting public relations targets and priorities, and Argyle develops and recommends strategic approaches to achieve these goals. From angle development, to creative brainstorming and strategic approach, the core account team working drove all media relations activities for the IOOF with input from other colleagues throughout the process. Here is an overview of each team member‘s role.

Team Member Role Keith Damsell, Director, Lead, established budget, developed and managed media relations Corporate Communications, strategy. FT Sarah Kingdon, Public Primary media contact; strategy team member; managed and Relations Consultant, FT coordinated interviews on day of event. Daniel Tisch APR, Senior business/investment media relations strategist; provided President, Argyle counsel on attractive angles, management of media on- and off-site Communications and general strategic advice. Jason Graham, Senior Managed both media and portfolio managers before, during and after Consultant, Argyle interview process. Managed on-site broadcast media. Communications Kaleigh Sainthill & Laura Prepared materials for and supported broadcast media interviews, LaMontagne, account conducted outreach to media contacts, and managed program coordinators measurement and reporting

INTENDED AUDIENCES

 Financial advisors — FT‘s primary selling audience; Toronto is by far the most important market, and therefore a key media relations channel would be both mainstream business media (e.g., Report on Business, Financial Post, BNN) and specialized trade media that reaches advisors.

 Retail investors — FT‘s primary buying audience; this is a far less homogenous group, including people of all ages, living in all parts of Canada; research suggested a particular opportunity to reach members of Canada‘s affluent and well-established Chinese community. The team targeted broadcast, print and online business media at major outlets in all of the nation‟s largest cities, as well as key Chinese-language media.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goals: Our overarching communications goals were to: 1) Educate investment advisors and retail investors about Franklin Templeton‘s investment expertise across all investment sectors; and 2) Motivate investment advisors and retail investors to increase their knowledge about Franklin Templeton products.

Objectives: Franklin Templeton‘s CEO gave the team two media relations objectives that were simple to articulate, yet challenging to achieve: 1) Exceed the number of investment journalists who had attended the media luncheon at the same event in 2007 — an impressive 28; and 2) Increase the total number of on-line, print and broadcast stories from the 75 achieved in 2007.

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Strategy To achieve its goals and objectives, the FT/Argyle team developed the following media relations strategy:

 Attention-getting theme, strong visuals: The theme of the event was: ―Conquer the Mountain: Win through changing market conditions.‖ The idea — highly relevant in the summer of 2008 — was that market volatility was creating both mountains and valleys. The theme lent itself to some eye-catching imagery for photos and television: the use of FT‘s impressive long-term investment charts to demonstrate impressive ―peaks‖ after every valley.

 Brand the experts: We focused media relations around four portfolio managers — representing four strategically selected funds, based in four different cities, to speak about four highly relevant topics:

o Don Reed, CEO and Manager, Templeton International Stock Fund (Toronto): The shifting economic balance of power in the world — and what it means for investors. o Ann Gudefin, Manager, Mutual Discovery Fund (London): How volatile markets spark buying opportunities for deep-value investment managers. o Lisa Myers, Manager, Templeton Growth Fund (New Jersey): How to buy blue- chip companies at discount prices. o Garey Aitken, Manager, Bissett Large Cap Fund (Calgary): Given his location and focus, the natural fit was to discuss whether commodities, materials and Canada‘s currency would keep the nation afloat in troubled times.

 Dine with the stars: We focused the attention of Toronto-based media on one signature event: a luncheon that gave them open access to the ―star‖ managers in an intimate setting at Roy Thomson Hall‘s Lexus Lounge. With interview requests being made prior and during the lunch, the media were able to get their stories and enjoy a nice meal in an elegant setting. At one point, six different interviews, from both mainstream and trade publications, were occurring at the same time. The media were also afforded a separate section within Roy Thomson Hall to watch the portfolio manager presentations in their entirety — either prior to the media luncheon or immediately following. Continued on next page

 Regional relevance: By using the opportunity to promote the portfolio managers located in different parts of Canada, we adapted media materials to make them relevant to each region of Canada. Understanding that media from across the country would not be able to participate in the luncheon, we ensured the portfolio managers were both available and prepared to speak to issues directly affecting each region — e.g., energy issues for Alberta; forestry issues for British Columbia; and manufacturing issues for Atlantic Canada. This approach both helped secure interviews and prominent, positive coverage.

 Sell the exclusivity: We made a virtue of the fact that two of the star managers were in Canada for one day only. This proved to be an attractive draw for media — both on site and across the country.

 Chinese customization: The team engaged a leading Chinese-Canadian PR practitioner to adapt media content for the influential Chinese-language broadcast and print media in Toronto and Vancouver.

TACTICS: To ensure maximum exposure with the financial media and present various opportunities for educating media on the theme of the event – ‗Conquer the Mountain – Win through changing market conditions‘ and get as many of the local media to attend the luncheon as possible, we employed the following tactics (see samples in binder):

 Developed critical path leading up to the event  Created a business calendar listing  Hired a CP photographer to cover event  Created regional and local media lists  Created Radio Interview Advisory  Created a personal out of town and greater Toronto area invite to the media letter from Franklin Templeton President and CEO Don Reed  Developed media invitation to luncheon  Developed out of town invite to speak to media on day prior and day of FT IOOF  Created digital media kit including portfolio manager presentation on branded USB key  Developed Q&A for portfolio managers on potential hot topics  Created photo desk advisory  Developed news release  Distributed release on wire with photo on day of event  Managed media table at media luncheon  Managed media attendee list at luncheon  Distributed digital media kit to media that attended luncheon

IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES

Budget: The team delivered this multi-tiered media outreach campaign for approximately CAD$30,000 fees and in expenses.

Timeframes: As noted in the critical path, the media relations campaign begin on May 20th and concluded with the delivery of the preliminary media coverage report the day after the event on July 24, 2008. The final media coverage report (see appendix) was delivered on September 15, 2008. Continued on next page

Challenges:  Trying to promote different portfolio managers across many different media proved to be challenge as some were more attractive to the media than others. We had to step up efforts to get a high level of attention for all of them, while focusing the team on the broader objective of the total number of FT-related stories.  Managing mainstream and trade media looking to secure interviews in one room in one hour with six different portfolio managers without alienating the media or irritating the portfolio managers was challenging. This required building strong rapport with both sides.  Choosing the perfect photograph to accompany the news release and then distributing it over the wire had to be done quickly to meet media deadline requirements. Here, the team‘s clear delineation of roles, worked out well in advance was a key success factor.

MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

 The campaign generated 89 stories — exceeding the 2007 record of 75 stories by 18.7%. The 2008 campaign reached an audience of 13,492,457.  37 journalists attended the 2008 media luncheon — an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year‘s 28.  Qualitative analysis of the coverage was equally encouraging. Highlights included: o Globe and Mail – Four separate articles featuring four different Franklin Templeton portfolio managers speaking about specific funds as well as how to win through changing market conditions. o National Post - A two-part article featuring Lisa Myers, Portfolio Manager of FT‘s largest fund with Jonathan Chevreau, Canada‘s premier columnist and reporter covering the financial and investment advisor sector. o Toronto Sun – A full-colour picture featuring FT President and CEO Don Reed in front of the podium with the backdrop of the Franklin Templeton ―mountain‖ — i.e., the long-term growth of their premier fund. o BNN, CP24, 680 News and Chinese-language Fairchild TV — 16 separate broadcast exposures on these outlets, featuring seven different Franklin Templeton portfolio managers.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Media Relations up to $50K

Award of Merit

L‟Oréal Paris Beauty Tubes on YouTube

Entrant‘s Name: Cathy Cowan, Cowan & Company Organization Name: L‟Oréal Paris / Cowan & Company Time Period of Project: October 2008 – February 2009

Brief Description: Leverage social media tools to generate online visibility for launch of new L‘Oréal Paris mascara, Double Extend Beauty Tubes.

Business Need/Opportunity

Mascara is the star of cosmetics world – not only for the women who use it – but also for beauty companies who know that mascara is a category driver within the cosmetics industry. Last year was a big year for mascara launches – with several high-profile cosmetics companies launching new mascara innovations such as a vibrating wand and extreme lengthening mascaras. In the fall of 2008, L‘Oréal Paris set out to announce its latest innovation in mascara: Double Extend Beauty Tubes – featuring an innovative tubing technology that creates the look of salon lash extensions making lashes up to 80 per cent longer – which would be the brand‘s most important cosmetic launch of the year.

Because of the earlier-announced mascara innovations from other brands, we were not certain how much attention or mindshare Double Extend Beauty Tubes could realistically achieve amidst the flashy gimmicks of the other new mascara products. However, because L‘Oréal Paris had major expectations with this launch in order to maintain its leadership within the Canadian cosmetics industry, it was imperative that we find a way to break through the clutter and generate awareness – and media coverage - for Double Extend Beauty Tubes.

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Entrants‟ Role in Project

 Anik Gagnon, L‟Oréal Paris – Strategic direction and overall project management  Julie Tremblay, L‟Oréal Paris – Project management  Eddie Maleterre, L‟Oréal Paris – Spokesperson  Cathy Cowan, Cowan & Company – Strategic planning, project/event management, script development, video producer  Margaret Batuszkin, Cowan & Company – Strategic planning, message development, media relations  Sonja Andic, Cowan & Company – Media relations and video production  Bruce Parlette, Tantara Multimedia – Videography and editing

Intended Audience

The bulls-eye target market for this new product is women 25 – 35 years old – women who are makeup junkies, early adopters of new innovations in cosmetics, and technologically-savvy with strong use of social media. For the purposes of our communications launch, to reach this target market one of our key targets was the media – and specifically, L‘Oréal Paris challenged Cowan & Company (C&C) to target online media and blogs to ―be creative and find new ways to generate interest, create a buzz and word- of-mouth marketing‖. With that challenge in mind, we set out to target online beauty media and bloggers in Canada as a key element of the overall communications plan.

Goals/Objectives

L‘Oréal Paris‘ overall communications objectives for this product launch were to: • Generate media coverage • Generate industry buzz • Encourage trials • Reinforce L‘Oréal Paris as global cosmetics leader

Specific to the online media component of the communications launch program, we recommended leveraging social media tools – specifically YouTube and Blogs - to generate the desired online visibility and media coverage. L‘Oréal Paris‘ objectives for these two components of the communications program were to: • Secure postings of video on 3 – 5 key Beauty Blogs • Secure 1500+ views of videos on YouTube • Encourage product trials through product giveaways with 2-3 targeted beauty-related websites • Leverage video to increase traditional media interest, awareness and coverage of Double Extend Beauty Tubes

Solution Overview

To achieve these objectives, C&C‘s recommended strategies were:  Leverage L‘Oréal Paris‘ sponsorship and presence at L‘Oréal Fashion Week, Spring 2009 to create product awareness and affinity.  Marry Double Extend Beauty Tubes to Canadian designers to maximize interest and appeal.  Showcase uniqueness of product by demonstrating application/removal and creating opportunities for trial. Continued on next page

As the timing and brand attributes were a good fit with L‘Oréal Fashion Week, L‘Oréal Paris declared Double Extend Beauty Tubes the ―official product‖ of the week – and gave out samples on opening night of the event to the attending fashionistas and key influencers – in addition to onsite product branding throughout the week. Additionally, we invited targeted beauty media (online and traditional) to help us kick off the week with an NRG Breakfast and product unveiling of Double Extend Beauty Tubes held backstage in the makeup and hair area – in addition to other marketing initiatives.

One of L‘Oréal Paris‘ directives in their product launch brief was to ―use alternative media vehicles to generate pre-launch buzz and awareness and establish post launch continued leadership through strategic partnerships‖ which, in addition to the traditional media relations and advertising components of the overall product launch, led C&C to recommend the creation of the YouTube video and Blog Product Giveaways which were created in a targeted, budget conscious-manner – yet still powerful and in keeping with the brand image:

 YouTube Videos In realizing the strategies of leveraging the L‘Oréal Fashion Week sponsorship while marrying the product directly with designers (whose models would be wearing the product in their runway shows) in order to increase interest and affinity for the product, we determined that this content would be of interest not only to our targeted media – but also to consumers at large.

In developing this content and messages, we determined that a video would be an effective video for showcasing these messages, as well as a product demonstration, and we brainstormed a few applications for this video:  Post on YouTube to directly reach targeted consumers  Post on YouTube so Canadian Beauty Bloggers could embed link on their sites as ready-made content to make it easier for them to cover Double Extend Beauty Tubes – inline with our desired messages  Send link to targeted media across country to generate additional awareness  Show at Media Launch/NRG Breakfast during L‘Oréal Fashion Week to showcase its use in the runway looks

We created two videos that showcased the hot new makeup trends for spring 2009 as predicted by L‘Oreal Paris‘ Official Makeup Artist, Eddie Maleterre and that we were promoting at L‘Oreal Fashion Week using one Day Makeup Look and one Evening Makeup Look. Based on the work Eddie Maleterre, was doing with participating Fashion Week designers at, we arranged to profile a well- known designer in each video whose runway makeup look was in line with the Day and Evening trends. The look Eddie created for Canadian designer, Nada was selected to represent the official Day Look for spring 2009 and the runway makeup look for Spanish designer, Mango was selected to represent the official Evening look for spring 2009.

In addition to profiling the designers and key Makeup Looks, both videos focused on a demo and key messages for Double Extend Beauty Tubes as part of the overall content.

 Beauty/Lifestyle Blogs – Product Giveaways To generate trials and word-of-mouth buzz, we also pitched targeted Beauty and Lifestyle online media and blogs to do Product Giveaways of Double Extend Beauty Tubes to inspire online reviews, trials and general online discussion. These product giveaways were conducted with five top beauty-related websites - Canadianbeauty.com. Makeupjunkie.ca, Lipstickpowdernpaint.com, Slice.ca, and Imabeautygeek.com – and featured product profiles, and positioned the product as a must-have, coveted item that helped to generate trials and word-of-mouth buzz for the product. Continued on next page

Implementation and Challenges

The biggest challenge in creating the videos was time because of the busy schedule of the Official Makeup Artist who was travelling between Montreal and Toronto to consult with all the participating designers in creating their runway makeup looks. As a result, the only timeslot we could get was the Friday before fashion week began on the Monday. And because of his schedule, we could only get half a day of his time to do the videos which meant that we weren‘t able to capture all the shots we had originally intended to.

Because of these time constraints and the fact that the spokesperson‘s first language is French – and the given that the model who showed up had a bad cough and could not be replaced due to time limitations - meant for a very busy weekend of editing to ensure that the finished product was flawless and ready for the event rehearsal on the Sunday night.

We had originally planned to create and post a video each day during L‘Oréal Fashion Week – showcasing one designer each day – but due to time and budget constraints this was streamlined to two videos to focus on the Day and Evening makeup trends for spring 2009.

Another key challenge was the complexity and scope of messages to be communicated by the video – all while doing a full makeup demo. This meant that the finished videos were slightly longer than we would have liked – but we edited them so they were as smooth flowing as possible.

But the biggest overall challenge in achieving our goals with the videos, was that because of the last- minute nature of the video shoot we weren‘t able to integrate the video into the other event marketing (i.e. press kit, onsite sponsorship activation, etc) which would have been key to driving more traffic to YouTube video.

The main challenge specific to the Blog Product Giveaways, was that there was a limited quantity of products available for the PR campaign – so these numbers had to be balanced with product quantities being sent to traditional media as well. We could have coordinated many more online promos but we did not have the product quantities available to do so – so we focused on some of the top Canadian beauty blog sites.

Measurement/Evaluation

The YouTube and Blog Promo components of this campaign were very successful in achieving the objectives to:

• Secure postings of video on 3 – 5 key Beauty Blogs √ The YouTube videos were directly posted on four Beauty Blogs: Lipstickpowdernpaint.com, Imabeautygeek.com, Makeupjunkie.ca, Chickadvisor.com

• Secure 1500+ views of videos on YouTube √ To date, there have been more than 2,050 views of both videos on YouTube.

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• Encourage product trials through product giveaways with 2 – 3 targeted beauty-related websites √ Promos were successfully coordinated with 5 beauty-related websites including: Canadianbeauty.com. Makeupjunkie.ca, Lipstickpowdernpaint.com, Slice.ca, and Imabeautygeek.com.

• Leverage video to increase traditional media interest, awareness and coverage of Double Extend Beauty Tubes. √ The videos were so well received that moments after receiving the first video, a reporter from the Toronto Star called to request a one-on-one interview with Eddie to discuss the product and see a first-hand demonstration (unfortunately her story was killed because reporter got reassigned to cover Sarah Palin‘s $150,000 makeover).To date, coverage of Double Extend Beauty Tubes has included mentions in Hello, Glow, Fashion, Elle, Flare, Metro, Sweetspot.ca and CityLine. In total, including the online coverage detailed above, this campaign has succeeded in generating more than 7 million impressions for this product launch to date.

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Media Relations Greater than $100K

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: The Henkel Play Fair…Play Clean Hockey Contest Entrant‘s Name: Diana Robinson Entrant‘s Organization: Diana Robinson & Associates Client Organization: Henkel Consumer Goods Canada Time Period of Project: September 2007 – June 2008

Brief Description: A media relations program designed to generate awareness of Henkel Consumer Goods Canada through their sponsorship of the IIHF Hockey World Championships.

Business Need/Opportunity:

In August 2007, Henkel Consumer Goods Canada hired Diana Robinson & Associates to develop a public relations program that would create awareness of the company and its sponsorship of the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships. The World Cup hockey championships were being held for the first time ever in Canada -- in Montreal, QC and Halifax, NS -- in May 2008. It was the second year of the sponsorship for Henkel; they had joined as one of 10 key sponsors the previous year in Russia. Henkel is a European-based consumer goods company. There was very low awareness of Henkel the company in Canada, although their primary brands – Right Guard, Purex and LePage – do have strong brand recognition. The company was running in-store hockey-themed promotions with the various brands to link to their sponsorship, but wanted to promote its role as a sponsor and increase general awareness about Henkel amongst its target audiences in May as the games were happening.

I advised them that their role as a sponsor would not be strong enough to generate the media coverage and awareness they were looking for. In addition, these championships have a low profile in Canada. To leave generating media coverage and consumer awareness to the time of the games in May would mean competing with the National Hockey League (NHL) championships which have far greater profile amongst Canadians. I conducted an informal survey of hockey followers to ascertain their feelings which confirmed this lower interest level. I also did informal interviews to understand Canadians‘ awareness of Henkel and learned that many confused the company with the knife company or the champagne company. I then conducted an extensive review of newspaper, magazine and… Continued on next page

…online articles to gain insight into how the company was perceived and how Canadians felt about hockey in Canada. Hockey is often talked about as our ―national‖ sport. I then recommended we do a national survey of 1,000 Canadians through Harris Decima Research to see what Canadians were thinking about hockey in Canada at the recreational level, especially where children were involved. The results revealed an opportunity to create a program that would position Henkel as an expert on hockey in Canada and position the company in a positive way in the minds of Canadians, especially those who may be hearing about them for the first time. The answers from the survey would provide sound, statistical information to both media and Canadians and provide a platform for the media relations program, one that would start in the early winter and run in concert with the Canadian recreational hockey season. Media coverage would expand beyond Henkel‘s sponsorship of the World Cup to a real issue, one that would interest Canadians and thereby resonate with media and generate awareness of Henkel the company.

Entrant‟s Role in the Project:

Diana Robinson & Associates is an integrated communications marketing sole proprietorship agency, owned by myself, Diana Robinson. As such, I was responsible for all the initial research, client liaison, strategic development, management and execution of the program. I was actively involved in every step of the program, from presenting the concept to the client, researching the audiences, sourcing and coordinating all aspects and suppliers for the program including the survey company, liaising with clients at all levels, designing the look and feel of all elements right through to the web site, and conducting all media relations.

Intended Audiences:

The target audiences for the program included:  The Canadian general public as influencers of public opinion and purchasers of Henkel products. Our research showed that 90% of Canadians feel that it is important, especially for children, to play hockey fairly and cleanly. Almost all Canadians, 97%, believe that hockey should be fun for everyone involved. 93% of Canadians believe that there should be less emphasis on winning and more emphasis on good sponsorship and playing fairly. 97% of Canadians believe there is no place for ―hockey rage‖ at children‘s games and yet, 84% of Canadians believe that parents are becoming too aggressive and competitive when watching their children‘s games. 89% of Canadians believe that the cost of hockey needs to be reduced so that more children can play. And 93% of Canadians agreed that there should be no violence when playing recreational hockey. There was a very clear indication that moms, dads and families were concerned about where hockey was going in Canada, especially at the recreational level. We decided to focus on women and men, 25-54, and their families. Women tend to be the main shoppers in Canadian homes and the decision-makers when it comes to which products to buy. This also tends to be the age group for ―hockey moms and dads‖: they are getting the kids up and out of the house to hockey practices, they make sure the hockey gear gets bought and the uniform gets washed after the game. They are the keepers of hockey at the grassroots level in Canada. They instill the love for the game in their children, both boys and girls. Our research showed that almost half of all households in Canada have someone playing hockey, including 2% having daughters who play.  The Canadian grocery, drug, multi-category, and home improvement industry including retailers, executives and buyers that could potentially carry the Henkel brands, from independent one-off retail shops to larger multi-national retailers. The sales team would be using the PR program and the media results as an opportunity to show what the company was doing to support its products in Canada. Continued on next page

 Canadian local, community, sports and consumer media as gatekeepers to the end consumer and our target audiences. They are purveyors of what is hot and happening in the lifestyle and hockey arenas. These are the local media that convey what‘s happening at the local team level through to covering the topic of violence in hockey at the NHL level. They are passionate about the game of hockey at all levels in Canada and cover the topic from many angles.

Goals/Objectives:

Our overall goal for the program was to create awareness of the Henkel name in Canada and support its role as a sponsor of the IIHF Hockey Championships. Our objectives for the program were to:  Create a media relations program that would dovetail with the consumer in-store promotions in terms of timing and messaging, building on the hockey sponsorship theme.  Generate national, positive media coverage of Henkel as a company concerned with the way hockey is being played in Canada at the recreational level through the creation of the ―The Henkel Play Fair…Play Clean Hockey Contest,‖ building on the hockey sponsorship and hockey theme to introduce Canadians to the Henkel company.  Generate 15,000,000 impressions amongst Canadians through the media coverage and generate a return on investment of two to three times the cost of the program, approximately $300,000.  Deliver visitors to the promotional in-store web site and the contest web site and have a minimum of 35 entries into the contest.  Deliver the program on time and on budget of $103,000.  Communicate that Henkel is a caring company, dedicated to ensuring it supports local initiatives for children.  Generate awareness of Henkel, and its products and contribute to the growth of the brands in Canada.

Solution Overview:

My initial research indicated there were growing concerns over the way recreational hockey was being played in Canada and the affect it was having on children playing the game. The survey further indicated that there was an opportunity to position Henkel as an expert in the way hockey is played at the recreational level in Canada. This would allow us to introduce Henkel as a caring company, an international company that uses technology and information to innovate brands and products that make people‘s lives easier, better and more beautiful. We wanted to position Henkel as a key sponsor of the World Hockey Cup because they recognize the importance placed on hockey and its unique place in the hearts of Canadians and in fact, the hearts of fans around the world. As a world class company with world class products, Henkel is dedicated to ensuring world class hockey continues. In addition, they have recognized the need for kids without financial support to be able to play the national game and have stepped up with their established Henkel Smile Program to give little Canadian hockey players some new smiles. They also recognize that the very fabric of the game has changed and that recognition needs to be given to ensuring the game is played strong, clean and fair so that all players, regardless of their age and capability can enjoy the game in the way it was meant to be played: honestly and with quality. These are all elements that are near and dear to Henkel‘s corporate philosophy and mandate. Key messages we wanted to communicate included:  Canadians overwhelming believe that hockey should be played strong, clean and fair, especially when children are playing.  A new national survey conducted on behalf of Henkel Consumer Goods Canada shows that Canadians are concerned about the state of the national pastime, especially when it comes to how children are playing the game. Continued on next page

 Almost half of Canadian households have someone playing hockey.  96% of Canadians believe that parents should be active supporters when their children play hockey, but 84% of Canadians believe that parents are becoming too aggressive and competitive when watching their children‘s hockey games.  Henkel Consumer Goods Canada has launched a contest asking kids what they think playing clean and fair hockey means. For more details, go to www.henkelhockeyplayers.ca.

Program Tactics:

 Invested back in Canada through the Henkel Smile philanthropic program; negotiated a donation of $25,000 to KidSport, a Canadian children‘s charitable program that helps disadvantaged kids overcome the barriers preventing their participation in organized sport. In addition, for every entry received, Henkel donated another $5.  Utilized the brands‘ attributes of providing strong adhesive and cleaning power at a fair price and the hockey theme to create ―The Henkel Play Fair…Play Clean Hockey Contest‖. From Dec. 12, 2007 to Mar. 31, 2008, Canadians 6 to 16 could team up with their parents, log onto www.henkelpowerplayers.ca and submit an original essay of 250-500 words about what playing fair and clean hockey meant to them. Each month, a winner was randomly selected to receive an MP3 player. One grand prize winning team received a trip to Halifax, NS to see the first world cup hockey game.  Created web site within existing in-store promotional web site to provide information on contest and provide entry mechanism.  Created a national consumer and business awareness media relations campaign. Utilized the survey results in news releases. Developed and delivered media kits packaged in red and black duffle bags with samples of Henkel products. Tag on bag said ―What does it mean to play clean and fair hockey?‖  Sent out information to all hockey camps, teams and teacher‘s associations across the country, via KidSport network and recreational hockey networks, reaching approximately 3,500 groups. Handed out flyers at hockey camps and events.  Sent news releases about 3 monthly winners to local media generating stories.  Created 5 camera-ready stories in English and French to promote contest and hockey stories prior to contest closing and 5 stories to publicize kids‘ tips after contest closed. Distributed via News Canada service.  Created 5 English and French radio news releases about contest and then winning tips. Distributed via News Canada.  Developed sport gift baskets to be given away on 15 national breakfast television shows across Canada.  Developed winner‘s announcement and top tips gained from entries news release and sent to media.  Created Henkel sponsorship news release and sent to media.  Created Henkel KidSport donation release and sent out official cheque handover photo to media.  Invited key media to meet with Henkel Canadian president and attend World Cup hockey game in Quebec City along with key trade.

The budget for the program was $102,892 including all fees and expenses, such as survey, contest prizing, web site development, News Canada production and distribution of 5 radio news releases, and 2 full page camera ready stories, media kits, long distance telephone, couriers, gift baskets for on-air giveaways, and all program development and execution including media relations and media monitoring. Out-of-pocket expenses accounted for 75% of the budget. Continued on next page

Implementation & Challenges:

 One of my biggest challenges was managing the client‘s expectations of how public relations and media relations is done in Canada. The event in Russia required very little effort to get journalists to attend. I had to explain that media in Canada work very differently and are far more jaded and used to being sent information and invited to interview senior company officials. One example, the client requested that we invite key business/trade media to Quebec City to meet with senior Henkel executives to discuss the sponsorship and future business plans and goals. But in Canada, many media company policies would not allow journalists to accept invitations due to travel involved. I was able to coordinate attendance in Quebec City and onsite interviews for 3 journalists and followed up with several others for future interviews. I also identified appropriate angles, media, pitched interviews, assisted in development of speaking notes, coordinated media kits for interviews and briefed senior staff for the interviews.  In addition, I had to manage expectations of how many entries to expect. As our goal was to generate media coverage to reach Canadians, I was less concerned about getting actual entries. Our objective was to ensure the Henkel name, survey information and contest opportunity was getting used in media stories; the contest was a tool to generate that awareness.  Another challenge was the tight budget. It required us to be very efficient with our resources and approaches, for example, building our contest web site within the in-store contest web site.  My client was temporarily based in Scottsdale, AZ, from her home base in Austria, to oversee the program. In addition, a Henkel company consultant was based in North Carolina. All client contact was done by long distance conference calls and emails and not in face to face meetings, which was further complicated by the differences in time zones.  We needed to be able to break through the clutter of information that the journalists receive and I knew the sponsorship wasn‘t going to do that. The survey allowed us to create more newsworthy information. I also developed news angles that I knew would score with hockey moms and dads and thereby resonate with journalists.  As requests for media interviews came in, the President was unable to meet the timelines as originally expected. My client‘s European accent complicated her ability to be heard and understood clearly on phone call interviews. In the end, I ended up being the designated spokesperson and conducted interviews and became the voice on the radio news releases.  Having a successful outcome to this program required me to be adaptable, flexible, identify what would turn on the media as well as appeal to the target demographic, work very closely with the client regardless of the long distance, be reachable at all times, think beyond the mundane and usual, and meet the exacting standards of the clients.

Measurement/Evaluation:

The program was an overwhelming success both in terms of the coverage of the contest, the goodwill it generated amongst the trade, and the favourable impressions it left with the media and consumers.  The program dovetailed with the consumer promotional campaign in terms of timing and carried similar hockey-themed messaging as per the corporate mandate.  More than 926,488,942 impressions were generated, with coverage in every province in Canada, and in fact, throughout the world; 62 times the target. One story about Canadian hockey ran on a South African web site!  More than $172,588,822 in editorial coverage was generated; an ROI of 1,675 times the total budget; and 575 times the goal.

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 The stories generated by the program were carried on local, regional, national, mainstream and alternative, print, broadcast and web media outlets, resulting in more than 1,076 positive stories, and all mentioned the company by name. Note: We know there are a number of articles/hits that we were not able to pick up. Roughly 35% of clippings are not picked up as stated by clipping service. We are, in fact, still getting coverage today as the stories continue to resonate with media and Canadians.  The program did establish Henkel as an expert and we were contacted several times to comment on situations that occurred in hockey; for example, when an ex-NHLer now junior hockey team coach pushed his team to clear the benches and fight, several television stations contacted us to ask to interview our monthly winners and get their take on the situation.  98% of the stories were dedicated to the survey, Henkel‘s key messages and the stories we sent out.  All key messages were communicated.  Most of the 70 newspaper and magazine stories were accompanied by photographs provided in the media materials, with approximately 25% of them running in colour.  715 radio stories ran on 125 stations across Canada for more than 725 minutes of coverage.  There was more than 15 minutes of television coverage including a 4.5 minute piece that aired on Canada‘s key national breakfast show, Canada AM, and included the Henkel name being mentioned by the host 3 times.  A company spokesperson was quoted in 95% of the stories.  The survey statistics were mentioned in approximately 85% of the stories.  90% of the coverage included material directly from the news releases.  The cost per media impression is $0.00.  The cost per media value dollar is $0.00.  The cost per message point is $0.00.  57 entries were received, 45 online, and 12 mailed in, exceeding our target by 65%.  There were 33,140 unique visitors to the web site, and 946,634 page views.  The media coverage assisted in increasing the number of entries received for the promotional contests as the web site address was included in the media coverage, and drove people to the web site.  The program was implemented on time, and on budget.  Henkel donated more than $25,000 to the KidSport charitable program, and helped to increase its profile across the country, generating many stories that included mentions of the organization and more than 50 stories devoted to the donation.  Parents were excited about the program and sent in comments like: ―It‘s a terrific contest and really reflects so much of the attitudes of so many of the kids and parents I talk to. Colin is in his first year of organized hockey and I think this sort of emphasis is so vitally important for the enjoyment of the kids! HUGE kudos to Henkel for doing this. This is what corporate responsibility should be all about! BRAVO!!‖  The program created awareness of Henkel in Canada amongst the trade and consumers and contributed to the brands achieving a pro-rated 10% increase over target sales. This resulted in the Canadian company having no layoffs during recent North American layoffs. The sales team was able to discuss the program while in meetings with key trade and reported that trade were aware of and enthusiastic about the program.  The client has taken elements of this program and incorporated them into the 2009 sponsorship program taking place in Europe this year; they have incorporated the ―fair play and kids in hockey‖ contest theme and a Henkel Smile donation element.  The success of the program has resulted in Diana Robinson & Associates being awarded additional brand specific projects.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Media Relations Greater than 100K

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: “Lucy Waverman Allergy-Friendly Recipes” Entrant‘s Name: Saskia Brussaard Entrant‘s Organization: Porter Novelli Canada Time Period of Project: June-December 2008

Brief Description: Porter Novelli‘s Launch of Lucy Waverman‘s Allergy-Friendly Recipes in Support of Epi-Pen (Epinephrine) Auto-Injector.

1. Business Need/Opportunity: Client EpiPen indentified an urgent need to make Canadians more aware of both the potentially fatal condition called anaphylaxis and how the EpiPen (epinephrine) Auto-Injector can save lives by administering medication for severe allergic emergencies and giving patients the time they desperately need to reach an emergency room for treatment.

Extensive client research showed that although more than 640,000 Canadians suffer from severe and potentially fatal allergies knows as anaphylaxis, an incredible four out of five people at risk admitted that they did not carry an EpiPen.

Research also showed that most Canadians would not know what do in the event of someone close to them having a potentially fatal allergic reaction: only 45 percent of Canadians polled said they would know how to administer a life-saving dose of epinephrine using an emergency auto-injector such as EpiPen.

It was clear, based on revealing research done, that there was considerable urgency to raising awareness for EpiPen in a way that would improve health safety for Canadians. EpiPen needed to get its message out to Canadians – that there was a safety risk that they could easily avoid with the simple purchase of an EpiPen. Raising awareness would reduce the current risks Canadians faced and at the same time drive up sales of EpiPen products.

In addition to the health safety improvement and sales increase it sought, the client also was aware of a new and aggressive competitor on the market that was increasing its own market share and gaining brand recognition with patients. EpiPen therefore had a business objective of driving up awareness and sales of its own product to keep the growing competition at bay. Continued on next page

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2. Entrants‟ Roles in the Project: Porter Novelli Canada Manager and EpiPen account lead Saskia Brussaard oversaw and managed all aspects of this project, from strategy and planning development to spokesperson identification and liaison, media materials development, messaging, media outreach and follow up. Consultants Alison Crocker and Caroline Nybo provided additional media relations support.

3. Intended Audiences (s): Although life-threatening allergies affect on e to two percent of the population (around 640,000 Canadians), the primary target audience was women aged 25 to 54. Women are typically the caretakers of their family‘s health and well-being and are the primary purchasers of epinephrine auto-injectors. The secondary audience was the general public. Although the majority of Canadians do not have severe allergies, more than 50 percent of Canadians know someone with a life-threatening allergy. Food allergies are the most common type of allergy and affect the most people. Anyone could be faced with an emergency situations and might have to assist someone having a severe allergic reactions.

4. Goals/Objectives Client EpiPen‘s business objectives were to raise awareness of its product and grand among consumers, increase registrations at its online resource center and drive up overall website traffic. In 2007, the client had launched a newly redesigned consumer website with a new Resource Centre. The Resource Centre offered an opportunity for patients to register their pens using an Expirations Reminder Service, and to sign up for e-bulletins – two mechanisms designed to build a stronger, ongoing relationship between the company and its customers. Since the launch of the Resource Centre, the number of registrants was lower than the client expected, thus they identified as a top priority the need to increase the number of registrants during its peak business periods of late spring through autumn 2008.

With these business goals in mind, our communication objectives were as follows: to develop a public relations program that would build awareness of the EpiPen brand by encouraging people at risk of severe allergies and their caregivers to visit the EpiPen.ca website. Once at the website, the objective was to increase registration on the Resource Centre.

In addition, because the client is committed to addressing the urgent need to increase awareness about anaphylaxis and the appropriate emergency response to an anaphylactic attack, Porter Novelli was also tasked with helping Canadians understand that allergic reactions can be very serious, even fatal, an equip them with information on how to respond to an emergency situation.

5. Solution Overview: Inspiration This public relations programs was inspired by the stories of Canadians who are affected by severe allergies. Because there is a significant and well-known correlation between some foods and anaphylaxis, a campaign focused on food allergies was most desirable. Food allergies are the most common of all serious allergies. Many caregivers find food allergies particularly challenging to manage because in addition to the stress of protecting an allergic person from harmful and potentially fatal allergens, caregivers must also prepare meals that appeal to and satisfy non-allergic family members.

As part of our research, we read advocacy association and support group message boards and read posting by caregivers who shared frustrations surrounding meal preparation, identifying a need for fresh, delicious and easy-to-prepare family favourites that can be made without the most common food allergens: dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts and shellfish. Yet, many caregivers complained about the lack of high-quality allergy-friendly recipes. Continued on next page

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One of the most sought-after recipes was for an allergy-friendly birthday cake. Many kids with serious allergies today are forced to avoid eating anything at birthday parties, while bringing their own food in a Tupperware container. For many children, this can obviously become an uncomfortable or even an embarrassing experience.

From this research, Porter Novell identified an unmet need for great-tasting allergy-friendly recipes and the idea to partner with a well known, Canadian culinary expert was born.

Solution To drive traffic to the EpiPen.ca website and Resource Centre, Porter Novelli commissioned Canadian culinary personality and food editor Lucy Waverman to develop a collection of 12 fresh and delicious allergy-friendly recipes – including a birthday cake – that were all made available online at EpiPen.ca in English and French.

Each recipe eliminated peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs and shellfish, but each provided an appealing dish that was fresh and appetizing for the whole family to enjoy and easy enough to make for any busy mom. Nine recipes were released in June 2008 and three additional fall-themed recipes were release in November 2008. Each recipe was accompanied by original colour and photography and a nutritional facts table.

Lucy Waverman is a celebrated of eight cookbooks, food editor, columnist and teacher. Her Saturday food column ―Weekend Menus‖, appears weekly in The Globe and Mail, Canada‘s most read national newspaper. Also noteworthy, Lucy Waverman‘s husband has a severe peanut allergy, providing her with a credible perspective of living with someone with anaphylaxis. In fact, her husband, Bruce, has experienced a number of severe allergic reactions and always carries and EpiPen.

With this unique concept, practical and useful information, and a well-known credible culinary expert on board, Porter Novelli coordinated a two-city personal appearance media tour for Lucy Waverman to talk about the recipes and inspire Canadians who have family or friends with severe allergies to prepare dishes that are traditionally considered off-limits because of the ingredients they contain. Lucy toured media outlets in Toronto and Vancouver to talk candidly about the challenges and fears of living with someone with life-threatening allergies and she explained in detail how Epi-Pen had in fact once saved her husband‘s life.

She encouraged people to visit the EpiPen.ca website to download the recipes and learn more about anaphylaxis, and reminded people with severe allergies to always carry an EpiPen and to learn how to use it properly.

To address the urgent need to increase awareness about anaphylaxis and the appropriate emergency response to an anaphylactic attack, Lucy during TV appearances demonstrated how to administer an EpiPen using a special EpiPen trainer device. To general media coverage beyond the two-cities, Porter Novelli also issued a national news release about the program via newswire service.

Porter Novelli and EpiPen have an ongoing partnership with patient advocacy association, Allergy/Asthma Information Society (AAIA) to support programs and initiatives and also gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that people living with allergies face. The AAIA supported the Lucy Waverman imitative, providing a quotation in the new release which underscored EpiPen‘s key messages.

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Porter Novelli also sent media kits to food, lifestyle and general news reporters and editors across the country. The media kits contained the news releases, background information about anaphylaxis, EpiPen and Lucy Waverman, safe food handling tips, and the recipes and recipe photos.

The recipes developed were inspired by the actual needs expressed by people affected by severe allergies. In addition to a delicious chocolate birthday cake, Lucy also invented: peanut-free Pad Thai, dairy free Creamy Macaroni Bake, Chocolate Banana Brownies, a Creamy Sweet Potato Soup and more.

Also important for the client was timing – the campaign was scheduled around peak purchasing periods for EpiPen users. By launching the first phase of the campaign in the spring, with a second phase in autumn, Porter Novelli fulfilled the mandate to drive traffic to the EpiPen website during the Client‘s peak business periods.

6. Implementation and Challenges: While implementing EpiPen‘s communications and outreach program, Porter Novelli encountered a few challenges. One was capturing the attention of media – particularly health media – that felt the food allergy issue had already been covered extensively.

In addition, the fact that EpiPen has been available in Canada for more than 25 years meant that most health reporters were already familiar with the product and its advantages to Canadians. In other words, with no ―new product news‖ to report, media seemed less than enthusiastic about our product.

In an effort to therefore broaden the discussion and open new channels for dialogue, our solution was to use the recipes and the celebrity status of Lucy Waverman to pitch food, lifestyle and general news editors who hadn‘t been as exposed to the allergy issue in the past.

Another challenge was that reporters often confuse common food sensitivities with severs, potentially fatal allergies. Our spokesperson, Waverman was sometimes asked by reporters to comment on wheat sensitivities or food dislikes and it was important to ensure that our spokesperson stayed on message and conveyed the difference between the two types of food related issues.

An additional challenge was to extend the impact of the program of over a period of six months within the allocated budget. To address this, we kicked off the program with a big launch, making nine recipes available on June 18, 2008. We then saved three additional recipes for a smaller autumn launch on November 3, 2008. As a result, the media coverage began in June and has continued to appear as long- lead magazines become available.

Furthermore, we were able to publicize the recipe program twice, doubling our opportunities to connect with media and consumers and create demand and anticipation for follow up recipes. In addition, the client was able to send an e-news blast first announcing the initial recipes in the spring and then announcing the availability of the fall recipes to everyone who registered during the initial spring launch, providing the client with another important point of contact with their customers.

7. Measurement/Evaluation They Lucy Waverman Allergy-friendly Recipe campaign resulted in more that 12 million MRRP media impressions and at least 85 separate pieces of coverage, with major stories appearing in top broadcast, TV, radio and print media, including CityTV, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, Canadian Press, CBC Radio and the Montreal Gazette. Continued on next page

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Virtually 100 percent of news coverage mentioned the EpiPen.ca web site, which succeeded in sparking a huge surge in EpiPen.ca website traffic. Hits soared to more than 6,000 page views a day immediately following the program launch (June 18, 2008), up from the usual traffic of several hundred daily hits. Another key measurement that made this program a success was the number of registrants. More than 380 people registered within hours of the initial launch and 87 percent of visitors went from the main homepage to the recipe pages. More consumers registered with the EpiPen.ca Resource Centre, in the two weeks following the July 2008 launch than in the previous six months combined. Overall, registration has increased significantly in 2008 versus 2007. In fact, the program has been such a tremendous success that far exceeded the client‘s expectations and as a result EpiPen is proudly continuing the innovative and original initiative as part of its 2009 PR campaign.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Media Relations Greater than 100K

Award of Excellence

New Stride Canadian Brand Launch

Entrant‘s Name: Judy Lewis Organization‘s Name: Strategic Objectives Client Organization: Cadbury North America Time Period of Project: January – July 2008

Brief Description: The PR launch campaign for Stride — The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum included The Ridiculously Long Lasting Road Trip Across Canada featuring the Stride Guys. The uniquely Canadian media relations campaign achieved goals and exceeded objectives; delivering strong brand-building awareness; excellent media coverage and helped drive Stride gum to market leadership and an astounding 8.6 market share within 8 months, which was high above expectations.

Business Need/Opportunity

Canadians purchase more than half a billion packages of gum in Canada each year and the gum market is worth about $413 million. The gum category is the fastest growing category internationally and is highly competitive. When Stride gum launched in the United States in 2006, it achieved a 6.3 per cent share of the gum market within 18 months of launch and now it was set to launch in Canada in 2008. Uniquely designed to taste great, while maintaining its soft texture, Stride resolves gum lovers‘ biggest dilemma with gum – that it just doesn‘t last long enough.

Stride — The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum — was Cadbury‘s number one launch priority in Canada in 2008, and the company‘s newest power brand in the gum category. Its success would impact Cadbury‘s position and reputation as a leader and contribute to the success of Cadbury gum sales. In this highly competitive launch period, there was also a need to maximize consumer awareness levels for Stride.

The company‘s biggest competitor was planning to simultaneously launch a new gum directly competing against Stride gum. Strategic Objectives (S.O.) was hired by Cadbury, the country's largest confectionery company and maker of Stride gum, to develop an original, public relations brand launch... Continued on next page

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...campaign that would create awareness for Stride gum through strong, branded media coverage reflecting Stride‘s quirky brand personality, and help achieve market success, including outperforming its launch competitor.

Media analysis and research showed that traditionally, new gum products attracted little media interest and rarely received coverage unless a creative, high-impact, interactive campaign was wrapped around the brand launch campaign. We determined that the brand‘s quirky ―ridiculously long lasting‖ positioning, a key point of differentiation, could provide the creative inspiration for our collaborative PR solution. Based on our commitment to research, analysis and innovative and effective PR and media relations practices, S.O. recommended that the best approach was to create a uniquely Canadian, high profile, public and media relations campaign that would engage Canadians from coast-to-coast, leverage the brand‘s name and positioning, clearly differentiate it from the competition, generate media buzz and secure branded media coverage for Stride gum. The result was the Ridiculously Long Lasting Road Trip Across Canada featuring the Stride Guys — two college graduates who found the perfect summer job: traveling across Canada in a 1966 VW van equipped with Stride gum and a ping pong table, looking for Canadians to play a ridiculously long round of ping pong!

Entrant‟s Role In the Project

I led the Stride gum PR team at S.O., oversaw the creative concept development, provided senior client counsel and overall team management. For the Canadian Brand Launch of Stride gum, I worked closely with Cadbury client, Stephanie Minna, Manager, Corporate Communication; the Stride gum brand team at Cadbury; the JWT web team in New York; Mosaic Experiential Marketing; and S.O. lead team members: Media Relations Director David Weinstein and Account Director Jennifer Buchalter. To ensure the program had a clear direction and vision, and client support throughout all parts of the process, S.O. utilized its unique client agency collaborative process. Considerable time and effort went into this collaboration, to build consensus, manage issues, and ensure client satisfaction and outstanding results and success.

Intended Audiences

The Stride gum Brand Team provided proprietary research on the intended audience. This information was used to develop our strategy to reach these consumers. Research on Canadian media audiences was conducted by S.O., utilizing a dynamic media database identifying needs and interests of media from coast-to-coast.  Prime Target Demographic: Canadian gum lovers and consumers 18–24 years. Both primary & secondary research demonstrated that this consumer group appreciates brands as badges to feel ―cool‖ in the eyes of their peers. They chew gum because it gives their mouth something to do during leisure activities – chewing gum distracts and/or stimulates them and/or helps them focus.  Media who reach the prime target demographic: S.O. targeted local, regional and national print, online and broadcast media, to be the awareness-builder of The Ridiculously Long Lasting Road Trip with the Stride Guys.

Goals/Objectives

Goals  Contribute to the marketing and sales success of the Stride gum launch in Canada and outperform launch competitor  Engage the primary target audience; make Stride a power brand; and build brand awareness of the positioning and quirky personality of Stride gum in Canada Continued on next page

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Objectives 1. Generate positive, branded national, regional and local media coverage for Stride gum in Canada 2. Achieve a cost per contact of less than $0.05 and secure 70-85 stories 3. Achieve a similar market share goal to the U.S. (6.3 per cent market share within 18 months) 4. Achieve a Media Relations Rating Points™ (MR2P™) rating of more than 70 per cent 5. Ensure Stride gum brand and key messages were communicated

Solution Overview

S.O. collaborated with Cadbury and developed an original, creative, public and media relations program to launch Stride gum that would build consumer and media awareness; generate branded, high-profile media coverage; and engage Canadians, while reflecting the Stride gum positioning and brand personality (Stride gum is designed to keep its flavour for a long time and therefore is ideal to chew during activities that last long periods of time or are monotonous, such as driving, video gaming, etc.). To achieve goals and objectives, we developed communications tactics including:  A Ridiculously Long Lasting Road Trip Across Canada featuring the Stride Guys;  A digital PR program featuring a Stride Guys Blog on www.STRIDEgum.ca that played an integral role in reaching consumers within the prime demographic;  A national, grassroots media relations campaign targeting news, community, lifestyle, new product, business and food media ;  And to maintain the ―quirky‖ factor of the brand and extend Stride gum coverage following the road trip, we leveraged the Stride gum US sponsorship of internet sensation Matt Harding – a 31 year old adventurer who quit his job to pursue his dream of dancing around the world and was recently listed on Time Magazine‘s 2008 Top 10 Viral Videos. We developed a National Media Relations program and Vancouver Media Tour with Matt to launch his third video ―Dance with Me‖ and generated coverage from his clips featuring his stops in Vancouver and Montreal.

Program key messages included *(WS#1):  To celebrate the launch of Stride – The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum – we‘re on this ridiculously long road trip to play ping pong with Canadians.  Stride – The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum – resolves every gum lovers‘ biggest dilemma with gum: that is just doesn‘t last long enough.  Check us out at www.STRIDEgum.ca!

The integrated, multi-faceted campaign was a tremendous success, achieving goals and exceeding objectives, securing extensive, branded media coverage and excellent consumer awareness of Stride gum contributing to an astounding 8.6 market share within 8 months. All activities were completed on time and within the client approved budget.

The Stride Guys To launch Stride gum as the authentically quirky chewing gum and generate extensive grassroots, regional and national media coverage that complemented the marketing initiatives, S.O. created a Ridiculously Long Lasting Road Trip Across Canada with the Stride Guys, securing media interviews and coverage across Canada and strong online buzz and chatter.

In collaboration with Cadbury, S.O. developed, coordinated, managed and executed a 28-city Media Tour for Canadians to meet the Stride Guys. In collaboration with agency partner Mosaic Experiential Marketing, we sourced, hired and media trained two male actors – who had never met before (one English and one French) and represented the target demographic for the brand. Continued on next page * The Work Samples are not included in the Winning Entries Booklet

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Our Stride Guys signed up for a 9,710 km, 59 day, long lasting road trip from St. John‘s, NL to Victoria, BC – from one tip of the country to another. To reflect the quirky personality of Stride gum and provide a vehicle for the coast-to-coast road trip appearances, S.O. researched, sourced, secured and refurbished a 1966 VW van. Appropriately named STRIDEY and complete with vanity license plates, the 40-year old van was wrapped with branded creative (WS#2), providing a very quirky set of wheels and attracting incredible consumer attention and media coverage everywhere along the Road Trip and Media Tour. To keep the authentic look, the Stride Guys wore branded retro Stride track suits, head/wrist bands and t-shirts throughout the tour (WS#3). We also sourced and designed branded ping pong balls, paddles and commissioned a custom-made, branded ping pong table that could collapse and fit into STRIDEY (WS#4).

National Media Relations Program S.O. developed a unique, highly visual media kit in the shape of an oversized pack of Stride gum (WS#9). The media kit included: New Product Feature News Release (Consumer and Business Releases); Fact Sheet highlighting Ridiculously Long Canadian Facts; product photos and samples of the new gum (WS#10).

A bilingual media list was developed and our media kit was distributed to news, community, lifestyle, food, business and new product media (TV, radio, print and online) across Canada. Our bilingual media relations team conducted proactive media relations to secure positive, branded coverage. The national media relations program generated strong, branded consumer and new product media coverage including the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Marketing Magazine, Métro, Calgary Herald and the Ottawa Citizen. To secure additional media coverage and mass visibility for Stride gum, we secured branded media co-promotions with television, radio, print and online media outlets. This included: Citytv- BreakfastTelevision, Winnipeg; A-Channel Morning Ottawa; Rogers Daytime Toronto, London and Kitchener; Z103.5 radio; teenflare.com and canoe.qc.ca, among others.

Dancing Matt Video Launch To support Stride gum‘s sponsorship of internet sensation Matt Harding, S.O. conducted a National Media Relations Program and Vancouver Media Tour to launch Matt‘s third video ―Dance with Me‖ on YouTube and www.wherethehellismatt.com (WS#11). The video showcases Matt and his fans as they dance together in front of more than 45 landmarks around the world including his stops in Vancouver and Montreal. In collaboration with Cadbury, S.O. wrote and distributed a Media Alert and Feature News Release (WS#12). Working with Matt‘s extremely limited availability, we conducted proactive media relations and secured interviews with the Globe and Mail and Vancouver media Citytv BreakfastTelevision, the Vancouver Sun, News 1130 and CFUN Radio.

Implementation and Challenges

The budget for this program is confidential. S.O. successfully overcame numerous challenges and additional client needs, utilizing the existing budget and still completing all activities on time and within the client approved budget. It included all public relations services over a 10 month period (strategy development began in 2007 and execution ran from January – July 2008); and all program expenses, including costs for the purchase and refurbishing of the 1966 VW van; transportation of STRIDEY from Toronto to St. John‘s, NL; a Ford pick-up truck and trailer to transport the van between cities; travel expenses; travel equipment (GPS system, laptop, cellular phone, digital camera); accommodations for Stride Guys over 59 nights; unpredicted sky-rocketing gas prices; branded merchandise and Stride Guys uniforms.

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 While originally only budgeted for a 10-city Media Tour, due to strong media response and client request, we needed to squeeze an additional 18 cities, into the existing budget;  Road safety was paramount. S.O. worked closely with Cadbury legal to ensure vehicles conformed to all insurance and road safety regulations. The 42 year old VW van was inspected, repaired, overhauled and certified with the Ontario Road Safety Test and Ontario Drive Clean Program. In case of road trouble, S.O. secured a Stride Guys membership with CAA. The Stride Guys were given a cell phone, GPS system, detailed maps and travel itineraries. The S.O. Road Trip Manager communicated with The Stride Guys on a daily basis to ensure they had up-to-date travel and media tour itineraries. To protect the brand, we conducted a background police check on both Stride Guys.  To reduce the wear and tear on STRIDEY, we coordinated delivery of STRIDEY from Toronto to St. John‘s., NL. The transportation company miscalculated its delivery date and the van did not arrive in time for our kick-off Media Tour on April 24. The Stride Guys were equipped with a rental van for the St. John‘s visit and media coverage in St. John‘s was not compromised: it was 100 per cent positive. The Stride Guys then drove the rental van to Halifax where they met up with STRIDEY and a truck and trailer. To reduce the wear and tear, we purchased a truck to pull STRIDEY on the long hauls, fully protected from the inclement weather, while STRIDEY was driven about town at each stop.  Two days before the Vancouver Media Tour with Matt Harding, Matt became ill and could not conduct the Media Tour. All pre-booked interviews, with the exception of Citytv, were rescheduled as phone interviews.

Measurement/Evaluation

The media relations program to support the Canadian Stride gum brand launch achieved goals and exceeded objectives including sales targets. The program generated outstanding on-brand media coverage and public awareness from coast-to-coast. It proved to be a highly creative, successful solution in meeting the business need and engaging the target audience. It clearly differentiated Stride gum in the market. Collaboratively with Cadbury and its agency partners, PR made a significant contribution helping Stride gum achieve the leadership position and an 8.6 market share within 8 months. Stride gum PR awareness and sales also successfully outperformed its launch competitor. The PR program delivered strong brand-building awareness and media LOVED the Stride Guys:  Secured national, regional and local media coverage reaching the prime target demographic (WS#13);  Generated more than 36.65 million media impressions including major daily newspapers, television and radio stations across Canada with more than 2 hours of broadcast coverage (WS#14);  Secured a total of 125 media stories (exceeded objective by 47per cent), including colour feature stories with photos (WS#15) and multiple segments on morning TV shows;  Stride gum name or brand image and positioning was featured in 100 per cent of Stride Guys coverage;  Cost per contact was $0.0094 (cost was 81 per cent less than forecasted); 2  92 per cent MR P™ score based on chosen criteria (exceeded objective by 22 percentage points);  The positioning and quirky personality of Stride gum was brought to life through memorable, branded media coverage featuring the Stride Guys;  PR Program received recognition in a feature article in Marketing Magazine ―Putting PR First – How two brands flipped the standard marketing formula on its head;‖  Secured more than 45 online articles including: thestar.com; canoe.ca; ottawacitizen.com; Marketing Daily; 24 Heures and The Blogging Joggler (WS#16);

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 The Stride Guys attracted the #1 Morning Shows in their local markets and live-on-location coverage on: NTV Evening News Hour, St. John‘s; CTV Sports, Montreal; Mix 99.9 Radio and CFRB 1010 Radio (Toronto); A-Channel Morning, Ottawa, London, Barrie and Citytv-BreakfastTelevision, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver to name a few;  Dancing Matt media coverage drove traffic to his video and included the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, News 1130 Radio, CFUN Radio, the Toronto Star, Yahoo! Canada and much more;  Engaged Canadians from coast-to-coast and generated strong consumer awareness attracting more than 5800 Stride Fans on the road and playing more than 530 games of ping pong with the Stride Guys;  Stride Guys blog and media coverage drove traffic to www.STRIDEgum.ca. The Stride Guys Blog received more than 20,000 visitors and the average Blog visit lasted more than 11 minutes.  Based on the media relations success of the 2008 program, S.O. is now working collaboratively with the Stride gum brand team and partner agencies on a Stride Ping Pong PR program in 2009!

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Social Responsibility including

Economic, Societal and Environmental Development

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Save the Leopard Frog – It Can Be Easy To Be Green Entrant‘s Name: David Gordon Entrant‘s Organization: Cohn & Wolfe Client Organization: Credit Valley Conservation Time Period of Project: 2007-2008

1. BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) is a community-based environmental organization dedicated to conserving, restoring, developing and managing natural resources in the Credit Valley watershed located in the regions of Peel and Halton, in Ontario. One of CVC‘s goals is to raise awareness of the impact human behaviour is having on the local waterways, plants and animals.

In 2007, CVC commissioned Cohn & Wolfe (C&W) to develop and implement a community outreach strategy to gain support for future infrastructure projects that would enhance and improve the watershed. C&W determined that the most effective way to gain support for the future retrofit and restoration efforts was to raise awareness of the local environment issues in a way that would engage local residents, thus encouraging their support of the initiatives aimed at protecting the local environment. A pilot project in the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek areas (part of the Credit Valley Watershed), was recommended to demonstrate and confirm the effect of communications to various funding bodies for the CVC.

C&W developed and executed the ―Save the Leopard Frog‖ campaign, an innovative and strategic integrated communications campaign aimed at reaching out to the local community and engaging ratepayers and other stakeholders in stewardship, education and dialogue about the future of the local natural environment. The ―Save the Leopard Frog‖ (SLF) campaign was a creative and visually appealing program incorporating community relations, media relations, brand and content development, promotions, marketing, advertising and website development.

By engaging and implicating local residents in the fate of the leopard frog, an indicator species for the health of the local environment, C&W was able to link CVC‘s mandate of local environmental protection with the public interest, with a view to earning public understanding, awareness and support. Continued on next page

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This pilot program included a thorough research component, which effectively measured public attitudes and awareness, while establishing the program‘s success. This campaign has become a model for future larger-scale initiatives geared at constantly building on CVC‘s long-term goal of turning ratepayers into partners in environmental protection.

2. COHN & WOLFE‟S ROLE IN THE PROJECT  C&W developed the overall campaign strategy, plan and critical path for the campaign‘s execution.  C&W worked with a professional research agency to coordinate all research conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign.  C&W was responsible for all content and development including the leopard frog mascot, advertisements, website graphics, buttons and magnets.  C&W was responsible for coordinating the campaign launch which was attended by rate payers and media and supported community events including school tours and walking tours.  C&W was responsible for disseminating promotional materials to residents of the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek area.

3. INTENDED AUDIENCE The intended audience for this communications campaign was made up of less than 75,000 local residents who had little to no awareness of CVC and its mandate of local environment protection, much less what environmental issues existed within the Credit Valley watershed. In fact, local ratepayers often perceive CVC as the ‗naysayers‘ or ‗gatekeeper‘ responsible for withholding permits for new infrastructure, land development and other similar projects within the Credit Valley.

This audience is already overwhelmed by international and national media campaigns about global warming, climate change, recycling, fuel emissions, and countless other ‗green‘ message, coming from sources which are much better known and with much larger budgets and therefore broader audience reach.

In order to make an impact on this key audience, it was crucial that their level of understanding and attention to LOCAL environmental awareness was assessed, in order to ascertain the best way of communicating with them and thus making them a partner with CVC in local environmental protection.

To determine the effectiveness of C&W‘s planned communications campaign in gaining community support, a pilot program was developed, targeting only the residents in the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek areas, within the Credit Valley watershed.

C&W commissioned a professional research service to assess awareness about the local environment among residents, both before and after the onset of the campaign. If the research proved that local environmental awareness amongst the targeted audience within Sheridan/Cooksville Creek had increased as a result of this pilot project, C&W and CVC would have reason to believe that a larger scale campaign targeting all communities in the watershed could effectively gain support for future environmental initiatives.

4. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Goals: 1) Gain community support for future restoration projects in the Credit Valley watershed by raising awareness of local environmental issues among residents

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2) Determine whether communications efforts could increase awareness of local environmental concerns, and thus be a suitable means of gaining stakeholder support Objectives: 1) Increase awareness about the impact of household activities on the local ecosystem in the Credit Valley watershed (goal: 10%) 2) Validate the use of communications strategy as an effective means of generating awareness of local environmental issues 3) Build support for future Credit Valley watershed improvement efforts among ratepayers

5. SOLUTION OVERVIEW C&W developed and executed the ―Save the Leopard Frog‖ campaign, an innovative and strategic integrated communications campaign aimed at reaching out to the local community and engaging ratepayers and other stakeholders in stewardship, education and dialogue about the future of the local and natural environment. The ―Save the Leopard Frog‖(SLF) campaign was a creative and visually appealing program incorporating community relations, media relations, brand and content development, promotions, marketing, advertising and website development. By engaging and implicating local residents in the fate of the leopard frog, an indicator species for local environmental issues, C&W was able to link CVC‘s mandate of local environmental protection with the public interest, with a view to earning public understanding, awareness and support. This pilot program included a thorough research component, which effectively measured public attitudes and awareness, while establishing the program‘s success. This campaign has become a model for future larger-scale initiatives geared at constantly building on CVC‘s long-term goal of turning ratepayers into partners in environmental protection.

6. IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES Strategic Approach:  Personify localized environmental issues within Sheridan/Cooksville Creek by utilizing an appealing/relevant program mascot  Ensure consistent and memorable messaging by using one catchphrase or slogan throughout the campaign, and evaluate awareness of their impact both pre- post-campaign  Include a ‗control group‘ of household activities that would not be communicated key messages to residents  Leverage experts within the CVC organization as spokespeople to communicate issues related to their specific areas of expertise  Communicate directly with stakeholders through community events

Campaign Implementation:  Mascot – To select a mascot a number of indigenous flora and fauna were evaluated on criteria of likability, environmental significance and local relevance. The Northern Leopard Frog was selected because as an indicator species the prevalence of the leopard frog is an indication of the overall health of its environment meaning this species has great ecological significance. The SLF campaign used the leopard frog to illustrate how daily household activities impact the local ecosystem.  Recommended Behavioural Changes & Informational Materials – To increase its effectiveness, the campaign focused on three tangible environmental issues: swimming pool draining, driveway salt use and lawn fertilizer use. The campaign‘s key messages were delivered through all campaign materials including an informational brochure, advertisements and the ‗Save the Leopard Frog‘ website. ‗Save the Leopard Frog‘ brochures and magnets were a direct marketing initiative delivered to residents of the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek area through Canada Post and distributed during community events, tours and at local schools. Continued on next page

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 Promotional Materials – To ensure that the campaign was memorable, the slogan ‗it can be easy to be green‘ was printed on magnets and buttons alongside the mascot and CVC office or attending CVC events.  Advertising – SLF ads were designed to include the mascot, slogan, CVC logo, SLF website and one recommended behavioural change. Ads were placed in the Mississauga News, Go Stations in the Credit Valley watershed and on Transit buses and bus shelters.  Media Relations – Media relations strategies were used to garner media attention to promote awareness of the campaign. Matte stories about the three household activities (swimming pool draining, driveway salt use and lawn fertilizer use) were prepared for local media and the CVC‘s bi-annual newsletter. CVC spokespeople were available to the media to speak about the campaign and the organisation. A campaign launch was held at Rattray Marsh in the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek area in November 2007 and received coverage from local media. C&W prepared speaking notes for CVC spokespeople and media materials that were disseminated before the event.  Community Relations – To engage a younger, four in-school presentations and four watershed school bus tours were organised for school children in the Sheridan/Crooksville Creek areas. A colouring contest that allowed children to name the mascot was placed in local media and on the SLF website. For adults, there were two watershed bus tours. CVC spokespeople engaged in speaking opportunities used in SLF brochures, buttons and magnets as educational tools.  Website Development – A ‗Save the Leopard Frog‘ website was developed by the CVC‘s webmaster using content and creative provided by C&W. The additional too for communicating the campaign message. The website allowed C&W to communicated with stakeholders who might not have received other promotional materials.

Challenges: Budget - The budget for professional services and expenses was $122,000. This was a limited budget considering the scope of the project which involved brand development (creative design used in all campaigning materials), new content development, professional research services, advertising and production costs and community outreach strategies (which included tours of the watershed for school children).

Timeframe – The campaign had to be launched three months after the initial proposal was made to the CVC. In a matter of weeks, C&W executed the following deliverables:  Identification and animation of a suitable mascot  Development of content for informational materials (i.e. SLF brochure)  Designing promotional materials (i.e. buttons and magnets)  Coordination of a launch event  Development of media materials and conducting media outreach  Development of advertisement, purchasing ad space and coordinating ad production

Market Saturation – In a crowded market where several similar organizations with similar objectives compete for a share of voice, it was a significant challenge for CVC to receive the attention it needed in order to effectively reach its key stakeholders.

Difficulties influencing behaviour – In light of the numerous global environmental issues highlighted in national and international media on a daily basis, CVC‘s message of local environmental protection was very low on the radar of local residents, meaning that influencing their behaviour would be very challenging.

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Solutions: Budget – All creative elements of the campaign were designed in-house to rescue costs associated with professional designers and copy writers, while providing C&W with the opportunity to demonstrate its creative capabilities. All advertising purchases were handled by C&W to avoid the cost of commissioning an ad agency. C&W judiciously researched supplier costs to ensure it was always receiving competitive pricing for all campaign elements.

Timeframe – A dedicated and hardworking team made this project and the execution of daily deliverable a priority. A detailed critical path ensured that each member of the team was aware of their daily deliverables. The client was updated regularly and was aware of what content or approvals were required each day to enhancing turn-around time.

Market Saturation – The use of the Northern Leopard Frog as campaign mascot gave the campaign a uniquely local and visually appealing focus, which successfully distinguished the campaign from other national or provincial initiatives.

Difficulty influencing behaviour – One of the most effective ways of influencing behaviour is by demonstrating how the suggested behavioural change will effect the daily lives of the intended audience. The ‗Save the Leopard Frog‘ campaign focused on the household activities of local community members and the impact of these activities on the local ecosystem, making it more relevant, tangible and impactful for Sheridan/Cooksville Creek residents.

7. MEASUREMENT/EVALUATION OUTCOMES To measure the effectiveness of the pilot project, C&W conducted two waves of research, pre- and post- campaign. The first wave was established to determine environmental awareness before the campaign launched, and the second to determine environmental awareness post-campaign, thus providing an opportunity to quantify the program‘s effectiveness. An independent research service was commissioned to conduct the first wave of research, which included a control group of behaviours that were part of the campaign‘s communications (i.e. pesticide use and lawn watering).

Wave I (Establishing a Benchmark) The results of Wave I established that respondents felt the environment was a ‗hot topic‘, although most admitted they were more familiar with global issues such as global warming than local issues affecting their neighbourhood. The research also showed that numerous residents felt their household activities had little impact on the local ecosystem. The research made it clear that local environmental protection was very low on the radar of the most local residents.

The research confirmed that C&W had to develop a uniquely local campaign that would not be confused with other national or provincial initiatives. The messaging would have to be relevant, connecting, household activities with ecological degradation and contamination. To increase exposure the campaign would need to be ‗newsworthy‘ to generate local media attention.

Wave II (Attaining Measureable Comparison)

Quantitative Results Objective #1 Increase awareness about the impact of household activities on the local ecosystem in the Credit Valley watershed (goal: 10%): Wave II of the research study revealed that one in five residents had retained messaging from the SLF campaign (according to market research analysis these results are greater than expected from this type of campaign) Wave II also revealed that awareness of the three issues included in SLF communications (pool draining, fertilizer use and driveway salt sue),… Continued on next page

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…had significantly increased from Wave I. The final study revealed that we exceeded our goal of increasing awareness by 10% with pool draining awareness increasing by 15% fertilizer use awareness increasing by 12% and awareness of the adverse effects of road salt increasing by 11%.

Objective #2 Validate the use of a communications strategy as an effective means of generating awareness of local environmental issues: The statistics from the ‗control‘ group of questions that were not communicated by the SLF campaign (lawn watering, pesticide use and impact of the climate), further support the success of the program. Lawn watering awareness had only increased by 5%; pesticide uses awareness went down by 2% and awareness of ‗impact on the climate‘ messaging went down by 8%. Again, these were issues that were not communicated by the SLF campaign. The result of this control study thus validated C&W‘s communications strategy as a means of generating awareness of the specific messages communicated by the campaign.

Qualitative Results Objective #3 Build support for future Credit Valley watershed improvements efforts among ratepayers: This latest objective is a long term overarching goal of C&W‘s ongoing communication mandate with CVC. The proven effectiveness of the SLF campaign suggests a step in the right direction in gaining such support, which will of course be part of an ongoing effort. C&W and CVC intend to utilize the success of SLF as a springboard to future success through ongoing communications aimed at gaining ever-increasing public understanding, collaboration and support.

Community feedback and support: Since the campaign‘s inception CVC has received an overwhelmingly positive response from member of the Sheridan/Cooksville Creek community. CVC field researchers and employees who have been indentified in their CVC uniforms have been asked questions about the leopard frog and the impact human activity is having on this vulnerable species. The CVC office has received requests from residents and school teachers for brochures and other promotional material to be used as educations tools. The community‘s encouraging response to the campaign is one of the best indications of its overall success.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Social Responsibility including Economic, Societal and Environmental Development

Award of Merit

Brief Description: A media relations program designed to generate awareness of Henkel Consumer Goods Canada and their sponsorship of the IIHF Hockey World Championships by identifying that Canadians are concerned about the way recreational hockey is played in Canada, especially when children are involved.

Business Need/Opportunity:

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… Canadians‘ awareness of Henkel and learned that many confused the company with the knife company or the champagne company. I then conducted an extensive review of newspaper, magazine and online articles to gain insight into how the company was perceived and how Canadians felt about hockey in Canada. Hockey is often talked about as our ―national‖ sport. Yet, there was growing concern over the way the game was being played in Canada and the amount of violence that was taking place on the ice, even at children‘s hockey games. I then recommended we do a national survey of 1,000 Canadians through Harris Decima Research to see what Canadians were thinking about hockey in Canada at the recreational level, especially where children were involved. The results revealed an opportunity to create a program that would highlight this growing concern, and position Henkel as an expert on hockey. The answers from the survey would provide sound, statistical information to both media and Canadians and provide a platform for an educational media relations program, one that would start in the early winter and run in concert with the Canadian recreational hockey season. Media coverage would expand beyond Henkel‘s sponsorship of the World Cup to a real issue, one that would interest Canadians and thereby resonate with media and generate awareness of Henkel the company as a concerned, involved corporate citizen.

Entrant‟s Role in the Project:

Intended Audiences:

The target audiences for the program included:  The Canadian general public as influencers of public opinion and purchasers of Henkel products. Our research showed that 90% of Canadians feel that it is important, especially for children, to play hockey fairly and cleanly. Almost all Canadians, 97%, believe that hockey should be fun for everyone involved. 93% of Canadians believe that there should be less emphasis on winning and more emphasis on good sponsorship and playing fairly. 97% of Canadians believe there is no place for ―hockey rage‖ at children‘s games and yet, 84% of Canadians believe that parents are becoming too aggressive and competitive when watching their children‘s games. 89% of Canadians believe that the cost of hockey needs to be reduced so that more children can play. And 93% of Canadians agreed that there should be no violence when playing recreational hockey. There was a very clear indication that moms, dads and families were concerned about where hockey was going in Canada, especially at the recreational level. We decided to focus on women and men, 25-54, and their families. Women tend to be the main shoppers in Canadian homes and the decision-makers when it comes to which products to buy. This also tends to be the age group for ―hockey moms and dads‖: they are getting the kids up and out of the house to hockey practices and are sitting rink side at games, they make sure the hockey gear gets bought and the uniform gets washed after the game. They are the keepers of hockey at the grassroots level in Canada. They instill the love for the game in their children, both boys and girls. Our research showed that almost half of all households in Canada have someone playing hockey, including 2% having daughters who play.

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 The Canadian grocery, drug, multi-category, and home improvement industry including retailers, executives and buyers that could potentially carry the Henkel brands, from independent one-off retail shops to larger multi-national retailers. The sales team would be using the PR program and the media results as an opportunity to show what the company was doing to support its products in Canada and its goal to be an active, engaged, concerned corporation.  Canadian local, community, sports and consumer media as gatekeepers to the end consumer and our target audiences. They are purveyors of what is hot and happening in the lifestyle and hockey arenas. These are the local media that convey what‘s happening at the local team level through to covering the topic of violence in hockey at the NHL level. They are passionate about the game of hockey at all levels in Canada and cover the topic from many angles.

Goals/Objectives:

Our overall goal for the program was to create awareness of the Henkel name in Canada, support its role as a sponsor of the IIHF Hockey Championships and generate awareness of the growing concern of Canadians about violence in recreational hockey. Our objectives for the program were to:  Create a media relations program that would dovetail with the consumer in-store promotions in terms of timing and messaging, building on the hockey sponsorship theme.  Generate national, positive media coverage of Henkel as a company concerned with the way hockey is being played in Canada at the recreational level through the creation of the ―The Henkel Play Fair…Play Clean Hockey Contest,‖ building on the hockey sponsorship and hockey theme to introduce Canadians to the Henkel company.  Generate 15,000,000 impressions amongst Canadians through the media coverage and generate a return on investment of two to three times the cost of the program, approximately $300,000.  Deliver visitors to the promotional in-store web site and the contest web site and have a minimum of 35 entries into the contest.  Deliver the program on time and on budget of $103,000.  Communicate that Henkel is a caring company, dedicated to ensuring it supports local initiatives for children.  Generate awareness of Henkel, and its products and contribute to the growth of the brands in Canada.

Solution Overview:

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...regardless of their age and capability can enjoy the game in the way it was meant to be played: honestly and with quality. These are all elements that are near and dear to Henkel‘s corporate philosophy and mandate. Key messages we wanted to communicate included:  Canadians overwhelming believe that hockey should be played strong, clean and fair, especially when children are playing.  A new national survey conducted on behalf of Henkel Consumer Goods Canada shows that Canadians are concerned about the state of the national pastime, especially when it comes to how children are playing the game.  Almost half of Canadian households have someone playing hockey.  96% of Canadians believe that parents should be active supporters when their children play hockey, but 84% of Canadians believe that parents are becoming too aggressive and competitive when watching their children‘s hockey games.  Henkel Consumer Goods Canada has launched a contest asking kids what they think playing clean and fair hockey means. For more details, go to www.henkelhockeyplayers.ca.

Program Tactics:

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 Created Henkel KidSport donation release and sent out official cheque handover photo to media.  Invited key media to meet with Henkel Canadian president and attend World Cup hockey game in Quebec City along with key trade.

Implementation & Challenges:

 One of my biggest challenges was managing the client‘s expectations of how public relations and media relations is done in Canada. The event in Russia required very little effort to get journalists to attend. I had to explain that media in Canada work very differently and are far more jaded and used to being sent information and invited to interview senior company officials. One example, the client requested that we invite key business/trade media to Quebec City to meet with senior Henkel executives to discuss the sponsorship, the issue and future business plans and goals. But in Canada, many media company policies would not allow journalists to accept invitations due to travel involved. I was able to coordinate attendance in Quebec City and onsite interviews for 3 journalists and followed up with several others for future interviews. I also identified appropriate angles, media, pitched interviews, assisted in development of speaking notes, coordinated media kits for interviews and briefed senior staff for the interviews.  In addition, I had to manage expectations of how many entries to expect. As our goal was to generate media coverage to reach Canadians, I was less concerned about getting actual entries. Our objective was to ensure the Henkel name, issue and survey information and contest opportunity was getting used in media stories; the contest was a tool to generate that awareness.  Another challenge was the tight budget. It required us to be very efficient with our resources and approaches, for example, building our contest web site within the in-store contest web site.  My client was temporarily based in Scottsdale, AZ, from her home base in Austria, to oversee the program. In addition, a Henkel company consultant was based in North Carolina. All client contact was done by long distance conference calls and emails and not in face to face meetings, which was further complicated by the differences in time zones.  We needed to be able to break through the clutter of information that the journalists receive and I knew the sponsorship wasn‘t going to do that. The survey allowed us to create more newsworthy information. I also developed news angles that I knew would score with hockey moms and dads and thereby resonate with journalists.  As requests for media interviews came in, the President was unable to meet the timelines as originally expected. My client‘s European accent complicated her ability to be heard and understood clearly on phone call interviews. In the end, I ended up being the designated spokesperson and conducted interviews and became the voice on the radio news releases.  Having a successful outcome to this program required me to be adaptable, flexible, identify what would turn on the media as well as appeal to the target demographic, work very closely with the client regardless of the long distance, be reachable at all times, think beyond the mundane and usual, and meet the exacting standards of the clients.

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Measurement/Evaluation:

The program was an overwhelming success both in terms of the coverage of the issue and contest, the goodwill it generated amongst the trade, and the favourable impressions it left with the media and consumers.  The program dovetailed with the consumer promotional campaign in terms of timing and carried similar hockey-themed messaging as per the corporate mandate.  More than 926,488,942 impressions were generated, with coverage in every province in Canada, and in fact, throughout the world; 62 times the target. One story about Canadian hockey and violence ran on a South African web site!  More than $172,588,822 in editorial coverage was generated; an ROI of 1,675 times the total budget; and 575 times the goal.  The stories generated by the program were carried on local, regional, national, mainstream and alternative, print, broadcast and web media outlets, resulting in more than 1,076 positive stories, and all mentioned the company by name. Note: We know there are a number of articles/hits that we were not able to pick up. Roughly 35% of clippings are not picked up as stated by clipping service. We are, in fact, still getting coverage today as the issues continue to resonate with media and Canadians.  The program did establish Henkel as an expert and we were contacted several times to comment on situations that occurred in hockey; for example, when an ex-NHLer now junior hockey team coach pushed his team to clear the benches and fight, several television stations contacted us to ask to interview our monthly winners and get their take on the situation.  98% of the stories were dedicated to the survey, Henkel‘s key messages and the stories we sent out.  All key messages were communicated.  Most of the 70 newspaper and magazine stories were accompanied by photographs provided in the media materials, with approximately 25% of them running in colour.  715 radio stories ran on 125 stations across Canada for more than 725 minutes of coverage.  There was more than 15 minutes of television coverage including a 4.5 minute piece that aired on Canada‘s key national breakfast show, Canada AM, discussing the issue, interviewing the winner and included the Henkel name being mentioned by the host 3 times.  A company spokesperson was quoted in 95% of the stories.  The survey statistics were mentioned in approximately 85% of the stories.  90% of the coverage included material directly from the news releases.  The cost per media impression is $0.00.  The cost per media value dollar is $0.00.  The cost per message point is $0.00.  57 entries were received, 45 online, and 12 mailed in, exceeding our target by 65%.  There were 33,140 unique visitors to the web site, and 946,634 page views.  The media coverage assisted in increasing the number of entries received for the promotional contests as the web site address was included in the media coverage, and drove people to the web site.  The program was implemented on time, and on budget.  Henkel donated more than $25,000 to the KidSport charitable program, and helped to increase its profile across the country, generating many stories that included mentions of the organization and more than 50 stories devoted to the donation.

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 Parents were excited about the program and sent in comments like: ―It‘s a terrific contest and really reflects so much of the attitudes of so many of the kids and parents I talk to. Colin is in his first year of organized hockey and I think this sort of emphasis is so vitally important for the enjoyment of the kids! HUGE kudos to Henkel for doing this. This is what corporate responsibility should be all about! BRAVO!!‖  The program created awareness of Henkel in Canada amongst the trade and consumers and contributed to the brands achieving a pro-rated 10% increase over target sales. This resulted in the Canadian company having no layoffs during recent North American layoffs. The sales team was able to discuss the program while in meetings with key trade and reported that trade were aware of and enthusiastic about the program.  The client has taken elements of this program and incorporated them into the 2009 sponsorship program taking place in Europe this year; they have incorporated the ―fair play and kids in hockey‖ contest theme and a Henkel Smile donation element.  The success of the program has resulted in Diana Robinson & Associates being awarded additional brand specific projects.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Social Responsibility including

Economic, Societal and Environmental Development

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Earth Hour in Ontario‟s Schools: Using Earth Hour to Promote Environmental Education Entrants‘ Names: Lisa Gibbens, Rene Vidulin, Christina Mottola Organization Name: Ontario Ministry of Education Time Period of Project: February – June 2008

Brief Description: Convince schools to participate in Earth Hour and publicize the results to build awareness about environmental education in Ontario‘s public school system. Support for environmental education will increase public confidence in the education system.

In June 2007 the Ministry of Education announced it would integrate the environment into all aspects of the provincial curriculum and ensure that schools and boards used environmentally responsible practices. Environmental education is popular with both the education sector and the public and should help increase the public‘s confidence in Ontario‘s education system. However, the project will take a long time to implement and the results are often intangible.

Earth Hour invited people to turn off their lights from 8-9 pm on March 29, 2008. It was a high profile, public event promoting energy conservation and respect for the environment. If we could get schools to participate in Earth Hour, we could capitalize on the media‘s interest in the subject to draw public attention to environmental education and build confidence in the education system.

Business Need / Opportunity

One of the Ministry of Education‘s core priorities is to increase public confidence in publicly funded education: “The broader Ontario public appears to believe that we have an adequate or good education system. Building confidence in our schools will require maintaining high standards and making ongoing improvements in student achievement. We must build awareness of the good news in education, so that Ontarians are justifiably proud of the quality of our system and our internationally competitive standing. Our goal is to make publicly funded schools the schools of choice for all parents.‖ Continued on next page

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96% of American parents (and 95% of all US adults) think environmental education should be taught in schools. This tremendous public support means environmental education should increase confidence in the system. However, integrating the environment into all aspects of the curriculum and school operations will take many years to implement. The results aren`t always tangible (there is no ―grade‖ in environmental education) and the more visible physical elements involve several ministries – which adds even more complexity and introduces competing priorities.

But we couldn‘t wait a decade until the project was finished to promote its successes. Environmental education is complex and can be expensive, so we needed the ongoing support of both the education sector and the public. Earth Hour provided a highly visible opportunity to promote environmental education.

Fortunately, many boards and schools are already integrating the environment into their teaching and their practices. But each board is doing it differently, and while some are well ahead, others have barely started. Earth Hour was an opportunity to get schools and boards to act together and to promote how the system as a whole was tackling environmental education.

Research from the Ministry of the Environment indicates that the public is willing to act on the environment but that they need leadership and a sense of a shared burden. US data supports this and suggests that building a sense of community encourages people to take action – participating with, and being observed by, others is a powerful predictor of behaviour change. Earth Hour was an excellent opportunity to build that sense of community around environmental education – both within the education sector, and between schools and their local communities.

Entrants’ Roles in the Project

Lisa Gibbens came up with the idea during ongoing conversations with WWF, wrote the proposal and sought buy-in from labour relations, regional offices, public inquiries and Cabinet Office. In addition to writing the communications plan and stakeholder communications, she liaised with WWF and the ministry‘s new media unit, set objectives, collected the data and evaluated the results. Christina Mottola liaised with the provincial schools and wrote the media advisory and news release, while Rene Vidulin developed the event plan and worked with several schools and boards to determine the location and details for the media event. He also liaised with both Minister Wynne‘s (Education) and Minister Gerretsen‘s (Environment) offices and ensured everything ran smoothly at the actual event.

Intended Audiences

We were targeting the general public, in particular parents with children in Ontario’s publicly funded school system. Ontario has some 4.2 million households and about half have children living at home; 40% of families have a child in both elementary and secondary school (StatsCan 2001). Parents tend think about education as it impacts their child; they don‘t understand the government‘s role in education beyond funding and standards and regulations. What‘s more, we have no way of communicating directly with parents; we must rely on the media and/or school principals.

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With unusually warm, wet and windy weather in January 2008, the environment was top of mind for many Ontarians and there was obvious public interest in Earth Hour. At the start of February, it had received considerable media coverage, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Star were on board, the Premier had announced the province‘s support, and 16 schools and 3 boards had already registered. It was an opportunity to move parents beyond the physical manifestations and introduce the educational aspects of environmental education.

Schools and boards were a key conduit to reach parents. There are 72 boards and about 5,000 publicly funded schools in Ontario. But while Earth Hour may be simple for an individual, it is more complicated for a school. Community groups often use schools on weekends, and unionized custodial staff may be in the building after hours. Similarly, some elements (such as computers) may controlled at the board level. Although schools can act independently on projects like Earth Hour, they are more likely to participate if their board is supportive. But Directors of Education (board leaders) and principals (school leaders) are extremely busy individuals. To be successful, we needed to make communicating about Earth Hour both important and easy.

Communications Goals & Objectives

Goal: Encourage students, teachers and school/board staff to participate in Earth Hour Earth Hour presented an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about environmental education in Ontario‘s schools. If we could get enough schools and boards to participate, we could capitalize on the media‘s interest in the subject to draw attention to environmental education and build public confidence in Ontario‘s education system.

Objective: 10 boards and 250 publicly funded Ontario schools register for Earth Hour before March 28 Earth Hour was a new concept and we had very little time and no funds to promote it. So we used the 12 boards and 251 schools certified as EcoSchools in 2006-07 as a benchmark. EcoSchools are already leading the way on environmental education. If we could reach them, they would probably participate in Earth Hour.

WWF‘s Earth Hour registration process included an online registration form for organizations. By partnering with WWF, we were able to isolate schools and boards from other organizations and track our success.

Goal: Raise awareness with the general public that schools are taking action on the environment Public confidence is a diffuse concept that is difficult to measure, and the drivers of public confidence are many and varied. The ministry does not have a specific metric for public confidence, so our best substitute is to promote the positive changes in the school system and assess any media and audience response (e.g. coverage, tone, feedback, participation).

By participating in Earth Hour, schools could show parents that they were responsive to current issues. This responsiveness, paired with support for environmental education, would increase the confidence of individual parents in their child‘s school. Similarly, building awareness that schools and boards across Ontario were participating in Earth Hour would increase public confidence on a wider scale. Since the City of Toronto and the Toronto Star were sponsors of Earth Hour, we focussed our efforts on media in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

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Apart from the occasional FP Infomart search, the ministry doesn‘t track media response quantitatively, focusing instead on the overall tone. And since both environmental education and Earth Hour were new initiatives, we had nothing to use as a benchmark. We knew there would be media coverage of Earth Hour, so we focused on whether the media picked up our message that schools were participating.

Solution Overview The first step was to get school board support. If boards were supportive and promoted Earth Hour, schools would be more likely to register and participate. Ministry focus group research revealed that parents trust teachers and principals more than the government, so schools would also be effective at engaging their local communities.

Strategy: Raise awareness of environmental activities in schools by inviting schools to participate in Earth Hour Tactics:  Ask Directors of Education to encourage their staff, schools and school communities to participate in Earth Hour  Facilitate school environmental activities by providing resources and tips  Facilitate community participation by providing links to promotional materials

As there was no budget and very little time, we used a divide and conquer approach to gain media attention.  WWF had Earth Hour content, but little contact with schools or boards – so they provided tip sheets, logos and support  The ministry could attract major media outlets and could present a cohesive provincial perspective  Board and school stories would interest local media and they had existing relationships So we focused on a GTA media event with WWF and encouraged boards and schools to outreach locally.

Strategy: Raise awareness of environmental activities in schools by promoting schools‘ involvement with Earth Hour Tactics:  Encourage schools and boards to engage local media in their Earth Hour events  Promote Earth Hour with a media event at a GTA school  Issue a release on the number of schools participating in Earth Hour (if enough schools register)

Key  Minister Wynne joins students in Earth Hour activities messages:  More than 500 schools have signed up to participate in Earth Hour  Turn off your lights at school and at home on March 29  Practicing energy conservation in schools reinforces what students are learning via environmental education

We sent a joint email from the Minister and WWF‘s CEO to all Directors of Education, challenging them to register and get their schools and school communities involved. They were encouraged to recognize Earth Hour system-wide on Friday, March 28 (the day before Earth Hour). We also included a list of suggested school activities and links to environmental curriculum resources and downloadable Earth Hour logos.

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A banner ad on the Ministry of Education home page directed visitors to environmental curriculum resources. Many of the visitors to the ministry‘s website are from the education sector and this would encourage them to participate, even if they didn‘t hear through ―official‖ channels.

For the GTA media event, we partnered with a school with a history of organizing stellar events – Sunny View Public School, a special needs school in Minister Wynne‘s riding. We issued a media advisory the day before, noting that there will be no power – natural and emergency lighting only – to alert media to the limitations and to pique their interest.

To capitalize on the build up to Earth Hour, the event was scheduled for the morning of Thursday, March 27 (two days prior to Earth Hour). This allowed us to get coverage on Thursday‘s noon and evening news shows and the Friday morning newspapers. Friday was also when many schools were holding Earth Hour activities. So parents would read about Earth Hour in schools in the morning paper then hear about their child‘s experience that night around the dinner table. This co-ordinated approach would position the Ministry of Education as leading the way and show that ministry policies have positive impacts on individual students – which would build confidence in the education system.

The event was mainly a photo opportunity: in a darkened gymnasium, lit only by streams of sunlight through windows near the roof, a wildly costumed African drummer played a series of percussion instruments strapped to his body. Starting slowly, and while walking through a circle of special needs students, the drumming increased in speed, volume and intensity. The students were delighted and some started dancing in their wheelchairs. The WWF panda mascot was also a hit with the kids, and several students got to join Minister Wynne playing smaller versions of the African drum.

Simultaneously, we issued a release celebrating the more than 500 schools that had registered for Earth Hour. The release went to media province wide and to the ministry‘s OPEN list – an email list of subscribers interested in education matters. The names of the registered schools were also posted to the ministry website, so media could feature local content.

Implementation and Challenges

The ministry had no budget for Earth Hour. We had to use existing resources and communicate in an environmentally responsible way. We could get the ear of the Directors of Education and the interest of major media outlets, but we had to partner for everything else and do everything electronically.

But partnering takes time. And time was extremely tight, as the proposal was conceived in late January and we had to inform school boards before the March Break (March 10-14) to give them time to contact schools. And getting schools to turn out the lights over a weekend is not a simple task. We had to consult with many branches within the ministry, including:  labour relations – to see if Earth Hour would create extra work and if the unions would be concerned  health and safety – to determine what areas must stay lit, in particular for residential schools and after hours employees  community use of schools – to determine how to accommodate groups that use schools on evenings and weekends

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We also needed to co-ordinate with the rest of the provincial government:  informing ministry employees and turning off lights in government buildings, including the ministry‘s regional offices  aligning our plans with the Premier‘s Office and other ministries, like the Ministry of the Environment who wanted to participate in our media event.

We emailed the Directors of Education on March 6, and included an attachment that they could simply forward to their schools and post on their websites. Teachers were referred to Ready, Set, Green – an environmental curriculum teaching guide published by the Ministry of Education in 2007. We also directed teachers to WWF‘s Schools for a Living Planet – a website full of curriculum-linked resources for grades 1 to 8.

Measurement / Evaluation

The Earth Hour in schools campaign exceeded all expectations. Not only were registrations impressive, but newspapers, TV and radio, including ethnic media, picked up the story.

Objective: 10 boards and 250 publicly funded Ontario schools register for Earth Hour before March 28 26 boards promoted Earth Hour on their websites and in media releases, often incorporating our tips, and 689 copies of Ready, Set, Green were ordered or downloaded in March. Some schools didn‘t give WWF permission to release their information, so we don‘t know exactly how many registered, but by March 28 more than 500 schools and 29 boards had signed up; after the event they totaled over 925. That‘s 40% of all boards and 18% of all schools in the province – three to four times our objective.

What‘s more, the Toronto District School Board reported a 22% drop in electricity use on March 27, while Kawartha Pine Ridge saved 4,000 kWh and has committed to observing Earth Hour every year. At the ministry, we‘re hoping that 75% of boards and 40% of schools will participate in 2009.

Objective: Generate coverage in Toronto area media, noting Education’s participation Eight reporters signed in at the Sunny View event and we earned almost 2 million potential media impressions in the GTA. We also got some premium positioning – including a huge photo on the cover of Toronto‘s Metro newspaper, live coverage by CFTO-TV news, and pickup by the major Toronto Chinese papers. What‘s more, all of the English coverage featured at least one of our key messages. Local coverage was equally impressive, with 850,000 potential media impressions in local newspapers, television and radio, including the cover of the Sudbury Star and the Orillia Packet & Times.

Our strategy of partnering with the boards worked. The Minister‘s Office was pleased with the event and the coverage, and we didn‘t receive any negative feedback from schools, stakeholders or the public.

Finally, a follow-up survey by WWF showed that 85% of adults in the GTA participated in Earth Hour and 71% are now more likely to reduce power use at home by at least 30%. As Earth Hour was effective in changing public attitudes and potential behaviours toward the environment, Earth Hour in schools may likewise have affected parents‘ attitudes toward environmental education and their confidence in the education system.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry

Communication Management Social Responsibility including Economic, Societal and Environmental Development

Award of Excellence

Title: More Blue and Green for a Better Planet

Entrant: Samantha Booth

Organization: The Regional Municipality of Halton

Time Period: Jan. – Nov., 2008

Description: In 2008, Halton Region successfully implemented a social marketing strategy built on the cornerstone of communication excellence – the RACE formula and two-way communication principles. This strategy influenced wide-spread adoption of new waste diversion practices and achieved the goal of diverting 60 per cent of residential waste from landfill.

Overview: The Regional Municipality of Halton is located in the Province of Ontario, Canada and serves more than 430,000 residents in four Local Municipalities including the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Located just outside of Toronto, Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents and is widely recognized for its strategic management practices. Its workforce delivers cost-effective, quality programs and services related to waste management, water and wastewater, Regional roads and planning, emergency medical services, public health, children‘s and seniors‘ services, social/non-profit housing and business development. The final decision making body for Halton is Regional Council which is made up of 21 representatives, including several Regional Councillors from each Local Municipality, four Mayors and the Regional Chair.

Entrant‟s Role in Project: Samantha Booth, Communications Specialist and John Watson, Waste Diversion Education and Outreach Coordinator were the lead staff responsible for developing the More Blue and Green for a Better Planet Strategy. Primary responsibilities included research and development of the communications strategy including tactics and evaluation.

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All plans and decisions were made through consultation with Carleen Carroll, Director of Strategic Communications and Shirley McLean, Supervisor of Solid Waste Planning, who both provided strategic direction and valuable communications support throughout the planning and implementation of the project. Pier 8 Group must also be recognized for their creative concepts and the design of many of the communication materials including the popular ―frogs‖ that were produced to support the strategy.

Need/Opportunity: For the past several years Halton Region‘s waste diversion rate has remained at approximately 42 per cent despite the ongoing implementation of multiple waste diversion programs including: Blue Box recycling, yard waste collection, household hazardous waste collection and yearly special events such as tire and electronic waste collection. With a diversion rate of 42 per cent, the Region‘s landfill would be at maximum capacity by 2023.

With the reality of limited future landfill space and an increasing environmentally evolved public, in 2005 Halton Regional Council directed staff to implement a GreenCart (organic waste collection) pilot program to determine valuable baseline data in the areas of resident participation, waste diversion rates, program costs and resident feedback. The pilot program was implemented in 2005 with 5000 homes with a new waste collection schedule that offered: bi-weekly collection of Blue Box recyclables and weekly collection of both GreenCart organics and garbage.

Results of the GreenCart pilot program and research identified that by implementing bi-weekly garbage collection, and weekly Blue Box and GreenCart collection, residents would change their behaviour by recycling and composting more often. As word of the pilot program spread, residents not in the pilot often asked, ―when is it going to be our turn?‖ The pilot indicated that a Region-wide rollout of the GreenCart would significantly increase residential waste diversion and allow residents to do their part to help protect and preserve the environment.

In late 2007, Halton Region staff met with neighbouring municipalities to learn best practices from similar region-wide program launches including key learnings for communicating with residents and managing call centre volumes. A comprehensive literature review of over 40 articles from 22 academic databases was also conducted to determine best practices of a region-wide new waste collection roll- out.

On April 7, 2008, a new waste collection and processing contract commenced in Halton greatly changing the type and frequency of waste management services provided to residents. Major changes for residents included:  weekly collection of the Blue Box (previously bi-weekly)  weekly collection of the GreenCart (new organics program)  bi-weekly garbage collection (previously weekly)

Intended Audiences: Primary:  Halton Region Residents (Single family homes, multi-residential)  Regional and Local Municipal Councillors  Regional staff (CAO, Call Centre, staff)  Halton Region Citizen‘s Advisory Committees (i.e. Waste Municipal Advisory Committee)  Local Municipalities (Communications staff, Call Centres)  Local Media (including community media groups to reach diverse populations) Continued on next page

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Secondary:  Schools (principals, teachers, students, school board officials)  Environmental Groups  Community Groups (Youth, Service, Cultural, Special Interest)

Extensive public consultation was conducted with residents throughout the Region from March until April, 2008. Twelve open houses drew record number of attendees and provided staff with an opportunity to listen and connect with residents. Two way dialogue revealed:  residents were excited to share their stories of the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle and their know- how for reducing their environmental footprint.  residents were already environmentally inclined and part of the current ―green‖ movement and wanted to know ―how‖ to participate in the new programs rather than ―why‖.  residents would respond to messaging about contributing to the health of the planet –valuable information for incorporation into key messages.

Goal: To divert 60 per cent of residential waste away from Halton Region‘s landfill site, extending the life of the landfill by approximately eight years from 2023 to 2031.

Objectives: 1) To cost effectively increase resident awareness and understanding of: a. the changes to waste collection frequency and programs b. how to participate in the new programs c. the environmental benefits to the new programs by June 30, 2008 2) To introduce and promote resident understanding in the new GreenCart program with a 70 per cent participation rate by June 30, 2008 3) To increase participation in the Blue Box recycling program to 90 per cent by June 30, 2008 4) To increase resident acceptance and participation in bi-weekly garbage collection by June 30, 2008 5) To evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategy by July 31, 2008.

Solution Overview: The ―More Blue and Green for a Better Planet‖ strategy was rooted in social marketing designed to bring about behaviour change. While many social marketing strategies require an overwhelming effort to convince residents of the need to change their behaviour, this was not the case in Halton. In fact, our residents responded with many suggestions for increasing compliance in the new waste collection programs which were used to help them adopt a greener approach at home.

The strategy was developed in consultation with the following Halton Region Citizen Advisory Committees: Waste Management, Diversity and Elder Services. The committees provided valuable feedback on their thoughts towards the strategy direction including the tone, content and look of all tactics especially with regards to older adults and diverse populations. Access Halton, the Region‘s Call Centre was also consulted to review key messages required to respond to resident inquiries and to determine what was required to manage call and email volumes.

Key Messages focused on ―how‖ residents could participate in the new programs including simple steps for participation and ease of use. Messages also centred on the benefits of the programs such as protecting the environment and preserving landfill life. Messages were structured to ensure residents realized the benefits would be greater than the barriers - a key aspect to help change behaviour. (Do your part – use your GreenCart, Rethink your waste, Protect the environment and preserve the landfill - use your Blue Box and GreenCart weekly, Garbage collection every other week, 45% of the average garbage bag can be composted) Continued on next page

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Research identified that a friendly program identifier would have universal appeal. Halton Region created a friendly green frog which was included on all collateral material. The frog is said to be one of the first creatures to respond to environmental change, therefore, the presence of the frog on all material reinforced the ―More Blue and Green‖ message.

Halton Region built momentum by increasing awareness with residents through a variety of traditional communication tactics and two-way communication opportunities that allowed staff to gain valuable insight into residents‘ perceptions, feelings and common questions.

Obj. Tactic Audience* Timing 1, 2 Presentations C, S, G, AC, I February - Ongoing 1,2,3, Newsletter: WasteLess News – Spring, Summer, Fall R, C, CA March , July , 4 Sept 1,2 Videos - Online (1 GreenCart, 1 All changes and benefits) R, C, I, AC, G, March 3 S 1,2,4 Media Releases M, R March 5, 18, April 1, 9, July 17, Sept 8, Oct 23 1,2 Fact sheets (5) including French and Braille versions R,C, AC, G, S, I March 5 1,2,4 Waste Management Guide & Collection Calendar R March 18 including online ―Search by Address‖ collection schedule 1,2 Print Ads (Transit, Movie theatres, Go Stations, TV R, G March 14- May Listings) 2 1,2 Print Ads (Newspapers) R, G February - ongoing 1,2 Photo-op – launch of GreenCart in each Municipality M, R March 24 1,2 Mobile Signs (prominent locations in Region) R March - August 1,2 GreenCart Information Package – delivered to homes R March 24-April contained sticker and magnets of acceptable items 4 1,2,4 Open Houses with display boards (12 at community R, C, G, M, AC March 25 – centres) April 17 1, 2, Stickers – for collection crews when improper resident set R, I April - August 4 out 1,2,3, Door-to-Canvassers (answer FAQ‘s, provide samples) R May 1 – July 31 4 1,2 Community Events with Displays (Fall fairs) R, G August- November 1,2 Interactive Displays at grocery stores R July- September 1,2 Children‘s Contests (two) R, S September- October 1 Discussion Group - Online I, G September 1 Collection vehicle decals and magnets R April - ongoing 1,2,3, Waste Reduction Week Celebration Event - thank you to R, C, S, G, M, I, October 23 4 residents and waste diversion goal recognition AC

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To further engage the public in a light hearted way, two children‘s contests were launched to help name the Blue Box and GreenCart frog mascots and also design the cover of the 2009 Waste Management Guide and Collections Calendar. Over 250 entries were received for both contests and the successful entries were showcased at a Waste Reduction Week Celebration in October.

Implementation and Challenges: With the roll-out of a Region-wide program the effective use of creative advertising and the development of eye catching, easily-understood print and online materials was key. Every effort was made to ensure all materials were produced on FSC certified paper with recycled content and to source the most cost efficient suppliers and printers. The communications strategy was planned with a budget of $800,000 and was implemented at a cost of $745,667

The launch of the new programs received an overwhelming response in support by residents. GreenCart participation in the first month of the new program was 80 per cent. Participation rates increased in the regular bulk and yard waste collection programs and the volume of materials being put to the curb for the Blue Box program increased by 60 per cent. The ―More Blue and Green‖ campaign also benefited from positive resident testimonials and strong local media coverage, and the public‘s desire to comply with social norms promoted increased participation among neighbours.

As with any new program, a few challenges arose to which Halton Region responded immediately. High participation rates led to record volumes of materials placed curbside for collection. At the same time, Halton‘s new contractor had new crew and new collection routes to learn which led to significant collection delays. The Region had to pull back, reflect and regroup communication efforts to ensure that our reputation for delivering quality customer service was managed successfully. Communication efforts focussed on thanking residents for their participation, asking for patience and providing reassurance – overall it was a positive news story for the environment as the Region was seeing ―more blue and green‖ than at any time in the history of Regional Waste Management Services. Staff continually updated stakeholders including: residents, media, internal staff and Local and Regional Councillors with collection information and advised them of the additional efforts being made both on the road with collections and with the call centre to handle high call and email volumes.

Communication was on-going, accurate, and transparent, and reflected support from all levels of the organization. Halton Region worked diligently to understand where resident frustrations were coming from and were effectively able to regain trust, maintain momentum and resident participation in the new programs. Cross-departmental collaboration and team work proved to be invaluable throughout the early growing pains of the project. Staff from Public Works and Engineering Services, Legislative and Planning Services, Strategic Communications, Chair and CAO‘s offices all worked together and went above and beyond to resolve the issues within one week in order to achieve a common goal.

Measurement/Evaluation of Outcomes:  Halton Region met the organizational goal of diverting 60 per cent of waste away from the landfill, amounting to 13 fewer garbage loads per day. (Obj. 1, 2, 3, 4)  The strategy was implemented at a cost of $745,667, under budget by $54,333. (Obj. 1)  A post launch (July 2008) Ipsos Reid communications survey of 600 residents identified that over 90 per cent of respondents are now using their GreenCart and Blue Box, over 85 per cent personally felt it was important to use both the Blue Box and GreenCart and 57 per cent were aware of the overall goal to divert 60 per cent of waste from the landfill. (Obj. 1, 2, 3,5)  The Ipsos Reid survey also indicated that 6/10 respondents could recall Halton‘s key messages. (Obj. 1,5) Continued on next page

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 A one month participation audit in July of 600 homes across the Region indicated that Blue Box participation remained at 90 per cent and GreenCart participation was approximately 79 per cent in urban areas and 60 per cent in rural areas. (Obj. 2, 3, 4)  Twelve open houses throughout March and April were attended by 1997 residents. (Obj. 1)  Eight media releases from March to October generated 38 articles as well as numerous editorials and letters to the editor in local newspapers. (Obj. 1)  Halton Region received many positive resident testimonials during pre and post launch. (Obj.1)

Conclusion This social marketing campaign was successful and was built on listening to an environmentally evolved public who were more than ready to change their behaviour. The strategy has now laid the foundation for Halton Region to communicate change with future programs and has helped to forge a strong partnership with residents in moving forward for a ―greener‖ Halton.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Special Events up to $50K

Award of Excellence

Title of Entry: Toronto Hydro Take A Load Off Toronto Entrant‘s Name: Catherine Parry Organization: Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. Time Period: April – May 2008

BUSINESS NEED/ OPPORTUNITY

Toronto Hydro is a summer peaking utility. As a result of increased electricity use during heat waves, Toronto‘s power grid can be stretched thin. During these peak use periods, demand can exceed the provincial capacity. When that happens, Ontario is sometimes forced to import expensive power that may be generated from coal-fired generating stations. This type of generation produces harmful emissions that contribute to poor air quality and climate change. The province has called for aggressive conservation, demand management and energy efficiency in order to bridge the demand-supply gap and to help address climate change issues.

In 2005, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited committed to cutting the City‘s peak electricity demand by five per cent or 250 megawatts (MW)* by the year 2008. To this end, the company offers a portfolio of conservation and demand management programs targeted to residents and businesses. Through previous programs such as compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) incentive events and Summer Challenge electricity bill rebates, the company has embraced the Ministry of Energy‘s Directive to invest in Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) projects that result in measurable electricity demand and base load reduction.

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For the 2008 CDM program, Toronto Hydro conducted a pre-campaign, on-line survey to develop a plan that would educate its customers, influence behaviour change and provide simple, everyday steps they could take to help reduce their electricity use during the summertime peak. The study indicated that only 35 per cent of Toronto Hydro customers were using clotheslines during the summer months to line dry a portion of their laundry, leaving about 400,000 residential available to take advantage of the benefits of clotheslines. Of that number, 97 per cent of respondents said they would consider using a clothesline if they knew it would help them conserve electricity or save money. Similar numbers of uptake and interest were seen for using cold-water laundry detergent and specialty CFL light bulbs. These results, combined with growing awareness of the benefits of using a clothesline, set the stage for a fun and dynamic program.

Coincidentally, support for the use of clotheslines was mounting in Ontario. They had been banned in many parts of the province, (but not Toronto!), as many communities viewed hanging laundry as ‗unsightly‘. However, not all Ontarians were in agreement. Mounting opposition from environmentalists convinced the Premier‘s Office and the Ontario Ministry of Energy to re-examine these by-laws and lift the ban. In January 2008, a formal 60- day review to lift the ban was announced by the Ontario Premier‘s office. This created a serendipitous opportunity for dialogue around the ―comeback kid‖ – the lowly clothesline.

* Measure of electricity; City of Toronto has a peak of 5,000 Megawatts

Entrant‘s Role in the Project

Catherine Parry is the Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs for Toronto Hydro- Electric System Limited. From communication strategy development, to detailed tactical planning and creative development, Catherine oversaw all aspects of the Take A Load Off Toronto program.

INTENDED AUDIENCES

Primary Audiences: • News, City and Environment media – Conservation during summer months is a high-priority story for media who report on air quality index hourly. They also act as a conduit for environmental information to all audiences, including both business and residential customers who both work and live in the city. • Lifestyle, Home and Fashion media – Building on the increasing trend and awareness for green behaviours and products by positioning the clothesline as the must-have environmentally friendly hot ticket item to save clothes and electricity for the spring. • Toronto Hydro residential customers – 580,000 accounts in total.

A Toronto Hydro Benchmark Survey on Perceptions of Brand and Corporate Performance determined: • Customers are theoretically committed to conservation but are less willing to invest time/money • Educating customers about time commitment required and potential return on investment (what‘s in it for me) will likely increase interest • 94 per cent of customers felt ‗advising customers on ways to conserve energy‘ was a key role for Toronto Hydro. • 87 per cent felt Toronto Hydro is, or should be, developing and marketing technologies and programs that help customers manage their energy consumption more efficiently • Both factors above play a key role in building trust, customer satisfaction and brand • Campaigns will need to be innovative and highly visible to cut through the clutter, create awareness and drive participation.

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• Programs need to be simple, and easy to understand and participate in, and provide an incentive in order to be successful

Secondary Audiences: • Stakeholders – The municipal and provincial government, and related agencies, (Ministry of Energy, and Premier‘s and Mayor‘s Office) who actively support and promote energy conservation; environmental groups. • Key Influencers – Non-government business and environmental agencies are paramount in supporting and promoting Toronto Hydro‘s conservation programs to their membership.

GOALS / OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this program was to increase Toronto Hydro customers‘ awareness of the energy efficient products available to them and to promote the adoption of behaviours that enable them to reduce electricity use. This was supported by a variety of communications tactics including a two- pronged media relations campaign. The success of TALOT was measured by the following objectives:

Objective 1: Create awareness for the conservation program and engage Torontonians to visit a partnering retailer to help take a load off Toronto by receiving a free clothesline. Create 11,686,600 Toronto Homeowner Impressions and Reach/Frequency of 90 per cent Reach / 8.5 Frequency.

Objective 2: Generate sustained, positive local media coverage for TALOT leading up to and throughout the duration of the program with a goal of 10 million impressions and a score of 75 per cent using the Media Relations Rating Points System (MRP).

Objective 3: Host a creative media event in Toronto Hydro‘s lobby to kick off TALOT to secure media coverage and to raise the profile of Toronto Hydro as a leader in conservation.

Objective 4: Drive participation and reduce electricity usage as a result as follows: a summer peak demand savings of 1.6 MW, annual kilowatt-hour (kWh) savings of 20 million, and net Total Resource Cost (TRC)* of $ 3.9 million.

* TRC is the net difference between the cost of running the program and the cost of generating, transmitting and delivering electricity. MW is a measure of electricity.

SOLUTION OVERVIEW Toronto Hydro customers are looking for simple, inexpensive and effective conservation tools. Previous Toronto Hydro programs have accelerated market transformation towards new energy-efficient products such as CFL and LED technology; both products have seen significant market uptake, with about half of Torontonians using CFLs. The challenge was to create a new 2008 campaign that harnessed our customers‘ interests and needs by creating a fresh and creative call to action.

Since no utility in Canada had promoted the clothesline in the past and a ban did not exist on clotheslines in the City of Toronto, Toronto Hydro decided to put conservation on the line by offering 75,000 clotheslines to Toronto Hydro customers to wean them off of their dryers. The program would see TALOT in-store reps distribute free clotheslines to the first 500 customers at 144 events over three weekends, to drive customers to the store, get them engaged and begin to transform their purchasing habits towards energy efficient products. In addition, rebates on cold-water wash and specialty CFLs were provided. Continued on next page

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This was the first campaign of its kind in North America, to actively promote ‗good old‘ conservation habits that our grandparents used; the clothesline is a unique electricity management tool that provides substantial summer peak demand savings.

Strategy: With the heightened awareness and political activity around the clothesline, the timing around promoting a program to hand out 75,000 clotheslines from a media relations perspective appeared ideal; however, a few key factors had to be taken into consideration. The first weekend for TALOT was set to start in stores on Saturday, April 26, 2008. In the event the Province completed its formal review and lifted the ban before Toronto Hydro was ready to launch the program, from a news perspective, there was a potential risk of media fatigue around the topic.

Selecting a date for a creative launch also proved sensitive considering the week leading up to the program start was Earth Week. With so many environmental events competing for the news media‘s attention during that week, the team had to research other goings-on during that concentrated time in order to maximize attendance at the event.

Taking all this into account, the media relations team decided to build a two-pronged media relations strategy: the first phase would begin outreach three weeks prior and continue leading up to the program by targeting non-traditional media: home, lifestyle and fashion reporters. The second phase would revolve specifically around a well-timed kick-off event and target news, city, assignment and environment reporters. This way, if the Premier decided to lift the ban in advance and it proved difficult to entice media to another clothesline event, media coverage for the program would be secured through the first wave of proactive media relations.

Tactics: Launch Event • As it became apparent the ban was to be lifted, Toronto Hydro‘s media relations team recognized the opportunity to springboard off of this announcement to launch the clothesline giveaway. The Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, and then Ontario Minster of Energy Gerry Phillips were invited and accepted the invitation to attend the launch where they would announce the lift of the ban - a huge coup for Toronto Hydro. The event venue, Toronto Hydro‘s lobby, was transformed into Toronto‘s largest electricity-efficient laundry room and the facade of the building was wrapped with a large clothesline. The venue was separated into two: one side representing old inefficient technologies and the other side showcasing new, energy-efficient washing machines, cold water detergent and bins of clotheslines. • The event was catered by Vert Catering; organic baked goods were served and no plastic was used. • A media advisory was issued over the wire two days in advance of the event as well as the day before the event. Proactive calls were made to secure media attendance. • The event was well attended by news, city and environment media and stakeholders including Mayor of Aurora Her Worship Phyllis Morris who showed support for TALOT as a result of her Right To Dry campaign, Peter Love, Ontario‘s Chief Conservation Officer and other notable environmental and industry champions. • At the TALOT program launch, the Premier made provincial history in Toronto Hydro‘s lobby by lifting the ban on clotheslines. Following this, Toronto Hydro announced it would celebrate by handing out 75,000 clotheslines to Toronto residents at Costco, Wal-Mart, The Home Depot and Zellers. • Following the event, an event release and photo image was placed on the wire for any media who were not able to attend.

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Media Relations: • A creative mailer (a media kit with a tailored media release was placed in a laundry bag with colourful board shorts and the clothesline) positioning clotheslines as the season‘s must-have eco-chic, green accessory was distributed to Toronto‘s lifestyle, home and fashion media followed by proactive media relations outreach. Media became instantly enamoured with the clothesline. From this ‗soft‘ launch, print, broadcast and online coverage was secured featuring Toronto Hydro‘s conservation overnight star: the clothesline. • Toronto‘s highest circulated newspaper, Toronto Star and Canada‘s National newspaper, National Post featured stories with information about the three week program and Toronto Hydro‘s website. Cityline, Toronto‘s highly watched home and fashion show for women, ran a two-minute segment directly including the program‘s key messages and conducted a clothesline giveaway with a product shot and retail partner mentions. A Toronto Hydro spokesperson also appeared on Rogers Daytime in a seven minute segment to promote the campaign.

Program Key Messages: • Toronto Hydro is proud to ―let it all hang out‖ on Friday, April 18 in celebration of the use of clotheslines in our city; • Step into any Costco, Home Depot, WalMart or Zellers to receive a free retractable clothesline while supplies last; • Take A Load Off Toronto! By using a clothesline to dry 25 per cent of drying needs you can reduce your household electricity consumption by 229 kWh per year. That‘s a savings of $30 for the year; • If 75,000 people used a clothesline 25 per cent of the time, we could collectively remove close to 2,000 homes from the City‘s power grid; • Did you know a whopping 85-90 per cent of the energy used by a washing machine just goes to heating the water? For additional savings, wash clothes in cold water.

Budget: The public relations budget for TALOT totaled $10,000. This covered both the soft and hard launch of the campaign. Because the budget was not financially robust, both the strategy and tactics had to be developed and executed in-house. For the soft launch, Zellers donated a beauty shot of the clothesline. Using the existing marketing creative, a media kit was developed on Forest Stewardship Council paper and put into an economical laundry bag with board shorts and the clothesline and distributed to media. All media relations activities were also conducted by Toronto Hydro's in-house team.

The launch event was the biggest cost burden on the budget. Fortunately, with its high ceilings and open space, the lobby at 14 Carlton Street was conducive to setting up Toronto's largest laundry room. After securing a free venue, the only other costs to consider were staging, catering, photography and audio visual equipment for the launch. With such a sparse budget, the team was able to develop and execute a high profile, far reaching campaign that resonated with both media and Torontonians alike.

IMPLEMENTATION & CHALLENGES The biggest threat to implementing a successful kick-off event was timing. As mentioned earlier, the Premier‘s looming decision to lift the ban threatened the event because announcing Toronto Hydro‘s clothesline giveaway after the fact would be old news.

When media and environmentalists realized that April 19 was National Let It All Hang Out Day, an official day to promote the use of clotheslines over dryers, they began to put pressure on the Premier to lift the ban in time for the event day. Toronto Hydro‘s media relations team approached the Minister of Energy, who in turn approached Premier McGuinty‘s Office, about staging a joint event to make the formal announcement that clotheslines were ‗in‘ and that Toronto Hydro would be celebrating by handing out 75,000 free clotheslines to Toronto residents. Continued on next page

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Both the Premier and Minister accepted but requested the launch event take place on Friday, April 18 to coincide with National Let it All Hang Out Day. This timing was not ideal, as the program was not in stores until Saturday, April 26. In order to avoid the confusion of having customers rushing to participating retailers on Saturday, April 19, all messaging included the proper date but also encouraged customers to go online to find the correct date and location.

Another challenge with working with the Premier and Minister was the concern about releasing information about their participation at the event too early and risking a leak. The government insisted that only one media advisory announcing Minster Phillip‘s involvement be released the day before the event. When conducting media relations follow-up, the team had to play coy about a potential announcement and even turned down an interview on CBC‘s Here and Now to avoid scooping our own news release. Finally, at 4:30 p.m. the day before the event, Premier McGuinty‘s Office published his agenda for Friday, April 18, and the circus began!

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION

Objective 1: Create awareness for the conservation program and encourage Torontonians to visit a partnering retailer to help Take A Load Off Toronto by receiving a free clothesline. Measurable Outcome: Throughout the event, the team was able to communicate key messages to more than 75,000 consumers raising direct awareness for Toronto Hydro‘s programs. In addition, the campaign generated over 52.5 million impressions, through marketing, advertising and public relations tactics. After the program wrapped, 48 per cent of Toronto Hydro customers surveyed said they were aware of the program.

Objective 2: Generate sustained, positive local media coverage for TALOT leading up to and throughout the duration of the program with a goal of 10 million impressions and a Media Relations Point (MRP) score of 75 per cent. Measurable Outcome: The event generated 110 national, provincial and local broadcast, print and online stories overall. Although social media outlets were not specifically targeted, the campaign was a hot topic for bloggers with 14 web stories featured, lending third-party credibility to the program and influencing online communities. Toronto Hydro uses MRP Data to evaluate overall campaign successes. Based on pre-set criteria, the event scored an overall total of 89 per cent and had a reach of 33.8 million media impressions and made news in Toronto, Sudbury, London and St. Johns; London's talk radio station dedicated a full hour to TALOT and listeners phoned in to discuss whether or not London Hydro should follow our lead and hand out free clotheslines to its customers The event with a photo was also featured on the Premier‘s home web page for several days!

Objective 3: Host a creative media event in Toronto Hydro‘s lobby to kick off TALOT to secure media coverage and to raise the profile of Toronto Hydro as a leader in conservation. Measurable Outcome: The soft launch with lifestyle, home and fashion media was a success securing 65 pieces of branded coverage leading up to the news event. Although the campaign was Toronto based, a feature on Cityline secured coverage in every market across the country, far surpassing our media coverage targets.

Objective 4: Drive participation and reduce electricity usage as follows: a summer peak demand savings of 1.6 MW, annual kilowatt-hour (kWh) savings of 20 million, and net Total Resource Cost (TRC)* of $3.9 million.

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Measureable Outcome: The in-store events generated: 75,006 clotheslines given away, over 17,000 CFL bulbs sold, over 3,000 packages of cold-water laundry detergent sold resulting in annual electricity savings of 1.6 MW (100 per cent of target) and net TRC of $ 3,691,882.79 (95 per cent of target).

Other Evidence of Success: On April 18, 2008, Toronto Hydro staged a news event that made headlines across the county as Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the lifting of the ban on outdoor clotheslines that had been in effect throughout most of Ontario. Toronto Hydro‘s marketing and communications staff was able to tap into the collective conscience of the province and leverage a larger political issue -- climate change, global warming and freedom of expression -- to help launch the Take A Load Off Toronto program. We also developed an employee engagement plan to communicate the program internally. We encouraged employees to‘ take a load off their closets‘ by donating gently worn clothing for United Way‘s women and children‘s shelters. On the day of the event, the lobby was filled with basket upon basket of clothing to donate. Excited employees crowded the lobby and United Way representatives were in attendance to collect the donation.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Management Special Events $51K up to $100K

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: “Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety” Entrant‘s Name: elevator communications inc. Melanie Rego, Founder (concept development; senior client liaison; senior media relations; and even execution); Lori Cooper, Partner (concept development; senior client liaison; senior media relations and event execution); Jennifer Thompson, Manager, PR and Special Events (special event planning and execution; day-to-day management; supplier management; media relations); Megan McCann, Jr. Consultant (special event planning and execution; media relations). Organization: Mark‟s Work Warehouse Time Period: May – December 2008

Brief Description: ―Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety‖ was a special media event targeting consumer and trade media representing multiple industries that support the sale and marketing objectives outlined for the national launch of Tarantula Anti-Slip. This innovative, one-of-a-kind, anti- slip footwear line to combat workplace injuries is available exclusively at Mark‘s Work Wearhouse, which is working alongside the Canadian Standards Association to develop standards specific to anti-slip safety footwear in this country.

1. Business Need/Opportunity As the public relations agency of record for Mark‘s Work Wearhouse in English Canada, elevator communications was thrilled to work with this client on a new product launch. As one of the four pillars of the Mark‘s Work Wearhouse business, Industrial wear plays a major role in the brand and breeds a certain level of loyalty among its customer base who work in a variety of industries across the country. After several years of research and development with the University of Calgary, Mark‘s Work Warehouse tasked elevator communications with the challenge of launching Tarantula Anti-Slip to media in 2008 – an innovative, one-of-a-kind line of anti-slip shoes and boots for men and women aimed at reducing workplace injuries caused by slipping in a variety of sectors. The budget for this campaign was $70,000. Continued on next page

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Research into anti-slip footwear standards in Canada revealed that there weren‘t any and, in the absence of existing standards for anti-slip footwear across all targeted industries (Restaurant Service and Hospitality, Construction, Manufacturing), Mark‘s Work Wearhouse identified an opportunity to establish itself as a leader in the field by working with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to determine industry standards for years ahead.

Research into the incidences of accidents of deaths due to slipping in Canada was critical to the success of the special event ―Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety‖. What we determined through our efforts with the Association of Workers‘ Compensations Board of Canada (AWCBC) was important in terms of the number of incidences across various key work environments, reinforcing our understanding that the product we were launching was fulfilling an important need in various industries, as injuries and fatalities due to slips, trips and falls at work were significant. With this research, we were able to identify Restaurant Service & Hospitality, Construction and Manufacturing, and target those industries from a media perspective (event attendance), and in order to secure reputable even panellists.

October 2008 was identified by the client as the key selling month for the new Tarantula Anti-Slip line- up as the priority product to be sold for that timeframe.

2. Entrant‟s Role In the Project Melanie Rego, Founder (concept development, senior client liaison; senior media relations; and event execution); Lori Cooper, Partner (concept development; senior client liaison; senior media relations; and even execution); Jennifer Thompson, Manager, PR and Special Events (special event planning and execution; day-to-day management; supplier management, media relations); Megan McCann, Jr. Consultant (special event planning and execution; media relations).

3. Intended Audience(s) The primary audience for the launch of Tarantula Anti-Slip was trade and consumer media in all targeted industries in which Tarantula Anti-Slip would offer a slip free solution – Restaurant Service and Hospitality, Construction, Manufacturing – and their readers who work in or care about someone who works in one of these industries that could benefit from safer footwear while at work. 4. Goals/Objectivise Our goal was to support the launch of Tarantula/Anti-Slip through a special even with a targeted media outreach to secure coverage pre-October 2008 (to be monitored through Cision and measured in MP2P), piquing interest as well as driving traffic and sales in-store for the month of October 2008. Understanding that workers experience different conditions and potential hazards in the environments in which they work, it was imperative that we clearly understand the risks and convey the touch points of each style and their relevance to a particular industry in order to convey the solutions that Mark‘s Work Warehouse is bringing to the jobsite with Tarantula Anti-Slip.

It was equally important for the media to hear about the seriousness of workplace safety, the potential pitfalls of slips, trips and falls and valuable feedback on the footwear line from industry associations and spokespeople within three industries at hand, to add an additional layer of unbiased attention and credibility, as well as to convey that Mark‘s Work Wearhouse was indeed serving a purpose and filling a glaring and serious void in the industrial footwear marketplace and is committed to keeping Canadians safer at work.

Lastly and understanding that seeing is believing, it was important to have as many journalists as possible see the footwear in action and experience the footwear innovation first-hand in order to assess the line in its native environment and put the product to the test. Continued on next page

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5. Solution Overview ―Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety‖ as developed to address the communications goals identified by elevator communications and to complement the larger sales and marketing goals as outlined by the client. With the retail focus in October 2008, it was determined that an early September media event would serve the retail launch best, and time well with Labour Day. This media event was Phase Two of a two-phased strategy, with press comprehensive press materials being mailed to consumer and trade media across the country in late-July.

With the goals and objectives in mind, elevator communications worked with Great Cooks on Eight (selected venue), to host an interactive media event that would provide the maximum opportunity for consumer and trade media to see Tarantula Anti-Slip in action; to learn about the product‘s benefits and how they relate to safety in their particular industry in a creative and engaging yet serious way, to hear from the product innovators as well as bi-partisan association and industry representatives on the importance of safety in a variety of workplaces in an interactive fashion.

Branded sandwich boards designed to look like hazard/danger signs provided creative directions to the elevator and the eight floor, with an oversized sandwich board announcing the even at the venue entrance. The Tarantula Anti-Slip logo reinforced the brand in several other way throughout the venue, including an oversized vinyl floor cling, table top vinyl clings, podium vinyl cling, staff aprons and chef uniforms.

Two teams of chefs, clad in the new Tarantula Anti-Slip footwear and branded Mark‘s Work Wearhouse uniforms, completed for the right to be called ―Anti-Slip Chef‖ for the day. In this kitchen studio media guests across all relevant industries observed the chefs as they turned about, dashed and ran on slick kitchen floors, all the while not slipping an inch in their Tarantula Anti-Slip foot wear. In keeping with the original Food Network program, one seasonal ingredient was revealed (apples) and several dishes were prepared by each team in a 45 minute period of time.

Keeping the focus on footwear, a video camera was stationed behind the counters/cooking surface in the kitchen, with a live feed to a large screen facing the media guests and speakers panel, providing ongoing live coverage of the fancy footwork going on behind the scenes to allow the media to see the footwear in action and revealing that with each step, there wasn‘t a slip to be had, that to Tarantula Anti-Slip footwear.

In addition to two Mark‘s Work Warehouse category leaders and spokespeople in attendance and frequently at the podium throughout the one and a half hour media event, a panel of the following four industry/safety spokespeople were in attendance and spoke individually about the importance of safety in their particular workplace/industry and anti-slip technology:  Suzanne Kiraly, Canadian Standards Association  Erin Carter, Barantas Inc.  Chef Christopher Brown, Perigee Restaurant  Kimberley Litchfield, Ontario Service Safety Alliance

Media guests were greeted by elevator communications at a branded sign-in desk and were invited inside the venue where they enjoyed Ontario wine and hors d‘oeuvres and saw each of the Tarantula Anti-Slip shoes/boots on display with key messages. Mark‘s Work Warehouse representatives were introduced to members of the media and all were encouraged to mingle, with the media event formally beginning 20 minutes later. Continued on next page

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After a brief thank you for attending, one of the two Mark‘s Work Warehouse innovators was introduced and welcomed to the podium, where he spoke about the line and why it was important to the retailer. From there, the four panellists were invited to the podium throughout the workshop and, from time to time, we checked in with the Chefs to see how the footwear was standing up and to elicit feedback on the line.

Media guests left with hard-copy press materials including tailored press releases per industry as well as statistics on injuries and fatalities caused by slip-related accidents (commissioned by elevator communications on behalf of Mark‘s Work Wearhouse), a branded chef apron and an invitation to select a pair of Tarantula Anti-Slip shoes/boots to test for themselves (promptly sent after the event).

Client feedback was extremely positive, having had an opportunity to liaise with the media guests themselves and share important information on a serious issue in an engaging way. To that end, the client requested permission to reproduce key elements of event signage, props, decor as well as statistics from the Association of Worker‘s Compensations Boards of Canada (AWCBC) for in-store purposes and sales support.

Sales and Marketing results from the client revealed an increase of 15% in the industrial men‘s footwear category and a 26% increase in the industrial women‘s footwear category over the first half of the year.

6. Implementation and Challenges Through effective and detailed research of proposed event costs at the strategy level, the budget was respected and the event came in on budget. Electronic invitations were issued to realize a savings and not produce unnecessary paper waste. Aprons and chef uniforms were sourced internally from the client. Decor and floral designs were produced in-house using seasonal and colour-correct sunflowers, apples and strategically placed spiders. Through working closely with an eager new A/V supplier, we were able to achieve all that we wanted from them at a preferred rate – as a result, we look forward to working with them once again.

A major challenge that we faced early on in the year was securing event attendance of what was then a pure Iron Chef event. All indications were that the event was seen as a fun Restaurant Service and Hospitality-focused media event, and we ran the risk of alienating consumer and trade media from other relevant sectors. Understanding that media deadlines made it necessary to issue press materials in late July, we held a re-strategy session resulting in the successful two-phased approach, with media materials issued in late July and a broader, re-thought media event focusing on the serious nature of workplace safety and including association and industry spokespeople in early September to time with Labour Day. Flexibility was key, as was the ability to recognize that the initial strategy wasn‘t going to allow us to achieve our goals on behalf of the client, enabling us to take a step back and becomes broader yet more focused in a more inclusive and, ultimately, more successful approach.

As with any product launch, securing product and marketing information for those products was challenging. By maintaining open lines of communication and being as flexible as possible without running the risk of jeopardizing media opportunities, we were able to issue effective press materials and showcase one pair of each of the new products as the media event (28 styles in total across industries).

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7. Media/Evaluation The success of our communications efforts were monitored through Cision and measurement/evaluation was conducted using the Media Relations Points System (MR2 P). The media response was impressive. We exceeded our coverage targets in all three verticals. To date, our MP2 P reach for this campaign is 2,495,596 with a cost per contact of $0.02805. We had media hits, with more expected to appear in early 2009. We recognize that the reach for trade publications is more targeted than the mainstream media, meaning that readers are far more likely to be in our target audience and therefore more likely to purchase footwear.

The social nature of the media event led to an enhanced ongoing relationship between our client and CSA – this was very important to Mark‘s Work Wearhouse and, with footwear and now identified as a pillar category for Mark‘s Work Wearhouse, Tarantula Anti-Slip will expand in terms of the product offering in 2009 and will be a focus once again for the autumn months.

Elevator communications ―Back to Work: An Interactive Workshop on Workplace Safety‖ special event met its goal of supporting the launch of Tarantula Anti-Slip through a special event with a targeted media outreach to secure coverage pre-October 2008. The event allowed us to strategically place anti-slip footwear on the feet of key influencers and even several trades people referred to us by media, and provided us with valuable, ―tired and tested‖ feedback to share with Mark‘s. Our results were achieved within our time and budget constraints by utilizing a detailed project work back, outlining all tasks and tactics to be completed, as well as budget tracking and reconciliation spreadsheet.

Our efforts resulted in targeted media coverage that reinforced Tarantula Anti-Slip key messages. By conveying the information to target audiences through hosting a special event, Mark‘s ingrained itself in the minds of key editors and their audiences, driving people to Mark‘s during an important promotional period to purchase Tarantula Anti-Slip and position the retailer as a credible leader in anti- slip technology and footwear.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Audiovisual

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Mississauga: Location of Choice for the Life Sciences Industry Entrant(s) Name(s): Marie Fitzpatrick-Hall, ABC, Kevin Mellors, Richard Stone, Alex Lo-Basso Organization‘s Name: The City of Mississauga – Economic Development Office Time Period of Project: October 3, 2008 – December 3, 2008

Brief Description: The City of Mississauga‘s business video, produced by the Economic Development Office (EDO), is targeted to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and leading scientists and key stakeholders in the life sciences sector about the strategic business benefits of locating their company in Mississauga.

1. Business Need/Opportunity:

The business need of the City of Mississauga‘s economic development office is to develop a communications piece that explains to leading life sciences industry executives, scientists, venture capitalists, industry decision-makers and real estate site selectors the positive attributes of locating a life sciences business in Mississauga. The opportunity to produce and present the life sciences video at The Biotechnology Initiative‘s (TBI) Research to Revenue conference was a perfect fit. The audience make-up, according to TBI, at the Research to Revenue conference was senior decision-makers in the life sciences sector, industry influencers and stakeholders, life sciences associations, senior scientists, venture capitalists and graduate and undergraduate students of the life sciences sector.

One of the issues that EDO faces is building awareness around the City of Mississauga‘s strength in the life sciences sector. Mississauga has the third largest life sciences cluster in Canada and this video aims to build this awareness in order to attract increased investment to Mississauga. This video is a communication vehicle developed to deliver this key message which is a continual communications initiative.

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A second issue includes building understanding regarding the breadth and diversity of the 375 life sciences companies in Mississauga. To meet this challenge, a wide range of diverse businesses were highlighted through the executive testimonials of five different companies. The video has testimonials by leading executives in the pharmaceutical, biosciences, medical devices, research and development areas.

A final issue includes changing behaviour, specifically attracting increased investment by providing key decision makers with information and factual knowledge about Mississauga‘s life sciences sector and the synergy that exists between this industry and Mississauga‘s three other key industry sectors.

The other sectors are information, communications and technology (ICT), financial services and advanced manufacturing. For a communications project to be effective, it must change behaviour which is strategic, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound (SMART).

This video project meets all criteria very effectively. The video was strategically developed for a specific target audience and the outcomes can be measured through feedback and increased investment to Mississauga from a real estate and business development point of view. The video was also highly attainable through the timing and access afforded to the project through the life sciences conference, realistic given the audience demographics and time-bound, given the results of immediate polls and feedback.

2. Entrants‟ Roles in the Project:

Marie Fitzpatrick-Hall, ABC – producer, creative development, story board, client liaison and interviewer Kevin Mellors – camera, sound, lighting and set-up Richard Stone - camera, sound, lighting and set-up Alex Lo-Basso – graphic design used in video for transitional elements of video

3. Intended Audience(s):

In terms of audience research, as discussed with the Manager of Communications at TBI, the preferences of this particular audience is one that encompasses factual knowledge presented in a cohesive manner that aligns hard facts and data with logical business conclusions. The demographics of the audience tend to be primarily male executives, business leaders and scientists, age range 35 to 55 years of age with advanced degrees in biosciences, sciences, business and banking.

The audience make up, according to TBI, at the launch event which is Research to Revenue is:

CEOs of life sciences and biotechnology companies, senior business consultants to life sciences companies, directors of business development from small, medium and large life sciences companies, senior scientists at major international research institutions, CEOs of service providers to the life sciences industry, VPs and senior representatives from service providers to the life sciences industry (banking, financial services, accounting, insurance), executive directors of life sciences associations, senior government advisers, senior partners from several law firms, senior representatives from municipal and provincial government, graduate and undergraduate students majoring in life sciences and business.

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4. Communication Goals / Business Objectives: Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. (SMART)

 To build a connection and awareness among top five, diversified life sciences chief executive leaders in Mississauga.  To have leading business executives in the life sciences industry understand and acknowledge Mississauga‘s leading business position nationally in this sector.  To have those interested in the life sciences industry understand and acknowledge Mississauga‘s leading business position nationally in this sector.  To become a credible source of factual information about this sector overall to investment decision makers looking for factual information on the City of Mississauga EDO website.  To increase the profile of the City of Mississauga‘s life sciences sector to leading executives within one year of the video launch.  To continually become a location of choice among Chief Executive Officers and real estate site selectors who work in the life sciences sector for their new business location or expansion.

The communication goals and objectives were articulated throughout the video and relate to the specific business objectives. The goals of the project were to build awareness and change behaviour among senior business leaders in the life sciences sector. The goals are both immediate and future-focused as the site selection process for a life sciences company is often a long, complex process involving many parties including executive management, real estate site selectors and global business analysts.

5. Solution Overview:

The solution was to produce a life sciences video in order to assist in the launch of the life sciences study and a second, three-panel focus brochure. The rationale was that testimonials from leading executives in this sector would provide the peer-to-peer recognition and immediate credibility, given the high level executives who provided positive, thought-provoking testimonials.

For economic development, the solution had to be a true business solution – and to showcase the new, 100-page, comprehensive life sciences study and directory and brochure, which highlights Mississauga‘s positive location benefits and current industry findings and rankings. The challenge was to communicate our key messages to other leading life sciences executives in real terms – that locating in Mississauga is a solid, return on investment business decision.

In order to have the most current visuals, our team shot all new footage and developed a close working relationship with senior executives at all five companies. Background (B)-roll was NOT used in this video in order to preserve the integrity and actuality of the messages. The projected impact on the business need is that decision-makers in the life sciences industry will see this video as a realistic, factual source of information. The interviews with the CEOs were handled much like a news story, with real terminology and the direct and distinct voices of Mississauga‘s leading CEOs from this important knowledge sector industry in Mississauga.

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5 Key Strategic Messages: For CEOs, fully engaged in the project, to communicate in the video

 Mississauga has a highly skilled talent pool with ties to leading life sciences‘ institutions with 21 universities and colleges nearby  Mississauga is centrally located with solid infrastructure and international airport  Mississauga has the synergy and convergence factor of three other key clusters to support the life sciences industry  Life sciences in Mississauga is a strong, vibrant sector and leading component of the Mississauga business community  Mississauga is home to the third largest life sciences cluster in Canada

This video was very effective in meeting its stated business objectives by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the CEOs and their communications representatives, key stakeholders, the Mayor of Mississauga and Council members, the industry media and the overall public who have watched the video on the City of Mississauga website.

The measurement portion is included in this submission. In terms of budget, time and resources, the entire production cost was a very low $3,300. This video was produced using in-house resources including the producer of the video, who developed the story-board, overall key messages, and acted as direct client liaison with the CEOs as she is a former TV journalist and anchor.

Also helping to keep the cost of this project to a minimum was the work of two talented videographers and exceptional graphic artist who assisted by providing the digital artwork for the transitions in and out of video clips. Between the time from the initial contact with the CEOs and shooting schedule, the entire video was developed within three weeks in a highly intense and well planned production schedule.

6. Implementation and Challenges:

Implementation: A series of 30-min. interviews were set-up over a two week period. CEOs were provided a draft video for their approval at the end of the two weeks with the final video delivered to their office within three weeks of beginning the project. The booking at an editing suite was changed several times to accommodate the changing schedules of executives. Flexibility in juggling schedules and the requirements of the CEOs and their assistants was paramount in the positive relationship established by all parties. The video was launched at the public City Council meeting on November 26 to the Mayor and Council and at the Research to Revenue conference on December 3 to industry leaders, posted to the City of Mississauga website on the business web pages as well as part of presentations to prospective new business.

Budget and Time line: Total Budget $3,300 utilizing all City internal resources; only editing costs required as editing equipment was not available to complete this element with internal City-staff Producer. Timeline – three weeks of production; preparation time three weeks prior to start of interviews.

Technical Equipment: All internal resources (lighting, camera, sound, transportation) were used, with the exception of editing facilities. Companies provided venue and logo backdrop for visual interest and branding.

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Limitations and Challenges:

Tight Timeline: The project was initially scoped out in the beginning of October. The final production deadline was advanced from December 3 to November 26 in order to launch the video internally to the Mayor and Council at a public council meeting. The challenge was then to research a list of possible clients to showcase, develop an understanding of the project with the senior communications staff at five leading and diverse life sciences‘ companies, contact the CEOs directly, develop the storyboard, question & answer document, strategic key messages and overall production schedule and elements within a tight, three week time frame.

Other Impacting Projects: At the same time as the video was being shot and produced, the producer of the video was also co-writing and coordinating the 100-page in-depth life sciences study and directory and shorter, three-panel brochure for launch at the same event. This took a great deal of dedication and adherence to meeting critical production deadlines and determination to have all three communications projects delivered on time, on budget and with the highest level of quality.

Special Circumstances: In order to preserve the integrity of the video, and allow for the CEOs to communicate their strongest business message, the producer was required to be flexible and ―in-the moment‖ which typically takes place in a journalistic interview. The video was not meant to be a ―polished, sleek corporate video‖ but rather a snapshot of real business leaders discussing real business challenges and how choosing Mississauga as a location, was a wise, return-on-investment decision.

7. Measurement / Evaluation:

Measurement and evaluation are essential requirements in order to assess the success of any communication project. The outcomes, as noted in this submission, are first-hand, unbelievably positive and will effectively assist the City of Mississauga‘s economic development office in achieving our business objectives. In terms of behaviour and attitude changes, immediate forward-thinking progress has been made with the five leading firms profiled. In terms of life sciences industry awareness, members of this industry have also responded with positive acknowledgement about the positive location benefits of Mississauga.

Business Objectives: Measurement & Results: (see Section 5 of submission for details)

 To build a connection and awareness  Survey to 5 Companies/CEOs profiled in among top five, diversified life sciences the video chief executive leaders in Mississauga.  Overwhelmingly positive feedback through direct survey responses from 5 CEOs / senior communications leaders at the firms profiled in the video.

 To have leading business executives in the  Survey to Sampling of Leaders within life life sciences industry understand and sciences industry (those who attended the acknowledge Mississauga‘s leading launch event and are members of The business position nationally in this sector. Biotechnology Institute (TBI).  Positive feedback and on-going measurement.

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Business Objectives (cont.): Measurement & Results (cont.): (see Section 5 of submission for details)

 To have those interested in the life sciences  Direct Quick Poll Survey Feedback industry understand and acknowledge on website www.mississauga.ca/business Mississauga‘s leading business position  Positive feedback and on-going measurement. nationally in this sector.

 To become a credible source of factual  On-going measurement through tracking information about this sector overall to and feedback of business development investment decision makers looking for inquiries and client discussions, Corporate factual information on the City of Call Program with Mayor (business Mississauga EDO website. meetings with new companies); feedback from CEOs at other life sciences event; one- on-one business meetings.

 To increase the profile of the City of  Survey to Sampling of Leaders within life Mississauga‘s life sciences sector to sciences Industry (those who attended the leading executives within one year of the launch event and are members of The video launch. Biotechnology Institute (TBI).

 Positive feedback and on-going measurement.

 To continually become a location of choice  On-going measurement through among Chief Executive Officers and real tracking/feedback of business development estate site selectors who work in the life inquiries and client discussions; Real Estate sciences sector for their new business Call Program with real estate leaders/site location or expansion. selectors and business development staff; feedback from one-on-one business meetings.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Electronic and Interactive Communication

Award of Merit

Title of Entry: Enermodal’s Signature Green Education Kiosks Entrant‘s Name: Caitlin Carpenter - Organization‘s Name: Enermodal Engineering Time Period of Project: January-December 2008

Enermodal’s Signature Green Education Kiosks effectively educate a wide audience about the environmentally appropriate features of a building. In addition, the kiosks help Enermodal’s clients reach a target designation as a LEED-certified green building.

1. Business Need/Opportunity Enermodal Engineering, a consulting firm based in Kitchener, Ontario, is the industry leader in sustainable design. Enermodal‘s main focus is LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the most recognized and prestigious green building rating system. To achieve LEED certification, up to 70 ―points‖ are awarded by a third-party review team. One such point is in the Innovation in Design category and is awarded for communicating the green features of a project to building occupants and the public: ―Intent: To provide design teams and projects the opportunity to be awarded points for innovative performance in Green Building categories not specifically addressed by LEED…Use of electronic media is acceptable as an education approach‖ (from the official LEED guidelines). Many buildings are on the cusp of achieving certification or a higher level of LEED so every point counts. The green education point could be the deciding factor for many buildings in attaining their goals. The Innovation credit available for green education is quite stringent. Although some building projects achieve this credit using building tours or brochures, Enermodal‘s Communication Department wanted to create an education experience that was unique and catered to clients needs. Continued on next page

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Current Enermodal clients were randomly selected to ask what they would want in Enermodal‘s solution to the Innovation green education credit. There were several answers that were repeatedly given: shows the client‘s commitment to sustainability, effectively communicates building technologies and systems to the public without additional explanation from staff, cost effective, and unique. The solution the Communication department developed was a standalone, electronic, touch screen: Enermodal‘s Signature Green Building Kiosk.

2. Entrant Role The Communications Department, consisting of Donna Carpenter (director) and Caitlin Carpenter (assistant director) is responsible for design, written content, and overall implementation of the kiosks.

3. Intended Audience The intended audience of Enermodal‘s Signature Green Education Kiosks differs from building to building. Some buildings have high occupant traffic, but fairly low visiting public traffic (such as a private office building). For other buildings, the reverse is true (such as a conservation centre). This difference influences the language chosen for the kiosks, as a kiosk located in a primary school might have simpler language than that in a high-tech office. In addition, the more sophisticated the audience, the more likely a kiosk will contain explanations of technical building design concepts or equipment. To hold the attention of the average person, the kiosks information must include elements of interactivity as well as being well-organized and concise. 4. Goals and Objectives There were several goals for Enermodal‘s Signature Green Education Kiosks: audience1. The kiosks should provide a short and straight-forward explanation of green technologies, such as green roofs, that are often in the media but rarely understood. Also, the kiosks should provide information that connects common vocabulary and the technologies or materials used in green buildings. For example, making a connection between indoor air quality (―sick building syndrome‖) and CO sensors. 2 Additionally, the kiosk could provide a ―peek‖ into green technologies normally hidden from view. For example, to show what a heat recovery ventilator looks like and how it operates. provide Enermodal‘s clients with a one-of-a-kind service2. There is an increasing number of LEED consultants offering similar green building services to Enermodal. For a building developer choosing a LEED consultant, a unique feature that also meets a LEED point could very well make Enermodal‘s proposal stand out from the crowd. meet the requirements of the LEED Innovation credit3. LEED credits are hard to come by, and when it comes to certification or achieving a higher level of LEED, every point counts. Therefore, the green education Innovation credit is an important, but difficult one for buildings to achieve.

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5. Solution Overview In order to eliminate paper waste and updating-made-easy, Enermodal‘s Communications Department decided to make the kiosks electronic. Similarly, in order to make the kiosk as user-friendly and inexpensive to install, a touch screen format was chosen. Therefore, the heart of the Enermodal Green Education Kiosk is a computer and touch screen. The addition of FLASH movies allows for animated graphics to illustrate building components ―in action.‖ Using HTML and FLASH means that the design skills required are fairly simple and the kiosks can be easily updated remotely from Enermodal‘s offices. In terms of customization and cost effectiveness, the HTML files can be displayed in a variety of sizes and in combination with a variety of hardware types. Finally, the use of HTML as the core component means that client preview can take place at a distance. The files are put on a web site accessible by password and the client can preview using keyboard and mouse. The navigation buttons for each kiosk is fairly similar, and they represent the LEED point categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation in Design. The LEED ―scorecard‖ for the building project is also provided. These features help the kiosk achieve the LEED Innovation credit for green education. In terms of graphic design, each kiosk is branded for corporate colours, logo, and any other identifiers or message as determined by the client. Clients choose from four designs, which allows for some customization depending on the client‘s public image. The pre-made design templates keep Enermodal‘s costs (and ultimately the client‘s) to a minimum while ensuring the client feels they have received a unique product. The four designs that the client can choose from changes every year, and the design team ensures that the same design is not used in the same building type, in the same geographic area. Also, clients may choose one of three kiosk hardware options: podium, integrated into millwork, and wall-mounted. Regarding the display of live data display, Enermodal‘s Building Performance Department is responsible for installing the monitors and sensors that provide the information and are responsible for the software that allows the information to be displayed on screen in graphs such as daily or monthly energy usage. Ensuring that in-house individuals can complete the technical aspects of the kiosks saves on costs.

6. Implementation and Challenges Screen size: Unlike a web application where scrolling is permitted, touch screens have no scrolling function that can be easily provided. Thus, the information needed to be brokeninto very small chunks with limited text—typically 130 words on a page. Budget limitations: Because the kiosks are quoted to clients on a fixed price basis, adding extra pages for extra content can only be done to a limited extent. So, text is limited on a page, and the number of pages generally limited. The exact price of kiosks cannot be disclosed for proprietary reasons, but the Communications Department ensures that no kiosk costs more for Enermodal to produce than the initial figure quoted to the client. Time frame: Clients often want kiosks ready and working for opening day. This means much of the work must be finished during the design and construction phases of building development, including taking photographs before some building components are photo-ready (such as landscaping or furnishings). These photographs can be updated at a later date if the client requests. Changes to the building systems or materials during construction also mean kiosk updating is sometimes necessary later. Continued on next page

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7. Measurement/Evaluation The kiosks have been a success from several perspectives, but most importantly they have met all the goals initially set out by the Communications Department. This was ascertained through a January 2009 survey of all (20) kiosk clients and a separate survey for Enermodal‘s project managers (15) who worked on a building with an Enermodal kiosk. On a scale of one to five (with five being extremely satisfied), the average client response to ―How satisfied are you with your kiosk‖ was a 4.5. Goal Achievement Communicates green features Yes - A client respondent said, ―The kiosk is a great solution effectively for us to communicate about the features of our building to the thousands of visitors we‘ve had so far including school groups and foreign dignitaries.‖ Many project manager respondents said the animations of green building systems were the best explanations of these concepts they had ever seen.

A one-of-a-kind service Yes – All client respondents said they had never heard or seen of a kiosk like this. An Enermodal project manager said, ―I can‘t think of anyone else doing this, let alone creating such a high quality end product!‖ One client respondent said, ―Enermodal put a lot of effort into customizing our kiosk.‖

Meets the requirement of the Yes – Enermodal projects applying for this credit with the LEED Innovation credit kiosk have always received this point.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Publications

Award of Merit

Title of entry: “Beyond Borders” Entrant‘s name: Nancy White and Andy Lloyd Organization: Barrick Gold Corporation Time period of project: 2008

Brief description: This external corporate publication profiles Barrick‘s responsible mining initiatives around the world. It targets key stakeholders and consists of a mix of news items and feature stories drawn from corporate and regional operations and projects.

Need/opportunity  Barrick Gold Corporation is the world‘s pre-eminent gold mining company with 27 operating mines and 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.  Companies in the mining industry are often targets for anti-mining, anti-globalization and other protests groups. Being the world‘s largest gold mining company makes Barrick a leading target, and false information about Barrick‘s practices adversely affects company reputation, upsetting communities, employees and shareholders. Well-meaning but misinformed individuals and interest groups are able to spread unfounded allegations, unaccountable for the veracity of their statements, by calling up stereotypes of historical mining practices from another era. In extreme cases, groups have sought to foment conflict in local communities by spreading misinformation.  In fact, Barrick‘s modern mining practices bear no resemblance to the stereotypes perpetrated by anti-development groups. Modern mining is a highly engineered and safe working environment with a heavy use of technology. Barrick is also actively engaged in progressive, world-class corporate social responsibility programs, supporting education, health, and sustainable economic development for the communities surrounding its operations. Barrick works in partnership with various agencies such as World Vision to deliver local aid programs. The company recognizes communities as one of its three core stakeholder groups (along with employees and shareholders), and aims to be a welcome partner in communities where it operates. This commitment comes right from the top, as Barrick‘s Founder and Chairman, Peter Munk, is a noted philanthropist and sets the tone for the organization. Continued on next page

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 To respond to this situation, Barrick needed ways to deliver information to stakeholders and key influencers about its programs that benefit communities where it operates. The company needed a way to deliver unfiltered information about its adherence to international environmental standards (including the International Cyanide Management Code), programs to improve education in South America, programs to fight AIDS and malaria in Africa, infrastructure projects to bring electricity to unserved areas in Africa, and innovative wind and solar energy projects in Nevada and Argentina.  For several years, Barrick has produced a Corporate Social Responsibility Report, but annual reporting was not sufficient to address emerging issues and profile new programs in a timely manner. It follows the Global Reporting Index conventions so is not easy to read.  In late 2007, Barrick developed a concept for a quarterly stakeholder report that would provide information about Barrick‘s responsible mining approach. This print publication was named Beyond Borders to signify its global content and Barrick‘s intent to go beyond minimum requirements to meet (and set) the highest industry standard in Responsible Mining worldwide.

Entrants‟ roles in the project  As Director of Communications, Responsible Mining, Nancy White is Editor of the publication. She determines the themes, researches and prepares content, gathers and edits submissions from other contributors, and manages suppliers of the design, translation and production. Andy Lloyd, Assistant Editor, writes and edits content.

Intended audiences  Target audiences include: o Shareholders, suppliers, and the investment community o NGOs and not-for-profit organizations where we operate, such as World Vision, AMREF, America Solidaria, the Nature Conservancy, and many others o Academic institutions o Socially responsible investment groups and rating organizations such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Jantzi, and The Ethical Funds Company o Local, regional and national governments of host countries and the Canadian Government, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Export Development Corporation and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. o Regulators and International Bodies, such as IMF/World Bank and the UN Global Compact and agencies such as the U.S. federal Bureau of Land Management. o Mining groups, such as World Gold Council and International Council on Mining and Metals.

 The secondary audience is Barrick‘s 20,000 employees worldwide. Most employees work at the 27 operating mines located in Canada, the United States, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Others work at remote exploration sites, or at regional or head offices in cities such as Toronto, Salt Lake City, Santiago, Perth, and Dar es Salaam. This diverse group includes miners and equipment operators, engineers, exploration geologists, security and safety staff, and office professionals.

Objective  To protect and build Barrick‘s reputation as a responsible mining company by creating a vehicle to reach target audiences with accurate information about the company‟s corporate social responsibility initiatives on a quarterly basis. Specifically, the publication would focus on health initiatives, education, the environment, infrastructure, and other community investments and sustainable development initiatives.

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Solution Overview  Corporate Communications worked with regional communications colleagues, as well as those in the Community Relations, Government Affairs, Environment, Safety and Health, and other related departments at the corporate and regional level to define the purpose, target audiences and content for Beyond Borders. From this input, we developed a stakeholder contact database.  Barrick has many operations and therefore many sustainable development initiatives in the South America region; therefore, a Spanish language edition is essential. The publication is translated, printed and distributed in South America through Barrick‘s regional office in Santiago, Chile.  Beyond Borders is one communications tool within a broader plan related to stakeholder engagement and corporate reputation. The work invested in developing content for the print publication was extended by making the publication available on the corporate website. Many anti-mining groups use the internet extensively, and this gave stakeholders an opportunity to receive the company‘s point of view. This required an overhaul of the Corporate Responsibility website section. The web specialist, along with members of the Community Relations and Environment departments, updated the site with the most current corporate social responsibility information, news, case studies, and policy positions that showed the depth of the company‘s commitments.  For employees, it is also available on the intranet. Each new issue is announced through a feature story on the home page and all the issues are readily accessible in an archive.  A trial issue of the publication was launched in late 2007. After evaluating responses to the inaugural edition, we adjusted design and content to focus on key themes of highest interest to the audience: environment, education, infrastructure, and major company initiatives for 2008.  We developed an editorial calendar to provide a framework and timetable for the four 2008 editions. The calendar was provided to regional public affairs and communications contacts in each region, and we followed up with them regularly to identify and develop stories and obtain photos.  Content is written in a fact-based, credible way. The photos and design make it visually appealing. The approach is straightforward and professional, without marketing hype, in tune with our responsible mining approach.  The current print run is 10,200 English copies. The publication is mailed directly to a distribution list totaling 1,800 external key contacts, stakeholders and key influencers. In addition, we provide bulk mailings to key internal contacts in each of the business regions and offices. These copies are used by senior executives and community relations staff as handouts to local communities or government officials, and distributed during consultations or community meetings. Copies are also displayed in office lobbies for pickup by visitors and employees. o Mail to External Stakeholders 1,800 o Barrick Tanzania 5,000 o Barrick Australia Pacific 1,000 o Barrick North America. 1,500 o Barrick Corporate offices 500 o Various events, conferences 400

Implementation and challenges Budget  The cost to produce each edition varies with the number of pages and the amount of content produced by freelance writers. Average cost per issue in 2008 was $8,000 for design and $12,500 for printing. Freelance writers assisted with two issues at average cost of $3,800 per issue. Additional costs included $3,500 for postage/courier services, and $600 for envelopes. In terms of staff time resources, this publication uses approximately 75% of the Editor‘s time, and about 20% of the Assistant Editor‘s time. It also absorbs some time from the various regional communications staff and other contributors who submit or review articles. Continued on next page

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Challenges  This publication broke new ground; there is no model for it within the mining sector. It represents a new approach for Barrick, which has always done a stellar job communicating with shareholders but not often reached out to other stakeholder groups. Barrick recognizes the need to meet rising public expectations for corporate responsibility and transparency, and this commitment has established it as a proactive communicator and leader in this regard.  The publication is only one of many work assignments in the workload, making it a challenge to research and develop content, manage logistics, and meet deadlines. We have addressed this by providing help from another team member and by strategic use of freelance writers when needed.  Beyond Borders is produced centrally from head office in Toronto but the programs are delivered in countries around the world, especially in South America and Africa. Barrick is a large, diverse multinational corporation, with different Community Relations groups in each locality managing a wide variety of initiatives. It is a challenge to identify, research and coordinate approvals for this vast array of programs and locations. Time zones, culture and different languages add to the challenge. We have developed contacts in each Barrick region and among the key programs to encourage local colleagues to submit information and to keep us informed about current local initiatives.

Measurement/Evaluation

1. Content Analysis See Work Sample for full Content Analysis  Of Barrick‘s four business regions, South America and Africa face the most economic and social challenges and receive much of the company‘s sustainability programs; therefore, they receive a majority of the publication‘s content. Beyond Borders 2008 Story Breakdown by Region Region Issue 1 - Mar. Issue 2 - Issue 3 – Issue 4 – Total July Oct. Dec. South America 7 4 9 2 22 Africa 5 6 6 3 20 Australia Pacific 2 1 5 2 10 North America 7 7 3 4 20

 31% of the publication‘s stories focused on the South America region, and 27% focused on the Africa region (58% combined).  We achieved an appropriate balance on the four main themes: Out of 74 total stories, 18 (24%) focused on the environment; 15 (20%) on health; 14 (20%) on infrastructure/community development; and 10 (14%) on education.  Each edition featured a Global Report to give an overview of the programs worldwide on a particular theme or subject, e.g. education, health, infrastructure, and environment.

2. Republished Articles *See Work Sample for copies  Articles from Beyond Borders were picked up by other publications. The World Gold Council used material verbatim for its World AIDS Day report, and added a permanent link to Beyond Borders on its website. The ICMM (mining assoc.) newsletter published a Beyond Borders story about Barrick‘s business development in Cuncashca, Peru, in its December 2008 ―Good Practice‖ newsletter, and reproduced content as case studies on its sustainability website. The Canadian Mining Journal posted a story from the October 2008 edition on its website. Numerous blogs have also reproduced Beyond Borders stories and images. Continued on next page * The Work Samples are not included in the Winning Entries Booklet

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3. Website Statistics  Website monitoring shows there were 11,336 total visits to the Beyond Borders page, and the publication was downloaded 7,277 times. Downloads for each edition increased throughout the year as the publication became established: o March 2008: 1,334 o July 2008: 1,621 o October 2008: 1,760 o December 2008: 2,562

 These statistics demonstrate that external stakeholders took the opportunity to download the publication, and that we counteracted false information distributed through the internet by anti-mining groups by giving stakeholders an online method of learning about our initiatives.  Anecdotal response has been positive from a wide variety of stakeholders, who find the publication informative and visually appealing.  Beyond Borders is now a valuable resource for corporate media relations; i.e. we can direct media inquiries to relevant articles to give reporters context and information refuting sensationalistic claims made by anti-mining groups.  After only one year, this publication is proving to be an effective vehicle to reach target audiences with accurate information about the company‟s corporate social responsibility initiatives on a quarterly basis.  Beyond Borders reinforces Barrick‘s industry leadership, and has helped to position Barrick as a responsible mining company.

164

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Publications

Award of Excellence

Title of entry: “Barrick News” Entrant‘s name: Andy Lloyd and Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Organization: Barrick Gold Corporation Time period of project: 2008

Brief description: Barrick Internal Communications used feedback from a newsletter survey to introduce enhancements to its global quarterly tabloid newsletter, earning high marks from employees in a follow-up survey

Need/opportunity  Barrick Gold Corporation is the world‘s pre-eminent gold mining company with 27 operating mines and 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.  Barrick‘s Internal Communications group exists to serve the information needs of employees and to help the company succeed with its business objectives. One vehicle we use is Barrick News, a global tabloid newsletter, usually 24 – 28 pages, produced four times a year at corporate office and distributed to all employees worldwide.  Barrick‘s 20,000 employees are geographically dispersed across five continents and culturally diverse. Information vehicles exist at site and regional levels, but it is important to have global corporate vehicles that help employees know Barrick, its vision and its values, and help them feel a part of it. Barrick has grown substantially through acquisition, making it further important to provide global communications that emphasize the Barrick brand and culture.  In 2007, we conducted a newsletter survey using paper surveys distributed with the newsletter and mailed back to us, as well as an online survey for those who prefer to respond electronically. That survey provided significant data about the importance of the newsletter as a communications tool, the type of information employees want, and how they rated the publication. The survey results were produced as a report and included as an insert in an issue of the newsletter. *(See Work Sample item 8 Readers’ Survey Questionnaire and item 9 Results Report.)

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Entrants‟ roles in the project  As Editor, Andy Lloyd gathers and edits the submissions from multiple contributors, writes a large proportion of the content, and manages suppliers of the design, translation and production. As Director, Internal Communications, Janet Wile oversees the publication as part of the overall employee communications program, and writes a large portion of content.

Intended audiences  The primary audience is Barrick‘s 20,000 employees worldwide. This diverse group includes miners and equipment operators, engineers, exploration geologists, security and safety staff, and office professionals. The geography, technology infrastructure and cultural elements vary widely among sites on different continents. Barrick News provides a common focal point where all employees can see their region represented in the context of the overall organization.  Most employees work at the 27 operating mines located in Canada, the United States, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Others work at remote exploration sites, or at regional or head offices in cities such as Toronto, Salt Lake City, Santiago, Perth, and Dar es Salaam. Employees in North America and Australia speak English; those in South America speak Spanish; and those in Africa speak Swahili. Barrick News is produced in each of these three languages for effective communication. Managers and professionals with intranet access are generally English speakers.  A comprehensive paper and online newsletter readership survey conducted in 2007 found that Barrick News was among the top four most important sources of information, along with email, the intranet, and supervisors. While about 30% of employees have computers and intranet access, the majority work in mines without computer access, and they rely on the hard copy newsletter as a key source of company information and recognition, second only to supervisors. Respondents gave fairly high ratings for easy to read (79%), visually appealing (72%), reflects vision and values (70%), and interesting content (64%). 68% rated it good to excellent, and said it does a good job of providing information about global activities, creating a sense of community. Ratings were consistent across regions. Employees told us they wanted more stories about operations, continuous improvement/ innovation, and employee achievements. They wanted photos of other employees, with captions that identify the people. In the written comments, they suggested numerous story ideas such as information about our product – gold.  Supplementary audiences include contractors who work at Barrick locations, as well as suppliers and other visitors who pick up copies of the newsletter when visiting Barrick locations.

Objective  Identify and implement improvements to the four issues of Barrick News produced in 2008 based on the specific input received from the 2007 newsletter survey. Specifically, increase Operations related content, increase photos and improve photo treatment.

Solution overview  We developed an editorial calendar defining the desired content mix. We distributed this with deadline dates and production schedule to communicators worldwide in December 2007. The plan was flexible so items could be rescheduled or replaced depending on the news and content available at time of publication, but it provided a framework for the four 2008 issues.  To increase Operations content, we added a two-page mine profile in each issue, featuring one site from each region over the course of the year. We asked regions to submit at least one Operations story for each issue, and developed Operations angles to stories on other topics.  2008 was Barrick‘s 25th anniversary so we ran stories on this theme each issue.

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 We acted on survey suggestions; for example, in response to a request for stories about gold, we produced a cover feature story ―25 Facts about Gold‖ in conjunction with the 25th anniversary.  We focused on recognizing employees by name wherever possible, including a listing by name of all 25 year service employees. We included a full listing of all the annual Safety Award winners, Global Continuous Improvement Award winners, and numerous stories talking about individuals as role models for safety or leadership. We ensured photos identified people.  We gave employees a voice in a double-page spread called ―Barrick People Speak Up,‖ which asked employees to comment on some aspect of Barrick values or culture. This featured 16-20 employees each time, with several people from each region and all levels.  We conducted a content analysis after each issue, classifying each story by category. By comparing to the previous year, we could balance topics as the next issue approached.  We created a Continuous Improvement column and helped that group develop content.  We leveraged the intranet to promote each new issue as it was published. All issues are posted to the intranet as an archive and for the convenience of those who prefer to read it online.  As an added feature for employees, we initiated a series of loose inserts (posters) that would be interesting and useful to employees. (See item 10 in Work Sample) These included: - A Vision and Values poster reinforcing Barrick‘s vision and values and including 21 photos of employees and mining operations. - A fold-out map poster showing the company‘s worldwide operations sites and development projects, as well as listing some key facts and figures about the company‘s production. - A 4-page foldout of the winners and finalists for the company‘s annual global photo contest.

Implementation and challenges Budget  The cost to produce each issue varies with the number of pages and the nature of any inserts. Average cost per issue in 2008 was $4,000 for translation, $13,000 for design and artwork, and $19,000 for printing of three versions (English, Spanish and Swahili), before inserts. These services are all contracted out. In terms of staff time resources, this publication uses approximately 70% of the Editor‘s time, and about 35% of the Director‘s time. It also absorbs some time from the various regional communications staff, other contributors or subject experts who prepare, submit or review articles.

Challenges 1. Regional communications staff are few in number and busy with many local priorities, so it is a challenge to ensure good regional content. To assist their advance planning, we issued the 2008 editorial calendar and deadlines in December 2007. We issued deadline reminders in our monthly teleconferences and through email. We set a minimum of two pages of content from each of the company‘s four business regions (North America, South America, Australia Pacific and Africa). Regions can have more pages if there is sufficient quality content. When not enough stories are submitted, we work with our local contacts to develop stories. We also used business trips to advantage; for example, on a business trip to Nevada in March, the Director identified numerous story ideas and developed them for future issues. In September, the Editor visited all sites in the Africa region and developed numerous articles and a further list of story ideas. We continue to develop contacts in each region to encourage more contributors. 2. Because of the high cost of shipping newsletters to Tanzania, we investigated options for printing the Swahili version in Dar es Salaam. A pilot project on this for the final issue of 2008 proved successful and will be continued in the future.

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3. It is a challenge to obtain good quality photos of operations as we rely heavily on submissions from field staff, not professional photographers. We addressed this in numerous ways. We worked with the Safety, Continuous Improvement and Operations staff to advise them of the type of photos we need to publicize their activities. We hold an annual global Photo Contest, which generates up to 1,000 photos a year, and the best photos are kept in folders on a common network drive for the Communications team‘s use. In addition, we take photos whenever global meetings of functional groups are held in Toronto so we have file photos of key people when needed for the newsletter and other purposes. In future, we plan to combine all the photos into a searchable photo database that will be easier to use as the number of photos grows.

Measurement/evaluation

We measured our progress on the newsletter in several ways:

1. Adherence to the Plan (See item 7 in Work Sample) All four issues were developed according to plan and produced on schedule.

2. Content and Photo Analysis (See Work Sample item 5 Content Analysis and item 6 Photo Analysis) We increased the overall story count from 135 in 2007 to 156 in 2008. The Content Analysis shows an increase in stories on employees‘ preferred topics; for example:  Operations stories increased from 11 in 2007 to 18 (63% increase)  Safety, Health and Security increased from 25 in 2007 to 29 (16% increase)  Continuous Improvement stories increased from 10 in 2007 to 15 (50% increase)  Employee/talent management/training/recruiting stories increased from 5 to 14 (64% increase)

Despite a lack of major news from the exploration/mine development front during 2008, we maintained the previous year‘s content level of nine stories.

In addition, we conducted a Photo Count of each issue for comparison with 2007. We significantly increased the photo content total from 213 in 2007 to 306 in 2008, a 44% increase. Of the 306 photos, 287 or 94% had explicit captions.

Through the newsletter, we were able to respond to some of our internal departmental customers‘ requests to address challenges they face with change management and ineffective meetings. We responded to one of the biggest loss control issues – gold theft – with a substantial piece on introduction of Barrick‘s world class gold security standards.

The inserts (posters) proved popular and useful. Copies of the various poster inserts are now visible in cubicles and work areas in offices and sites worldwide. The map/key facts insert was also used as a handout for conferences, and the pdf files were adapted and sent to all regions for them to use if desired.

3. Follow-up Newsletter Survey From November 2008 to the end of January 2009, we conducted a follow-up newsletter survey. The 2007 survey was conducted by paper as well as online; however, with cost constraints introduced in the fall of 2008, we chose to conduct a shortened online survey using the English and Spanish pages of the intranet. Because the methodology and sample differ from the 2007 survey, the results are not perfectly comparable but results clearly indicate very positive trends.

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Key findings include:

 Respondents rate Barrick News very highly in terms of: o Easy to read 96% (80% in 2007) o Visually appealing 94% (72% in 2007) o Reflects vision and values 96% (70% in 2007) o Interesting content 88% (64% in 2007) o Good source of company information 91% (60% in 2007) o Recognizes employee achievements 88% (63% in 2007)

 The 2008 ranking of topics of interest matches exactly the ranking from the 2007 survey, further validating those results and validating our focus on the preferred topics. Most popular topics continue to be exploration/development projects/ operations/safety/continuous improvement.

 Overall, 90% of respondents rated Barrick News good to excellent, up significantly from 68% in 2007.

 Most significantly, 88% of respondents agreed Barrick News had improved in 2008.

169

OVATION Award Winning Entry

Communication Skills

Writing

Award of Merit

Title of entry: “Gold Security Standards” Entrant‘s name: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Organization: Barrick Gold Corporation Division and category: Division 2 Communications Skills; Category 14 Writing Time period of project: August 2008 – January 2009

Brief description: This feature article informed employees about the company‘s industry-leading security measures for protecting gold, and recognized key employees‘ efforts in implementing these important security measures.

Need/opportunity  Barrick Gold Corporation is the world‘s pre-eminent gold mining company with 27 operating mines and 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.  Barrick‘s Internal Communications group exists to serve the information needs of employees and to help departments succeed with their programs and business objectives. In the past, the Security function at Barrick had received little recognition for its work. In 2008, Communications assisted the Security function publicize one of its key programs, the Gold Security Standards.  Just like every retailer, bank or manufacturer, gold mining companies experience theft by employees. In response to this issue, Barrick has been implementing its Gold Security Standards, a comprehensive set of measures and procedures to protect gold through all aspects of extraction, processing and delivery. No other company in the industry is taking such a comprehensive and innovative approach.  Barrick‘s approach has been endorsed by the Gold Stealing Detection Unit, a special unit of the Australian police, which is renowned for its expertise in investigating and preventing gold theft.  At Barrick mine sites, implementing these new security measures takes time and resources, so implementation has had its challenges. Some sites are progressing faster than others.

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 By mid-2008, Barrick was well advanced in the implementation, and it was an appropriate time to publicize the achievement to date and generate momentum for further progress. Awareness that security measures are in place is important for employees to feel safe, and serves as a deterrent.  We determined this program could be effectively communicated to a broad audience of employees using the quarterly newsletter. As the project progressed, we determined it could also work as a feature on the intranet.

Entrant‟s role in the project  I researched and wrote the article, coordinated approvals, and supervised production. Research, writing and approvals were conducted during August and September, 2008. The article appeared on the intranet in October and in the newsletter which was distributed in November. Evaluation by survey was conducted from November to end of January 2009.

Intended audiences  The primary audience is Barrick‘s 20,000 employees worldwide. This diverse group includes miners and equipment operators, engineers, exploration geologists, security and safety staff, and office professionals. Most employees work at the 27 operating mines located in Canada, the United States, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Others work at remote exploration sites, or at regional or head offices in cities such as Toronto, Salt Lake City, Santiago, Perth, and Dar es Salaam.  The company‘s two main corporate communication vehicles are Barrick News (the company‘s tabloid-size quarterly printed newsletter), and Barrick Central (the company‘s intranet site).  Employees in North America and Australia speak English; those in South America speak Spanish; and those in Africa speak Swahili. Barrick News is produced in each of these three languages for effective communication. Managers and professionals with intranet access are generally English speakers.  A comprehensive paper and online newsletter readership survey conducted in 2007 found that Barrick News was among the most important sources of information for all employees. While about 30% of employees have computers and intranet access, the majority work in mines without computer access, and they rely on the hard copy newsletter as a key source of company information, second only to supervisors. Employees want stories about operations. They want to read about employee achievements, and they want to see photos of other employees. While they have some interest in corporate activities, they are very interested in reading about people from regional operations and actual mine sites.  Supplementary audiences include contractors who work at Barrick locations, as well as suppliers and other visitors who pick up copies of the newsletter when visiting Barrick locations.

Goals and objectives  To support the Security function, the goal of this project was to publicize the Gold Security Standards achievement to date and generate momentum for further progress.  Specific objectives: o Generate awareness of the Gold Security Standards, communicating key messages and explaining why it matters to the organization (measurement: distribution, feedback from follow-up newsletter survey) o Recognize the efforts of the Security function and key staff and locations that have shown leadership in the implementation (measurement: names/locations included, assessment from head of the Security function) Continued on next page

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Solution overview  We identified this topic in 2008 during a planning discussion with the Senior Director of Global Security. Research for the article included in-person interviews with him and the Senior Manager of Asset Security. The interviews were taped to ensure accuracy in reporting the comments. We also conducted a web search to obtain further background about gold theft cases, general industry inaction, and the Australian police connection.  We identified the top two Barrick mine sites in terms of implementation, and invited the security managers at these sites to submit comments for the article. Their responses were so positive and complete that we turned their comments into two separate sidebar articles recounting their experience in their own words, and we gave them their own by-lines. This provided local examples that enhanced credibility and relevance for front-line employees. We positioned these champions as role models for other sites.  To position this as a success story, we obtained a testimonial from the operations manager of the Australian Gold Stealing Detection Unit, who praised Barrick for its industry-leading approach. Having a police detective talk about gold theft added credibility to the article and freed our internal spokespersons from having to discuss that aspect of the issue.  We used numerous subheads to convey key messages for skim-readers and to break up the text of a long feature. Breaking the text into sections made it easy to re-package the material as a five-part series for the intranet, posting a new section each day over the course of a week.  The article takes a news report approach but treats the Barrick security managers as heroes protecting company assets and working cooperatively with sites to help them protect local production. It provides an overview of the gold theft problem facing the industry, outlines what Barrick is doing, gives examples of how the new standards are being implemented worldwide, and explains how people and sites benefit from increased security and safety on site.  Key messages are clearly conveyed in the text and by the sub-heads: o Police experts recognize Barrick‘s industry-leading security approach as world class o Gold Security Standards are being implemented worldwide at all Barrick sites o Sites with advanced implementation are already achieving results with reduced theft , fewer safety incidents and enhanced employee confidence/safety culture o Preventing theft is a cost control imperative and reflects one of the company‘s core values, ―behave like an owner‖  A draft of the article was circulated to all the interviewees for review, comments, and approval.

Implementation and challenges Budget  The only specific cost was time. Estimated time required for the research, writing and coordination was about 40 hours spread over three months. In addition, the web specialist spent three hours to reformat and post the story as a series on the intranet. Challenges  Employee communications tends to focus on success stories, so a topic like employee theft is a more difficult story to tell. We overcame this by focusing on the Gold Security Standards as a success story. Barrick employees take pride in their company‘s innovative and industry-leading approaches. The implementation of Gold Security Standards provided another opportunity to demonstrate this leadership.  To ensure there were no legal or disclosure issues, the security director reviewed this article in advance with the Legal department and CFO. We initially feared we might offend some people with this topic, but there were no negative comments received by Security or Communications, and no negative comments in the follow-up newsletter survey. Continued on next page

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 Our contacts for this article travel extensively and are sometimes hard to reach; accordingly, we planned a long lead time for this article, beginning research and development in August to produce it well in advance for the fourth quarter newsletter which was distributed in November.  It is always a challenge to obtain good quality photos of operations. We rely on field staff (who are not professional photographers), and security control rooms and related equipment have restricted access. We worked with security staff to obtain suitable images, enhancing the quality of available images where possible.  The original headline of this article was ―Barrick implements world class standards for gold protection.‖ As we neared press time, the economic crash and credit crunch were taking effect, making cost control an even higher priority internally. We adjusted the headline to reflect this, changing it to ―Barrick‘s standards for gold protection reduce loss from theft.‖ We also ran a companion article in the newsletter reminding employees of their duty to report theft or suspicious activity in accordance with the company‘s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

Measurement/evaluation

We measured the success of this project as follows:

Awareness, distribution and employee feedback  Barrick News was distributed in hard copy to 20,000 employees worldwide in their first language.  We used the intranet for cross-promotion of the newsletter. We announced through a feature story on the home page that a new edition of Barrick News was available and linked to an electronic version for those employees who like to read the newsletter online.  From publication till end of January 2009, we invited employees to participate in an online newsletter survey as a follow-up to the major survey conducted in 2007 (2007 was a paper and online survey; in 2008, online was the only method used due to cost). The survey included a question asking respondents to rate nine key articles in the November 2008 issue, including the Gold Standards article. o 75% of respondents said they read the Gold Standards article. This was the second highest readership of all the articles rated, only slightly behind our cover story on a new mine site, which had readership of 76%. The newsletter contains a variety of material, and different articles appeal to different people in different regions of the world. In the 2007 survey, 57% said they read most articles, making 75% readership significantly higher than the benchmark. o 93% of readers rated the Gold Standards article good to excellent, making it one of the top three rated items in that edition of the newsletter.  We maximized exposure of the story by making it the lead feature on the intranet home page each day during the week of October 6. We posted a new segment of the story each day. Our current intranet content management system does not allow us to count views of individual articles; however, a review of the views on the feature home page during Gold Standards week indicates a clear increase in traffic, with more total views than the two weeks before and after the series was published.

Employee recognition  We successfully provided recognition for Barrick‘s leadership in this area, and key messages were clearly delivered. We recognized the good work of the Security function and its achievements with Gold Standards. We recognized two sites on opposite sides of the globe, enhancing relevance for regional operations, and we specifically recognized six individuals by name who have been active leaders in the implementation. Continued on next page

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Supporting the Security function/internal customer satisfaction  We sought feedback from the Senior Director, Global Security, who commented, ―From my perspective an excellent article, very thorough, well written, informative and delivered very effectively a key message that has been traditionally difficult to communicate as gold theft is not an easy subject to discuss.‖ He quantified achievement of objectives as follows: o Supported the Security function mission 95% o Conveyed key messages accurately and appropriately 95% o Generated awareness 95% o Recognized/appreciated individuals and sites who are leading Gold Standards implementation 95% o Recognized progress to date and supports momentum for further progress 95%  In preparing this article, we identified other story ideas and additional ways Communications can support the Security function. We have integrated those into 2009 plans.

174

OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Writing

Award of Excellence

Title of entry: Announcing Barrick‟s Tire Management Strategy Entrant‘s name: Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Organization: Barrick Gold Corporation Time period of project: January 2008

Brief description: This news release and fact sheet generated positive media coverage and investor interest by positioning Barrick‘s innovative approach to managing the industry- wide tire shortage. Need/opportunity

 Barrick Gold Corporation is the world‘s pre-eminent gold mining company with 27 operating mines and 20,000 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick's vision is to be the world's best gold company by finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner. Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.  During 2007 and 2008, a global mining boom generated strong demand and high prices for many materials used in mining, including tires. Large tires (with a price tag of up to $60,000 each), represented one of the largest single expense items for Barrick. Without tires, trucks and equipment cannot operate, and downtime is very expensive. Demand for large tires more than doubled in the previous several years, without a corresponding increase in production, driving prices higher and resulting in tire shortages. Tire producers have indicated the shortage will be on-going till at least 2011.  With costs for tires and other supplies rising rapidly, Barrick (like other miners) was being carefully scrutinized by investors for the increases in its production costs which adversely affect margins.  In response to the tire shortage, Barrick introduced a comprehensive tire management strategy. This included enhanced tire maintenance and repair initiatives at mine sites. In 2007, in our internal communications, we increased employee awareness about the tire shortage and recognized those employees involved in the maintenance and repair initiatives. The message was conveyed in a number of ways throughout 2007 – sharing of best practices among site tire teams, through meetings of the Global Tire team, Continuous Improvement department initiatives, in executive presentations and speeches, and in a feature article in the global newsletter. Continued on next page

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 At the end of 2007, the Barrick Supply Chain department negotiated an innovative supply contract with a new supplier. As part of this 10-year supply agreement, Yokohama would expand its Onomichi tire plant in Japan to increase supply of off-the-road (OTR) tires. The US$50 million (5 billion yen) expansion included a new building, production line, and related equipment, and was primarily funded by a US$35 million loan from Barrick. This expansion supports Yokohama‘s strategy to grow its share of the OTR market, and demonstrates Barrick's partnership approach with suppliers. This innovative response to the worldwide tire shortage will help ensure a supply of high quality tires for Barrick‘s operations and new projects. An official signing ceremony was arranged for January 30, 2008.  We determined these efforts could be packaged as an external announcement to demonstrate Barrick‘s innovation and creativity in managing production costs and to reinforce a message about Barrick being a well managed organization.

Entrant‟s role in the project

 I researched and wrote these materials, which were released by newswire on January 31, 2008.

Intended audiences

 The primary audience was business and news media as a conduit to reach the investment community. As one of Canada‘s most prominent publicly traded companies, business news media follows Barrick closely and is always looking for news from the company. Barrick also trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is therefore closely followed by major business news organizations in the US. Investors rely heavily on these news organizations for their information in making decisions. They are always interested in Barrick‘s management story as they research aspects that differentiate Barrick from its competitors.  An important secondary audience was Barrick‘s 20,000 employees worldwide. This diverse group includes miners and equipment operators, engineers, exploration geologists, and office professionals. Most employees work at the 27 operating mines located in Canada, the United States, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Others work at remote exploration sites, or at regional or head offices in cities such as Toronto, Salt Lake City, Santiago and Perth. They take pride in the company‘s innovative management approaches and have a vested interest in the tire management strategy, particularly those employees who work in operations.

Goals and objectives

 Inform the business news media about the tire shortage issue and position positively Barrick‘s proactive approach to manage this component of overall production cost.  We recognized this was a relatively minor announcement in the scheme of the large projects and deals often announced by Barrick, and expectations for interest were modest. We hoped to achieve at least two major media hits in Canada and two in the US business media.

Solution overview

 We identified this topic during a scheduled visit to mine sites in March 2007. I conducted interviews with tire maintenance staff and took related photos. I further developed this story for internal use by consulting with Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement department staff. In 2007, we told the story internally and recognized employees involved in the tire strategy through articles in the employee newsletter, executive presentations, and through other internal communication vehicles. Over the course of the year, we collected additional information with the expectation that this story might be used externally when there was enough data and results from the tire management efforts. Continued on next page

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 Research involved fact-finding discussions (in-person meetings, phone and email) with various Supply Chain department staff and Global Tire Team members. We discussed the topic with the Investor Relations Vice President to determine shareholder interest and how best to put the story forward for the investment community.  Near the end of December 2007, Supply Chain signaled they were ready to sign an innovative contract with a tire supplier. We determined this was the news hook we had been seeking to announce our tire management strategy.  The official contract signing took place at the end of January 2008 in Honolulu. We quickly assembled all the data we had been accumulating throughout 2007 and organized it as a fact sheet. We gathered all the details of the new contract and worked with Supply Chain to obtain information and approvals from the supplier, Yokohama, to develop an official news release acceptable to both parties. We received final revisions and approvals from Honolulu by email.  We hired a photographer through the international photo service to take pictures of the official signing. Photos were emailed to us immediately so we could release them with the announcement.  Key messages for the news release included: o This innovative contract with Yokohama demonstrates Barrick‘s creativity and proactive approach to dealing with supply issues o Barrick is dealing effectively with the global tire shortage through its tire management strategy that is prolonging tire life and reducing maintenance costs o The tire management strategy demonstrates Barrick‘s good management  The news release focuses on the contract with Yokohama, and provides an opportunity for Barrick to discuss the tire shortage issue and its proactive tire management strategy. The fact sheet gives detailed background about various aspects of the tire management strategy.

Implementation and challenges

 There was no budget specifically allocated to this project. Estimated time required for the research, writing, approvals and coordination is 40 hours spread over several months and including time spent on developing the internal program. The only expenses were newswire distribution and a half- day rate for photography; these were absorbed into the annual budget for these administrative expenses. Total cost approximately $2,500.  Our regular media monitoring service captures daily news coverage from major English media around the world. The volume of media coverage on the company is high and monitoring is therefore somewhat selective and not comprehensive. Duplicates of wire stories are not usually included. We advised the media monitoring staff person of this release in advance so she could watch for mentions. In addition, we conducted Google searches to detect other coverage, and found this story ran on many websites and blogs that were not captured through the news media monitoring. Because this was considered a relatively minor announcement, it was determined that the cost of additional monitoring or MRP analysis was not warranted in this case.

Measurement/evaluation

 Response from the media was immediate as soon as the story hit the newswire on the morning of January 30, exceeding expectations. It generated numerous media calls to our official spokesperson, (Vince Borg, Sr. VP Corporate Communications), and he is quoted in several of the stories. The President, Greg Wilkins is quoted in the press release. Stories that used the Wilkins quote were relying on the press release while those which quoted Borg had obviously conducted a phone interview. Continued on next page

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 Major news media included: o Globe and Mail (ran the story on January 30 on the website; ran a second story the following day in the newspaper) o National Post o The Toronto Star o Canadian Press o Reuters o Associated Press o CNN Money.com  A basic analysis of these key eight placements shows key messages were effectively delivered:

Key Message Analysis Media Barrick Quoted Barrick Ensure supply innovative, leader spokesperson strategy, managing in the industry (Wilkins or Borg) tire shortage Globe and Mail Jan 30 Yes Yes, both Yes Globe and Mail Jan 31 Yes Yes, both Yes National Post Yes Yes, Borg Yes The Toronto Star Yes Yes, Wilkins Yes Canadian Press Yes Yes, Wilkins Yes Reuters Yes Yes, Wilkins Yes Associated Press Yes Yes, Wilkins Yes CNN Money.com Yes Yes, Wilkins Yes

 A Google search on February 1 found 17,400 results for Barrick and Yokohama sign deal, showing how widely spread the story was on the internet, particularly on investment sites, trade publication sites, and business news sites such as CNBC.com.  In addition to business news media, we found numerous trade publications from the mining and the tire industries picked up the announcement and ran the story on their websites and in their magazines: o American Metal Market o Mining Weekly o Tire Review o Modern Tire Dealer o Rubber & Plastics News o Tyres and Accessories  In the following days, we had numerous requests for photos of the signing, tires, heavy equipment, and related subjects. We quickly pulled together relevant photos and captions to respond to these requests in a timely manner. One such request was from the editor of The Mining Chronicle who described the information package as ―amazingly large and comprehensive,‖  The Investor Relations department received calls from investors asking about our tire management strategy and impressed with the steps the company was taking. We were told that some of our competitors were receiving calls asking them if they had a tire management strategy. As they did not, it reinforced Barrick‘s leading position in this area.

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 We found some interesting blog postings as well, including this one commenting on the Globe and Mail article and labeled ―For the want of a nail.‖ He wrote, ―While people think deep, and pretty gloomy thoughts about the global economy, the people who are actually making stuff or mining are dealing with the scarcity which abundance create. Lots of 3 million dollar mining trucks + no tires = no mining trucks. Barrick is looking long term and that is very smart indeed.‖  The innovative, smart management positioning has held up. In August, when Barrick announced the purchase of an oil company as a hedge against oil prices, stories in the Globe and Mail Metals Week and a Reuters newswire story all referenced the tire deal as past evidence of the company‘s innovation.  We continue to monitor the tire management strategy and the progress of the Yokohama agreement, with plans in place to publicize the first tires that are delivered from Yokohama to a Barrick site.

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Skills Writing

Award of Excellence

Nestlé asks, “Are you a Halloweenie?”

Entrant‘s Name: Alison George, Janet Grdovich, Ashley Ballantyne, Daniel Tisch, APR Organization‘s Name: Argyle Communications Client Organization: Nestlé Canada Time Period of Project: May – November 2008

Brief Description: Argyle‘s campaign drove media interest in Nestlé‘s Halloween chocolate products – in the absence of a hard news hook - by creating a playful campaign theme and communicating it through witty writing aimed right at the primary purchasers.

BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY:

Nestlé Canada‘s junior-sized Aero, Kit Kat, Smarties and Coffee Crisp bars (called Nestlé Fav*rites) lead the market in sales in the competitive Halloween time period. Traditionally, public relations has been an important part of the market mix in promoting Nestlé Fav*rites in this key selling season. In the recent past, Argyle‘s campaigns focused on Nestlé‘s leadership in peanut-free manufacturing. But in the planning stages of the 2008 campaign, Argyle recognized this news was stale.

The 2008 campaign needed a hook. During a preliminary planning meeting, Argyle‘s client at Nestlé Canada advised that the company had commissioned a study from a researcher called Hotspex in 2007. She said the research showed close to half of Canadian adults embraced Halloween – and she called them ―Halloweenies‖. The light bulb went off, and this idea became the foundation of Árgyle‘s campaign. Continued on next page

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ENTRANTS‟ ROLE IN THE PROJECT:

Name Role Alison George Reviewed all available research in order to develop a strategic plan. Oversaw Vice President the development of program recommendation, budget and implementation of all program components. Developed proprietary omnibus survey content. Wrote ―Are you a Halloweenie‖ survey and omnibus survey results summary. Janet Grdovich Developed strategic plan and recommendations, managed program budget Senior Consultant and implementation, researched and wrote omnibus survey news release and matte stories and led all communications with the client. Ashley Ballantyne Conducted outreach to media contacts, coordinated matte story submissions, Associate Consultant and managed program measurement. Daniel Tisch Creative brainstorming and strategic counsel to the Argyle/Nestlé team. President

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

 Primary Audience: Moms with children under 13, who are the principal shoppers for their homes. This was established based on research that identified ‗mom‘ as the most important confectionery purchaser – the shopper and gatekeeper. She is responsible for packing lunch boxes, providing snacks and buying treats for Halloween. She is very conscious of the snack/treat choices that she makes because she is highly aware of food allergies among children. (Source: Nestlé Canada)

 Secondary Audience: Targeted media segments: national, community, food/lifestyle and online. Research showed that women in the target demographic seek information about food, lifestyle and trends from these outlets – and that made them the best conduit to the primary audience. The team also recognized the topic could have broad appeal to radio hosts, who could use the material for amusing on-air chat.

GOALS/OBJECTIVES:

Argyle established clear PR objectives, in line with Nestlé‘s stated goal and brand objective.

Goal: Continue to grow the Halloween business by capitalizing on Nestlé‘s peanut-free message and by leveraging the strength of its brands.

Brand Objective: Maintain Nestlé‘s strong position as number one in the peanut-free category during Halloween with an increase in market share over 2007.

PR Objective: Obtain an MR2P™ score of 80 per cent and reach an estimated audience of between 15 to 18 million Canadians through the media, based on the circulation, listenership and viewership of the outlets covering the campaign.

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SOLUTION OVERVIEW:

The research insights and objectives were clear. However, the core challenge was finding newsworthy angles when there was no product innovation or ‗newness‘— on a limited budget (see below). Argyle developed this multifaceted strategic approach:

Create news: In the absence of hard news, Argyle knew the team had to provide media with unique and interesting information that would directly link Nestlé Fav*rites with the fun and whimsy of Halloween. They determined that an original consumer survey, executed through Harris-Decima, exploring the adult Halloween psyche was an effective way to develop newsworthy angles. The results, coupled with the knowledge honed from the 2007 Hotspex survey, became the foundation of the campaign.

Clever, catchy writing: To ensure materials were strong enough to catch the eye of harried reporters, Argyle had to make the results relevant and engaging – with the keyboard as the primary tool. The team needed to pluck the best nuggets of information from the survey and communicate them concisely – and with just the right, light tone. Plus, Argyle felt it needed one customized document directed at radio hosts – a fun, themed piece that could become fodder for radio chatter. This led to the ―Are you a Halloweenie?‖ questionnaire. With an appreciative nod to the classic Cosmo Quiz, this questionnaire was created to evoke laughter and to exaggerate Canadian adults‘ attitudes toward Halloween.

Simplifying client feedback: Argyle used a very effective process to gain client buy-in and approvals. First, Argyle provided a summary of the Harris-Decima survey results – pulling out key data and presenting it in an easy-to-read report. The client did not have to wade through pages of data. Once the survey results summary was approved, Argyle developed concise key messages, including survey and brand messages, to guide the development of all media materials. From there, the team crafted the campaign news release, which was issued to media along with the survey results.

As for the Halloweenie questionnaire, Argyle wanted to avoid time-consuming revisions and edits. They knew the final quiz had to be brief – four questions – but the first draft sent to the client included 10 questions. With more options to choose from, the approvals process was expedited; step one was to identify the client‘s favorite options. This eliminated the need to go back to the drawing board to come up with new concepts. With a few minor tweaks, the questionnaire was approved.

Media influencer campaign: To maximize coverage, Argyle conducted one-on-one media outreach to a comprehensive list of influential food and family/lifestyle media, promoting Nestlé‘s commitment to offer its four most popular brands in a peanut-free junior format -- perfect for Halloween. In addition, the team distributed three stories in a camera-ready format to grassroots media nation-wide.

IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES:

Budget: The budget for this campaign was approximately $41,500 in fees and $9,000 expenses. Had Argyle been required to complete multiple revisions to its written materials, there would have been higher costs. Ensuring the approvals process moved smoothly, as outlined above, was a key success factor.

Timing: Argyle had to put its Halloween hats on early, as the survey went into the field in June. This early start was necessary to ensure sufficient time to develop all written materials and conduct outreach with long-lead media outlets. Timing for short-lead media outreach also was key. Argyle needed to be early enough to get noticed by the media – but also needed to work to secure coverage in the days immediately prior to Halloween, when the pitch was most topical. Continued on next page

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Challenges: The team encountered and managed some challenges with account staffing. Argyle‘s key contact at Nestlé was transferred internally as the program was in mid-stream. Though the materials were completed and approved, Argyle had to revisit its plan and tactics to ensure support from the new client contact. In addition, the survey analysis and media materials writing occurred in the summer, a timeframe that corresponded with several vacations. Argyle‘s internal transitions had to be seamless with the client contact – while maintaining consistently high-levels of writing, follow up and account management.

MEASURING/EVALUATION:

PR objective  Argyle‘s media outreach activities – built on creatively written media materials – resulted in 21,324,462 impressions secured through 72 media outlets. This campaign achieved an MR²P quality score of 85.42%.

 The ―Are you a Halloweenie?‖ questionnaire was a hit, expanding the coverage generated by the survey. The quiz was picked up by more than 18 media outlets.

 Though it is difficult to monitor for radio chatter, the Argyle team noted that its media information (either the survey results or the Halloweenie questionnaire) was featured on Roger, Darren and Marilyn‘s morning show on CHUM-FM in Toronto; Sue and Beasley on 97.7 in Calgary; and Erin and Mike‘s morning show on CHFI in Toronto. In each case, the hosts mentioned at least one Nestlé brand by name (and, in at least two cases, were eating a bar on-air).

Support for business objective  Nestlé maintained its leadership position in Halloween sales by dollar, reaching a 46.5 market share in 2008, an increase of +2.5 over 2007. It was the third consecutive year that Nestlé Fav*rites maintained a 40+ share,

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OVATION Award Winning Entry Communication Creative Publication Design

Award of Excellence

Title of Entry: The Children‟s Wish Foundation of Canada Annual Report 07 - 08 Entrant‘s Name: George James Entrant‘s Organization: The Children‟s Wish Foundation of Canada Time Period of Project: March – June 2008

Brief Description: A new approach to developing an annual report focused on bringing to life the emotional work The Children‘s Wish Foundation does while communicating the organization‘s financial requirements.

Project Summary:

The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada, the leading wish granting agency to Canadian children diagnosed with high-risk, life threatening illnesses, wanted to really bring home to readers of their annual report the importance of what they do. Instead of focusing on the organization, they created a record of the emotional stories of 5 seriously ill children and their families as their wishes were fulfilled. The new report enabled the organization to portray the truly national nature of their work in an efficient, cost-effective and thought-provoking manner, and assisted in increasing donations to ensure wishes can continue to be fulfilled.

For 24 years, The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada has been granting wishes to Canadian children diagnosed with life threatening illnesses. Since our inception, we have granted more than 14,000 wishes, with almost 900 wishes granted in the 2007-2008 year alone. The organization believes that there is magic in a wish; that a rich and wonderful life is measured not in years, but in the precious moments shared with loved ones. Our work begins with a simple wish. Once a child is referred to us, and the case has been medically approved, the child is asked to make the most important decision: in the realm of possibilities, what is their most heartfelt wish? They can choose literally any wish imaginable as long as it won‘t jeopardize their health or safety. Whatever the wish, we are committed to using our talents, time and energy to ensure each and every wish child realizes their dream.

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We are the leading wish granting agency in Canada and we take great pride in the fact that we have never denied an eligible child a wish, despite some of the most complex wishes imaginable. That‘s why our goal is to create positive, magical experiences for children with high-risk, life threatening illnesses that also bring joy to their families. But we are not able to achieve this goal on our own. Each wish is an individual adventure, carefully structured to meet the needs of that particular child. We are able to do this because our staff and volunteers at our 13 chapters and many sub-chapters, located in every province and territory, work tirelessly to maintain the highest quality of service to our wish families with attention to the most minute details to ensure the total satisfaction of each and every wish child. This enables us to take what may seem like an impossible task in an adult‘s eyes and turn it into an amazing wish that puts a smile on a child‘s face, creating magic and unforgettable memories for the whole family.

At Children‘s Wish, we intimately know the magic we can bring to a very sick child‘s life and to their families. We know the importance of the work we do. However, in order to achieve our goals and deliver these wishes, we depend on the time and dedicated effort of about 100 staff, hundreds of volunteers and the donations of Canadian individuals and companies. It takes millions of dollars to make these dreams come true. We need to connect with Canadians and tell them what we do in way that would make an impact, reaching their hearts so that they would be encouraged to reach for their wallets and make a donation. As a charitable organization, we also need to keep our costs low and accountable. We do not have the luxury of spending millions on advertising to generate donations. We are also required to produce an annual report that professionally outlines where the money has been spent, showcases how fiscally responsible we are with what we accomplish and to recognize donors. We also consistently deal with brand confusion as there are several other similar organizations in Canada, with similar logos, although we grant more wishes than all of them combined. We needed to be able to stand out from the crowd.

When I joined the organization in February 2008, I conducted a communications audit and had in-depth discussions with each of our provincial chapters, senior staff at all levels of the organization and major sponsors and donors. It became clear that there was a need to communicate that we had become a national, blue chip, top tier, non-profit organization, dedicated to helping children from across the country, not just in large major cities. We needed to engage our provincial chapters and recognize the work they do, as the local chapters are the ones who actually grant each child‘s wish. And we needed to achieve all of this to ensure that the magic work we do of granting wishes could continue to happen because our staff would remain motivated, our volunteers would stay engaged, our donors would continue to pledge funds and potential donors would be moved to help us financially.

Intended Audiences:

The target audiences for the program included:

 Our Staff: Approximately 100 people, 18-65 years old, who work in our 13 chapters in every Canadian province. They are dedicated and motivated to making wishes come true, but they needed to feel connected to the other chapters, recognized for what they are doing in their chapter and part of a national network. My research showed that they felt disconnected from the national organization and each of the other chapters.

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 Our Volunteers: The thousands of people across the country ranging in age from five-years-old to senior citizens. Their demographic and psychographic varies by the community, but they are all people who care. They know and understand the value of the work the organization does, often because they have personal contact with a sick child or their families. They need to feel that they are contributing to making great things happen for sick children and their families.  Our Board Members and Chapter Advisory Members: These 26 Canadians represent various chapters in our network as well as various geographic areas of Canada. They bring strong professional skills to the organization, often being senior, experienced leaders in their field of expertise and provide ongoing advice to the organization.  Our Donors: These range from our 257 corporate and private donors that donate $5,000+ to the literally thousands of Canadians that drop a loonie into a collection at a local fundraising event. They include all ages of Canadians from schoolchildren through to people who make bequeaths in their wills. They live in every province and territory in Canada, and come from every economic bracket. The one thing they have in common is their belief in our goal to make a very sick child‘s wish come true.

Objectives:

Our overall objectives for the annual report were to create a publication that would show how fiscally responsible the organization is and the expenditures for the 2007-2008 year, and showcase how we are the leading wish granting organization in Canada. Our objectives for the annual report were to:  Create a communication piece that would put a personal face to our work and convey what The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada does, evoke an emotional response in the reader, and support our goal of raising money to grant wishes.  Create a communication piece that would demonstrate the true national nature of the organization and showcase chapters.  Acknowledge the donors.  Within four months, produce printed version for board approval at Annual General Meeting on June 7th with final printing of 1,200 printed brochures to be finished by end of June.  Produce a professional, emotion evoking annual report that wouldn‘t look ―too slick‖ or like inappropriate amounts of donated money had been spent on it, while maintaining or improving the quality of previous annual reports, fulfilling the need to communicate required financial information, in English and French, on a budget of $25,000.

Key Messages/Theme:

As the new Director of Communications for The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada, I was responsible for the strategic development and execution of the organization‘s communication materials. This included being responsible for the initial research, chapter and board/senior management liaison, strategic development, management and execution of the annual report. I was actively involved in every step of the program, from presenting the concept to the management team, researching the audiences, sourcing and coordinating all aspects and suppliers for the annual report including the graphic designer, photographers, writer and printer, liaising with the chapters and their wish children and their families and overseeing and executing all aspects of the annual report‘s production.

Key messages we wanted to communicate through the annual report were:  The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada is #1 in Canada for fulfilling the wishes of children with high-risk, life threatening illnesses. Continued on next page

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 Imagine the difference a wish can make; at The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada we see that difference every day.  The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada granted almost 900 wishes to Canadian children diagnosed with high-risk, life threatening illnesses in 2007-2008, yet each one is unique and creates special memories for that family.  We cannot and do not grant wishes alone; we depend on our volunteers and our donors to make it happen.

Creative Rationale:

As a not-for-profit charity, we are consistently cognizant of the fact that we must be fiscally prudent. We cannot produce materials that are perceived as being too slick or polished, or extravagant in cost. Yet, we are expected to deliver professional, credible materials that communicate our key messages. Our annual report is one of our main communication vehicles. We needed to be able to communicate each child‘s story in a way that would translate their experience and evoke emotion in the reader. And we needed to do it in two languages, English and French. This necessitated great coordination between the children, the chapters, and the national office.

My first step was to conduct an audit and hold discussions with members of senior management including the Executive Director and the Director of Development, and with each of the chapters. This showed that we needed to involve the provincial chapters in the annual report more and that we needed to communicate visually what we actually do in a way that would evoke emotion. And we needed to do it in a clean, simple, effective manner. We also identified that this report would be the perfect method to introduce our new logo. This led to the strategic decision to showcase six stories of our wish children and their families from different parts of Canada. I asked the chapter directors and wish grantors to identify unique wish stories from the last fiscal year. After reviewing all the possibilities, we selected five -- one each from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia and two from Quebec. We wanted the stories span the country, represent smaller cities as well as large urban areas, and have a mix of girls and boys. I then hired a writer to assist me with the writing.

The writer and I interviewed each family and crafted a true story that would communicate the child‘s background, what they wished for, and what it meant to them and to their families. Each story conveyed the importance of what the organization was doing succinctly, but emotionally. I then worked with each chapter to arrange to have a photographer local to the child take family photos in a manner that would show consistency between all the stories, but inherently convey their own personal stories. One way we were able to keep the photos consistent was to include ―Rory,‖ our stuffed lion mascot. I then worked with the families to get photos of their actual wishes. We did stipulate that we wanted the photos not be taken in a hospital room; we wanted to include the child‘s family as the wish includes them, and we wanted to capture them relaxed, happy and having fun with their families, just as each wish does. Each chapter and family approved the story and their photos.

Once the report was written, it was translated into French and I worked with an external designer to create the simple, clean yet colourful design that showcased the stories. We used a map of Canada on the front inside cover to demonstrate where each child was from and to communicate the national nature of the organization. We dedicated one page to each story, one page to celebrate our Volunteer of the Year and our National Platinum Partners, one page to listing our key donors and two pages to the Treasurer‘s Report and financial statements that we are required to make. We also incorporated our new logo into the design and the creative rationale was included in the Executive Report.

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Results: The annual report was an overwhelming success. It put a face to the work that we do, communicating through personal stories how we help sick children and their families.

The budget for the annual report was $25,000 which included all writing, photography, design, printing of 100 reports for Board approval and final printing of 1,200 bilingual reports.

Objective Result  Create a communication piece that would put  Indepth personal stories of 5 wishes showed a personal face to our work and convey what what the organization actually does. The Children‘s Wish Foundation of Canada  Stories evoked responses; we received does, evoke an emotional response in the emails, and phone calls telling us how reader, and support our goal of raising money reading the report affected our staff, board to grant wishes. members, volunteers and donors.  Our request for information calls and emails were up 20% after the report was published.  Our donations increased from July to December 2008, helping us to achieve an overall increase of almost $2 million.  Create a communication piece that would  Canadian map on inside front cover demonstrate the true national nature of the demonstrated visually how wishes are being organization and showcase chapters. granted right across the country.  6 stories chosen reflected the national nature of the organization.  Profile recipient of the Laura Cole Volunteer of the Year  Listing of all chapters on page 12, along with listing of Board of Directors, showcases all offices and demonstrates how representation is present from all areas of country  First time new national logo unveiled.  Acknowledge the donors.  Page 11 and Page 14 list all key donors

 Within three months, produce printed version  Report printed on time for review at AGM for board approval at Annual General and final reports printed on deadline. Meeting on June 7th with final printing of 1,200 printed brochures to be finished by end of June.  Produce a professional, emotion evoking  Report finished slightly under budget. annual report that wouldn‘t look ―too slick‖  Report quality was enhanced over previous or like inappropriate amounts of donated years. money had been spent on it, while  Report was perceived as being more maintaining or improving the quality of professional, more colourful, more personal previous annual reports, fulfilling the need to and easier to read. communicate required financial information,  Suppliers asked if they could use the report in English and French, on a budget of as a benchmark example. $25,000.  All key messages included.

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Award of Distinction 2009 IABC/Toronto MAVERICK PR Student of the Year

Social Media Release Thursday, April 30, 2009 Jess Bennett Consulting Attention: Maverick Editors

„Engagement‟ announcement: public relations to wed social media Social media consultant encourages more responsible use of social media

TORONTO, ON (April 30, 2009) - Prominent social media practitioner Jess Bennett says the public relations field must do a better job of integrating social media advancements into its working tactical toolbox. With the recent mainstream explosion of applications like Twitter, many practitioners and organizations have hastily jumped on the social media bandwagon to appear innovative, without considering what is necessary to maintain a positive and effective online presence.

―Many companies mistakenly look to public relations as form of advertising with a better ROI as if companies talk, audiences listen and the key message of the brand remains intact,‖ says Bennett. ―What the practice of public relations actually strives towards is an ideal model of two-way symmetrical conversation between a company and its stakeholders, whether online or offline. Practitioners employing social media tactics must ensure they are actively contributing to online dialogue and not exploiting social media as simply another tool to unilaterally broadcast brand messages.‖

Public relations practitioners must be aware that online communities want to talk back and are more skeptical about the role of brands in their sphere than traditional media audiences. Print media outlets, such as magazines, have carried advertising alongside editorial content for decades. Unlike traditional media, the Internet‘s early adopters were idealistic: dreamers and inventors who partook in online dialogue for amusement. Bennett says these pioneers communicated just to stay in touch and these conversations preceded companies using the Internet to make money.

―The result of this foundation has been an opinionated democratic community where organizations can not ‗bullhorn‘ brand messages as they might in other spheres,‖ says Bennett. ―The online community continues to dictate its own ethics, norms and values. Organizations must ensure they actively engage online audiences and treat people as individuals.‖

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Bennett points out that even companies perceived to have online expertise can slip up. In one case, the management at Facebook altered the company‘s TOS (terms of service) to suggest that the personal information and photographs of its users would become the legal property of Facebook. Public outcry against the policy caused the company to flip-flop back to the old terms.

A recent glitch at Amazon provides another compelling example of the power of online audiences. Reading materials with homosexual content were mistakenly classified as ‗adult‘ and removed from Amazon‘s book ranking listings. What resulted was an outpouring of opposition on Twitter that caused the company to declare this opposition had been a ―glitch‖ and reclassify the content. This event demonstrated that Amazon‘s size and wealth were no match for the voices of the social media community. Bennett says organizations are more directly accountable for their actions when functioning online than they are in other spheres because their audiences have the immediate means to communicate opposition.

By underestimating social media, organizations can also risk vulnerability. In the case of Skittles, the company decided to redirect its homepage directly to the Skittles Twitter feed. This resulted in some users posting sabotage and inappropriate content that became directly affiliated with the company. Bennett says companies should engage online audiences, but not open up the floodgates. They need to manage the dialogue, to act and to react.

―Social media has become a buzz word, but communicators must remember that it is a tactic fitting into a greater strategy,‖ says Bennett. ―Companies need to think about how social media helps them toward their goals rather than blindly implement it as a band-aid solution.‖

According to the results of a recent collaborative CNW Group and Leger Marketing poll, 69% of PR practitioners feel they understand social media but could be using it more effectively. Only 29% know who their organization's key online influencers are. Social media consultants like Jess Bennett can help organizations to smoothly develop an effective online presence.

Jess Bennett‟s tips for organizations moving towards social media: 1. Discuss why your organization wants to implement social media. What role does it play in the larger goals and strategy of your organization? 2. Begin with research: listen to others and look at best practices examples before you broadcast your message. Listen, engage and then speak. 3. Online communities respond better to real people than giant corporations: it helps to have a personal face with a real personality representing your company online. Think Richard@Dell or @MolsonFerg on Twitter. 4. Be humble, honest and transparent, listen to feedback, admit errors and become better.

ABOUT JESS BENNETT ______An accomplished communicator, Bennett understands the nuances required for a public relations practitioner to thrive in the social media realm. Bennett is a graduate of Seneca College‘s Corporate Communication program and has also received a Master of Professional Communication from the University of Western Sydney.

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Jess Bennett‘s skills have been put to good use most recently as a key member to Palette PR‘s growing online public relations presence. The social media consultant continues to hone her online communication prowess through active participation in a variety of Toronto‘s most innovative and cutting edge professional development events, including Third Tuesday, Podcamp, Mesh, and CPRS and IABC events.

Bennett is also an accomplished blogger, writing about her passion for food in the aptly titled ‗Sift, Dust & Toss.‘ Her writing has received acclaim from social media experts and professional chefs alike. Most recently, ‗Sift, Dust and Toss‘ was featured in both The Toronto Star and Macleans.ca, both outlets combining for a total reach number of well over one million impressions.

Jess Bennett Consulting helps companies strengthen their brand presence online through targeted and responsible engagement with their audiences. We help clients move from everyone-else-is-doing-it to why-didn’t-we-think-of-that?

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Award of Distinction 2009 Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award

Title of Entry: Charity Starts at the Office – Creating On Your Bike! Entrants‘ Names: Pat McNamara, APR, Tracey Bochner, APR, Ellen Leesti, Scott MacFadyen Entrant‘s Organization: APEX Public Relations Inc. Time Period: May 2003 – Present

Brief Description: On Your Bike! (OYB!) is a not-for-profit foundation that collects second-hand bicycles to repair and donate them to disadvantaged children throughout Toronto. Bicycles provide a means of transportation along with a sense of freedom, physical activity and more importantly fun! When kids outgrow their bikes, they can be used to enhance the lives of other kids.

THE OPPORTUNITY We all remember our first bicycle and the freedom it gave us to explore.

In 2003, four years after its launch, APEX Public Relations wanted to do something to give back to the community. In order to share the success of the young PR firm and encourage its employees to be community minded, APEX wanted to get involved in a charitable initiative that would benefit children in the Greater Toronto area and allow the entire APEX team to get involved.

The positive memories of our first bikes drove us to find an endeavor that would help ensure that children in need could have access to their own bicycles. The result was the creation of our own non- profit foundation called On Your Bike! The concept was simple; when children grew out of their bikes, families could donate them to On Your Bike! which, in turn, would get them to children whose families may not otherwise be able to provide one. These gently-used bicycles were collected through bike drives, repaired and then donated to disadvantaged children through service organizations throughout the city. Through APEX, On Your Bike! would also fund and collect new and used bike parts, tires and helmets to ensure the bicycles were safe and ready for the road.

The goal of On Your Bike! is to ensure disadvantaged children in Toronto have that first bike experience that we all so fondly remember. The APEX On Your Bike! team has conducted more than 15 bike drives at various locations around the city, and has collected, repaired and donated more than 2,000 bicycles.

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Over the years, the On Your Bike! team has expanded beyond APEX staff to include members of local cycling clubs, staff family members and various suppliers, including APEX clients. The initiative is now a joint project between APEX and its partner, Paradigm Public Relations, which was launched in 2007 by one of On Your Bike!’s founders, Tracey Bochner. All funding is provided by APEX.

Research APEX conducted an organizational audit to determine if a program existed that provided bikes to kids that would not be able to otherwise have access to one. The research also involved identifying and reaching out to community service groups such as the local Boys and Girls Clubs to determine if there was a need/desire for this type of initiative and, if so, how these groups would distribute the bicycles. APEX determined that while there were organizations that collected bikes, none were targeted at the primary school age group, which then became the focus of On Your Bike!

At the same time, APEX investigated whether any municipal, provincial or federal assistance and/o funding was available to help support On Your Bike!. While there were programs available, accessing them proved to be challenging and APEX chose to incorporate On Your Bike! as a non-profit entity rather than a charitable organization with the agency supplying the funding and staff time.

Before launching On Your Bike!, APEX also spent a significant amount of time investigating potential program partners including bicycle manufacturers, helmet manufacturers, bike stores, community groups, etc. For example, during the launch, On Your Bike! volunteers used their time at the Toronto International Bicycle Show to visit every bike store, event and manufacturer to discuss the program and how they could become involved.

ENTRANTS‟ ROLES IN THE PROJECT Pat McNamara and Tracey Bochner conceptualized and created On Your Bike! and developed the brand. On Your Bike! was then set up as a client at APEX with a team devoted to establishing relationships with service organizations, coordinating logistics for bicycle drives and seeking out donations for parts, helmets, etc.

McNamara and Bochner provided senior-level client counsel and strategic planning, with Bochner acting as primary spokesperson. Over the years, numerous members of the APEX team have volunteered their time to support the initiative through media relations, event planning, logistics support, bike drives/repairs and more. Currently, On Your Bike! is overseen by staff members from APEX and Paradigm Public Relations.

INTENDED AUDIENCE On Your Bike! has several target audiences:

1. Parents of children who have outgrown their bicycles and have kept those bicycles in good working order 2. Community service organizations that could assist On Your Bike! to get the bicycles into the hands of the kids that need them 3. Media who could assist in raising awareness of the initiative

GOAL o Successfully launch and maintain a not-for-profit initiative that would provide means for a successful PR agency to give back to the community in which it operates and to provide APEX team members an opportunity to use their professional skill sets to support a worthy cause. Continued on next page

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OBJECTIVES  To provide disadvantaged kids with bikes of their own; distribute a minimum of 200 bikes per drive  Encourage APEX employees to get involved at work and through bike drive volunteer activities  Establish relationships with community service organizations and supplier partners that could help with the bike drives and donate parts  Create strong local media interest in the bike drives to help drive bike donations

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Getting Started Once the need for an organization of this nature was confirmed, APEX introduced the On Your Bike! concept to its employees, and partners. APEX approached several of its primary suppliers to help with the launch by creating a visual identity and brand for the initiative, building a website (www.onyourbike.ca) and establishing a dedicated phone line for inquiries. In order to build awareness and launch the initiative, APEX arranged to have a presence at the Toronto International Bicycle Show with APEX volunteers coordinating media relations, manning the booth and networking with potential partners within the cycling community.

In tandem with the official launch, On Your Bike! volunteers began developing relationships with community service group networks throughout Toronto. This involved determining which groups were interested in partnering with On Your Bike! and exactly how the bikes would be delivered to local children. The St. Alban‘s Boys and Girls Club was particularly keen to partner with the organization and the club‘s location was determined to be an excellent setting for the first bike drive.

On Your Bike! bicycle drives became the key method of collecting gently used bicycles. Originally, it was determined that three bikes drives would take place each year. Volunteers worked to secure locations for drives by examining the potential for collecting bicycles (community demographics) and by determining the availability of partner organizations that could donate the space required to conduct the drives.

As this was a non-profit organization, it was also necessary to determine a means of sourcing materials to repair the bicycles that were collected. Since launching, the foundation has received donations of parts from partners such as Norco and local bicycle retailers. In addition, APEX created donation boxes that were used to collect Canadian Tire money. On Your Bike! has been able to purchase sufficient parts and supplies to clean and repair bicycles collected during the drives through the box in its office, collection boxes that were provided to clients, and some additional APEX funding

Executing Bike Drives Once dates and locations for bike drives were determined and supplies were purchased, APEX‘s On Your Bike! volunteers would move into event execution mode. Team members with mid-level experience helped oversee the logistics behind On Your Bike! events, such as participation in the Toronto Bike Show, securing locations for bike drives and outreach to potential partners to assist with collecting, repairing and delivering the bikes to community service organizations.

The bike drives also provided an opportunity for more junior staff — who were not involved in client media relations — the opportunity to conduct proactive outreach and gain some experience in that area by developing media alerts, PSAs and media releases related to On Your Bike! drives and by following up with media to secure coverage for all events. A media alert and a community event listing was distributed to GTA media outlets for each drive. In addition, bike drive posters and flyers were distributed in the neighborhoods in which the bike drives would be taking place. Continued on next page

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Expanding the OYB! Team Along with APEX volunteers, Bochner reached out to her contacts within the Toronto cycling community to identify and secure volunteers with mechanical skills required to repair donated bicycles. It was critical the donated bicycles were in good working order to ensure the safety of the eventual recipients. Certified mechanics repaired the bicycles, replacing brake cables, torn seats and handle bar grips. Non-mechanical volunteers assisted in generating local community awareness, cleaning donated bikes and assisting with the delivery of bikes to organizations all over the GTA.

Another key safety component was to ensure that eventual recipients would also have access to cycling helmets. During the first two years, On Your Bike! obtained retail gift cards for helmets and distributed them with the bicycles to the community service groups. Since 2006, On Your Bike! has partnered with Think First, an organization committed to educating children and youth about the prevention of brain and spinal cord injuries, to ensure that helmets are available. Through Think First, On Your Bike! provided retail gift cards redeemable for helmets. The cards are distributed to the community service groups when they receive their bicycles.

The Future On Your Bike! has had many successful bike drives and is now moving into the next phase of the organization. APEX plans to turn the initiative into a charitable organization so it can collect funds and distribute new bikes to children in need. In 2008, APEX‘s 10th anniversary, the agency made a special $10,000 donation to purchase new bikes, which will be distributed in the summer of 2009.

Budget

As a non-profit foundation, On Your Bike! is currently not allowed to collect charitable donations, so it has been fully funded by APEX. Over the years, APEX has donated more than $25,000 in expenses and $125,000 in time (not including the time APEX staff volunteered on evenings and weekends to staff the events).

CHALLENGES

While there is rarely a shortage of demand for donated bicycles, one major challenge On Your Bike! faces on an ongoing basis is logistics. As the organization does not have its own storage facilities, bicycles collected during the bike drives have to be repaired and distributed to community service groups the same day. Often the service groups are located in several locations throughout the GTA and APEX must absorb the cost of renting trucks in order to facilitate deliveries.

Along with the challenge of getting the bicycles to the various service organizations, the organization sometimes struggles to ensure that enough qualified bicycle mechanics are on hand to assist with bicycle repairs. .

In addition, determining appropriate locations for the bike drives can prove challenging and the majority of the drives have taken place at three locations. While this has allowed On Your Bike! to raise its profile in those neighborhoods, the number of donations has begun to decline as many local residents have already donated their used bicycles.

As previously mentioned, we are not allowed to collect any charitable donations so we have relied on APEX funding plus the generous donation of parts, helmets and time from a number of partners.

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MEASUREMENT / EVALUATION

Objective: To provide disadvantaged kids in Toronto with bikes of their own; distribute a minimum of 100 bikes per year.

Result: To date, On Your Bike! has collected and distributed throughout the city of Toronto more than 2,000 bicycles to children in need.

Objective: Encourage APEX employees to get involved at work and through bike drive volunteer activities

Results: Since launching On Your Bike! in 2003, APEX team members have dedicated more than 200 billable hours to the initiative. The vast majority of these hours are evening and weekend hours.

Staff at more junior levels who do not have the opportunity to conduct proactive media relations have been instrumental in garnering coverage for On Your Bike! To date, more than 35 stories have appeared, accounting for a reach of 2.8 million. This coverage has been essential in maximizing the number of bicycles collected during the bike drives.

Mid-to-senior level APEX team members have honed their project management and event execution skills by managing all aspects of the bike drives and relationships with outside volunteers, suppliers and community service organizations.

Objective: Establish relationships with community service organizations and partners that could help with bike drives and could donate parts

Results: On Your Bike! has worked with several community centres, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Metropolitan Toronto Police and Think First. It has also received donations of bike parts and helmets through its Canadian Tire money donation program and relationship with Norco.

Objective: Create strong local media interest in the bike drives to help drive bike donations

Results: Every bike drive has garnered local publicity in a variety of outlets. Highlights include interviews on CITY TV and Rogers, as well as articles in the National Post, Chatelaine, the Toronto Star and many of Toronto‘s weekly community newspapers.

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Award of Distinction 2009 People’s Choice Award

Title of Entry: Take A Load Off Toronto Entrant‘s Name: Catherine Parry Organization: Toronto Hydro Corporation Time Period: April – May 2008

BUSINESS NEED/ OPPORTUNITY

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Entrant’s Role in the Project

INTENDED AUDIENCES

GOALS / OBJECTIVES

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* Measure of electricity. City of Toronto has a peak of 5000 megawatts (MW)

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

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IMPLEMENTATION & CHALLENGES

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*Total Resource Cost is the net difference between the cost of the program and the cost of generating, transmitting and delivering electricity.

MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION

Objective 5: Ensure program is easy to implement and measure and delivers tangible results. Measurable Outcome: One-stop, inexpensive solution for customers. Measurable results exceeded.

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges

Linda Andross, ABC Jo Langham, ABC Executive Vice President Senior Vice President APEX Public Relations Inc. APEX Public Relations Inc.

Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC David Magil, APR Principal President Bergman & Associates David Magil Communications

Liz Borowiec, ABC Cyrus Mavalwala Senior Communications Advisor Owner Toronto 2015 Bid for the Pan/Parapan American Games Advantis Communications

Amanda Brewer, ABC Carl Mavromichalis, ABC Director of Change and Internal Communication Consultant Hill & Knowlton Canada

John Cappelletti, ABC, M.Ed. Pat McNamara, APR, Fellow CPRS Communications Manager President TEIBAS APEX Public Relations Inc.

Brent Carey, ABC Victoria Miecznikowski, ABC Director, Communications Hepburn Consulting Services Deloitte & Touche LLP

Jennifer Ferguson, ABC Amanda Mills Sirois, ABC VP, Marketing and Communications Communications Manager Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Allergan

Ellen Gardner, ABC Julia Oosterman Principal Senior Account Director Write to Know Communications Edelman Public Relations

Leslie Hetherington, APR, MBA Janet Patterson, ABC Senior Director, Communications and Graphics Manager, Communications Pet Valu Inc. Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance

Mary-Ellen Hynd, MBA Anna Relyea, BA, MA Professor, Social Responsibility Strategist Associate Director, Strategic Communications Humber College Ontario Science Centre

David Jones Natasha Renaud, MBA, MS Vice President, Digital Communications Director, Communications and Social Responsibilities Hill & Knowlton Grand & Toy

Wendy Kubota, ABC Roberta Resnick, ABC, APR, MC, Fellow Consultant Principal Kids.Now Roberta Resnick & Associates

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges

David Rowney, APR Felicia Shiu, ABC, APR Faculty Member Consultant Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations Sabita Singh, ABC Program Director, Electronic Communications Sun Life Financial Gary Schlee, ABC Principal Christine Smith Gary Schlee Communications Professor, Corporate Communications &PR Centennial College Susan Scott, ABC Owner/Operator Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Full Circle Communications Director, Internal Communications Barrick Gold Corporation

Brendan Seale Web Communications Specialist Barrick Gold Corporation

2009 IABC/Toronto Maverick PR Student of the Year Judges

Julie Rusciolelli Christine Andrew, MBA President Marketing Manager MAVERICK Public Relations Securit

2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Linda Andross, ABC Executive Vice President, Apex Public Relations Inc. With more than 16 years of agency experience, Linda is responsible for managing a multitude of diverse clients from B2B to B2C. Linda is the VP, Professional Standards and Accreditation for IABC/Toronto. She is active in judging awards such as Gold Quill, and OVATION, as well as overseeing IABC/Toronto‘s Accreditation College. Linda recently won a Gold Quill for her work on the launch on Wii Fit for Nintendo of Canada Ltd.

Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC Principal of Bergman & Associates During his 27-year career as a communications professional, Eric has worked in virtually every facet of public relations and organizational communication, earning more than a dozen local, national and international awards for his work. Today, his business is focused on teaching his clients to communicate effectively through what he calls the medium of face-to-face communication. Continued on next page

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Liz Borowiec, ABC Senior Communications Advisor, Toronto 2015 Bid for the Pan / Parapan American Games Liz‘s career includes consulting for a range of clients in environmental, healthcare and consumer sectors. Her work has included corporate communications and a particular focus on marketing communications. In the last few years, Liz has been in communications with the Ontario government and currently is on the communications team for the Toronto 2015 Bid for the Pan / Parapan American Games.

Amanda Brewer, ABC Director of Change & Internal Communications, Hill & Knowlton Canada Amanda Brewer brings 12 years of communications and public relations experience to Hill & Knowlton. During her career, she has provided counsel to both private and public sector clients in regulated industries such as broadcasting, mining and metals, and financial services, with an emphasis on corporate reputation building, internal communications and issues management. Amanda is also a past president of IABC/Toronto.

John Cappelletti ABC, M.Ed Manager, Communications TEIBAS John is an experienced communicator who thinks strategically and uses prudence and discretion to manage reputation risk. He is a strong writer with expertise in corporate communications and media relations. John is known for his collaborative approach to leadership and has earned a reputation for managing controversial issues and member communications for high-profile pension funds. He is an accredited business communicator with a graduate degree in education who sees many professional benefits to volunteering as a judge for the OVATION Awards.

Brent Carey, ABC Director, Communications, Deloitte & Touche LLP Brent has 15 years of experience across a wide range of communications disciplines, including employee communication, issues management and media relations. He is currently Director, Communications at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Toronto, and previously held roles with CIBC, TD Bank, and Imperial Oil. Brent is serving his fourth year on the board of IABC/Toronto, and will take on the role of president in July 2009. He graduated from York University with an honours degree in Communications and English, and is also an accredited financial planner.

Jennifer Ferguson, ABC Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Jennifer started her communications career in health care 28 years ago at what used to be the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, now part of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Over the years, she has worked primarily in the not-for-profit sector - as an employee - and in a consulting capacity for a variety of clients including the Design Exchange, the Ontario Science Centre, the Ministry of Health, Faculty of Medicine and a number of Toronto area hospitals. She has chaired the Marketer of the Year awards for the American Marketing Association for two years, the OVATION Awards for a year and served as IABC Toronto‘s VP of Professional Standards in 2004.

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Ellen Gardner, ABC Owner, Write to Know Communications Ellen‘s principal talent is helping non-profits and smaller organizations with marketing, web development and public relations. Ellen has worked inside large companies doing community relations and employee communications, and has just started giving writing workshops. It doesn‘t take much to lure Ellen away from the computer into the kitchen where she spends countless happy hours making soups, stews and cupcakes for friends and family who are ill or just need a good meal. Ellen has her Masters in Education and is IABC accredited.

Leslie Hetherington, APR, MBA Senior Director, Communications & Graphics, Pet Value Inc. During a career of more than 20 years, Leslie has held roles in PR, marketing, corporate and technical communications for a wide range of organizations including her own consultancy, MAVERICK PR, Bell Canada, the Toronto District School Board, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, and Ogilvy & Mather. She has won OVATION and CPRS (Toronto) ACE awards for media relations, the CPRS' "2002 volunteer of the year" award and served on its board of directors. Leslie is currently the IABC/Toronto President. For Year Two of our three-year strategy, Leslie will focus the chapter on ensuring the quality of each member's IABC/Toronto experience is: relevant, convenient and resonates.

Mary-Ellen Hynd, MBA Mary-Ellen is a versatile strategist, communicator, researcher and facilitator skilled at engaging diverse stakeholders to create solutions that achieve organizational goals. She specializes in social responsibility and has over ten years experience guiding organizations including RBC-Royal Bank, Direct Energy and the Toronto Community Foundation. Currently she is creating Humber College‘s first Corporate Social Responsibility course for communications professionals to commence September 2009. An active IABC member, Mary-Ellen represents IABC International as an appointed expert and global plenary contributor to develop the ISO 26000 International Standard for Social Responsibility.

David Jones Vice president, digital communications, Hill & Knowlton Since beginning his career in 1991, David has amassed a wealth of marketing communications, corporate and sports marketing experience as both a consultant and in-house communications leader. Prior to H&K, he worked in a senior-level capacity for Fleishman-Hillard, Thornley Fallis Group, and Molson Canada. An early-adopter of using social media for PR purposes, David authors a popular Canadian PR blog (prworks.ca) and co-hosts the weekly Inside PR podcast (insidepr.ca) and is a frequent speaker at communications conferences on how to use social media as an effective PR tool. David is a graduate of the Ryerson School of Journalism at Toronto‘s Ryerson University.

Wendy Kubota, ABC Wendy has more than 19 years communications experience in government, financial, agency, non- profit, employee and consumer goods. Wendy is currently consulting which includes leading the communications function for Canada‘s national charity on youth leadership, kids.now.

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Jo Langham, ABC Senior Vice President, APEX Public Relations Inc. With more than 20 years of public relations agency experience, Jo provides senior client counsel in consumer marketing communications including media relations, product launches, crisis communications, issues and event management and promotions. Jo oversees communications programs for Toronto Hydro, Ontario‘s Electrical Safety Authority, BMO Bank of Montreal Personal & Commercial, Orthomolecular Health, Kellogg Canada, Tetra Pak Canada, and Yoplait. She is a Past President of IABC/Toronto. She is an accredited member of IABC, currently sits on the IABC Accreditation Counsel as Director of Examiners and is regularly called upon to judge international awards programs.

David Magil, APR President, David Magil Communications David is seasoned, bilingual, public relations practitioner with broad range of experience. His career includes journalism with daily newspapers (The Sherbrooke Record, The Montreal Gazette), corporate communications for four major corporations (The Royal Bank of Canada, CIBC, The Molson Companies, Abitibi Price), teaching (Seneca College, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Humber College), and public relations consulting (David Magil Communications). David's principal areas of expertise are: Strategic Counsel; Media Relations; Issues and Crisis Management; Environmental Scanning; Perception Gap Auditing; Reputation Management; Corporate Positioning; Program and Event Development; Marketing Communications; Shareholder Communications / Investor Relations; Member / Supplier / Retail Partner Communications

Cyrus Mavalwala Owner, Advantis Communications Cyrus is an award-winning PR practitioner who has traveled the U.S., Europe and Canada while on assignment. He has spent the last 15 years improving communications of start-ups, not-for-profits and industry leaders. He founded Advantis Communications, a boutique PR and marketing agency, in 2001. An active IABC volunteer, Cyrus has judged awards, spoken at IABC‘s Leadership Institute and chaired the Alliance of Independent Practitioners.

Carl Mavromichalis, ABC Carl has more than 10 years of experience in public affairs and communications, both in the non-profit and private sectors. Most recently, Carl was Manager, Government Relations for Becton-Dickinson, a global medical devices manufacturer and Fortune 500 company. Prior to BD, Carl served as the Director of Communications for the Air Canada Pilots Association, the organization that represents the airline's 3,500 pilots. Carl holds an Honours BA in English from the University of Guelph and a Post- Graduate Certificate in Public Relations from Ryerson University.

Pat McNamara, APR, Fellow CPRS President, APEX Public Relations Pat founded APEX Public Relations in 1998 and has built a strong consulting team and a roster of blue chip clients. As a manager with over 20 years experience, she provides senior client counsel to a variety of well known consumer and business brands. APEX has been acknowledged by Canadian and international PR societies with several awards including the IABC Toronto 2007 and 2008 Agency of the Year award. Continued on next page

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Pat McNamara, cont.. A personal recipient of national and local mentor recognition awards, Pat has also been recognized as one of Canada‘s Top 100 Women Business Owners by PROFIT Magazine for seven years running.

Victoria Miecznikowski, ABC Victoria is a private consultant specializing in organizational communications, online and web-based communications, strategic communications planning and media relations. In addition, she taught Introduction to Public Relations at Mohawk College in Hamilton, and holds a Masters degree in Communications from Royal Roads University, as well as a Bachelors degree in English from McMaster University.

Amanda Mill Sirois, ABC Communications Manager, Allergan Inc. Amanda joined Allergan Inc. nearly a year ago as the company‘s Communications Manager. In her role with the specialty pharmaceutical company, Amanda heads up all of the company‘s communications needs, including internal, external, brand and issues related communications initiatives. Prior to joining Allergan, Amanda spent eight years working with Cohn & Wolfe, developing and implementing innovative employee communications, corporate reputation, issues preparedness and community relations solutions and strategies for her clients. Amanda‘s work has been recognized by numerous national and international industry award programs including Dalton Pen, the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), and the IABC for which she‘s received two Gold Quill awards.

Julia Oosterman Senior Account Director, Corporate and Public Affairs, Edelman Canada Julia has over 13 years in public relations and corporate communications experience in both agency and client environments. She‘s worked with leading national agencies and also brings a myriad of personal volunteer experiences to the team. These include sitting on the Marketing Board for Humber College, and the National Cookie Committee for the Girl Guides of Canada where she helped launch the organization‘s controversial new cookie recipe. Julia is a graduate of Ryerson University‘s Bachelor of Applied Arts program, and a French as a second language certificate program from the Universite de Nantes, France.

Janet Patterson, ABC Janet‘s journey in the communications field has taken her from the Scarborough library system to a commercial real estate company to an educational institution for naturopathic medicine and, currently, to health research. She has been with the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance as their sole communications practitioner since 2004, which is the same year she received her ABC accreditation. She strives for work/life balance and spends her time away from work pursuing multiple passions: hiking, nature study, quilt making, reading and photography.

Anna Relyea, BA, MA Associate Director, Strategic Communications, Ontario Science Centre Anna was a business journalist before starting her diverse career in public relations and corporate communications more than 20 years ago. She contributed to successful PR campaigns in the travel and high tech aerospace sectors before helping to setup the communications department at National Trust and developing communications programs at CIBC. Continued on next page

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Anna Relyea, cont… She spent seven years at Heinz Canada working on many aspects of corporate image building, ongoing marketing communications, product launches, media and government relations, issues management and crisis communications. She led an effort to formalize internal communications processes and won several professional association awards for her work.

Natasha Renaud, MBA Director, Communications & Social Responsibility, Grand & Toy Newly arrived to Toronto in 2003, Natasha turned to IABC to meet communicators like herself and establish her professional and personal network. Becoming an active member of the board was just a natural step for her. With more than ten years of experience in corporate communications, she has found a new home at Grand & Toy in Toronto. Natasha brings strong marketing and communication skills with a developed business outlook acquired while doing her MBA at McGill.

Bobbie Resnick, ABC, APR, MC (Canada), IABC Fellow Bobbie gained her experience in communications and public relations, starting in 1957, with Zurich Insurance Company and then Morton International (salt and chemicals) of Chicago; sales and marketing communications with SmithKline Pharmaceuticals in Philadelphia. She has been in Toronto since 1972, when she joined Libby, McNeill & Libby to handle all aspects of corporate, internal and targeted communication and, later, managed internal communication at Nestlé Canada. She has been active in IABC (and its predecessor groups) since 1958 and an independent consultant since ‘85, For many years, she presented communication skills seminars and taught employee and marketing communication at several Toronto colleges and at Ryerson University.

David Rowney, APR David was mostly recently a part-time faculty member with Centennial College's corporate communications and public relations program. His last 10 years were spent at AMEC, a global engineering firm, where he was VP of Marketing Communications. Prior to this, David was Public Relations Manager for Ernst & Young Canada. A graduate of Carleton's journalism program, he started his career as a reporter and editor for Thomson Newspapers. David has won numerous awards at the national and local levels and has served in various volunteer roles in supporting IABC and the public relations profession.

Gary Schlee, ABC Gary Schlee Communications (social media, corporate communications & PR) Gary was a professor and coordinator of Centennial College's postgraduate Corporate Communications & PR program for 28 years after a career in corporate communications and journalism. A past president of IABC/Toronto, he also founded IABC's national Silver Leaf awards program in the late 1970s.

Susan Scott, ABC Owner/Operator of Full Circle Communications Susan is an award-winning communications professional and writer with more than 15 years experience. Her background includes work as a journalist for three newspapers, corporate communications experience in health care, health care fundraising, post-secondary education, law and the broader public sector. Susan‘s work has won an award from the Health Care Public Relations Association of Canada. Continued on next page

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2009 OVATION Awards Judges’ Biographies

Brendan Seale Web Communications Specialist, Barrick Gold Corporation Brendan manages the corporate website (www.barrick.com), the intranet (Barrick Central), and Barrick's social media activity. Prior to joining Barrick in January 2007, Brendan was the sole proprietor of a web, graphics and e-learning design and development business. He is a graduate of McMaster University's combined honours Communications & Multimedia program.

Felicia Shiu, ABC, APR Consultant Felicia is an independent consultant with more than 17 years of communications experience in both corporate and agency. She is the winner of two IABC Gold Quills, numerous IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards, a Canadian Public Relations Society National Award of Excellence and numerous CPRS ACE Awards. They include media relations and employee communications. Felicia is a Blue Ribbon Panel judge for the 2009 IABC Gold Quills. She judged numerous IABC Silver Leaf and IABC/Toronto OVATION entries over the years. Felicia is a director on the International Executive Board for IABC. She previously served as President of the IABC/Toronto.

Sabita Singh, ABC Director, Digital Communications, Sun Life Financial Sabita is a seasoned accredited business communicator with over 15 years of experience in diverse industries including financial services, tech and pharma. She is currently Director, Digital Communications for Sun Life Financial where she is responsible for developing and executing the company's global digital strategy. Sabita has been actively involved in IABC throughout her career. She has served on the Toronto board, guided members through the accreditation process and has judged several awards programs. She is also the winner of several IABC awards including Gold Quill, Silver Leaf and OVATION.

Christine Smith Co-ordinator, Centennial College's innovative postgraduate Corporate Communications and Public Relations program Christine also teaches Intro to PR and PR Writing. A member of IABC and CPRS, she's been a frequent judge of ACE Awards and CPRS Hamilton's Pinnacle Awards. Her PR background includes communicating on behalf of Union Gas, the Scarborough Board of Education and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Director, Internal Communications, Barrick Gold Corporation Janet has more than 20 years of experience in the communications field, including corporate, agency and government roles. Accredited by both IABC and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), she was named Master Communicator in 2007 -- IABC Canada's highest honor. She is an Examiner for the Accreditation program. She has won 28 awards since 2000, including OVATION, Silver Leaf, and Gold Quill. She has been a frequent judge for communications award programs, and served on the Blue Ribbon Panel for IABC Gold Quill Awards in 2006.

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2008/2009 IABC/Toronto Board

President Vice President, Leslie Hetherington, APR, MBA Marketing Communications Anna Relyea, BA, MA Immediate Past President Janet Comeau Vice President, Member Communications Executive Vice President Janet Wile, ABC, APR, MC Brent Carey, ABC Vice President, Vice President, Membership Accreditation & Standards Christine Andrew, MBA Linda Andross, ABC Vice President, Vice President, Networking & Special Events Advertising & Sponsorship Natasha Renaud, MBA, MS Vanda Wall Vice President Vice President, Professional Development Association Management Yasmin Ranade Julie Wilson, ABC, M.Ed Vice President, Vice President, Volunteer Services Awards Shari Balga Trell Huether

Vice President, Finance Carrie MacAfee

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2009 OVATION Awards Committee Members

Trell Huether Natasha Hotchkiss VP Awards Marketing Account Director Marshall Fenn Erin Jennison Communications Director of Awards Web Communications Carrie MacAfee Specialist VP Finance/Special Direct Energy Advisor to Awards Communications Specialist Dana Huggard Ontario Power Generation Awards Student, PR Katie O‟Dell Certificate Program Director of Materials Humber College Senior Public Affairs Consultant Investment Industry Association Emilie Smith of Canada (IIAC) Awards Public Relations & Rosemary Beach Communications Associate Materials Impact Public Affairs Marketing & Communications Professional Sue Dixon Awards Abigail Brown Student, PR Materials Certificate Program Communications Specialist Humber College Community Living Ontario Amanda Flude Patricia Burton Director of Gala Materials Communications + Senior Communications Advisor Marketing Coordinator Waterfront Toronto Emma Huang Materials Rob Hanson Gala Beverly Fairclough President Materials SOUND Team

Maricel Dicion Kate Robinson Materials Gala Account Coordinator Account Coordinator Cohn & Wolfe TMP Worldwide

Lyndsay Carter Sonja Andic Director of Marketing Gala Junior Consultant Account Coordinator Chrome Communications Cowan & Company

Virginia Rocca Diana Spremo, APR Marketing Associate Director of Sponsorship Project Manager Principal Tech Data Spremo Communications

Panagiota Bountis Diahann Mahon Marketing Sponsorship

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About Us

As the largest chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, we provide access to products, services, activities and networking opportunities in Toronto and around the world. We help people and organizations achieve excellence in corporate communications, public relations, employee communication, marketing communication, public affairs and other forms of communication.

Visit http://toronto.iabc.com/awards for more information on the OVATION Awards.

Join Us

IABC, the International Association of Business Communicators, is a global network of communications practitioners committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communications. With more than 100 chapters, IABC serves more than 16,500 members in over 70 countries and 10,000 organizations. IABC/Toronto, the largest chapter in the world, is the leading resource for effective communication practice for its more than 1,650 members.

Once you join IABC, you immediately gain access to a wide variety of services designed to enhance your professional development and your role as a communicator.

IABC/Toronto 296 Jarvis St., Unit 7 Toronto, ON M5B 2C3 416.968.0264 http://toronto.iabc.com E-mail: [email protected]

IABC International 601 Montgomery Street, Ste 1900 San Francisco, CA 94111 1.800.776.4222 http://www.iabc.com