HIGH ROAD TEAMS UP WITH AMEX TO LAUNCH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM WITH NOTABLE CANADIANS: CRAIG AND MARC KIELBURGER, EMIILY HAINES AND LES STROUD

What do you get when you combine one crazy cool space, three amazing ideas dreamed up by average Canadians and some awesome, inspirational mentors? An incredibly successful Room For Thought program by American Express Canada that brings BIG ideas to life!

Kicking off in August, Room For Thought asked Canadians the question: “If you had the opportunity and support to bring a big idea to life, what would you do?” High Road then worked hand-in-hand with Amex to see Room For Thought through four phases: launch, voting, mentorship and experiential.

First, Canadians were invited to submit their big ideas in the arenas of community, music, and travel and adventure. After receiving an outstanding 840 submissions via the American Express Canada Facebook Page, nine finalists were chosen by some pretty impressive, big-name Canadians who would serve as the program’s mentors: Craig and Marc Kielburger, Les Stroud and Emily Haines.

When online voting closed in September, the three winners left standing – one in each category – went above and beyond to wow Amex, High Road, the mentors and the broader Canadian public with these great ideas:

• Music: Ghost – Toronto’s Andrew Huang created an installation that allows the public to interact with music through technology and a variety of instruments.
• Community: Survivor Garden – Thornhill’s Lisa Shanker grew the idea of a Survivor Garden to be used as a form of therapy for people recovering from serious illness.
• Travel and Adventure: Second Chance Travel – Vaughan’s Evan Malach worked to give youth who’ve overcome hardships the chance to travel the world with Second Chance Travel.

Next came the hard work, as the winning Canadians teamed up with their mentors to get their ideas off the ground. By drawing on their own experiences in their respective fields, the mentors supported each finalist every step of the way by offering guidance and advice in areas such as finance, marketing and networking.

The result was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that the Room For Thought winners will not soon forget:

Meet the Mentors:

• Craig and Marc Kielburger: The brothers behind Free the Children, the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, were the incredible mentors in the community category of the program. Craig and Marc provided their mentee, Lisa Shanker, with a great deal of experience, as well as some engaging, first-hand opportunities, such as the chance to experience We Day Vancouver.
• Les Stroud: Best known as Survivorman, Les is the only producer in the history of television to internationally broadcast a series entirely written, videotaped and hosted alone. His strong creative experience paired with his survival knowledge made him the ideal mentor in the travel and adventure category. He was able to offer his mentee, Evan, strong guidance and tips on how to make his idea really flourish.
• Emily Haines: As the lead singer of Canadian indie-rock band Metric, one of Canada’s most successful bands, taking home several Juno Awards last year, Emily’s passion for music is clear in all she touches. That passion, coupled with her desire to explore and educate new sounds and styles, really made her mentorship in the music category with mentee Andrew an ideal fit.

Then, during the final phase taking place over a two-week period in early November, the winning entries were showcased in a stunning visual display in downtown Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Thousands of people passed through the Room For Thought doors between Nov. 8 and 22 to experience the ideas for themselves, where an interactive “room” was on display to represent each bright idea.

High Road is proud of the success shared with Amex during the Room For Thought program. And the best part? You can still check out the video highlights of the campaign, along with snapshots from the winners and their celebrity mentors, on the American Express Canada Facebook Page.

The great thing about research is that we are all capable of it. Sometimes without even knowing it or defining it as research – we all already do it. After all, it’s about gathering information to answer one or more questions.

You reading this post, the daily news, and checking out Twitter is all research. The key, though, is how you target that research.

At High Road we put our research skills to the test with everything we do, not only in discovering information but in analyzing and communicating it to help our clients reach their business objectives. Whether creating a customized website that resonates with customers, launching a campaign that speaks to a new audience, or just communicating more effectively on social media, it all starts with research.

Although we research every day, big, targeted projects can be time-intensive and require the researcher to go the extra mile.

With that in mind, here are five research tips to help you stay on track.

1: Define your approach

All research must be grounded in a structure and map back to an objective – this is the “research approach.” This includes things like describing the methodology, targets, language needs, keywords and phrases. Sure, for some, defining the approach can take longer than the research, but by creating a plan up front you and your team will always have a guide to ensure you stay on track.

2: Let the research findings guide your way

Always remember that although you’ve created a structure, if the research is begging you to go another way – listen. To me, that is the fun part about research. Never lose sight of what the research is really telling you and be prepared to go back and revaluate your plan if you discover something big.

3: Draw on your instincts

As I mentioned, you and I conduct research each and every day, often times unknowingly. In fact, some of the best first-person insights can be found on social media. Draw on your instincts and tackle the web as you would on any regular day. Use your favourite search engine and leverage the first keywords that come to mind. It’s smart to start with what you know and branch out from there.

4: Take the time to reflect

It’s important to acknowledge that research will not uncover everything there is to know about a given topic. Instead, your research represents a snapshot in space and time. That is why you should always take the time to reflect on the bigger picture and the overall objectives of your research. If you are feeling overwhelmed with all the information you are finding, step back and revisit your approach and think about what you have discovered to date, identify the gaps, and opportunities so you can start back-up again with a new mission of filling in those areas or answering the questions you might have missed.

5: Craft a story with the results

All in all, you must always remember that what you set out to do was answer questions. So, when you’re crafting your final report ensure that it tells a story, as opposed to just sharing a hot mess of numbers and charts. Sure, those numbers are important – but what do they mean to the project? Rather than get bogged down in delivering and communicating every last website, quote or blog post you may have come across, always remember the story.

Candice Shirreff is an Account Supervisor who leads in-depth online research on behalf of High Road clients. If you have a research project, and would like some support, you can contact her at Candice.Shirreff@highroad.com.

This week was an exciting one for High Road Communications and our client American Express Canada as our Front Of The Line Fridays Facebook application was accepted as a contender to the Facebook Studio Awards!

The Facebook Studio Awards look to recognize campaigns that combine all aspects of Facebook from application build, through to the use of Facebook premium ads. Campaigns will be judged on their ability to integrate the social, marketing, media integration and scale capabilities of Facebook across their program.

So how does High Road fit in? Amex wanted to introduce and highlight the Front Of The Line program to their Facebook community so High Road created a Surprise and Delight program for their existing Cardmembers and incentive program for non-Cardmembers called Front Of The Line Fridays. Each week, Facebook users had the chance to win complimentary tickets to some of the hottest concerts and theatre productions across cities in Canada including Sting, War Horse and Jay-Z & Kanye West.

Check out and “like” High Road and Amex’s Front Of The Line Fridays submission to the Facebook Studio awards!