Last week Vancouverites were devastated by the senseless violence and destruction that ensued after the loss of the Stanley Cup.

More than a decade after the 1994 playoff riots, Vancouverites experienced a sense of déjà vu with downtown businesses looted, property destroyed and a number of people injured just blocks from our offices. A few good Samaritans tried to fend off mobs only to have the violence directed towards them.

Although eerily similar to the riot nearly two decades ago, this time around social media played a key role in several different ways. In some cases social media helped “fuel the fire” for rioters who realized they had a real-time audience following their every move—and who were clearly not thinking about the repercussions of these photo and video trails now captured for the world to see. In just a few hours, blogs and Facebook groups emerged encouraging people to save their photos from the night so they could be used as evidence. 

More importantly however, in the aftermath of destruction, social media created a positive channel and a vehicle for Vancouverites to unite, take action and clean up the mess.

Less than 12 hours after the riot, more than 1,000 Vancouverites headed downtown armed with brooms, garbage bags and their determination to reclaim the city. The event, completely organized through Facebook and Twitter, picked Vancouver back up on its feet.

Today, the Hudson’s Bay and other store windows are bandaged with well wishes, expressing disappointment in the few that ruined it for many; still questioning how something like this could happen not once, but a second time.

So, before you move on with only the photos of burning cars and ravaged streets in your mind, remember there’s another side to our city: a community that can respond on a dime to give back in spirit so much more than what was taken in the riots. This is the real Vancouver and the one the world also needs to see.

Last week was another first for High Road. The Mark’s team held three of the same event at the same time in three different cities.

On Wednesday, September 15, Mark’s stores in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton welcomed High Road into their space for a day of makeover fun in order to help tell the story of smartening up the stores in these three markets to better reflect the viable shopping destination Mark’s has become for Canadians. Media and bloggers were invited to experience the latest in style and innovation from Mark’s, a retailer most associated with the industrial wear that began their business in 1977.

Attendees got a chance to check out stylish innovations from Mark’s, like Perfectly Pressed shirts for men and women that look crisp straight from the dryer and resist wrinkling all day long and T-Max hoodies, jackets and vests with the warmest, lightest insulation on the market. Journalists and bloggers worked with a stylist to find the right items and fit, were then pampered by hair and makeup artists and photographed professionally to capture their entire experience and transformation.

Of particular interest to a lot of our attendees was the walk-in freezer, set at -12° C and can dip down to -40° C with wind chill! The freezer is great for really trying out those T-Max hoodies and testing them against the cold winters of Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Our Mark’s Overs have created buzz on and offline and are a big success in building brand evangelists and changing perceptions. Our first Mark’s Overs were held in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver in April and we’re continuing to work with Mark’s to help introduce functional clothing items with fashionable twists.

The response from these events has been very exciting for Mark’s and High Road and we have made some strong connections with fashion communities Canada-wide who continue to talk about the great brand Mark’s has become.

Take a look at posts from our friends at a peek inside the fishbowl, coffee with Julie, Coffees and Commutes, Gliding Through Motherhood, Postcards from the Mothership, Some kind of Wondermom, Loulou’s Views, Everything Up Close and This Bird’s Day to see some of their Mark’s Overs for yourself!

It may be the dog days of summer but don’t be fooled – back to school is just around the corner! And mid-July was the perfect time for TELUS to officially unveil its new Back-to-School smartphone line-up.

Taking place at the swanky new TELUS building on 25 York Street in Toronto, the exclusive showcase was the perfect opportunity for media to get the scoop on the new devices – all while continuing to educate traditional consumer and lifestyle journalists on TELUS’ growing brand leadership in the smartphone market space.

The secret to the event’s success? Simple. Offer something for everyone. The event was comprised of several exciting components, such as:

• A presentation from Hilen Wong, Marketing Director, TELUS Consumer Solutions, outlining the trends in smartphones on the market today and an over view of the new Back-to-School device line-up. The presentation showcased the hot new line-up of devices exclusive through TELUS this Fall along with existing handsets from the Pink breast cancer campaign.
• The announcement that TELUS is the official national wireless provider for the CFL. As part of a new two-year partnership, TELUS will bring CFL fans live games on the go, stats in real time and highlights through the first-ever Canadian Football League (CFL) mobile app.
• Media mingled with TELUS spokespeople and demo’d the devices through a series of demo bars set-up in the cocktail lounge

And this was set against the aural backdrop of DJ Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene fame) spinning some wicked tunes for media to vibe to. With more than 35 journalists in attendance from various Consumer/Marketing/Mommy Blogs media outlets (Media in Canada, MobileSyrup.com, Canwest, CTV, Wee Welcome, MSN Canada, BlogTO, PEACE Magazine and Branchez-Vous to name a few) the event was a stirring success. This includes over 90 articles to date!