For the fifth installment of Canon Canada’s Other Side program, High Road worked with celebrity chefs including Michael Smith  (Food Network’s Chef at Home/Chef Abroad), Susur Lee (LEE and Madeline’s), Mark McEwan (North 44 and Bymark) and Brad Long (Veritas) to create the “Food For Thought” photo exhibit.

Held the week before Thanksgiving, the chefs donated their creativity by capturing personal photos that embodied the theme “Food for Thought.” In turn, Canon Canada donated $25,000 on behalf of the chefs to Food Banks Canada, which was presented at a private media event at Veritas Restaurant in Toronto.

The response was superb, with the media intrigued with the concept of the chefs’ photography, and engaged in Canon Canada’s philanthropic efforts so close to the Thanksgiving season.

Magna International Inc., the most diversified automotive supplier in the world and one of Canada’s largest corporations, needed a Web strategy that served their global business by best representing their international reach, depth of experience, diverse capabilities and innovative products.

High Road’s relationship with Magna dates back to 2004 when we were asked to redesign the corporate website.

The second phase in the relationship began in early 2007 when Magna needed to consolidate all 10 of its global operating groups and present them in one consistent online property. This represented a large shift for Magna online – the company now speaks to vastly broader audiences in three new languages (German, Japanese and Chinese). Furthermore, for the first time in any medium, Magna presents a consolidated global view of its many products and capabilities. Anyone who understands the current climate in the auto sector knows that the value of a more efficient and more unified channel to communicate with customers, investors and media is immense.

High Road’s strategists worked with Magna to develop a plan that would satisfy the company’s broadened marketing, media and investor needs. High Road developed a creative design that would accommodate an increasing variety of content, meet the functional requirements of the site, and have a engaging look and feel. In addition, a host of interactive Flash-based elements were developed to improve site engagement and product interest, ranging from simple service overviews to detailed product schematics and dynamic maps.

The High Road team is now working on a measurement strategy that assesses the comparative value of the site to different business functions (marketing vs. investor vs. corporate reputation). With this new measurement program, Magna can better demonstrate the value of the project.