In the summer 2009, High Road developed a fully integrated campaign for the launch of the City of Ottawa Green Bin program. The primary focus of the program was on social marketing to change behaviours and attitudes around sustainable practices, specifically composting.

The integrated campaign included: media relations, community outreach, advertising, strategic communications, events and school, volunteer and workplace programs. Our digital role was to develop a Web site and social media hub to hold all of the program’s information and assets while engaging Ottawans in a dialogue with their city, their community and their neighbours about the importance of the Green Bin program.  Changing how Ottawans think about and dispose of organics required a fundamental shift in behavior in a population that spans substantial geography, a diversity of demographics, language needs and attitudes on green issues. The Web site would have to offer a little something for everyone in order to be successful.

Thematic brainstorms and continued collaboration drove the development of the design concept including – new content, Flash-based simulations, imagery, social media integration of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr as well as future interaction considerations like ward challenges, and games which will be rolled out in phase two and three. Greatly enhanced social features make it easy for users to spread the word to their friends and family online and offline, and encourage them to return to the web site on a regular basis. A full measurement framework was also developed in order for the City of Ottawa to accurately measure the effects of each program asset.

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is the largest single seller of wheat and barley in the world, holding more than 20 per cent of the international market. First launched in 1996, its Web site served largely as an organizational library for farmers. Key audiences, such as customers, media and industry, were not addressed on the Web site.

In 2006 High Road provided the CWB with a complete e-communication solution for the reorganization and redesign of its Web site for farmers and international customers. The Web site goals were three-fold:

1. Redesign the CWB site to better serve the needs of both farmers and customers.
2. Create greater access to e-business services, forms, and contract information.
3. Improve navigability of information through careful usability analysis, content review, and usability testing.

High Road developed a strategic plan that mapped out a new framework for the CWB site to meet its audiences’ needs and provide room for future growth. The planning process included extensive consultation with CWB business divisions and direct usability testing with farmers.

High Road developed and documented a technical approach and rebuilt the entire Web site using a fully-updated navigational structure for greater usability. Key features of the site include full-integration of multiple e-service registrations into a single interface, audience-specific categorization, and faster more intuitive access to both e-services and critical business forms and contracts.

Since the launch in October 2006, audience feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Many farmers and customers note that the updated structure has allowed them to spend less time searching and more time using the information to help their businesses succeed.

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.