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.

 

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.

On March 9, 2010, Universal unveiled the newest addition to its successful Barbie DVD franchise, entitled Barbie in a Mermaid Tale, which received PR support from High Road to drive buzz with media and consumers.

Targeting girls aged 3 to 10 with core target of 3 to 6, as well as their moms, the goal was to generate consumer excitement for the DVD release. Given March was a noisy timeframe for children’s entertainment and consumer products, particularly due to the spring break push, our secondary goal was to push through the clutter to ensure Barbie in a Mermaid Tale maintained share of voice during release time frame.   

To achieve these goals, High Road engaged in a media relations and promotions campaign, as well as a direct-to-consumer screening event with a strong focus on the mommy blogger and online communities.

To drive excitement about the movie with moms and their daughters, Universal and Mattel hosted a Barbie in a Mermaid Tale screening event in Toronto on March 6^th. The event offered an exclusive and engaging experience, highlighting the mermaid and surfing themes as well as the “different is special” message from the film, and featured a visit from “Barbie” herself. Tickets were given away through contesting on mommy blogs and broadcast media.

More than 200 parents and children attended the screening, and over 1,600 watched a video posted to YummyMummyClub.ca and MSN about the event that was produced by the event’s host, Erica Ehm.

Learn more at: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/barbie_movie_premiere?s=newsletter031810