We don’t think there is a better way to wrap up a five-month long project with TELUS Enterprise than to have the honour of being named Best Telecommunications Website in the 15th annual 2011 WebAwards. The competition was stiff with over 2,000 entries from 96 industries and 45 countries participating in this year’s competition, but TELUS Enterprize. Power to Solve. stood out amongst the competition!

High Road worked around the clock with TELUS Enterprise to develop a five-month e-learning internal awareness program that we only had a month and a half to create and develop. High Road and TELUS Enterprise were up for the challenge, creating the strategy, information architecture, content, measurement plan and technical development in record-breaking time.

The game itself was a mix of Wheel of Fortune and Trivial Pursuit and sought to not only educate its 2,500 Enterprise Solutions team members about its business priorities, solutions, brand and key initiatives but also to create enthusiasm, engagement and a little healthy competition.

In addition to answering monthly questions from May to September, employees were able to earn bonus points for submitting “Power to Solve” Moments – mini-blogs citing how they have used their problem-solving skills and leadership to improve the customer experience at all levels. We then incentivized users to “like” and “vote” on stories to earn further points. It was amazing to see how much support and excitement employees had surrounding the Power to Solve Moments – with close to 300 Power to Solve stories collected!

The program has been so successful that the team has had to move their goal posts for success three times already and had a 42% engagement rate amongst the target audience!

Congratulations to everyone at TELUS and at High Road who worked on this award-winning program!

Just in time for the school bell chime, High Road worked with TELUS to invite media to a Back to School preview event showcasing the company’s exciting line-up of devices and services. From Facebook-centric phones like the HTC Status, to social-networking based music service Rdio, media were invited to see the many ways TELUS is curating the Internet to offer customers the services they know and love on smartphones built around social trends.

To kick-off the Back to School theme, media were sent invites in the form of college admission letters, encouraging one and all to take part in a freshman orientation at TELUS. 19 media spanning technology, lifestyle and online publications attended the Back to School preview event held at the TELUS tower in Toronto.

Technology reporters and bloggers were invited to an afternoon briefing at the TELUS Innovation Centre with VP of Mobility Solutions, Brent Johnston, who discussed TELUS’ smartphone and services strategy. A few hours later, a slew of lifestyle reporters and bloggers joined for the second half of the event, complete with fun and interactive demos from TELUS spokespeople. Media enjoyed a live DJ, bar service, appetizers and a “Glee”ful performance from the Etobicoke School of Arts club, SPLASH, who charmed the audience with foot-stompin’ renditions of classics like “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Lean on Me.”

Jen McNeeley, editor of SheDoestheCity, echoed everyone’s feelings about the Glee club performance, going so far as to tweet that the TELUS event was the highlight of her life: And the glee club did Journey. Who knew the @telus event would be the highlight of my life? Several others commented that the event’s look and feel creatively captured the “Back to School” theme.

Class may be dismissed, but one thing’s for sure: media are hard at work because the coverage is rolling in at record speed. From blog posts to tweets, this class is on their A game!

May 3rd was a milestone for the Toronto cycling community, as the BIXI bicycle share service debuted in Toronto. BIXI unleashed 1,000 bicycles at 80 pick-up stations on Toronto streets, with a helping hand from lead sponsor TELUS.

Despite a federal election and steady rain, biking enthusiasts and journalists came out in record numbers to the official press conference held on Ryerson’s University campus. City counsellors, BIXI representatives and sponsors, including TELUS’ own Anne-Marie LaBerge, enthusiastically discussed how the easy and accessible bike sharing program will allow Torontonians to stay active in their day to day lives, beat traffic and help better the environment!

With several broadcast crews, top print outlets, and a range of key online outlets in attendance, the kick-off press conference was a major success, and plenty of TELUS branded bikes and helmets ensured Torontonians will be fully aware that TELUS is to thank for this nifty new public transport option.