On Thursday, June 13, in New York, Ultima Foods and CASACOM received the 2013 Silver Anvil for Reputation /Brand Management from the Public Relations Society America (PRSA) for the campaign launch of iögo yogurt that led to one of the most impactful brand launches in Canada.  Ultima Foods and CASACOM are the only Canadian companies that received an award at this gala that brings together the biggest names in the public relations industry across North America. The iögo campaign was honoured in the category Reputation/Brand Management — Business – Companies with Sales up to $500M.

“This prestigious award highlights our team’s creativity, adaptability and teamwork across Canada,” said Diane Jubinville, Director of Public Relations and Consumer Relations  at Ultima Foods and Carolyn Ray, Managing Partner of CASACOM Toronto. “The strategies and execution created great impact, resulting in iögo rapidly becoming a preferred yogurt brand for Canadians. In fact, iögo’s market shares reached over 12 per cent just three months after the launch, while its brand awareness across Canada reached 80 per cent.”

This is the second award for iögo this week in recent weeks, on June 11, CASACOM also received the Bronze award at the Canadian Public Relations Society National Awards Ceremony in Ottawa.

CASACOM exceeded all communication objectives for the launch of iögo.  The positive media coverage reached 97 million impressions; something unheard of for the launch of a new brand in the food and beverage category. The results on social media were also impressive, including the 1.5 million views on Twitter during the first month.  The iögomania clearly manifested itself, amongst other things, through the engagement of the consumers on the interactive platforms.

The post Ultima Foods And CASACOM Awarded 2013 Silver Anvil For Reputation /Brand Management appeared first on PR In Canada.

After a review process Microsoft Canada announced today that Veritas Communications has selected Veritas as its public relations agency of record. The relationship is effective July 1st with an immediate transition underway to foster success and high-impact results.

“Microsoft Canada could not be more thrilled to welcome Veritas Communications aboard to help us elevate awareness and excitement about the power of Microsoft services and devices to connect Canadians with the passions they hold,” said Chitra Anand, Public Relations Lead. “This is a pivotal period of transition for Microsoft as we shift our business and revitalize our story. We look forward to working with a company like Veritas to help shape that story and engage with Canadians across the country.”

As the public relations agency of record, Veritas will assume responsibility for supporting earned media relations and activation around all of Microsoft’s Corporation’s enterprise and consumer platforms including, among others: Windows 8, Windows Phone, Surface, Xbox, Office, Cloud technology and Windows Azure. 

High Road Communication was the AOR for Microsoft Canada previously.

The post Microsoft Canada Names Veritas Communications PR Agency Of Record appeared first on PR In Canada.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies has announced that Boyd Neil will be stepping down from his position with the company where he helped to lead their digital and social media efforts and will be replaced by Joseph Peters.  Boyd was in the role for the last three years and has seen a number of changes especially in the social media space.

Effective immediately, Joe has been promoted to Senior Vice-President and National Practice Leader for social, digital and public engagement at H+K.

A longtime “H+Ker,” Boyd helped create the firm’s digital and social media practice and is credited with building a team that has grown a substantial and impressive client roster. He will continue to be an active part of the practice as a Senior Vice-President and Senior Digital Strategist, offering clients forward-thinking social and digital strategies to address their toughest business challenges.

In 2003, Joe Co-Founded Ascentum, which grew into one of Canada’s leading public engagement firms. Hill+Knowlton acquired Ascentum in August 2012.

Update:

Boyd will continue to be an active part of the practice as a Senior Vice-President and Senior Digital Strategist.

The post Boyd Neil Shifts Role At Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Replaced By Joseph Peters appeared first on PR In Canada.

Toronto-based Cowan & Company (C&C) recently marked a major milestone in the company’s history and they turned 10, and embarked on a campaign to help celebrate.  As part of the efforts, the public relations agency kicked off #Gratitude10 Project which included the roll out of a new website that incorporate a blog.

The agency also recently hired Brittany Siddall to the role of Communications Manger, where she will contribute her media, digital influencer and event management expertise to the L’Oréal Paris, Bier Markt and Casey’s Grill & Bar accounts at C&C. Brittany previously worked for PRAXIS Public Relations where she generated excellent PR results for a number of global consumer packaged goods brands, in addition to a range of premium wine & spirits portfolios. Brittany excels in strategic media relations and has earned recognition for her second-to-none event planning and management. Beginning her career in the not-for-profit sector, Brittany developed a strong community relations and social philanthropy background.

The post Happy 10th Anniversary Cowan & Company #Gratitude10 appeared first on PR In Canada.

Extreme Group has been named the agency of record (AOR) Atlantic Lottery, as part of and RFP process.

Scott McWilliam, Managing Director at the Atlantic Lottery says “We were looking for an agile and passionate partner to help us open up some really exciting new opportunities to help grow our business for Atlantic Canada. Every day we’re experiencing new changes, and far beyond just new media. So it was important that we partner with a team that can think about the business and not just advertising on a poster or in a TV spot. Extreme Group demonstrated a natural fit. They know the region really well and they bring lots of fresh strategic and creative fire-power.”

The post Atlantic Lottery Names Extreme Group Agency Of Record appeared first on PR In Canada.

NIVEA Canada is bringing back its pop-up NIVEA Haus campaign this summer, and things will got started in downtown, Toronto earlier this week.  Then the campaign will travel across Canada with the mission of bringing to life NIVEA’s core values of trust, quality, closeness and good value and its commitment to truly connecting with its consumers both physically and emotionally.

Between June and August, consumers in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Montreal will get to experience the brand’s heritage of innovation and 100+ years of skin care expertise. NIVEA has created an all-new mobile format to make it easier for consumers to try NIVEA products, experience the latest in skin care services and analysis and learn from the skin care brand.

As part of the stops the NIVEA crew will be making, they will be making personalized skin analysis and the distribute more than 280,000 free product samples and 4,800 free full-sized samples. The NIVEA Haus will be housed in a 40ft x 20ft mobile unit (with the stage down), with different areas that showcase our various product lines, innovations and promotions.  A “heritage” wall will highlight the 100+ year brand history and showcase vintage ads and images.

The post NIVEA Haus Pop-Up Starts Its Cross Canada Tour appeared first on PR In Canada.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies Vancouver has announced the addition of a new Assistant Consultant, Kristina Driedger, and new Account Director, Dana Sissons to its communications team.

Kristina joins H+K from Peak Communicators where she worked with a national convenience store chain, a charitable organization and a variety of local municipalities. Kristina’s experience with a wide array of media relations support, event management and direct-to-consumer marketing benefits a range of clients in the H+K Vancouver office.

With more than a decade of public relations, media relations, social and digital media and issues management experience, Dana Sissons brings a wealth of agency and corporate experience to H+K.  Prior to joining H+K Strategies, he worked for several years in the technology sector and most recently led communications for CounterPath. Dana has also worked on the agency side on Olympic sponsorship programs, community investment portfolios and corporate communications activities.

The post Hill+Knowlton Strategies Adds Two In Vancouver appeared first on PR In Canada.

Arts & Communications (A&C) has been retained by the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), Lifford Wines & Spirits and Nestlé Waters North America (Perrier Brand) to lead public relations and influencer communications efforts on their behalf.

The post Arts & Communications Wins Three New Account appeared first on PR In Canada.

Back in February of this year, the iconic doll Barbie announced she was putting up her Malibu Dreamhouse up for sale, Matel is launching the next phase of the campaign which will see Barbie embark on a North American tour to find inspiration as she searches for the perfect new home. Including two stops in Canada, the pink-tastic mobile tour will give young fans an all-access pass to experience the best of Barbie. Fans can visit www.family.ca/Barbie for details about the “Barbie is Moving” mobile tour. But come back on July 1^st to enter an exclusive Canadian Barbie Dreamhouse National Contest. The interactive “Barbie is Moving” mobile tour celebrates Barbie doll’s fabulous world and will be making stops in Toronto (July 19-21) and Vancouver (August 2-4). Barbie fans will have a chance to:

• Play dress-up and walk the doll-tastic runway in a glam fashion show, with tips from  stylists and a fab photo opportunity
• Enjoy a Barbie® movie in the larger-than-life theater
• Inspire Barbie® by creating a mood board for her new home
• Build their very own Mega Bloks® Barbie™ room to take home

“Barbie loves Canada, so it’s no surprise that she is looking to her Canadian fans for inspiration on this North American tour,” says Alicia Sumar, Barbie Brand Manager, Mattel Canada Inc. “We’re so excited to have girls from across the country step into Barbie doll’s world and let their imaginations and inspirations soar.”

Mattel Canada is also launching a contest exclusive to Canadians, offering various prizes and the grand prize is a one-of-a kind Barbie trip for four to the larger-than-life Barbie The Dreamhouse Experience in Florida.

The post #BarbieIsMoving And Gets Ready For North American Tour appeared first on PR In Canada.

We all love food, and as part of a new campaign, ACE Bakery will be launching Canada’s first Artisan Incubator, a celebration of the joys of artisan food, the importance of local, sustainable food producers and the vital contributions artisan entrepreneurs make to communities across Canada.  It is also a special milestone for ACE Bakery as they celebrate their 20th anniversary and have enlisted the help of Toronto-based agency We Are Tonic to come up with the creative for the campaign.

And from the initial concept, putting out a call for artisans, selecting top Canadian Tastemakers (including well-known Canadian chefs), employing media and social media to create a variety of consumer engagement touch points along the way, creating website content to event planning to produce a three-day event filled with public workshops and discussions with the artisans, and a Showcase event, We are Tonic has been at the helm every step of the way, from concept to execution.

With a modest budget, We Are Tonic were able to leverage it to:

• Bring on a media partner (Food Network, who helped create three :15 spots (see below) to promote this program and event) and an overall sponsor (BMO Financial Group who work with and support local businesses and artisans in communities across Canada)
• Utilize high use of social media and geo-targeted digital ads (on a variety of websites including Food Network and a range of food blog and food interest websites to engage consumers
• Create an 8-page insert appearing in the June 12^th issue of the Globe and Mail (Ontario region, June 19^th for the rest of Canada) which will profile the top 20 artisans, including recipes, along with ticket information for the two-day event and the background story about The ACE Bakery Artisan Incubator.

Hundreds of artisans expressed interest in participating in the culinary showcase when it was first announced at the beginning of the year. Since then, a top 20 have been selected by the Tastemakers, ACE Bakery and We Are Tonic to come to Toronto for this unique two-day showcase, including workshops and panel discussions, on June 20-22. They’ll be given national exposure through media advertising and coverage, and have the opportunity to share in the industry insights ACE Bakery has gained over the last 20 years.  ACE hopes to help them achieve success while also drawing attention to the thousands of hard-working artisans who put their heart and soul into everything they make.

“When my husband and I started the journey of creating ACE Bakery 20 years ago, we were very lucky to have a mentor who owned his own artisan bakery in New York,” explained Linda Haynes, Co-Founder of ACE Bakery and author of The ACE Bakery Cookbooks.  “He believed in what we were trying to do, especially around our community investment, so he went as far as to train some of our bakers, help us find used equipment and he even shared some of his recipes with us.  Now it’s ACE’s turn to pay it forward and help other talented Canadian artisans in a similar way.”

Two of the artisans will be selected by ACE Bakery to receive further business development opportunities with their guidance.

The post ACE Bakery Launches Artisan Incubator, For The Love Of Food appeared first on PR In Canada.