FALL 2007
Q U E B E C
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M O N T R E A L
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T O R O N T O
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W I N N I P E G
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ADzif re-thinks home decor on Montreal’s Rue Atlantic
6 Shiny High-Tech a Staple of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Area
16 Winnipeg’s Multimedia Risk: Protecting the Film Biz
PLUS: • Quebec City’s Québec Scope magazine • Totum Tips: Preventing Running Injuries • Winnipeg’s Viewpoints Research Collects Opinions • Toronto’s The Hive Develops Brand Experiences
2 STEPPING AHEAD Colborne Street’s Six Steps a Toronto Lunch Favourite
TORONTO
Step in the Right Direction Colborne Bistro Six Steps offers great business lunch appeal with stylish décor and a succinct menu
Split Personality: The 115-seat bistro has one space that’s a casual dining room with a lunch counter and communal tables, and another filled with booths and intimate tables.
ST. LAWRENCE MARKET, TORONTO / - Colborne Street is perhaps not as well known as Front or Wellington, but its selection of restaurants and pubs are certainly gaining favour with the local population.
The straightforward modern Italian menu features a half dozen thin crust pizzas, a few pasta dishes and entres such as 8oz steak with Yukon Gold fires, and Ontario rack of lamb with rosemary and pomegranate-scented jus.
And restaurateur Pat Quinn seems to have taken a shine to the place, opening Six Steps at 53 Colborne Street with co-owner George Koutroubis. This is Quinn’s third such establishment on the same block of this tiny, Old Toronto street.
“People want simplicity, so the menu reflects that,” says Quinn. Of course, part of the reason for the simple menu, he explains, is the open kitchen. Clean and well kept, the activity behind the counter hums along as part of the background, and gives the space the sense of activity without being a distraction.
Family business Not by any means new to the restaurant industry, or the neighbourhood, Quinn and his family also own PJ O’Brien’s, a pub he opened seven years ago on the same street with his brother and father, as well as the Pat Quinn Lounge, which opened a year ago. The family also owns the Irish Embassy on Yonge Street and Shopsy’s on Front. But Colborne Street offered a historical quaintness that made Quinn want to expand his hospitality offerings there.
Word of mouth “It’s a place that relies more on word of mouth than walk-by traffic,” he says of the location, but its proximity to the office population on Front Street and The King Edward Hotel have made it a busy lunch spot for those in the know.
COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • 2
Communal and casual But things were certainly active last spring when Quinn took the place over from its former occupants who ran an older style restaurant. Effectively, the space was in need of some serious updating. Now, the light-filled 115-seat restaurant is essentially divided into two areas, one a casual dining room with a dark granite bar, a lunch counter in front of the open kitchen and a handful of communal tables, and the other a more private dining room with booths and intimate tables. Downstairs you’ll find a function room that is scheduled to feature Motown and Blues acts on Fridays and Saturday nights later in the year.
sixstepsrestaurant.com
U.S. Retailer DWR Opens its First Canadian ‘Studio’ on King West Central KING STREET WEST, TORONTO / As King West Central continues to develop into a design destination for shoppers, the character of its buildings and its population hasn’t escaped the notice of U.S. retailer Design Within Reach, which expects to open its first Canadian store at 439 King Street West before the end of the year. “We usually go into design neighbourhoods that are unique and have a bit of history to them, so that the location can itself provide interesting design elements to the space,” says Sara Hildebrandt, Design Within Reach’s senior manager of real estate and construction.
66 stores across the U.S.
U.S. retailer Design Within Reach expects to open its first Canadian store at 439 King Street West before the end of the year.
Some of the company’s 66 stores across the U.S. can be found in outdoor lifestyle centres, but the firm prefers to look for heritage buildings that can add character to each studio showroom. Best known for its wide selection of designer furniture, Design Within Reach, or DWR as it is known, has partnerships with Herman Miller, Cassina, Fritz Hansen and Knoll to bring the legendary work of designers like Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen and Le Corbusier to the general public. Started in 1998, the company was founded on the simple premise that the best designed goods should be readily available to the public. As for what they stock, DWR is known primarily as a source of well-designed furniture.
More resource centre than showroom “When the business started, we only had a catalog and a web site. A year-and-a-half later, we opened our first studio in San Francisco,” says Hildebrandt. The stores are referred to as studios because DWR intends for its spaces to be resource centres hosting events and seminars spreading the design doctrine, as well as being showrooms. Its product offerings promise to be quite extensive and while furniture is definitely the mainstay, DWR’s interests lie with anything that has been thoughtfully conceived. In addition to its offering icons of modern design, DWR has been involved with projects ranging from designing the interior of an Airstream trailer, to BBQs to pillows and other accessories.
dwr.com
3 • FALL 2007
TORONTO
DESIGNER’S REACH
MONTRÉAL
DES IDÉES QUI COLLENT ADzif : des décorations adhésives tendance pour égayer vos murs Un produit unique en son genre Peu après s’être installée rue Atlantic en mars dernier, l’équipe a vu les commandes se multiplier et de grands détaillants comme Rona et Réno Dépôt ont passé des commandes astronomiques pour pouvoir distribuer ses produits dans tout le pays. L’affaire a pris tant d’ampleur si rapidement qu’on a dû ouvrir un lieu d’expédition séparé, situé à proximité, au 6300, avenue du Parc. « Ce sont des produits différents, novateurs, mais qui peuvent être provisoires », affirme Maryline Lambelin pour expliquer le succès de ses autocollants. « Quand on les retire, ils ne laissent aucune trace. »
Un peu de piquant, fort intéressant RUE ATLANTIC, MONTRÉAL / - C’est en juin 2006, alors que Maryline Lambelin voyageait en France, qu’elle eut l’idée qui lui permit de lancer son affaire : de grands adhésifs muraux que l’on applique sur un pan de mur pour donner un accent design à son intérieur. Bien que fort prisée en Europe, cette idée n’avait pas été très développée au Canada. « Au départ, on avait simplement pensé être distributeur au Canada », déclare Maryline Lambelin, qui a fondé, avec son associé Pierre Paré, ADzif, firme montréalaise et premier fabricant et distributeur au Canada à proposer au grand public une si vaste collection d’autocollants muraux de grand format.
Une équipe du tonnerre « On savait fabriquer le produit et on voulait sortir du côté purement lié au service pour se lancer dans la fabrication d’un type de produit », explique Maryline Lambelin en ajoutant qu’elle et Pierre Paré sont tous deux issus du monde de l’impression numérique grand format. Le succès de l’entreprise tient en partie à la richesse artistique de sa collection, un atout qu’elle doit à une quinzaine de designers, notamment Anne Cahens et son style d’illustration organique, Jean Daniel, qui a créé la ligne Baroque, Lucie Gauthier à l’origine de Voyage, Ségo, connue pour sa ligne d’illustrations pour enfants « Ludo » et Péru, artiste graffiteur.
CHRONIQUE COMMUNAUTAIRE • 4
Chaque décoration autocollante mesure près d’un mètre carré et est vendue avec une pellicule que l’on applique sur un mur vierge. On retire ensuite la pellicule et l’autocollant adhère au mur. Vendus entre 28 $ et 48 $, ces appliqués sont une manière économique d’ajouter un peu de piquant à son intérieur. La gamme plus restreinte et plus économique d’ADzif, mur*mur, sera distribuée d’ici Noël par Rona et Réno Dépôt. ADzif, la gamme créée par les artistes, est disponible à travers 21 points de vente au Canada et quatre aux États-Unis qui proposent diverses sortes de motifs muraux : des points, des formes graphiques baroques, des photos de fleurs grand format, des personnages de bandes dessinées pour enfants et même des textes en caractères géants.
adzif.ca
STICKY BUSINESS ADzif’s wall decals tack on to a new North American interior design trend RUE ATLANTIC, MONTREAL / - In June of 2006, Maryline Lambelin was traveling in France when she came across an idea that would put her into business: a large adhesive wall decal that consumers can tack onto their bare walls to give the space a designer feel. While it continues to be popular in Europe, the idea had not seen much play in Canada, until now. “Originally, we thought we would just be distributors in Canada,” says Lambelin, who along with partner Pierre Paré founded Montreal-based ADzif, the first firm in Canada to manufacture and distribute such a wide selection of large format adhesive wall decals on this scale.
Large format print veterans “We knew how to make the product, and we wanted to get out of the service-based end of the print business and into manufacturing one type of product,” explains Lambelin, adding that both she and Paré came from the large format printing industry. Part of the strength comes from the solid artistic stable, which has now grown to 15 contributors and includes graphic designer Anne Cahens, who lends the collection a very organic illustration style; Jean Daniel who produces a series called Barok; Lucie Gauthier who developed Voyage; as well as Sego, known for her Ludo series of kids’ illustrations; and Peru, a graffiti artist.
L’imprimante grand format et la découpeuse de vinyle en operation. ADzif’s large format printer and vinyl cutter at work.
A growing concern Shortly after moving into their space at Rue Atlantic last March, orders began pouring in and large retailers like Rona and Reno Depot have asked for massive quantities to distribute across Canada. Things have grown so quickly that the team needed to open a separate shipping office at nearby 6300 Avenue du Parc. “It’s different and innovative, and it’s not permanent,” says Lambelin, explaining the decals’ popularity. “So when you take it off, you don’t have to redo your walls.”
Spicing up home décor Each decal is close to a meter square and comes with a backing sheet that users place on a blank wall. Then they peel off the backing sheet to leave the decal on the wall. At $28 to $48, it’s just about the most economic way to spice up your décor. mur*mur is the firm’s smaller, value-conscious brand that will be found in Rona and Réno Dépôt stores by Christmas. ADzif, the designer series, is available through a network of 21 retailers in Canada and four in the U.S. These designer offerings feature such things as macro images of flowers, spots or baroque graphic elements, cartoon characters for kids and even large scale texts.
Each decal is close to a meter square and comes with a backing sheet that users place on a blank wall. Then they peel off the backing sheet to leave the decal on the wall. Chaque décoration autocollante mesure près d’un mètre carré et est vendue avec une pellicule que l’on applique sur un mur vierge. On retire ensuite la pellicule et l’autocollant adhère au mur.
adzif.ca 5 • AUTOMNE 2007
TORONTO
Simplicity in Steel High-Tech’s eye for clean lines in kitchen accessories has kept this St. Lawrence Market store in style for 28 years ST. LAWRENCE MARKET, TORONTO / - There’s a lack of colour in Chris Valentine’s world. But that’s not a problem, in fact, it’s by design. “Colours come and go in the marketplace so quickly, we have always just tried to maintain complementary product that is clear, black, or white,” he says. Long known as a retailer of Euro-styled kitchen and bath accessories, his store, High-Tech, is 3,300 square feet of shiny chrome, stainless steel, black leather, and clear acrylic and glass. Named for the industrial design movement of the 1960s that ushered a sensibility for commercial grade chrome and steel into the residential realm, High-Tech has been at its current location near the St. Lawrence market for some 28 years, and continues to be the ‘go-to’ spot for Euro-inspired kitchen accoutrements, restaurant shelving (they were the first in Toronto to carry the original chrome wire Metro shelving) and modern stools.
Kitchen and beyond With over 3,000 kitchen items, everything from espresso makers to egg timers filling its wire shelves, culinary accessories are clearly High-Tech’s strong suit. But since taking over the business in 1996, Valentine, who worked for the original owners for four years before buying it, continued to expand offerings to include bath, shelving, and furniture items. In the two years following his taking over the business, Valentine doubled sales, and by the fourth year, sales had quadrupled. And his marketplace has expanded considerably since High-Tech launched its shop-online web site, with a lot of orders coming in from Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.
COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • 6
Well-known in interior design and architecture circles as a place to find functional, durable shelving, High-Tech also conducts custom shelving installations for offices, and offers in-home consults for organizing residential closets.
Furniture on demand When it comes to furniture, its collection of tables, chairs, stools, accessories and accent pieces offer smart, sophisticated choices. And given that there’s 600 square feet of storage in the basement, High-Tech maintains a decent stock of popular items. While it has tried to avoid trends and adhere to a strict doctrine of selling items with clean lines and metal surfaces, High-Tech’s business has definitely benefited from the popularity of stainless steel appliances. “Everybody wants a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and that’s where we come in, to accessorize,” says Valentine. But to get the right match on appliances, consumers are looking for furniture finished in brushed steel, which comes at a cost. Part of it is material costs and also that it is harder to work with, but until the manufacturing processes are honed, Valentine says, if you want a stainless steel stool, for example, in a brushed finish, expect to pay at least three to four times the price of the chrome finish. “But we’ll be seeing a lot more of that in the next couple of years at reasonable price points,” he says.
hightechonline.ca
Noir, blanc et inox Depuis 28 ans, High-Tech mise sur la sobriété pour durer ST. LAWRENCE MARKET, TORONTO / Le monde de Chris Valentine manque de couleur. Mais ça ne lui pose pas de problème, c’est un choix. « En matière de couleurs, les modes changent constamment. Nous avons donc toujours essayé de proposer des produits noirs, blancs ou transparents », explique-t-il. Les 3 300 pi2 de High-Tech, connu depuis longtemps pour ses accessoires de cuisine et de salle de bain de style européen, sont en effet une véritable étendue d’acier inoxydable, de cuir noir, de plexiglas, de verre et de chrome lumineux.
Style européen Baptisé d’après le mouvement de design industriel des années 60 à l’origine de l’apparition du chrome et de l’acier dans nos foyers, High-Tech est installé près du St. Lawrence Market depuis 28 ans et continue à attirer les particuliers en quête d’accessoires de cuisine, de rayonnages (il fut le premier magasin à Toronto à proposer les étagères en chrome Metro) et de tabourets de style européen. Avec une gamme de plus de 3 000 articles allant de la machine à expresso au sablier, les accessoires de cuisine sont de toute évidence le point fort du magasin.
Du sablier au mobilier
With over 3,000 kitchen items, everything from espresso makers to egg timers filling its wire shelves, culinary accessories are clearly High-Tech’s strong suit, but the retailer continues to expand offerings into bath, shelving, and furniture items. Avec une gamme de plus de 3 000 articles variés, les accessoires de cuisine sont nombreux, mais la sélection comprend également des articles de salle de bain, de rayonnage et de mobilier.
Depuis qu’il a repris l’affaire en 1996, Chris Valentine, qui avait auparavant travaillé pour les premiers propriétaires pendant quatre années, n’a cessé d’élargir sa sélection qui comprend également des articles de salle de bain, de rayonnage et de mobilier. Tout va très bien chez High-Tech. Chris Valentine a vu son chiffre d’affaires doubler les deux premières années, puis quadrupler en quatre ans. En outre, sa position sur le marché s’est considérablement étendue grâce au site de magasinage en ligne qu’il a lancé et qui attire de nombreux clients notamment, de Vancouver, de Calgary et de Montréal.
7 • FALL 2007
QUÉBEC
SAVEUR LOCALE Québec Scope, un mensuel pratique et pertinent sur la vie du Grand Québec ST-ROCH, QUÉBEC / - L’effet de la centralisation des médias se ressent surtout dans les petites villes du Canada. Les journaux et magazines nationaux ont tendance à s’intéresser principalement à ce qui se passe dans les grandes villes et même les publications locales, qui appartiennent souvent à des grands groupes, perdent, à l’occasion, leur saveur locale. Mais quand on est à Québec et qu’on cherche à savoir ce qui s’y passe, où manger, où magasiner et où danser, c’est dans Québec Scope qu’on le trouve. Plus qu’un guide des événements et des loisirs de la ville, ce mensuel est devenu la référence incontournable des épicuriens comme des habitués de boîtes de nuit.
Un peu de tout un peu partout D’un format pratique, ce magazine d’une centaine de pages renferme tout ce qu’il faut savoir sur les restaurants, les sorties et les magasins à Québec tout en restant très complet quant à l’actualité musicale, théâtrale et sportive. Mais plus que son côté exhaustif, c’est surtout son omniprésence qui surprend. Quelque 50 000 exemplaires sont imprimés chaque mois puis proposés dans les 2 000 points de distribution parmi lesquels des restaurants et des théâtres, mais aussi des magasins de vêtements et des supermarchés. Québec Scope est publié depuis plusieurs années maintenant et l’éditeur attribue son succès à son contenu vraiment local. En effet, des articles comme Shopping Saint-Joseph et Dis-moi ce que porte ton serveur, je te dirai où tu es lui procurent un réel accent local.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PRESS ST. ROCH, QUEBEC CITY / - If you’re in Quebec City and you want to know what’s going on, where to eat, what to see, where to shop and where to dance, most people just reach for Québec Scope. More than a handy guide to what’s going on in the city, Québec Scope magazine has become a monthly handbook as much for the epicurean as for the club-goer. Averaging 100 pages, the handy eight-by-six booklet runs features on shopping, dining and entertainment while keeping a thorough account of the music, theatre and sport schedules. But more remarkable than its thoroughness is its ubiquity. Some 50,000 copies are printed every month and devotees can find it distributed at any one of 2,000 locations, from restaurants and theatres to clothing stores and supermarkets.
CHRONIQUE COMMUNAUTAIRE • 8
Reflet communautaire En outre, les lecteurs peuvent littéralement se reconnaître dans les pages de Québec Scope, car ses photographes parcourent la ville de long en large en quête de clichés représentant le tissu culturel local. Des meilleurs sushis au plus talentueux des accordéonistes ou aux danseuses des plus prestigieuses boîtes de nuit, Québec Scope n’omet rien de ce qui fait bouger la ville. Il est vraiment une précieuse source d’information autant pour la population locale que pour les touristes.
From dreaming up giant footballs crashing through walls to designing modular sofas, Cocoon Branding is making a name for itself in design and marketing. Branding is holistic “A brand agency looks holistically across all creative disciplines and forms of brand expression, whereas a traditional ad agency is just specific to advertising,” explains Kyle Romaniuk, the firm’s creative director and founding principal. To Cocoon’s team of 12, branding can mean anything from creating a logo to creating a product, and so far Cocoon’s products are garnering considerable attention.
Design distinction
EXCHANGE DISTRICT, WINNIPEG / - Last fall, Winnipeg was besieged by giant footballs appearing to crash through walls, windows and vehicles. While ostensibly to connect Scotiabank more directly with its sponsorship of the Grey Cup, it was an award-winning example of a buzz campaign, and just one example of Cocoon Branding’s handiwork. Buzz marketing has been around for several years now, but the Scotiabank campaign is an example of the next level of buzz, where a national firm’s brand benefits from the commercial karma of associating itself with a distinctly Canadian experience.
Engaging audiences And what’s more, the display engaged pedestrians by becoming a near active presence in the core. Giant uprights were planted on the Scotiabank building at Portage and Main, the atrium of which was decaled with a crowd scene to give the downtown corner the look of a stadium. The team also used billboards on St. James Street to display club standings by flying high the flags of the winning teams, while the teams knocked out of the playoffs luffed at half-mast. It’s an innovative form of advertising, but don’t confuse Cocoon with a traditional agency. While print, logos, web design and other ad staples are part of their service offering, Cocoon focuses on branding.
The assistive lighting device for wheelchairs they designed was short-listed for the prestigious 2007 iF Design Awards (known as the product design industry’s version of the Oscars), and it won a Design Distinction Award in the Annual Design Review featured in ID Magazine, ranking among heavy hitters like Nike, BMW and Apple. And the enviro-friendly modular sofa Cocoon created to showcase their design talents at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City last May – called Oi – was selected as one of only ten finalists to be shown at the Prototype exhibit at the Interior Design Show in Toronto. (More information on Oi can be found at www.ilikeoi.com.) Working with startups as well as with established companies that need to invigorate their brands, Cocoon’s approach promotes relevant creativity by focusing on the needs of the target audience, the client’s business objectives, and considering the core essence of the brand, says Romaniuk.
cocoonbranding.com
Beyond ad campaigns, Cocoon also designs product, including Oi, a modular sofa.
9 • FALL 2007
WINNIPEG
BRAND NAME
WINNIPEG
OFFERING INSIGHT Viewpoints Research puts 20 years of experience into piecing together opinions for its clients EXCHANGE DISTRICT, WINNIPEG / - Ginny Devine is paid to have an informed opinion. She’s not a media pundit but may well be part of the equation as her firm Viewpoints Research, at 115 Bannatyne Ave., has been helping clients throughout North America use opinion research to their advantage since 1986. “We explore why people make decisions,” says Devine, who runs the operation with business partner Leslie Turnbull. “Whether it’s a decision to buy a particular product, to attend an event, to act on an opinion, to use a service, or donate to charity.”
Organizational research As market researchers, the eight-person firm provides business, non-profit and government clients with insight into how products, services, events and policies are viewed. But the bulk of the company’s business is organizational research. “I think more people are looking at research on employee satisfaction because hanging on to employees is more of an issue now than it was 10 years ago. So companies are interested in learning what will keep employees satisfied,” she says. Clients like the Hong Kong Bank of Canada and Blue Cross benefit from qualitative research done usually through focus group work with executives and line employees, and then subsequent quantitative research (i.e., surveys) to rank their employees’ wants and needs.
Identifying member needs Service organizations like the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, ACTRA, and the Credit Unions of North America, concerned with properly identifying member needs, will also work with Viewpoints to determine what members are looking for, perhaps prior to a negotiation or a policy change. Surveying attendees at the Winnipeg Folk Festival was one of Viewpoints’ very first jobs and from there the firm gained a reputation as an event researcher, doing subsequent work for Folklorama and the Festival du Voyageur. Over the years, the firm evolved into organizational research and has developed something of an expertise on Ginny Devine runs Viewpoints with the matter. business partner Leslie Turnbull.
COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • 10
Experience and implementation Its 30-phone, on-site call centre accesses a pool of some 100 occasional operators to conduct quantitative research and its two in-house analysts access data after every shift to provide up-to-date information for ongoing studies. But that’s just the mechanics of research, the Viewpoints team also brings its experience to bear on the actual implementation. “One of the important things about employee research is making sure you share the results with employees,” says Devine, adding that respondents should be confident that they will not be identified by their survey results.
Paper improves response rates The industry has certainly moved towards online surveying, says Devine but in some instances her firm finds old fashion paper surveys tend to yield better response rates. Viewpoints uses primarily telephone interviewing as a key tool, and relies on its ability to yield high response rates and near immediate data, given the use of Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing software. One thing her company needn’t study is the demand for research. As companies increase in size, scope and reach, there appears to be an ongoing national need for information on what employees are thinking.
viewpoints.ca
TIPS
Fight Runner’s Knee and Back Pain with Hip Exercises
Des exercices pour les hanches qui vous éviteront douleurs aux genoux et au dos
If your knee hurts, try strengthening your hip’s rotator cuff muscles, says Dr. Craig Davies, a chiropractor with Totum Life Science in Toronto.
Si vous avez mal au genou, essayez de renforcer les muscles de la coiffe des rotateurs de la hanche. C’est le conseil du Dr Craig Davis, chiropraticien chez Totum Life Science à Toronto.
These muscles, which give your hip stability and protection, are often neglected when runners do any strength training. If these muscles are weak, they can’t provide the support your hip needs during running, so the stress is absorbed by other tissues, which results in injuries.
Ces muscles, qui stabilisent et protègent les hanches, sont souvent négligés par les coureurs qui font des exercices de musculation. Or si ces muscles ne sont pas suffisamment développés, ils ne peuvent soutenir les hanches pendant la course. L’effort se répercute alors sur les autres tissus et provoque des blessures.
These four simple exercises should be completed continuously on one side (without rest if possible) before turning over and working the other side. But make sure to do these very slowly when you start.
Voici quatre exercices faciles qui doivent être effectués de manière continue d’un côté (sans repos si possible) avant de travailler l’autre côté. Quand vous commencez, veillez à faire ces exercices très lentement.
1. Lying on your side, toes pointed front. Lift leg 12 times. 2. From leg up position, bring knee down in front of chest 12 times. 3. From in front of chest position, rotate the knee up towards the ceiling as far as possible without moving in the lower back (keep the knee bent at the same angle throughout the movement) 12 times. 4. From top of hip position, extend knee to leg up position. Keep the knee straight and rotate through the hip so that your leg and toes rotate towards the ceiling 12 times.
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1. Allongé sur le côté, les pointes de pied tendues vers l’avant, levez la jambe. 12 répétitions. 2. Avec la jambe levée, ramenez le genou devant la poitrine. 12 répétitions.
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3. Dans la position avec le genou sur la poitrine, tournez le genou vers le plafond aussi loin que possible sans bouger le bas du dos (gardez le genou plié dans la même position). 12 répétitions.
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4. Avec le genou plié dans l’alignement de la hanche, tendez la jambe en l’air. La jambe tendue dans l’alignement de la hanche, faites des cercles avec toute la jambe en veillant à ce qu’elle reste tournée vers le plafond ainsi que les orteils. 12 répétitions.
totum.ca
11 • AUTOMNE 2007
HEALTH / SANTÉ
TOTUM
MONTRÉAL
CULTURE ET CRÉATIVITÉ SID LEE, agence montréalaise de publicité, cultive la culture à l’intérieure et à l’extérieur de l’entreprise CITÉ MULTIMÉDIA, MONTRÉAL / - Avec ses salles de conception originales destinées aux séances de remueméninges et ses expositions d’oeuvres d’art qui meublent les couloirs, le quartier général de SID LEE à la Cité Multimédia, au 75, rue Queen, ne laisse aucun doute : il s’agit, dans ce cas, de plus qu’une agence de pub. SID LEE est en effet une agence de Créativité commerciale™ qui propose à ses clients une approche qui lui est propre en leur fournissant des services de marketing dans plusieurs domaines : branding, design d’espaces, publicité, marketing interactif et expérientiel (l’année dernière, elle a remodelé un des magasins de la Société des alcools du Québec et elle a lancé un concept commercial interactif pour adidas). Avec une équipe de 15 associés qui dirigent 150 professionnels spécialistes de diverses disciplines ainsi que des clients prestigieux à Toronto, Montréal, Las Vegas, New
CHRONIQUE COMMUNAUTAIRE • 12
York, Boston, San Francisco, Londres, Herzogenaurach (Allemagne), Paris et Bordeaux, SID LEE est de toute évidence un poids lourd dans le secteur du marketing. Parmi ses clients elle compte notamment adidas, l’AMT, Aéroplan, Belair Direct, Birks, Bose, le Cirque du Soleil, Four Seasons, Gaz Métro, Loto-Québec, MGM Mirage, Miller, le Musée des beaux arts, Red Bull, la SAQ, la Banque Scotia, Réno-Dépôt, Tourisme Montréal et Vins de France. Mais SID LEE, c’est aussi le collectif SID LEE, un incubateur de créativité qui met au point, produit, finance et fait la promotion de divers projets qui poussent la notion de Créativité commerciale™ au-delà de ses limites pour aider les clients à atteindre leurs objectifs d’affaires par le biais de la créativité sous toutes ses formes commerciales. SID LEE offre également des bourses à ses artisans afin de les aider à mettre en oeuvre leurs idées.
sidlee.com
ARTS AND CRAFT Montreal ad firm SID LEE cultivates culture – both internally and externally CITE MULTIMEDIA, MONTREAL / - With high concept rooms for brainstorming sessions and rotating visual art exhibits in its hallways, SID LEE’s Cité Multimedia headquarters at 75 Queen Street shows it to be more than an ad agency. Rather, SID LEE is a Commercial Creativity™ agency that offers a non-traditional approach for its clients by providing marketing services in the fields of branding, architectural design, advertising, and interactive and experiential marketing (last year it redesigned one of the Société des alcools du Québec stores, and it has launched an interactive retail concept for adidas). With 15 partners and 150 professionals covering a range of disciplines, and marquee clients in Toronto, Montreal, Las Vegas, New York, Boston, San Francisco, London, Herzogenaurach (Germany), Paris and Bordeaux, SID LEE is proving to be a driving force in marketing. Its main clients include, adidas, AMT, Aeroplan, Belair Direct, Birks, Bose, Cirque du Soleil, Four Seasons, Gaz Métro, LotoQuébec, MGM Mirage, Miller, Musée des beaux arts, Red Bull, SAQ, Scotia Bank, Réno-Dépôt, Tourisme Montréal, Wines from France. SID LEE also has a brainchild: SID LEE collective, a creative incubator that develops, catalyses, promotes and finances various projects that push the notion of Commercial Creativity™ to its limits or beyond, helping clients obtain their business objectives by leveraging creativity in all its commercial forms. SID LEE also offers bursaries to its artisans so that they can make their ideas happen. Text and photos Submitted by SID LEE
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH New Indigo Doc Puts Focus on School Library Funding
KING STREET WEST, TORONTO / - The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, which has donated over $4.5 million to 30 Canadian schools since it was established in 2004, recently launched a short documentary film on the Canadian literacy crisis. The film, Writing on the Wall, is designed to inspire individuals and governments to take action by ensuring schools are equipped with the resources they need to improve literacy. In the 1970s, Canadian schools budgeted to buy three books per child per year. Now, budgets only accommodate a third of a book per child. In short, kids need new books. The deteriorated state of many libraries, the film demonstrates, is turning kids off reading. What’s more, only 13 percent of Canadian schools even have full-time librarians. Writing on the Wall explores the literacy crisis unfolding in Canada’s classrooms. Complete with shocking statistics of children’s literacy skills and the impact on their future, and Canada’s, the film follows two high-needs elementary schools as they prepare their submission for an Indigo Love of Reading Foundation grant to rebuild their dying libraries. To see the documentary and learn more about what you can do to help, visit: www.loveofreading.org
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TORONTO
Brand New Experiences Toronto’s Hive Uses Private Concerts and Traveling Exhibits for Consumers to Experience a Brand And in Vancouver, they organized a private show at GM Place with Jay Leno and The Barenaked Ladies for 4,500 of Yellow Pages’ best customers. “There are so many ways to blow money on music if you don’t know your way around the business,” says Shaver, whose team brings a wealth of experience to the use of music in marketing. Some of the founding partners brought record label experience to the firm when it was originally formed, under the name Encore Strategic Marketing, and one of its first big successes was the Molson Canadian Rocks concert tour, featuring the ‘Blind Date’ series, a fully integrated promotion.
Offices around the globe Being named the global music agency for Brown Foreman, distiller of Jack Daniels and other premium liquor brands, is one of the many international forays that have prompted The Hive to expand its global The Hive partners (l-r) Rick Shaver, VP client services; Ted Rakoczy, VP business affairs; footprint. Christopher Grimston, VP creative services; Jennifer Luka, VP events; Andy Krupski, president & CEO. Robert Peters, VP Hive Entertainment is absent. There is a Hive office in London, England, to handle the Brown-Foreman KING WEST CENTRAL, TORONTO / - For the curious, and Miller work there, and another in Beverly Hills, there’s a bus touring the U.S. that will show you all the California, to liaise more closely with Live Nation, one of stages that go into distilling Jack Daniels. How the water the world’s largest concert promoters. comes from limestone caves in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and Included as part of the 130 Hive employees is a network of how the sour mash seeps through ten feet of maple sugar 74 directors and field marketing managers that spans the globe charcoal. It’s a lot of detail, to be sure, but those who board as companies begin to look beyond traditional advertising the promotional bus will garner a sense of the brand, its venues to connect with their audiences. history and the craft that goes into making each bottle. “People are looking for more than a big print ad to conTraditional agency work part of the mix vince them that a certain brand is for them,” says Rick Shaver, But that’s not to say The Hive doesn’t do commercials. In fact, a principal at The Hive Strategic Marketing, which, beyond just recently, the firm shot a television spot for Reebok’s RBK its stable of ad agency service offerings also develops experienHockey with Sidney Crosby. tial marketing strategies and organizes elaborate special events “There’s still a role for television spots in the marketing and entertainment. mix, but gone are the days where those 30 seconds covered Known for careful strategic planning and encompassing ideas, 60 percent of males 19 to 24,” says Shaver. the 14-year-old agency plays to its strengths, and where it flexes For true brand experiences, a lot of companies are getting its muscle most is in activating brand strategies with music. back to more experiential event marketing, where an advertiser can really generate good feelings about a brand, he explains. Private big name concerts The critically important strategic part, however, is bringing For the last eight years, the Hive has been producing the the right experience to the right brand, and for a firm to do Miller Music Tour, where, this year, some 200 winners were that properly, there’s no substitute for… experience. treated to a weeklong series of private concerts. For Jack Daniels, the team recently completed a Backstage Tennessee thehiveinc.com event where winners attended a private Kaiser Chiefs concert.
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WHAT’S ON… TORONTO DOWNTOWN Calphalon Challenges Toronto Chefs to Rise to the Occasion Monday, November 19th 6-9pm
The Calphalon Culinary Center’s Rising Chef Challenge presents an evening of exquisite cuisine by three of Toronto’s rising kitchen stars. Local chefs compete to please your palates and wow your senses. You will be both diner and judge at this unique event, as the team of chefs will help you navigate through a three-course meal with three wines paired by Vincor International. Cost is $135 per person and it all takes place at the Calphalon Culinary Center at 425 King St. West (at Spadina Ave.) For more information, go to www.CalphalonCulinaryCenter.com, and to register call (416) 847-2212.
Totum Run Club Gets a Free Ride Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30pm
Running clubs have made quick work of wearing away the loneliness of the long-distance runner, but now Urban Expeditions, which designed and manages Totum Life Science’s Running Club, has made things even more interesting for King West pavement pounders by partnering with Toyota on Front. Using Totum’s King Street West studio as a base of operations has the advantage of providing lockers, showers and trainers, but if you always start at the same spot, you can only run so many routes. “That’s why we’re working with Toyota on Front. They provide the run club with a pick up and drop off service that allows us to access parts of the city we wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to in the hour we have to run,” says Peter Odle of Urban Expeditions. Routes include the Don Valley, the Beltline, Casa Loma, Toronto Island, the Brickworks and U of T. Cost is $150 for a 12-week session, but if you show up part way through the schedule, sessions can be pro-rated. For more information or to register, call Totum Life Science (416) 979-2449, or Urban Expeditions (416) 606-7227.
Nicholas Hoare Books Presents Dinner with Jan Wong Tuesday, November 27th 6-9pm As part of its Food for Thought series, Nicholas Hoare Books presents Globe and Mail reporter and columnist Jan Wong at Yorkville’s Pangaea reading from her latest memoir, Beijing Confidential. Diners will enjoy three spectacular courses by Chef Martin Kouprie while Ms. Wong reads from her latest memoir, which describes her return to Beijing on a quest to find someone she encountered briefly in 1973, and whose life she was certain she had ruined forever. Cost is $75 and tickets can be booked by calling Nicholas Hoare Books at 45 Front Street East, (416) 777-2665.
15 • FALL 2007
WINNIPEG Headed by a former documentary maker, Multimedia Risk in Winnipeg insures film, TV productions, videos, theatre, even sporting events and yoga studios.
Film Risk Winnipeg insurance broker Multimedia Risk Inc. specializes in protecting worldwide film and television productions EXCHANGE DISTRICT, WINNIPEG / - Somewhere in the inhospitable jungles of Thailand, members of a film crew mop their sweaty brows as they wrap up shooting on Rambo IV. In Winnipeg, on the second floor of 70 Arthur Street, another crew breathes a sigh of relief with the knowledge that this same project has come to a close without major incident. They aren’t the film’s investors. Rather, they’re the insurance brokers. “Anywhere in the world where our clients shoot, we will insure the project” says Claude Forest, senior broker and president of Multimedia Risk Inc., a firm that specializes in entertainment insurance. “We have over 50 films in production at any time,” he adds.
Managing risk Always in the intermediary position, either coaching the client on the management of risk or convincing the insurer about the size of risk a client represents, Forest draws on his 15 years as a CBC cameraman and documentary producer and 17 years in the insurance business to make things happen. “If it doesn’t look ideal, we have to figure out what it would take because we want to bring best value to our client and fit within the budgetary constraints of the production,” he explains.
Multimedia Risk’s offices at 70 Arthur Street
“Protecting a production in development is certainly one component,” says Brian Etkin, a risk manager with the firm. “But we also cover all of the cast and crew, equipment, vehicles, props, sets and wardrobe. Think of all the insurances a small city would require.”
Documentary background Beyond feature films, Multimedia Risk works to insure television productions, post production facilities, theatre, even sporting events and yoga studios. But film and television is clearly the company’s priority, as it encompasses much of Forest’s early career. A CBC cameraman for several years before turning to documentary filmmaking, Forest decided, in 1990, to return to work a day a week at his father’s insurance brokerage, which specialized in home and auto, to remain involved in the family business when some of his siblings moved on to opportunities in Vancouver. Shortly after he started, his father died of an aneurysm and he inherited the business he’d seen grow from a desk in the family living room in 1954 to a thriving 5,500-client service enterprise.
Entertaining opportunity In 1998, Forest felt there was greater opportunity in specializing his business as banks were entering the home insurance market. He sold Forest Insurance and started Multimedia Risk insurance from the top floor of his Victorian home in Winnipeg. By 2000, he had moved the operation to 500 square feet at 70 Arthur Street. Today, occupying 2,700 square feet, Multimedia Risk Inc. has 13 staffers and operates in an industry that, in Canada, grossed $5 billion last year. Overseas productions and Hollywood work continue to be part of the firm's main business and things are growing steadily. In fact, Forest expects to hire more staff to maintain the high service levels for which his firm is known.
multimediarisk.com
www.alliedpropertiesreit.com COMMUNITY CHRONICLE • FALL 2007 • 16
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