Five Case Studies
Poetry in Motion, 2010
Transit Hero – BC Transit radio campaign
Last fall I heard an extraordinary spoken word artist, Canadian slam poet Shane Koyczan, a young man who uses hip hop style sounds and cadence to engage his audience with meaningful issues. Fast forward to January, when I was contracted to manage the delivery of a mixed media campaign for BC Transit. They wanted to reinforce the value of taking public transit as an environmental choice; especially in the many BC communities served by small transit systems. We wanted to recognize and appreciate the riders and ask non-riders to consider public transit in a different light. Originally directed to produce a radio jingle, I proposed an alternative. Use the unique style of Shane’s talent and poetry to connect emotionally with BC Transit riders and potential riders. Meanwhile, the world was watching BC and during the 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremonies Shane spoke a poem originally commissioned by Canadian Tourism in 2007, "We are More." It was personal and touching and definitely one of the bright spots in the opening spectacle. Thanks to that amazing performance, the BC Transit decision makers were excited to have him tell us how we could all become a “Transit Hero.” Shane wrote and performed the approved spots within three weeks of my first call to him. Over 40 BC radio stations carried the spots and many participated in added value promotional activities planned to leverage the campaign messages. The results were incredible – increased web traffic and a higher more positive profile in the communities served by BC Transit. The Transit Hero — Be a Part of the Solution (print ads) campaign, April/May 2010, reached external audiences as well as internal. BC Transit employees shared in the pride generated by Shane’s poetry – his words created a sense of commitment to making our world better, one person at a time.
2008 National Science and Technology Week — BC
The power of collaboration in action. The goal of NSTW was promoting better public understanding of science and technology in BC. With the increased participation of groups such as Science World, Genome BC, Fisheries and Oceans; TRIUMF and the Penticton Engineering, Science, & Technology Symposium, we felt that multi-partner celebration of science and technology was a realistic ambition for 2008. Our strategy was to create an “NSTW umbrella,” capitalizing on the work and efforts already in place to promote S&T in the region. More than a dozen communities across the Pacific region celebrated National Science and Technology Week at 29 events in 23 venues, directly touching over six thousand people. This was accomplished with a total budget of just $8000! As Co-Chair of the NSTW committee we oversaw 16 of those events and supported all the organizations under the NSTW umbrella. All partners benefitted from media relations support given by BC Innovation Council (a provincial Crown agency) and we were very fortunate to have the sponsored support of CNW to distribute releases and post images. The NSTW-BC project is entered into Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) National Awards competition for 2009.
2007 Connections: Immigrants Guide to Starting a Business in Nova Scotia
Robyn Quinn, APR, formerly the Senior Communications Officer with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency based in Halifax, Nova Scotia received Don Rennie Memorial Award for Excellence in Government Public Relations. The 2007 award was presented during the Canadian Public Relations Society’s (CPRS) Annual Conference in Edmonton, Alberta.
“The Don Rennie Memorial Award recognizes outstanding team achievement in developing and executing a strategic approach to government communications on a specific issue.” said Karen Dalton, APR, Executive Director, CPRS.
“The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s submission entitled, Connections – An immigrant’s guide to starting a business in Nova Scotia was considered by the jury members to be of very high quality from the identification of the specific issue to be addressed, the strategic planning process employed and the execution. The jury was impressed by the sensitivity demonstrated by the project team to the social and cultural differences of the main target audience of the immigrant’s guide. The involvement of stakeholders was essential and central to the success of this project. Jury members also noted the exceptional quality of the writing in both languages,” added Dalton.
2006 BioNova Life Sciences Scrum
As Senior Communications Officer with Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency one of the sectors I was responsible for was life sciences. BioNova is Nova Scotia's life sciences association and in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), National Research Council Institute for Marine BioSciences (NRC IMB), InNOVAcorp,and The Discovery Centre I managed the development and launch of a special program BioNova’s Life Sciences Scrum.,Students from the journalism school at the University of King’s College and the public-relations program at Mount Saint Vincent University participated. PR students met researchers and business leaders from local life sciences companies to create media kits and a pitch/release. The Managing Editor of the Halifax Herald then assigned the stories to the journalism students. Once completed the stories were judged by the Chronicle Herald editorial staff and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). “All of the partners are very excited about this initiative,” says Marli MacNeil, CEO of BioNova. Awards were presented to winners at the Discovery Awards for Science and Technology.
2004 Campaign To Fund Tatlayoko Lake Ranch — 900 Acres of BC Beauty Protected
Media relations strategy was developed with the client to increase the profile of the land purchase and plans for preservation of the Tatlayoko Lake Ranch located in the province’s central interior by The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). It was purchased for $1.5 million thanks to interim financing provided to NCC by Swiss businessman Dr. Rolf Gerling but NCC needed donors quickly. Evaluation following the announcement: Front page story Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2000 (exclusive) Minister for Environment attends, local support evident even in remote area. BCTV crew covers event for broadcast news and provides NCC with over 40 minutes of raw footage of the area as a donation. Six months later, an anonymous donor provides the total amount needed to pay off the loan.
Poetry in Motion, 2010
Transit Hero – BC Transit radio campaign
Last fall I heard an extraordinary spoken word artist, Canadian slam poet Shane Koyczan, a young man who uses hip hop style sounds and cadence to engage his audience with meaningful issues. Fast forward to January, when I was contracted to manage the delivery of a mixed media campaign for BC Transit. They wanted to reinforce the value of taking public transit as an environmental choice; especially in the many BC communities served by small transit systems. We wanted to recognize and appreciate the riders and ask non-riders to consider public transit in a different light. Originally directed to produce a radio jingle, I proposed an alternative. Use the unique style of Shane’s talent and poetry to connect emotionally with BC Transit riders and potential riders. Meanwhile, the world was watching BC and during the 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremonies Shane spoke a poem originally commissioned by Canadian Tourism in 2007, "We are More." It was personal and touching and definitely one of the bright spots in the opening spectacle. Thanks to that amazing performance, the BC Transit decision makers were excited to have him tell us how we could all become a “Transit Hero.” Shane wrote and performed the approved spots within three weeks of my first call to him. Over 40 BC radio stations carried the spots and many participated in added value promotional activities planned to leverage the campaign messages. The results were incredible – increased web traffic and a higher more positive profile in the communities served by BC Transit. The Transit Hero — Be a Part of the Solution (print ads) campaign, April/May 2010, reached external audiences as well as internal. BC Transit employees shared in the pride generated by Shane’s poetry – his words created a sense of commitment to making our world better, one person at a time.
2008 National Science and Technology Week — BC
The power of collaboration in action. The goal of NSTW was promoting better public understanding of science and technology in BC. With the increased participation of groups such as Science World, Genome BC, Fisheries and Oceans; TRIUMF and the Penticton Engineering, Science, & Technology Symposium, we felt that multi-partner celebration of science and technology was a realistic ambition for 2008. Our strategy was to create an “NSTW umbrella,” capitalizing on the work and efforts already in place to promote S&T in the region. More than a dozen communities across the Pacific region celebrated National Science and Technology Week at 29 events in 23 venues, directly touching over six thousand people. This was accomplished with a total budget of just $8000! As Co-Chair of the NSTW committee we oversaw 16 of those events and supported all the organizations under the NSTW umbrella. All partners benefitted from media relations support given by BC Innovation Council (a provincial Crown agency) and we were very fortunate to have the sponsored support of CNW to distribute releases and post images. The NSTW-BC project is entered into Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) National Awards competition for 2009.
2007 Connections: Immigrants Guide to Starting a Business in Nova Scotia
Robyn Quinn, APR, formerly the Senior Communications Officer with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency based in Halifax, Nova Scotia received Don Rennie Memorial Award for Excellence in Government Public Relations. The 2007 award was presented during the Canadian Public Relations Society’s (CPRS) Annual Conference in Edmonton, Alberta.
“The Don Rennie Memorial Award recognizes outstanding team achievement in developing and executing a strategic approach to government communications on a specific issue.” said Karen Dalton, APR, Executive Director, CPRS.
“The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s submission entitled, Connections – An immigrant’s guide to starting a business in Nova Scotia was considered by the jury members to be of very high quality from the identification of the specific issue to be addressed, the strategic planning process employed and the execution. The jury was impressed by the sensitivity demonstrated by the project team to the social and cultural differences of the main target audience of the immigrant’s guide. The involvement of stakeholders was essential and central to the success of this project. Jury members also noted the exceptional quality of the writing in both languages,” added Dalton.
2006 BioNova Life Sciences Scrum
As Senior Communications Officer with Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency one of the sectors I was responsible for was life sciences. BioNova is Nova Scotia's life sciences association and in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), National Research Council Institute for Marine BioSciences (NRC IMB), InNOVAcorp,and The Discovery Centre I managed the development and launch of a special program BioNova’s Life Sciences Scrum.,Students from the journalism school at the University of King’s College and the public-relations program at Mount Saint Vincent University participated. PR students met researchers and business leaders from local life sciences companies to create media kits and a pitch/release. The Managing Editor of the Halifax Herald then assigned the stories to the journalism students. Once completed the stories were judged by the Chronicle Herald editorial staff and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). “All of the partners are very excited about this initiative,” says Marli MacNeil, CEO of BioNova. Awards were presented to winners at the Discovery Awards for Science and Technology.
2004 Campaign To Fund Tatlayoko Lake Ranch — 900 Acres of BC Beauty Protected
Media relations strategy was developed with the client to increase the profile of the land purchase and plans for preservation of the Tatlayoko Lake Ranch located in the province’s central interior by The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). It was purchased for $1.5 million thanks to interim financing provided to NCC by Swiss businessman Dr. Rolf Gerling but NCC needed donors quickly. Evaluation following the announcement: Front page story Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2000 (exclusive) Minister for Environment attends, local support evident even in remote area. BCTV crew covers event for broadcast news and provides NCC with over 40 minutes of raw footage of the area as a donation. Six months later, an anonymous donor provides the total amount needed to pay off the loan.