Now EVERYBODY can see our students' work.

Working on projects for marks is one thing. Working on projects that are going to go live is quite another. Especially because friends, families, and jealous rivals will get to see the results.

This semester, our second-year Motion Storytelling students had a chance to create TV promos for Rogers 22, Ottawa's popular community programmer.

Rogers 22 was very gracious in providing their expertise, logistical support, and technological resources. In return, they'd receive finished spots to promote their programs and station.

Starting with a briefing in their boardroom (which, while rather large, could barely contain our entire class) Rogers gave our teams the information they needed to get started. Each team then proceeded to write a creative brief, develop concepts, craft a script and direct, shoot, and edit their spots (using cameras, talented cameramen, music, footage, and editing bays all courtesy of Rogers).

The result is nine spots that will ALL go live on Rogers 22 within the next year.

Take a look at the results (or watch Rogers 22 to see them live):


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFuXoSwYtpSyzUVLctUn4gJVP3n5Njssk

Pitching in the biggies.

By Andrew Gilbank, third-year student


Presenting to DDB may just be the standout memory of my education career.

Just a little background—a week earlier we’d completed and presented a project to Canadian Blood Services (CBS). They liked it so much they suggested we show it to their real agency, DDB, while we were in Toronto on our agency tour trip.

At first we struggled to find the right floor, but once we did, it was obvious we were in the hallowed halls of one of the world’s greatest agencies. Spacious rooms, cleverly named, lined the hallway. As we made it to a waiting area—more or less a couch in the shape of a circle just outside some offices—the stampede of students took over.

We were then whisked on a tour of DDB, starting with the top floor and moving down to their lower level. This is where we went into the “Jacques Plante” room. For those who don’t know, Jacques Plante invented the hockey goalie mask and was the first goalie in the history of the NHL to wear a mask in a game, thus changing hockey, the position, and the NHL forever. As we piled into the room we discovered chairs, couches, and tables all cornered off in little areas for each team. The room was also designed with hockey boards around it; the level of detail was fascinating including the classic Sherwood 5030 wood hockey sticks sitting around the boards.

We gathered our teams and went to various sections of the room. After each mini-presentation to actual DDB creative directors we rotated to another section—sort of like an advertising version of speed dating. Each creative director took time to speak with us, discussing our work and engaging us personally. This was no boring agency reel presentation. In fact, it was something completely different from anything I have experienced in college or other agency tours. The insight was interesting, and we felt like they were speaking to us as colleagues, not just students. The content and context of their feedback was invaluable.

Before I knew it the bell had rung and the next set of professionals where ready to hear our pitch once again. This time it was the professionals from OMD, DDB’s media arm. As a media planner I sat up a little straighter in my chair and prepared to pitch. Again it was that two-way dialogue that is truly memorable. We listened to their feedback, heard what they liked, and got a true sense of the what the industry is really like.

We were there from two hours but it felt like 10 minutes. Presenting to DDB was truly inspirational, educational, and motivating, making it one of the greatest experiences I have had.    

And the winners are...

By Jessica Joiner, third-year student

Sometimes an assignment can be more than an assignment and you don’t even know it. Sometimes it can be your way into a totally new situation and an amazing opportunity. This was the case when our Advertising program entered into the CMA Competitions, Student Category.  We were to create a direct mail piece for a fictional company called Webstream and showcase offers to attract a potential target audience.

With our teams already chosen we got to work on creating a piece sure to stand out.  As the deadline approached each team glued their last labels, cut their mail pieces down to size and sealed them in an envelope. One by one each group handed their assignment in, hoping for the best.

A few classes later we were told that two groups from our program were potential winners at the CMA GALA in Toronto. My group included Megan Goudie and Adam Knowles. Tom Jansen, Ankit Verma, Andrew Gilbank, and Temina McCormack made up the other group. This was beyond exciting.  We were already in Toronto during that week to visit marketing and ad agencies, but now the seven of us got to stay for an extra day to attend the show and accept our awards. As the end of the Toronto trip came and we said goodbye to the rest of our class the seven of us headed out to lunch at East Side Mario’s before going back to the hotel to change.

As the event grew nearer, the ladies could be found hot-ironing their eyelashes, debating between hairstyles, and figuring out what shoes looked best. The boys could be found waiting patiently in the lobby for the women.  Needlessly to say everyone was dressed to kill.  The boys walked there, as we needed more time to get ready. Eventually we took a cab, meeting the guys at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel.

We made our way down to the reception where we enjoyed some wine and talked about the night—mostly about how excited we were (although there may have been a few gossiping stories but shhh). After a few moments we were allowed to enter the room where the award ceremony would take place.  It was huge,  and over 600 people must have been in attendance.

As the awards were being handed out the butterflies grew stronger. I could feel the tension in my heart with each beat. Then…it was time for the Student Category. As soon as the category was announced I heard my name being called to the stage. My group had won Bronze.  I quickly walked over and accepted our award. It was a great moment for the team. As I was walking back, Andrew’s name was called next to accept his team’s Silver award. Mohawk College from Hamilton took the Gold, and it was amazing to see how happy all three teams were.  With that the butterflies were gone and the air was filled with excitement. Our first award show in the books and it couldn’t have gone better.

Toronto Calling.

By Stacey Poapst, third-year student

When my school offers me the chance to go to Toronto and visit the agencies at the forefront of all things creative (aka Ad Mecca), I just about start bouncing off the walls. When I get to go with all my classmates, it makes things 100 times better.

The first stop on the Algonquin Advertising Toronto trip of 2012 was henderson bas kohn. We had the unique pleasure of listening to Les Tapolczai and Chelsea Thompson-O’Brien (a program alumni) talk about the uniquely amazing social media and online work they’re been doing with Mercedes Benz and the Weather Network. Inspiring, positive (with a hint of cynicism) and a great culture, hbk was a great opener to the trip.

The trek back to the hotel was filled with more eager excitement (focused in the short term on visiting the local Steam Whistle Brewery) and a growing sense of inspiration.

One night down—and a few beers with it – and we woke up ready to tour TAXI, another heavy hitter in the Canadian ad biz. Most recently, they’ve created some amazing spots for Boston Pizza (All Meat Wings anyone?), Telus (Roommates—oy) and finally, their Movember spot (so CREEPY), which had us all rolling with laughter. Cara Ventura, another recent program graduate, presented the engaging talk in the Telus wing of the agency.

Following TAXI, it was a busy walk+jog to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a place I was very eager to attend. As a sports fanatic and ad addict, who better to aspire to than a group of people who sell out their revenue tickets every year DESPITE not winning a Stanley Cup since ’67 and not making the playoffs since the last NHL lockout?

Anthony Attard, Account Supervisor, and his media sales team gave us a great run through of what it takes to succeed, the different paths to make it, a boatload of amazing sports history and a wonderful tour of the ACC (which included the Leaf fans among our group re-affirming their faith in their franchise). Top it off with a new Raptors jersey, and it was quite the amazing few hours.

Next, we hit the subway—and split. One group headed to DDB, the other to Y&R (Young and Rubicam… not the soap opera). I ended up with the Y&R group and am so happy I did.

On a tour led by Georgia Demmitt, Human Resources Associate, we got the most engaging agency experience EVER. From producers to strategists, media to finance, we must have met, smiled or joked with someone from every department in that office. We talked about the fantastic IGNITE sessions and learned about what it takes (from an HR point of view) to break into the industry.

After another satisfying night of drinking and debauchery (well, at least the drinking part) we woke up bright and bushy tailed for our final day and two final agency tours: GRIP Limited and J. Walter Thompson (JWT).

Both agencies were vastly different. From the BIG ORANGE SLIDE, which makes up a large part of the GRIP agency, to the wood paneling and open view from the eleventh floor of JWT, the differences couldn’t be more drastic.

Yet, both are amazingly successful. GRIP runs with the likes of Honda, Stella Artois and Cadbury, while JWT has Walmart, Tim Hortons, and Johnson & Johnson. Patrick Robinson, a partner at GRIP, was an inspiring guide and master of Pantones (as well as creative briefs, including one for our careers). Elysha Ames, our presenter at JWT, is an Account Executive who worked her tail off to get her dream job; working in the new ethos centre in JWT Toronto.

After boarding the bus back home from JWT I couldn’t help but reflect on everything I had witnessed. The insight behind each and every piece of work, the inspiration it had filled me with, and the idea that I could become a part of this living, breathing thing that is advertising.

More than that, it is, pure and simple, CREATION. The thought that you can reach out and touch people in your industry, your city and your country through simple truths and shared experiences. That you can help them reflect on their lives, on the products they purchase and on their emotional connections. Well, suffice to say it’s the most incredible feeling I’ve had associated with my future, and it made me realize; Toronto’s calling my name.

Whew. Now THAT was a Toronto trip!

In three short days we spent time with Henderson Bas Kohn, TAXI, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Y&R, DDB, Grip, Leo Burnett, and JWT.

Pretty soon you'll be reading posts about our whirlwind Toronto agency trip by some of our third-year students.

You'll also get to read what it's like to win statues at the Canadian Marketing Association Awards Gala.

And if I may, I'd like to quickly sum up the career insight I picked up from some very sage, very creative, very cool industry professionals:

•Be interesting
•Be passionate
•Be brave
•Be intentional
•Stand out from the crowd
•Be persistent
•Be branded
•Be collaborative
•Be energetic
•Be positive

Can't wait to hear from our students.

The best Movember piece yet?

What a pleasure to watch. The idea is crisp and clear and surprising. But it's the execution that really makes it. What could have been an over-the-top and cheesy video was instead deftly handled by the director and talent. I've watched it a few times already and keep seeing new and funny things I missed the last time. Oh, and it was created by TAXI, who we'll be visiting next week in Toronto.

Content Marketing in Action - Blog / VLOG by Ad Students

Yesterday morning I attended the 32nd edition of SMBOttawa (Social Media Breakfast Ottawa) - an Ottawa monthly meet-up of 125+ marketing, communications, and social media professionals. The presentations are always great and meeting up with friends in the industry is even better.

I always leave these meetings energized and optimistic about the great things happening in our industry. And I wanted our students to have the same experience. So I asked Simon Chen (@sylc), one of the event organizers, if a couple of our students from the 3rd year Digital Marketing class could attend for free and he said yes! In trade, the students helped out at the name badge table and wrote a blog and taped a vlog to share with their classmates.

This month's presentation was on 'Content Marketing in Action', presented by Darin Diehl, Assistant Vice President, Digital Communications at Sun Life Financial Canada and Katherine Fletcher, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner Digital, at High Road Communications. It was a fascinating topic and the presenters did not disappoint. But why am I telling you about this when the students did such a great job?

Click here to link to Jessica Wright's vlog recap and read on for Justin Kelly's written review. I hope to see you at the next SMBOttawa meet-up. I definitely will be there.

Attending My First Ottawa Social Media Breakfast – The First of Many

 By: Justin Kelly

Last week my professor at Algonquin College Karen Kavanagh asked the students in my class if they had any interest in attending an upcoming Social Media Breakfast (SMBOttawa) being held at The Great Canadian Theatre Company. The event organizers graciously offered two free passes to students in trade for helping out at the name badge table. As Karen had mentioned that she goes quite frequently to these events and thought they were very informative, worthwhile, and even fun, I jumped at the chance to check it out for myself.

The topic being discussed at the event was ‘Content Marketing in Action’, a topic that I was familiar with because of campaigns I was currently working on at school. The presenters for the event were Katherine Fletcher, Senior Vice President and Partner, Managing Director at High Road Communications and Darrin Diehl, AVP Digital Communications at Sun Life Financial.

Right off the bat, Darrin began talking about how companies need to think like publishers and develop their own content.  He mentioned Nike+, and how they are attracting runners beyond the product and incorporating them into the Nike community.  A place where users can comment on blogs and track their distances accumulated. Sun Life Financial has taken a similar approach and has developed BrighterLife.ca, which posts blogs, articles and other content that are relevant to the to regular people who are interested in financial how to’s and can relate to articles such as ‘Five ways to stretch your holiday budget’.

We learned that the three keys for a successful content launch are the delivery, the activation and the creation. Having a plan for each is crucial to successfully retain readers and in bringing them back. Specifically, the BrighterLife.ca website and custom content is not intended to hard sell. Although calls to action are worked into the editorial, it’s there to direct readers further when they are ready and not to push.

Another topic mentioned was the need to track data that is collected through online content views and websites. These analytics are crucial in learning how a company can evolve and improve the ways they attract new and current users. If you don’t adapt and get rid of things that are not working, you are falling behind.

Darrin and Katherine reviewed 5 keys to ensure a successful content marketing initiative:

1. Internal buy-in - constantly earning internal buy-in, evangelize early and often
2. Know your voice – be authentic and engage with your audience in order to build loyalty – understand what makes your voice distinct
3. Get support - get the right people in the right roles - leverage expertise across the company and from outside
4. Create clear calls-to-action - make sure that your path to purchase is optimized
5. Know your review protocols – ensure that you can be timely and meet industry regulations by knowing the process for approvals - publishing content in real time is possible, but advance planning is crucial - You can make this work in a highly regulated industry such as Finance

At the end of the presentation, the future needs for Sun Life Financial were discussed. Mobile was on the top of the list with the drive to capitalize on content curation following closely. These needs will help with the growth that Sun Life Financial is looking to achieve.

Over the 45-minute presentation, I felt I could not have spent my time better than to be at the Ottawa Social Media Breakfast. Not only did the event give great insights from industry professionals but also I was able to network with them outside of the classroom.  As a student looking to work in the marketing and adverting industry, networking is the first stage in finding a job and making a name for myself in the Ottawa region. This will be the first of many future visits to the Social Media Breakfast events for me.

Buy more (or less) this Christmas.

Listening to the radio this morning, fuming over another silly story about how out of control Christmas is. It is admittadley a crass commercial juggernaut, but what irked me about this story was the traditional scapegoating of 'Advertising'. Everyone who works in advertising I guess.

The narrative we're supposed to swallow is that the commercialization of Christmas is completely out of control because of the influence of advertising on vulnerable kids. This assumes that advertising is truly nefarious and that both kids and parents are powerless to resist its instructions to spend, spend, spend. Nonsense.

Advertising is much dumber than that. It can't create need, it can only address it. Ad legend David Ogilvy said; "Advertising reflects the mores of society, but it does not influence them." On another occasion he added; "Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things". Right there with you Mr. Ogilvy.

If marketers and ad people are positioning evil goods in front of kids, that would be evil, but that is not what's happening with Christmas. All the ad spending aimed at kids is just basic advertising function. You've got parents with money to spend and companies with products that kids love. All that's missing is the information, and that's where advertising comes in. Not to create a need, but to connect an audience with a brand or product that can meet its needs for a certain price. In that transaction no one's freedom is taken away. No one is being fooled. Kids and parents remain always free to say no to any or all enticements.

As a very warm antidote to all the seasonal negativity, I submit this link to a beautiful, emotional spot from John Lewis in the UK. It evokes a much more sentimental take on gift giving. It slows right down and questions the Christmas spending frenzy, and it's so good, I bet it sold a ton of product.

Thanks to Matt Lamanque for pointing out this great spot.

Great type-thinking

Megan Goudie

Some of my students probably think I obsess too much about typography, so it's a thrill for me when their work indicates they can put the same value on type-thinking that I do. Here are 4 pieces from 4 different students in the program's Art Direction class. The assignment calls for students to go way beyond type readily available on their Macs. They were asked to find type around them, make type, and/or draw their own fonts.

Megan coloured white carpenter's glue to make the ice cream type. Liz used cut leaves and shaped a heart from thread. Laura's 'craving' emerges from a pile of drawn coffee beans, and Jessica re-used type from a movie marquee photo—and did some beautifully detailed Illustrator drawing as well. Each poster is well-designed, uses some crafty type tricks, and nearest to the heart of any advertising art director… they communicate well!

Liz Johnson

Laura Braid

Jessica Phillips

Teachers are Learning

Lifelong learner.

Everyone who teaches in the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management Program is a natural life-long learner. Our students tend to share that same love of knowledge acquisition.

Attempting to stay very current in many areas takes up lots of my time. That's time happily spent trying to stay on top of graphic design ideas, typographic trends, agency scuttlebutt, emerging/fragmenting media, gadgetry, pedagogical ideas, not to mention more hobby-related stuff—food, drink, travelling, wood-working, drawing, carving, ukulele-playing, etc…

General curiosity, and my interests in business, design, and teaching (especially teaching on-line) has led me to sign up for my first Coursera course. It's called Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society. Taught by U of Pennsylvania professor Karl T. Ulrich.

Very interested in the course material and the delivery method. I've been hearing about Coursera and read a good in-depth look at it in a recent Fast Company. Hopefully this will feed my persistent goal of continual learning about cool stuff, and give me ideas about how to deliver on-line content to my own students.

First week down!

The first week back in the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management Program is always interesting. Fast-paced, info-packed. It can't really work unless we have professors who are prepared, new students who are eager, and returning students ready to give up some time.

Luckily we had all of those last week, and we go into the second week ready to ramp up production at the Algonquin Times, Glue Magazine, and at our agency, LegUp. We're also prepared for our annual crash course and welcome-back for 3rd year students… boot camp. More on that later.

Here are a few shots from first-year orientation and the Glue/times/Agency briefing, starting with Kaitlynn giving up the goods on Glue:

Here's Barb McDougall keeping things moving along:

Heather, Sara, Evan and Nathan imparting valuable coping strategies to incoming students:

Back to S'Cool'. OMG, did I write that??

It's that time of year again, kids. Right now, across the continent, writers and art directors in agencies and in-house creative departments are struggling to come up with concepts for back-to-school. Every year it gets harder and every year it seems as if it's all been done before. 

Is there anything more difficult than coming up with decent ideas for annual retail events like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, or Halloween? Having once been the author of "Back to S'Cool'" I can attest to the difficulty in keeping it fresh. 

And yes, I AM ashamed of that line. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was frustrated. Maybe I had too many other jobs on the go. Doesn't matter. I own it. And it wouldn't die. In fact, an ex-colleague of mine, Randy Allan, repeated it back to me whenever he wanted to bring me down a peg or two. He'd say it very slowly, enunciating hard on the break between the S and the C, raising his eyebrows like Groucho Marx and smirking all the while. 

The lesson? Even though it's really hard to be fresh for events that aren't, it's worth it to keep plugging away until you can surprise yourself. It will take longer and you'll have to dig deeper, but believe me it will be worth it not to have a hack heading or concept haunt you for the rest of your days.

Each year, if you look very hard, you WILL find that SOMEBODY has broken the cliché barrier. Shouldn't it be you?

The advertising industry is renowned for handing out awards to its best and brightest. We started preparing our students at the 2012 Media Awards.

On Wednesday, May 30^th we had a chance to celebrate student excellence by handing out four prestigious awards to first, second, and third year students at the School of Media’s Magnifique  Awards Ceremony.

WICKED Award

The WICKED award recipient, determined by faculty, honours the third year student who has best demonstrated the following qualities during their time in our three-year program:  Work ethic, Integrity, Cooperation, Knowledge, Excellence, and Determination.

This year we unanimously agreed that Jennie Stephenson has embodied all of that and more. Not only was Jennie a WICKED student, she was a caring and generous classmate. As busy as she was with her own studies, she would always go out of her way to help a peer be successful. We have no doubt that Jennie will also be a WICKED talent in her field. Jennie completely “gets” and is passionate about every aspect of this business but has a particular talent for media, and, boy, can she do charts!

Stephen Sauve Memorial Award   

Stephen Sauve was a friendly, popular student in our program who was a particularly talented writer. He took ill during the school year a few years back and, unfortunately, passed away. This award is given in his honour to the first year student who shows the most promise as a copywriter. This year’s recipient is Sara Chisholm.

Jake Volt, who taught Sara in Writing for Print, says, “Sara quickly stood out from a class of over 60 students because she was quick to challenge me. But I didn’t mind. In fact, I admired the way she went about it. When she felt she had been treated unjustly she confidently made her case eloquently, respectfully, intelligently, and most important, passionately. Which, coincidentally, is the way she approaches her writing. While this is the first advertising award that Sara has received, I believe that there will be many more in her future.”

James Hillock Award

Each year the program’s second year students compete for the coveted James Hillock award, sponsored and judged by The Ottawa Citizen. As part Advertising III, a core course, each student produces an integrated marketing communications plan including a media plan and advertising creative for the printed newspaper and online.

Jordan Harrell was the deserving recipient of the 2011/2012 James Hillock Award. Jordan was and is an outstanding student who truly embodies the drive and determination that is necessary in the advertising profession. Of the project, Jordan says: “Hillock definitely helped to prepare me for my future role as an advertising professional. Having to go through every single step of creating an ad campaign by yourself is a daunting task, but looking back on it now, it was the most practical and professional project I have ever had to do in my life. It gives you a sneak peek into the real world of advertising. The stress, the late nights, the endless hours, but still it was worth it in the end.”

Of Jordan and his work, Dwight MacPherson, a Citizen judge, said, "This year's winner impressed me with the freshness of his overall concept. The work stood out from other well-designed submissions mostly because of a truly original approach. I think he really nailed his target audience."

McMillan Scholarship

McMillan is a vital, local creative agency that wins awards and supports our program in many ways including by sponsoring this award, and by sometimes hiring our grads, including, quite often, the winner of the Mcmillan Award, given to the second year student with the highest GPA. 

This year that very high-achieving student is Katie Schnob, who quietly and consistently dazzles her peers and professors with hard work, smart strategic thinking and strong creative output. McMillan believes in our program's ability to train people well for this industry. Thanks to Katie, and the McMillan Award recipients who came before her, we hope to keep proving them right.