Author: Alphabet®

Our Favourite 2019 Moments

Last year was an incredible one for Alphabet®. It brought us new team members, new clients, new projects, new challenges, and new reasons to re-stock the beer fridge and celebrate! It’s hard to fit 12 months of awesomeness into one blog post so we whittled down the list of our favourite moments to share with you.

Getting behind the Farinella pizza counter during the scavenger hunt.
Chris

Being on stage at the TIAO awards as part of the Visit Kingston team.
Marley

When Patrick and I destroyed Regan and Tony at shuffleboard at the Minto Christmas Party.
Hannah

Alphabet® Shorts

Some of our favourite moments received star treatment and were immortalized as short films (sound on for maxiumum enjoyment).

The Agency Rock-off was a lot of fun. The Alphabeats were awesome (as usual – despite the online rumours).

-Cindy

Organizing the pumpkin carving contest.

-Gord

One of the highlights for me was developing the brand for Parque das Aves, a bird refuge and sanctuary in Brazil. It is fulfilling to know that our work is helping to forge a movement to save the bird population in the Altantic Rainforest.
Yang

Jessica’s pregnancy accouncement!
Cathy

Snacks.
Sadie

That time when Chris casually popped his dislocated shoulder back in at the baseball tournament.
Tarynn

TikTok vs. TedTalk

What follows is the transcript of a very real conversation that occurred in the design studio and is Sarah’s favourite moment:

Sarah: I downloaded [indistinguable mumbling] over the weekend and I’m obsessed with it.

Yang: Oh, I love that app!

Sarah: Really? Oh my god. Isn’t it amazing what The Teens are doing? They’re so hilarious. I’m really into the dances. It’s like Vine came back to life stronger than ever before.

Yang: I like to watch the ones that are more about design and philosophy.

Sarah: Philosophy?

Yang: What do you mean, dances?

Sarah: What are you talking about?

Yang: What are you talking about?

Sarah: I’m talking about TIK TOK, what are you watching?

Yang: I THOUGHT YOU SAID TEDTALK! I’M WATCHING TEDTALKS!

The Kingston Airport project – it was a lot of work for everybody involved but the end results look wonderful.
Cindy

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Winning the Pisco Sour Off.
Regan

Thanks 2019, it’s been a slice.

Employees Choice Award

Alphabet® has had the honour of winning plenty of marketing and advertising awards for clients over the years, but our most recent award win really left the entire agency with the warm and fuzzies.

We were thrilled to be awarded the 2019 Employees’ Choice Award (ECA) presented by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade, as it confirmed what we had long suspected: Alphabet® is a great place to work.

The OBJ’s ‘Employees’ Choice Awards is a survey and awards program dedicated to identifying and recognizing the area’s best employers and providing organizations with valuable employee feedback.

The award is driven by real feedback and opinions from employees, and we couldn’t be prouder with what everyone had to say.

So what’s it like to work at Alphabet®?

It may be a cliché, but ‘work hard/play hard’ isn’t far from the truth.

Anyone who has worked in an advertising agency will know full well that #agencylife can be pretty stressful; we’re a deadline-driven industry with dozens of projects happening simultaneously – it’s not always an easy job, but everyone at Alphabet® handles their roles with total aplomb.

We recognize that celebrations and creating personal relationships are one of the keys to a happy workplace, so we always take the time to stop, breathe and celebrate all of life’s various milestones: birthdays, babies, weddings, new clients, big projects, holidays, and when there isn’t a specific event, well, frankly, we just make one up (see our suite of ‘Cocktail Competition’ videos on Instagram).

Alphabet® is a fantastic place to work, and here are some awesome things our work family had to say:

I’ve finally found a place where my dad jokes are appreciated!

I have 100% trust in the people around me.

We have fun doing great work, that’s the atmosphere I love. Everyday feels well lived and worthy.

campaigns - digital marketing

Tunes about ticks

Mention the word “tick” to anyone, and you’re sure to get some kind of reaction: from looks of disgust to full-body shivers and even panicked screams of “IS THERE ONE ON ME?”

They are nasty little suckers for sure, but they also present a very serious danger — Lyme Disease. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists needed a hand spreading awareness of Lyme disease and its creepy-crawly carriers. It’s clear that Lyme Disease is something that should be on everyone’s radar during (especially during tick season), but why talk about it when you can…sing about it?

The magical duo of Tony and Patrick (watch out Nashville) worked together to write what is now affectionately known as the “Lyme Disease Jingle,” with local musicians bringing the song to life with the backwoods twang of a banjo and a campy melody. Why listen to Lover when you can spend the same amount of time bopping along to our folksy track and learn all about prevention, symptoms, and treatment of Lyme Disease? (Just kidding, Taylor Swift forever 💘)

Have a listen below (make sure your sound is turned on).

Stay tuned for an update on our imminent invitation to the JUNO awards.

campaigns

The synergy of Minto’s Harmony

Minto Communities was developing a property to entice young families searching for beautiful, affordable housing to call home.

Alphabet® needed to create a community brand that resonated with younger families while promoting inclusivity to align with Barrhaven’s diverse population. The new community was named Harmony.

Our methodology led to the creation of a community moniker synonymous with the coexistence of families from varied cultural backgrounds while reinforcing Minto’s desire for an identifier that instantly represented a sense of belonging, togetherness, and diversity.

A simple, four-pointed shape inspired by the lotus flower in a beautiful teal was the perfect icon to represent both Harmony’s identity, and the connectedness and synergy it stands for.

Alphabet® also created a series of engaging environmental graphics to launch the new community brand, ranging from sales centre executions to billboards and community promotional pieces. The end result helped Minto Harmony become so sought after, that all available homes in the first release sold out in a matter of minutes.

digital marketing - social media

Increasing Organic Engagement on Facebook with Unique Post Types

It’s no secret that Facebook organic reach is declining. (If this is news to you, feel free to Google it and you’ll see the thousands of articles talking about it or check out some sources listed down below). Many people, including me, will tell you it’s becoming solely a pay-to-play arena. Finding new, fresh audiences is really REALLY difficult unless you’re putting ad dollars behind your posts. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon the organic ship. You’ve built an audience of Facebook fans and we do not want to leave them high and dry. Unfortunately, it can be hard to reach even your own fans. With algorithm changes continually working against pages, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your organic posts are incredible so that the Facebook robots say, “Hey! This page has good stuff, let’s show it to more people”.

One of the factors that the Facebook algorithm looks for is engagement from your audience. This makes sense, if people are engaging with your content (commenting, liking, or sharing it) they probably like it (or really hate it) but it’s creating an interactive experience on Facebook and that’s what Facebook wants. They want their users engaged with their platform so that they can boast about a lift in user engagement to sell more ad space, thus resulting in more revenue.

So back to engaging content. The first step is, make sure whatever you create is interesting. Whether that’s a photo post, a video, or a link to a blog post. But let’s move beyond the regular post types and explore some other options.

Note: you can create a poll on mobile but carousels have to be made on desktop—and both are much easier to create on desktop.

Organic Carousels

Carousels are a very popular ad type, but did you know you can create carousels organically as well? It’s a bit trickier than paid, but it gives you a lot more real estate for your content. It also means you can share multiple links in one post. This is especially great if you have a theme you want to post about or a group of products.

New to carousels? Carousels are made up of “cards”. Each card contains an image, headline, and link. Paid carousel cards also contain a link description. The entire carousel unit includes post copy at the top and displays the cards underneath which a user can click or swipe through.

Here’s how to create an organic carousel:

Go to your Facebook page and start a post. Choose “Photo/Video” and then “Create a photo carousel”.
Write your post copy.
Insert a Destination URL. Important: in organic carousels, the first link you enter will automatically be used in the last card of the carousel. The last card also uses your profile photo as the image with default copy: See more at [your page name]. You cannot change or turn off this card.
Make sure you choose the right link here, otherwise you’ll have to rebuild the rest of the carousel if you change your mind!
Facebook will automatically pull photos from the link you have entered but you can then customize which photos you want to show. You can insert new photos (that don’t need to be on the page of the first link) and remove any photos you don’t want that have been auto-populated. *Add a few photos in first, if you try to delete all the other photos first you’ll run into issues.
You can have up to 10 cards in the carousel. Each card can have it’s own unique photo, headline, and link. To edit the link, hover over the photo and click the link icon.
Once you’ve reviewed your carousel you can post it immediately or schedule it for posting later.

Polls

Polls are a great way to engage your audience whether it’s just for a laugh or useful feedback. On Facebook, you can create polls using images or gifs to make it even more eye-catching and interesting. They can be simple questions like, How do you like to do summer? Quiet Cottage or Raging Festivals? Or more business-related like, Which of these colours do you like better for our new t-shirt line?

Here’s how to create a poll:

Go to your Facebook page and start a post. At the bottom of the post you’ll see some options for post type like Photo/Video and Get message, click the three little dots on the far right to open up more post type options. Choose Poll. *Note: you can only run one poll at a time.
Insert copy for your question and your 2 poll options—the answer options are limited at 25 characters each.
Upload photos or add GIFs to your poll options using the buttons on the right side of each text field.
Choose how long you’d like the poll to be interactive before closing with the dropdown menu below.

Try having some fun with these unique post formats and measure the response from your audience. If your audience responds positively, start working these types of posts into your content calendar in the never-ending fight again declining organic reach. Good luck out there!

Resources:
Algorithm Updates – https://www.socialmediatoday.com/topic/algorithm-updates/

digital marketing - social media

Are Instagram stories part of your strategy? Here’s why they should be.

Snapchat’s rampant popularity with younger generations has prompted Instagram to leverage self-destructing visual content for further user engagement. The result is Instagram Stories. Stories contribute to Instagram’s 2.2%—and rising—average engagement rate, and brands and marketers should consider using it more.¹

Millennials and Gen Z now make up nearly 30 percent of the total population and 71% of Instagram users. They spend an average of 53 minutes on the platform daily, presenting a massive target opportunity for marketers.^1,3

Instagram Users by Age

Why Instagram Stories?

Their chronological nature and convenient placement at the top of the app make Instagram Stories an ideal choice to engage users. It’s easy to swipe through and tap to view, then once you watch one you can continue swiping, or sit back while they autoplay.

In addition to increased exposure over the classic feed, here are six reasons why Instagram Stories are a win:

Video has the highest potential for engagement
It’s easier to communicate with a video and images than with text.
Stories are impermanent, which prompts users to engage so they don’t miss out!
Stories offer a more personal, intimate exchange with consumers
Stories channel users to brands’ accounts where they can engage with their existing content.
Stories offer a more realistic social experience.

Create engaging Stories.

We know that Stories are the bees knees, but now what? Here are some handy tips for creating Instagram Stories to delight and engage your followers.

Include sound: 60% of all video Stories are viewed with sound on, so make sure there’s something worth listening to. If there’s no voice in the video, then music makes a good sound overlay.

Use text overlay: Text overlay encourages engagement when users must have sound off. They can read-watch, which will hold their interest longer.

Keep if friendly: Make your Story look like a shared experience from a close friend, rather than a business. Add emojis or symbols to endear your brand with users.

Break it down: Since stories are consumed faster than newsfeed posts and attention spans continue to shorten, consider short scenes of a few seconds each for more complex Stories.

Create interest: Engaging subject matter, coupled with filters or graphic overlays can boost appeal.

Be interactive: Elevate the user experience by adding clickable links to employ the swipe function to engage actions. Links are possible with Stories — a feature that’s absent from organic posts. (Note: the feature requires a verified account or a minimum of 10,000 followers)

Examples:

Instagram Stories Examples

We’re excited! With an ever-growing digitally-embedded audience, demand for expiring content keeps growing. Instagram Stories hold massive potential for engagement and a personalized brand experience. We can’t wait to see how our clients’ digital communications will improve through this fun feature.

Source: Hootesuite

Source: Hootesuite & We Are Social – Digital 2019 Report

Source: Mobile Marketer

Source: Sprout Social

culture

Delusions of Grandeur: The Alphabeats Take On Ottawa

You probably haven’t heard of Ottawa-based rock-band The Alphabeats yet, but band manager Regan Mathurin assures me you will – and soon.

She, along with Irish super-producer Tony Lyons and the band’s seven members, meet me at a small hole-in-the-wall in Ottawa’s Little Italy to discuss The Alphabeats’ upcoming battle of the band’s performance, as well as the release of their debut album ‘Time (Sheets)’.

“When I discovered the Alphabeats, I was actually CEO of a creative agency called Alphabet,” Regan says while sipping on a nonfat, no-foam, quad-cappuccino. “But after hearing their incendiary sound, I said screw it. I knew that Tony and I had a higher calling, and after buying some leather pants, I quit on the spot. This raw talent needed to be shared with the world.”

Lyons smirks at the statement. “I had been looking for a very… specific group of artists ever since my falling out with U2,” he begins. “I wanted a band that I could mold into something unique. I’m not saying that The Alphabeats are it, but you know, maybe they could be after I’m done with them.”

Lead singer Hannah Bock (whom some may recognize from the failed early-2000’s Canadian girl group ‘Seasoned Ladies’), rolls her eyes at the comment. “Whatever, you pox-bottle. I mean, we’re good – but our sound is kind of like a gas station sandwich: it’s not quite what you’re expecting, but it will probably get the job done. And then haunt you for a couple days afterwards.”

Drummer Mike, perhaps the most seasoned and experienced member of The Alphabeats, and devout Scientologist sighs dramatically whilst reaching for a buttermilk scone. ”What we’re about to bring to Ottawa next week – people won’t be able to handle it. It’s the living embodiment of our ancestral thetan culture. Like, on the night man – the spiritual leader will return to reclaim his world. It’s gonna be huge dude – that’s why we’re singing ‘I want you back’ … it’s a summoning man, so we’ll be celebrating by doing coke off of Demi Lovato’s butt crack. I mean, I assume, anyway. That’s usually what happens, right?”

Just a month ago, this ragtag group of musicians were working at local agency Alphabet, flexing their creative muscles in a different capacity. “It was a great experience. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled that clients won’t be removing my Oxford commas anymore,” guitarist, lyricist and former copywriter Sarah Houghton says. “Although those experiences did lead to one of my favourite tracks on our new album. It’s called ‘Oxford Comma Drama’.”

Former Senior Art Director and keyboardist Yang Li agrees: “Yes.”

“Fuck Bono,” Lyons mumbles under his whiskey-laden breath, flashing a partially toothy grin.

“That stumpy git owes me a fiver. And don’t even get me started about The Edge – the edge of what? Me arse … baldy swine.”

Rounding out the band are bodacious backing singers Jessica Evans (aka J-Dough, aka Sudbury Sally, aka Kim Cardashboard), Marley Kirkpatrick (aka SRBeesotch, aka The Mooch) and Christopher Chai (aka … Christopher Chai), who silently lurk behind Mathurin and Lyons in what can only be described as an homage to Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku girl days – “They’re basically the Posh Spices of the group,” Mathurin tells me. “They’re super pretty to look at, don’t make a fuss, and will probably marry soccer stars.”

The 613 Agency Rock-Off takes place Thursday, November 22 at Ottawa’s Rainbow Bistro, where The Alphabeats will square off against other agency heavyweights like Greenmelon Inc, Syncopate Media, Salt, and McMillan for the title of Ottawa’s best interagency band.

“This is just the beginning,” Lyons tells me. “If we don’t win this thing Rob Hyams gets a wedgie, you mark my words.”

digital marketing

Actionable GDPR Compliance Advice For Canadian Businesses From Our Lawyers

“GDPR. It’s a 4-letter word that can make life difficult…we’re trying to make it easy for you.”

You’ve probably heard about some new legislation from the EU called the GDPR. It’s so new that a lot of businesses, companies and lawyers are still trying to figure out what it is, who’s responsible, and what complying with it means. Alphabet® decided to spare you hours of internet research and multiple headaches by consulting the experts and going directly to our lawyers at Momentum Business Law to understand what this means for Canadian businesses.

What is the GDPR?

The GDPR is the EU General Data Protection Regulation, and some are calling it the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years. It applies to any EU citizen or any citizen who is in the EU (like a travelling Canadian), and all companies processing the personal data of data subjects residing in the Union, regardless of the company’s location. So that means these rules still apply to citizens of the EU travelling to Canada.

Essentially, it applies to 99% of businesses and should be complied with by everyone. Now, that level of compliance is where things can get a little tricky, depending on your risk aversion.

PIPEDA vs GDPR

Because we live in Canada (btw, do you have a .CA?), many of the changes and policies in the GDPR are already covered under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA.

PIPEDA already governs how private sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial business. It became law in 2000, and interestingly enough, was intended to reassure the European Union that the Canadian privacy law was adequate to protect the personal information of European citizens. PIPEDA covers a lot of ground, but the biggest takeaways are that it requires organizations to:

obtain consent when they collect, use or disclose their personal information;
supply an individual with a product or a service even if they refuse consent for the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information unless that information is essential to the transaction;
collect information by fair and lawful means; and
have personal information policies that are clear, understandable and readily available.

But, even with PIPEDA, there are some gaps that need attention to ensure that you’re complying with GDPR, because you can definitely be sued if you’re not.

GDPR: TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

There’s a lot of uproar around this legislation, specifically from countries with really relaxed privacy laws (we’re looking at you, USA). But really, there are only three things that Canadian businesses who are already following PIPEDA rules need to do to ensure that they’re following the GDPR rules.

1) COOKIES
If you’re using cookies on your website, you need to be clear and explicitly state to users that you’re doing so (so no hiding this in the footer), while including a direct link to your privacy policy. The folks at Momentum Business Law recommend using a cookie bar that appears when users land on your website. Depending on your company’s level of comfort with risks, you can choose one of the three options below.

The first two are best for very risk-averse companies as they do not allow a user to browse the website unless they have completed an action to agree to the use of cookies. The third option is what most companies are currently using, is less obstructive for users, and is less technically challenging.

Requiring users to accept the terms by clicking an ‘Accept’ or ‘ok’ button;
Requiring users to ‘X’ out of a pop-up box indicating the terms; or
Stating to users that continued use of the website signals consent and of terms.

2) PRIVACY POLICY
If your website performs any sort of data-collection function, you now need to communicate to users if, how and why you are using data via things like cookies, Google Analytics, Facebook pixels, marketing automation software, etc.

3) RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Also known as Data Erasure, Right to Be Forgotten means that if you can identify a user in your data (like through a newsletter signup), you must delete their info if they request that you to do so. If you can’t identify a user (like through a Facebook retargeting pixel), we recommend providing them with clear instructions within your privacy policy on how they can delete their cookies and then be ‘removed’ from your list. Although this isn’t necessarily required under GDPR, it helps organizations be more helpful to website visitors and demonstrates a commitment to allowing users control over their personal data.

It’s important to note that these rules apply to both controllers and processors – meaning ‘clouds’ will not be exempt from GDPR enforcement.

Good news! We got our hands on some awesome (and legally sound) verbiage from Momentum Business Law about what you should put on your cookie bar and privacy policy. You can grab your copy as part of our GDPR Compliance Pack.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Under GDPR, organizations in breach of this legislation can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is more) – which is a pretty hefty price to pay for being able to sell someone socks on Facebook or something.

The information contained in this blog post is for general information purposes only and in no circumstance does this information constitute legal advice. We make no representation as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability or validity of any information in this blog post and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. This blog post includes information provided to us by third parties (including our lawyers) and that information may not have been vetted by us. You should consult with an attorney before you rely on this information.

Momentum Business Law’s team of experienced business lawyers are available to help, should you require legal advice. Contact them today by email at info@momentum.law or by phone at 613.592.3939.