Latest move in agency reinvention establishes a truly full-service firm.
Exciting times are upon us as we proudly announce Suitcase’s joint venture with Watermark, one of Alberta’s most established, full-service marketing communications firms.
This new alliance means more than just new competition on the ping-pong table or on the Nintendo. We’re mostly looking forward on integrating our teams and respective competencies in traditional and digital media to provide a truly unified marketing approach for our current clients and new ones on the horizon.
We’ve already seen early success from this union in our recent campaigns for Mark’s securing Michaels, the premier North American arts and crafts retailer and Regis Corporation, a worldwide leader in the beauty industry. We aim to continue these successes as we venture into the ever-changing marketing landscape together.
The full press release, written by Watermark’s Tricia Murray, is below.
Calgary, ALBERTA (October 18, 2011) – A joint venture between two top Alberta marketing communications firms has created one of Canada’s largest full-service independent agencies. Venerable Calgary advertising firm Watermark has joined forces with Suitcase Interactive, Canada’s first digital marketing engagement agency, to provide advertising and marketing services integrating traditional and digital media. The privately owned firms will operate the joint venture under the name Suitcase.
“Watermark has always known how to create compelling communications,” explained Chris Kneeland, President and CEO. “But marketing is more holistic these days. It’s about connecting with the right people at the right time in the right way. This joint venture means our clients will get robust, relevant solutions—all under one roof.”
The prospect of a joint venture took shape as Watermark and Suitcase Interactive collaborated on several successful campaigns for national retailer Mark’s. Out of their shared philosophy and complementary competencies came targeted campaigns that really connected with Mark’s customers. Remarked Kneeland, “It’s a testament to the power of integrating traditional and digital tactics—and of our companies combined. It’s like 1 + 1 = 3.”
“Marketers are demanding synergy among all their marketing channels,” explained Ryan Gill, one of three founding partners and CEO of Suitcase Interactive. “It’s time for a truly collaborative model that galvanizes traditional advertising methods and digital disciplines. We are determined to spearhead this sea change and ensure our clients’ success in the new marketing frontier.”
Already, Suitcase has secured accounts with two major U.S. retailers. It is working with Michaels, North America’s largest arts and crafts retailer, to enhance its Canadian digital presence and with Regis Corporation (MagicCuts, Mitchell’s Styling, FirstChoice Haircutters, Vidal Sassoon), a global leader in the beauty industry, on its customer relationship marketing.
About Watermark
Watermark is a full-service marketing communications firm, including creative conception, media planning, account and brand management and end-to-end completion services. Working with brands such as Mark’s, Imagewear, Wholesale Sports and CIBC, Watermark helps clients with destinations market themselves more effectively across all consumer touchpoints. Watermark is privately owned, has 33 employees and is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
About Suitcase Interactive
Suitcase Interactive was founded in 2002 to serve Calgary’s growing web design and Internet marketing needs. It is renowned for its pioneering integration of mobile and social marketing channels. In 2010, Marketing Magazine named Suitcase one of Canada’s hot digital marketing shops, and Digital Alberta awarded it Best Digital Marketing Agency in 2011. Suitcase boasts a client roster of high-profile Canadian brands and destinations, including SportChek, WestJet Airlines, Mark’s, Niagara Falls Tourism, Spruce Meadows, Shaw and EA Sports.
Contact
Chris Kneeland, President & CEO, Watermark
403.541.8673
Ryan Gill, CEO, Suitcase Interactive
403.243.9935
Category: Advertising, News Releases, Suitcase News
October 17, 2011
It’s not too long ago we were hearing of brands racing to a million followers, and seeing their efforts focused on growing an enormous Facebook following on their corporate Page. We must question if this the right approach for brands with a presence across hundreds of markets. It seems foolish to think that a post made in Halifax can be relevant to someone in Victoria, and in social media, where relevant content is king, this simply isn’t the case.
Brands on the leading edge of social media have already started to shift towards a local social engagement strategy, look no further than Walmart for proof of that. Engaging with fans on a local level helps brands create a more personal and relevant connection with their customers.
Think of it this way, Sally-Jane from Penticton, BC doesn’t go all the way to Toronto to buy a new patio set from Canadian Tire. Instead, she goes down the road to her local store on Railway Street and makes her purchase there. Sally-Jane is more likely to have an appetite for information specific to that location than to the brand as a whole.
Practicing a local engagement strategy offers brands the ability to share relevant promotions, deals and events with their customers, and inevitably leads to a deeper level of engagement. In most cases, brands going local can see up to 10% higher engagement. It isn’t that simple though, brands still need sound strategies to govern and align these local pages to overall communication strategies to get this level of engagement.
This type of strategy requires local managers or employees to be empowered to speak on behalf of your brand on a local level. I know this might seem like a prescription for disaster, but once the proper guidelines and training are in place, success is at your fingertips. Maintaining an official social media policy and establishing rules of engagement are tools that will help set ground rules for your employees’ and will help build the social media sandbox they’re allowed to play in.
Using the right tool for the job will also help quell your uneasiness about letting your brand’s voice rest in the hands of local employees, and at Suitcase we use Expion to ease those uncertainties. It’s formed around a hub and spoke model where governance plays a big role. The hub is formed around a social media centre of excellence that as Jerimiah Owyang describes, facilitates resource sharing and cross-functional communications via the spokes to the eventual end consumer. Corporate can share their best content with local managers and local managers can share their best practices.
This tool also helps us set parameters and implement different layers of approvals to ensure that any message being pushed out in your social networks is appropriate and on-brand.
Letting go of your brand voice in the social space can be a chilling thought, but as more brands move onto Facebook, the ones providing relevant content to their followers are more likely to find success. So when you’re thinking of how you want your brand to interact in the social space, keep Sally-Jane in mind, and think if she’s willing come all the way down to your head office to buy the latest and greatest product you’re offering.
Category: Engagement Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Local Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized
September 17, 2011
Through our Decision Mapping process, Suitcase helps to define a Customer Journey that enables marketers to engage and motivate consumers by delivering the right message through the right media to the right person at the right place. We call these the Four R’s of engagement. This new infographic published by AdAge is a great snapshot of who’s consuming what media, and when.
Category: Advertising, Customer Journey, Decision Mapping, Engagement Marketing, Infographics, Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences, Media, Media Consumption
August 28, 2011
With nearly 400 stores across the country, Mark’s Work Wearhouse has become a Canadian retail icon. And Mark’s has worked hard to achieve this. Their relentless pursuit of quality, comfort and innovation in clothing and footwear is a mantra the whole organization puts into practice every single day. Just step into any Mark’s store (there’s certain to be one near you if you’re in Canada) and you’ll discover a world of stylish, functional apparel that looks good, fits great and performs well from the office to the toolshed.
As the chain has evolved, there’s a growing segment of Canadians who need to be introduced to Mark’s… and many former shoppers who need to be reintroduced.
Continue reading
Category: Case Studies, Engagement Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Geo-Social, Mobile Apps, Social Media Marketing
July 29, 2011
Destination marketing organizations and CVBs have long though of themselves as the most knowledgeable guide to a particular tourism area. But that claim of expertise just got a little smaller.
Category: Destination Marketing, Hotel Marketing
Digital Alberta bestows high honours on Calgary-based marketing engagement agency.
Calgary, AB – Suitcase Interactive Inc., a digital ‘engagement agency’ specializing in social and mobile media marketing, was awarded “Best Digital Marketing Agency” at the Digital Alberta Awards on Monday, June 6, 2011 at Hotel Arts in Calgary. Continue reading
Category: News Releases
June 2, 2011
PSFK posted an interesting infographic today on the power of the mobile consumer. The graphic was done by Microsoft Tag and it covers a number of ways that real-time information is changing our behaviour.
Category: Mobile Commerce
When it comes to the tourism industry, there’s arguably not a more competitive sector than accommodations. Destination marketing campaigns and core attractions may bring in the visitors, but it’s the hotels who fight to put their share of “heads in beds”, as the saying goes. Amidst fierce price competition and a more value-driven consumer, hotels are sharpening their marketing strategies and expanding their media mix to include new engagement tactics.
Category: Case Studies, Destination Marketing, Engagement Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Hotel Marketing, Local Marketing, Location Based Marketing, Location-Based Experiences, Mobile Apps, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Tourism Marketing
May 13, 2011
I think most would agree that an excellent user experience has never been as warmly appreciated or as highly demanded as it is today. In the world of software design it is no longer enough to create an interface that simply accounts for different sized monitor resolutions or web browsers, or is optimized for Mac’s or PC’s. Now designers need to think about how their design will look and work on all sorts of devices and mediums, like smartphone screens, tablets, touchscreen monitors, televisions, even in an augmented reality environment.
Certain app developers stand out to me for the great job they’re doing with this. I’m a little late to the game, but I recently purchased an iPad. While I was immediately impressed by the beautiful display and appreciated the extra speed and space in comparison to my iPhone, I struggled for a while with finding a practical use for the thing. I’ve recently been introduced to a few delightful little apps like Tripit, Evernote, and Springpad. They are apps that help with rather mundane activities like managing to do-lists, storing notes, and organizing travel itineraries. And yet, their clean and smart interface, combined with their ability to sync my work between all my devices has turned my ipad into a real (and enjoyable) tool. Now, when I am at a meeting or at home I’ll use my iPad to surf or work, and if I’m walking or commuting I’ll use my phone, and both devices can pull up, edit and save the same content seamlessly.
The creators of these apps did not ignore the fact that people may be using their products on multiple devices. They didn’t claim that it would be too complicated or expensive to account for these variables. They did not take the easy way out by warning users that the tool was only optimized for a certain device. Rather they encouraged and planned for it to be used on various mediums and created a unique experience on each device. Not only did they alter the interface design, they understood that the mindset of someone on their smartphone was likely different (aka – more hurried) than someone on a tablet or a traditional computer, and so they allowed for different levels of functionality to be accessible with each medium.
Sure it took extra time and work, but the results are excellent. These apps are satisfying to use, and because of that I’ve encouraged others to use them too. That’s the benefit to companies who put that extra time and money into a project – referrals and positive word of mouth follow.
These are just a few examples of some really well thought out and cleverly designed tools; there are many others like them. The bar has been raised on intuitive user centered experiences. The most successful experiences are created by folks who embrace the challenge of creating a tool that to the user, feels like they’re unwrapping a little gift layer by layer.
Category: User Experience
You say “Crocs” and we say “No thanks,” but when it comes to implementing SMS campaigns, we’re all ears.
Crocs has been using mobile media to proactively engage consumers. Across 185 stores in the U.S., signage prompt shoppers with instructions to redeem a 15% off coupon.
By sending a text message on their mobile phone to a specified number, a special code is returned to the consumer that provides them a 15% discount on their Crocs purchase at the point-of-sale. Store staff help facilitate the process and encourage participants to opt-in to receive further messaging and deals from Crocs.
Seems pretty simple, but Crocs has distributed 94,000 coupons in the first month of the campaign. Shoppers who opt-in receive more targeted messaging based on previous shopping experiences, their purchase history and online interactions.
“Mobile helps us reach our customers, regardless of their location,” explains Jay Custard, global online marketing director at Crocs Inc.
Mobile can be an excellent way for brands to engage and interact with potential or loyal customers. Giving customers an incentive to buy at the point-of-purchase is much more efficient and effective than email offers. At the end of the day, brands can end up learning more about their customers than they could ever have hoped for.
SMS is just one way of reaching customers, but combine that with social media, a mobile app or a mobile optimized website and you’ve got yourself a band you’re ready to take the stage with. Contact us at info@suitcaseinteractive.com to see how your company can benefit from these types of strategies.
Category: Engagement Marketing, Location Based Marketing
