What Google+ Means for Brands

The Google+ Project
Social media, beware! There’s a new kid on the block and his name is Google+. That’s right; Google recently unveiled its new social media platform– a Facebook copycat built around the concept of friend circles. The project is currently in limited Field Trial and membership is by invitation only, but its popularity is already growing exponentially and an invitation is as coveted as one of Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets.

‘THIS CLOSE’ CAMPAIGN HONORED WITH PLATINUM AWARD

The Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP) recently presented I Imagine Studio with the prestigious Hermes Creative Award for its outstanding work on the Rotary International microsite for the global interactive campaign to eradicate polio.

I Imagine Studio Directs Photo Shoot at Midtown Athletic Club Montreal

This year I Imagine Studio took on the challenge of rejuvenating the Midtown brand. For the past eight months, our team has worked relentlessly to create a new road map for Midtown’s communications. The first step in the process was to devise a new brand foundation by talking to members about their met and unmet needs. In the end, I Imagine honed in on the overarching concept of healthy connections, which reflects the primary finding that members consider Midtown their home away from home.

The next step towards revamping Midtown’s image was to translate the new brand foundation into tangible creative direction. In pursuit of this goal, we developed the big idea for the campaign, “Seize the Moment.” With this concept, intention was to capture authentic Midtown moments to show a place where people come together to engage in fitness, sport, health and community.

What better way to capture real Midtown moments than an onsite photo shoot? Sure, stock photography can tell some of the story, but there’s nothing like photos of the real thing– real people, real staff, real exercise and real location– to convey the true essence of an experience.

To help tell the Midtown story, I Imagine teamed up with Robin Cerutti, an experimental Montreal-based photographer, who also holds a Ph.D. in nanophysics. And with the help of the amazing Midtown Montreal team (Francois Leduc and Stefani Hope, among others), we were able to prepare for the shoot in seven short days – a new record for our agency.

During the intensive four-day photo shoot, we were able to capture the genuine moments and experiences of real Midtown Montreal members and staff. We shot a wide variety of activities, including tennis, yoga, mat Pilates, Pilates reformer, spinning, kickboxing, Zumba, squash, spinning, personal training, swimming, spa visits, and M Café dinning.

Midtown Athletic Club - Tennis

Midtown Athletic Club - Pool

Midtown Athletic Club - Zumba

Midtown Athletic Club -Training

Midtown Athletic Club - Basketball

Midtown Athletic Club - Spa

Midtown Athletic Club -M Cafe

One of our biggest concerns prior to the shoot was lighting.

“Lighting is one of the most important aspects of any photograph,” said I Imagine Creative Director, Olga Weiss. “You can have great subject matter and a good story, but it is completely irrelevant unless you have the light to make a great photo. Fortunately, we had the talented Neil Mota, lighting expert and fashion photographer, to help us with lighting every step of the way.”

While we tried our best to follow the storyboard and stay on schedule, remaining flexible and open to new ideas allowed us to stumble upon several inspired shots. Shooting a yoga class using natural light, shooting outside with an outstanding yoga instructor, shooting though the Midtown “M” glass frame, and shooting under water for an aquatic class were all serendipitous ideas that produced some truly beautiful photographs.

Midtown Family - M

Midtown Yoga

Midtown Yoga Outside

Midtown Aqua

The new photography will be featured throughout Midtown’s new website and other marketing materials to showcase the clubs’ unique combination of superior facilities, unparalleled service and warm community atmosphere.

Larry Minsky & “The Activation Imperative”

We are proud to announce that our very own V.P. of Advertising, Larry Minsky, has recently been published on the Harvard Business Review website. His article, “The Activation Imperative,” co-authored with Arc Worldwide President & Chief Creative Officer William Rosen, discusses the need for a shift from simply building brands to activating them, moving beyond defining what a brand is to optimizing what a brand does in order to drive consumers to purchase.

In “The Activation Imperative” Minsky and Rosen make the argument that until recently, most traditional marketing focused on brand positioning, that is, differentiating a brand from competitors in order to carve out a space in the marketplace.  However, the combination of today’s challenging economic climate and diversity of digital platforms has forced marketers to go above and beyond to adapt to the changing landscape. This is where the process of brand activation comes in.