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Progress’s unanimous choice for the third annual Marketer of the Year salutes the team responsible for the brand repositioning of The Amazing Persona. The hardware, courtesy of NovaScotian Crystal, was handed out to a delighted wisecracking contingent from St. John’s at the ICE Awards Gala earlier in June. You can read about how they weaved their marketing magic and helped the new owners reinvent the company’s image in the cover story by Alison Dyer.
Along with the clever gang from Persona, four other great marketers and their strategic acumen were recognized as finalists for Marketer of the Year. They were the brains behind campaigns for SaltScapes East Coast Expo, Chef Stefan Czapalay, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, and Brookes Diamond Productions for DRUM! Respectively, these marketers executed creative and results-driven approaches to a brand extension, personal branding, social marketing, and word of mouth. See how they did it starting on page 38.
Word of mouth, you’re thinking. Is that for real? Yup. If you’re impressed by how Fiona Diamond and her team tackled the Herculean task of launching and marketing a production with as many moving parts as DRUM!, then you’ll be interested in what Bedford-based consultant Roxanne MacLeod has to say about the theory and practice of word of mouth marketing (WOMM). I was particularly interested to read about the Bain & Company research that indicates a direct correlation between customer satisfaction – the premise of WOMM – and profitable growth.
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Like me, you’ve probably been hearing a lot of buzz about Bill Clinton lately. Bottom line: According to my word of mouth sources, as a speaker he is not to be missed. He will be in Halifax this summer to discuss Canada-U.S. relations along with former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna. At Progress, we were quite hopeful, even up until the eleventh hour, that our request for an interview with the former U.S. president would be granted. But it wasn’t (sigh.) My gut instinct told me that it was a long shot, so writer John DeMont and I had a Plan B in the can.
For my money, John’s well-researched personal reflection on the world’s most influential ex-politician is an absorbing piece of writing. His informed perspective on Bill Clinton’s post-presidential legacy is a compelling take on why
he matters. Quite simply, as John points out in his essay starting on page 64, Clinton is using his considerable energy, intellect, and influence to make real progress on the big, tricky, global issues. I look forward to being spellbound myself on July 26.
Clarification
In the June issue of Progress, the People to Watch profile of Blue Line Innovations’ CEO Danny Tuff may have left the impression that he was the inventor of the PowerCost Monitor. In fact, the original inventor was his brother, Maurice Tuff. While many team members now contribute to Blue Line’s array of technologies, the company’s first patented technology named both Maurice Tuff and Stephan Gagnon, and Maurice played a valuable role in heading the original product-development team.
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