Recent Trigger Posts

Near Field Communication - an alternative to mass media?

Ari Sanyal — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0700

The Globe Advisor carried an interview with the head of Visa’s mobile product innovation last week, the interviewee talking passionately about the coming of Visa’s NFC payment technology to Canada.

Near Field Communication is nothing new of course. But this interview came on the heels of Visa certifying phones for secure NFC payment – just in time for some European countries to activate their r...

Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

Mail Delivery Subsystem — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:45:27 -0700

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

privacy-noreply@google.com

Technical details of permanent failure:=20
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient =
domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further inform=
ation about the cause of this error. The error that the other server return=
ed was: 550 550-5.1.1 The email account that ...

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Google — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:40:22 -0700

Is this email not displaying properly?
View it in your browser.

Dear Google user,

We're getting rid of over 60 differentprivacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's alot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multipleproducts and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifullysimple and intuitive experience across Google.

We believe this stuff matters, so p...

Director, Interactive Strategy

Doug Walker — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:00:39 -0700

The Director, Interactive Strategy role is expected to apply a combination of research, business acumen, audience insight and strategic thinking to ensure our clients digital communications achieves its full potential. An effective strategic planner is an information omnivore, consuming and synthesizing knowledge from any source and then combining and presenting it in novel ways. The Digital St...

Gingerbread Rob!

Debs — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:05:20 -0700

Rob Derkitt's lovely wife Susan got into the holiday spirit with Trigger's advent calendar - and took up the December 10 creative challenge: "Decorate gingerbread men to look like your family." Rob is with R.J. Derkitt & Associates.

Time Spent or Volume of Visits?

Scott King — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:36 -0700

Online ads are a funny thing. The amount of inventory available is only really limited by the busyness of the website. If pageviews top out at a million for a homepage over a month, then that's what's available to buy. Sure, there's tricks publishers play. Like splitting up articles over a few pages. More pages, more inventory. But by and large there are impressions to be bought and clicks to b...

We're hiring an Office Manager / Executive Assistant

Meagan Lane — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:15:29 -0700

Trigger would like to bring an Office Manager / Executive Assistant into our fold. This position is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the agency – from acting as the primary face of Trigger in our reception area, to building management and maintaining supplies. This position also includes assisting our President, including calendar management, meeting co-ordination, drafting of doc...

Canada Raises $36.6 million for Movember

Scott King — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:25:21 -0700

This year Canadian Movember participants raised $36.6 million for Prostate Cancer Research.

We had a small team of moustaches here at Trigger. It was creepy and uncomfortable but well worth it.

Thanks to all the folks who supported us.

12 Days of Penguin Christmas for the Calgary Zoo

Todd Blevins — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:40:23 -0700

Just in time for Christmas, and more importantly the premiere of Happy Feet 2, the calgary zoo have launched a :30 sec cinema ad promoting the 2012 opening of Penguin Plunge. The stop-motion animation features 17 custom-knit penguins frolicking about in 12 festive dioramas. Stills for the animation were shot by Calgary photographer, Jean Perron. Big ups to Triggerites Elise Russell, Erin Belton...

Out of Office AutoReply: New Blog Post on Trigger Website

Scott King — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:15:29 -0700

Hi,

I'm in Toronto expanding my knowledge of how to track every move you make online with Google Analytics.

It's creepy, but that's how I like it.

I'll be back Thursday, November 24th.

-Scott

The Trigger Idea Project

Todd Blevins — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:10:24 -0700

Triggerites Shauna Mae and Jonathan were tasked with the job of replacing the aging yet still very beautiful and wildly popular butterfly sculpture in the atrium of our reception area with something equally as inspired. Their idea? Ideas. 15,000 of them, on pink Post-it notes. Below is a video of a lunchtime brainstorming session conducted last week, in which a considerable amount of ideas came...

Halloween 2011

Scott King — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:45:28 -0600

This year all the costumes started with T.

… For terrifying.

Print Production Artist

Debs — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:50:23 -0600

Facebook's Just Not That Into Us

Doug Walker — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:35:21 -0600

Facebook with over 800 million users worldwide and commanding 16% of all time Americans spend online is starting to make all other forms of mass media seem well... niche. At the recent F8 conference, Mark Zuckerberg did his best Steve Jobs impression and revealed what to expect next from the world's most important waste of time. Below is a top line review of the biggest changes that have happen...

CA Typography Winner!

Debs — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:00:38 -0600

Some of Trigger’s beautiful work produced for Orchard Park mall in Kelowna, BC, has been chosen to appear in Communication Arts’ Typography Annual.

One of the miniboards produced for the “It’s Here” campaign was selected – the photography was shot by Dermot Cleary in a sleek and modern way, and then the “desired object” was replaced with elegant typography handcrafted by Jessica Hische.

The Typ...

Hooray for Hippos

Jill Dewes — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:30:34 -0600

October and November is Spotlight on Hippos at the Calgary Zoo. To celebrate, we are running a contest throughout October giving away hippo-tastic weekly prizes from admission to Zoo memberships to stuffed hippos.

The contest is run through an animated trivia quiz in Facebook, and you must ?Like? The Calgary Zoo page before you can play. It is being promoted digitally through Facebook, the Googl...

Print Production Artist

Karen Pera — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:30:28 -0600

Trigger is looking for a full-time intermediate/senior print production artist who can create flawless print-ready files without breaking a sweat.

A high proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite is a must and knowledge of Microsoft Office is an asset.

You are highly organized and able to work efficiently on multiple projects to meet tight deadlines. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five y...

Better together.

Jason Holley — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:50:24 -0600

As an industry, we often don't promote one another'saccomplishments. For whatever reason, many feel it's taboo to speakhighly of work you didn't produce. That's a shame because greatideas are being made real everywhere and it's damn inspiring. This onecomes from our friends at Ziba, who show that when you set ego's asideand collaborate, beautiful things happen. Bravo guys!

http://www.ziba.com/pe...

3 Days? 5 spots? Talk to Kal.

Jason Holley — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:50:23 -0600

A few weeks ago the Trigger crew headed to Vancouver for 3 days of dawn-to-dusk- shooting for Kal Tire. This was a big event for us and the client – it was the first TV campaign that we’ve done for Kal Tire since winning the business last November, and it was the largest TV production in Kal Tire history. The stakes were high and we had a lot riding on the performance of a chosen few “non-actor...

Proofreader

Scott King — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:20:29 -0600

Trigger is looking for a proofreader who has an obsession for quality control. They must have a demonstrated ability to prioritize a high volume of work in a fast-paced environment.

The proofreader is responsible for checking all documents, from one-page ads to lengthy legal and financial reports, for completeness and correctness with regard to spelling, punctuation, and grammar. They also ensu...

Account Manager

Scott King — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:20:25 -0600

Trigger is looking for an account manager who is obsessed with excellence in customer care, organization and accuracy.

The ideal candidate is a mid-level account manager with 3-5 years experience working with financial reports or at a financial institution. Good working knowledge of Excel is required and knowledge of print production and/or French is an asset. You will work with a small team on ...

A day in the life at Chinook Centre

Jill Dewes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:00:41 -0600

On Thursday 8 September, 18 photography students from the AlbertaCollege of Art & Design will descend on Chinook Centre to try anduncover what makes Calgary's largest mall run so smoothly.

Trigger and Chinook Centre are collaborating with instructor Greg Gerlaand the third year class at ACAD to capture a series of black and whitephotographs to showcase the inner workings of the mall - from marke...

Guerrilla Gorilla work proves popular with Zoo visitors

Jill Dewes — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:45:27 -0600

A fun and simple signage idea done as part of the 'Spotlight on Gorillas' promotion has visitors to the Calgary Zoo begging for more.

Creative team Brian Allen and Jordon Lawson were inspired by how human-like gorillas really are and decided to use this fact to poke some fun at other animals and encourage visitors to come by the gorilla enclosure.

Writing with his left hand on cardboard ripped fr...

A short hug is sometimes a good hug

Jill Dewes — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:35:23 -0600

What do bears, baseball and hugs have in common? Everyone going to tonight's Calgary Vipers game will soon find out.

From 6pm till 9pm tonight, Grizzles - the Calgary Zoo bear mascot - will be practicing his speed-hugging skills at the Vipers baseball game.

It's all in preparation for Saturday's Guinness World Records hug attempt at the Calgary Zoo – where Grizzles will try and get 8222 hugs betw...

We made the Judges flip

Jill Dewes — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:00:52 -0600

Well – another year, and another Stampede Breakfast done and dusted.

Saturday dawned grey and overcast and after rising at 5am, Team Trigger assembled at our grill at Chinook Centre - bleary-eyed but ready to grill.

A strong partnership with our neighbours Run Digital helped the time pass quickly and cooperation was the name of the game as we shared toppings and maybe a few drops of Baileys fo...

Electric Web

Hogan Lee — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:00:00 -0600

We’ve come a long way since the days of the Industrial Revolution and advent of mechanization. A time of capricious Luddites, upheaval, drastic change and small numbers of political/thought leaders forging the future.

Fast-forward to the atomic age and another hop-skip to our current age of mass information. Which, by contrast, has brought great change with less of the insanity . Each age spawns...

Get a free breakfast (and a bear hug!)

Jill Dewes — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:00:51 -0600

Tomorrow, 7 dedicated Triggerites will be up at the crack ofdawn to cook pancakes for thousands of people at the Chinook Centre StampedeBreakfast – the biggest breakfast in Calgary!

The killer duo of grills from Trigger and Run Digital is theplace to be if you like blueberry pancakes and whipped cream – and whodoesn’t? Look out for Elise, Michelle, Alex, Mariana, Lisa, Todd and Jillin our custo...

Our Own Scott King on Groupon in Alberta Venture

Meagan Lane — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:00:43 -0600

In the June 2011 issue of Alberta Venture, Scott King was featured as one of Calgary’s experts on online group coupon services.

According to Scott, be wary. Group coupons can work “much in the same way that contesting was in an older advertising model. It trains people to wait to be told to come in, rather than building that relationshipthat you need to have them come on their own volition.”

Rea...

Trigger's Scott King quoted in "Alberta Venture"

Meagan Lane — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:00:43 -0600

In the June 2011 issue of Alberta Venture, Scott King was featured as one of Calgary’s experts on online group coupon services.

Rea...

Yukon ho!

Jill Dewes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:50:23 -0600

Four intrepid Triggerites spent two nights up in Whitehorsethis week, in an effort to win the Tourism Yukon pitch.

Larry, Ari, Todd and Jill set off on Air North on Mondayafternoon - with a brief stop in Edmonton along the way – and arrived inWhitehorse at around 5pm.

The views from the plane were amazing – lush and greenwith turquoise lakes and very few signs of civilisation.

Our friends from ...

Trigger visits MeshWest Conference

Doug Walker — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:45:27 -0600

Earlier this month a couple of us triggerites hit the inaugural MeshWest Conference in Calgary and it was a very positive experience. I have attended several Mesh Conferences in Toronto and it was a pleasure to see it come out here. The organizers of the event kept mentioning how much the Calgary event felt like the first Mesh Conference back in 2006 ? I will try not to take that a a statement ...

Show me the monkey

Jill Dewes — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:35:23 -0600

Technically, Zola is a gorilla, not a monkey, but there's nothing technically wrong with his dance skills. The Calgary Zoo has successfully done one of the most difficult things in today's blasé marketplace – made a video that's gone viral.

Yep, the V word.

The video of Zola getting down to some funky beats in his enclosure was released onto YouTube on Friday 17 June, promoted to the Zoo's Fac...

Great Speakers at the CMA Conference 2011

Meagan Lane — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:35:23 -0600

Trigger attended the annual Canadian Marketing Associationconference at the end of May, and it was well worth it. We took away learningsranging from brainstorming techniques, to fascinating social media casestudies, to an endorsement for afternoon naps as a means to inspire creativity.We’re putting all of this new knowledge to work for Trigger and ourclients. Especially the naps ;)

The top speak...

Servus Credit Union Wins Big at the 2011 MACU

Eva Van Krugel — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:15:27 -0600

On June 1st, Servus Credit Union collected hardware fora job well done on Corporate Retail Marketing initiatives.

Servus was recognized for Achievement in Marketing Excellence at the annual Marketing Association for Credit Unions Conference and Gala inHalifax, Nova Scotia. Servus won three awards for results-driven workincluding:

AIME for Servus’ 2010Mortgage Campaign – Print Media Category
AIME f...

Crowd sourcing gets 1000 recycling bins placed on the streets of Alberta

Sarah Seibert — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:55:24 -0600

Only 6 weeks into the campaign, the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation?s Place a Bin program has already reached a milestone of 1000 bin placement requests.

This integrated crowd sourcing initiative has empowered Albertans to help keep empty beverage containers out of provincial landfills, by having their say in where new recycling bins should be placed. Through the Place a Bin pro...

Chinook Centre goes ape for the Calgary Zoo

Jill Dewes — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:55:23 -0600

When Trigger needed a public place to display a 3rdbirthday card for the Calgary Zoo’s gorilla Yewande, we immediatelythought of Chinook Centre.

With the recent store openings of Tiffany & Co andVictoria’s Secret, Chinook is busier than ever before, and a great placeto target families.

The wonderful folks at Chinook Centre came to the party with a free display area on their main floor and even ne...

Graphic Artist

Karen Pera — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:30:28 -0600

Trigger is looking for a full-time production artist who can create flawless print-ready files without breaking a sweat. A high proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite is a must and knowledge of Microsoft Office is an asset. You are highly organized and able to work efficiently on multiple projects to meet tight deadlines. The ideal candidate will have experience building production files at an ad ...

Accounts Receivable

Scott King — Mon, 02 May 2011 07:10:26 -0600

Accounts Receivable position open. Responsibilities include client invoicing, collections, tax reporting, and some administrative duties. Candidate will require strong communication skills with an ability to work under pressure in a deadline-oriented environment. Preference will be given to those who have experience in an agency environment with strong excel and project tracking systems.

Conta...

Trigger wins big at Ad Rodeo

Meagan Lane — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:40:30 -0600

Triggerhas had much to celebrate on the award-show front recently, including cleaningup at the Ad Rodeo Anvil Awards held in April. The Ad Rodeo is Calgary’scelebration of creative excellence, and judges are brought in from around NorthAmerica to evaluate the work. Two categories of awards are given out: Anvilsfor first place winners; and Merits for runners up. This year Trigger took homenine A...

In the news

Debs — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:30:32 -0700

Here are some of the latest news articles we find interesting:

E-Mail gets an instant makeover

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/technology/21email.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage

Internet set to overtake newspapers in ad earnings

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Internet+overtake+newspapers+earnings/4006756/story.html

Foursquare updates location-sharing mobile service with comment, photo fe...

Christmas Countdown idea

Jill Dewes — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:30:32 -0700

Great little campaign for Positively Wellington Tourism inNew Zealand.

An online advent calendar with a new deal released each day,aimed at getting locals to spend more time downtown.

Each deal has a voucher associated with it that you can ‘like’on Facebook or share in other social media channels.

Delicious free goodness – and very, very measurable...

http://advent.wellingtonnz.com/

...

Out of Office AutoReply: New Overheard on Trigger Website

Scott King — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:35:26 -0700

Hi there.

I'm out of the office on a client assignment for the week of December 13th, and have limited access to email.

If your matter is urgent please contact Scott Luedtke . Otherwise I will respond to you when I return on December 20th.

With bells on.

–Scott

"Don't Be A Tosser" wins Award of Excellence!

Meagan Lane — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:25:36 -0700

TheABCRC “Don’t Be A Tosser” campaign has won a Silver LeafAward of Excellence from the International Association of BusinessCommunicators. This is a national award, and the Tosser campaign went throughtwo tiers of judging to win this honour.

Thecompetition is based on a strategic approach to both communication strategy andcreative execution. Entrants had to demonstrate strategic planning align...

In the news

Debs — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 09:00:39 -0700

These are the news items that caught our attention this week:

Google close to buying Groupon: reports

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Google+close+buying+Groupon+reports/3911553/story.html

Groupon's success inspires copycats

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Groupon+success+inspires+copycats/3917265/story.html

Crowd-sourcing lets voters vet cities’ fiscal plans

http://www.theglobean...

Hand drawn ads promote handmade beer

Jill Dewes — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:45:32 -0700

In the news

Debs — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:45:28 -0700

Here's our weekly roundup of news articles we find interesting:

Who's afraid of free WiFi?

Santa going wireless this year

Netflix?s Move Onto the Web Stirs Rivalries

A financial wake-up call for women

Canadian boomers set to prove McCartney wrong: Survey

Poorly housed Canadians face same health problems as the homeless: Study

Consumers to 'sit on their wallets' this holiday season

Holiday shoppers read...

We Took Home 4 Media Innovation Awards

Jason Morton — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:05:26 -0700

Scott Stewart, Director of Communications Planning at Trigger Communications,was on stage four times at Marketing Magazine's Media Innovation Awards heldrecently in Toronto.

From a record number of entries judged by an eclectic panel of major advertisers,media and advertising agency staff, Trigger received silver in outdooradvertising for Discount Car Truck Rentals and a bronze for the Calgary ...

Job: Account Manager

Jason Morton — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:20:27 -0700

Trigger is looking for an account managerwho is obsessed with excellence in customer care, strategic thinking andcreating ideas that trigger - a great ping-pong serve would be considered abonus.

This idea person is a mid-level accountmanager with 3-5 years’ experience in the advertising agency world. Theywill lead day-to-day client relationships, be indispensible to their client,provide category...

In the news

Debs — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:54:18 -0700

At Trigger, we’re constantly monitoring the news for reports on consumer behaviour and trends. Here’s a roundup of recent articles we’ve been paying attention to:

Online viewers still loving regular TV, U.S. poll shows
http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Online+viewers+still+loving+regular+poll+shows/3829945/story.html

Vending machine uses facial recognition to recommend type of drink
http://ww...

Job: Interactive Designer

Scott King — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:40:35 -0700

We’re looking for a designer who loves digital as much as we do. Someone who thinks about the user first.

The person we’re looking for has spent the past 3-5 years in a team environment beating back browser trouble and complaining about IE6. We’re certain this person has a blog where they can show us their know-how with mobile design, UX/IA and their thinking on modern web design.

When they’re no...

Job: Web Developer

Scott King — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:40:43 -0700

We’re looking for someone who loves the deep dark places of the Internet. No – not those places.

This person has spent the past 5+ years in an agency bringing ideas to life on the web with PHP. They’re no stranger to the rapidly changing world of Interactive, and have probably played with developing for mobile devices.

Above all, we’re certain this person has a genuine passion for seeing their ha...

We Got Five Media Innovation Award Nominations

Steve Thompson — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:13:24 -0600

Recently, Marketing Daily published the shortlist for Canada’s upcoming Media Innovation Awards. We were delighted to see that of the nine categories we entered, Trigger is shortlisted in five. That’s a pretty good batting average, and puts us in company with the country’s biggest and baddest media agencies. Congratulations to Scott and Marissa for their clever work on the Zoo’s ‘Dinosaurs Aliv...

Buy Local

Hogan Lee — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 08:45:32 -0600

Whether or not your Halloween costume was a complete success or a horrible failure this year, it probably took a considerable amount of time to scour the internet, and then you had to pay for shipping and hope it would arrive in time. If you didn’t go the online route, it consisted of long tedious trips to multiple stores only to be disappointed in what you could find. On the other hand, you ma...

Shipping Container brillance

Natalie Faulkner — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 10:00:41 -0600

For some reason, I find the whole converting-shipping-containers-to-usable-space completely fascinating and brilliant. Could it be possible that a shipping container could be converted to a “portable branch” for Servus to bring the branch to more rural clients? My Trigger idea for the day.

If you have time, check out this article and do some Googling. It is really a great green idea and the resu...

A Successful Start to Orchard Park’s Back to Fresh Contest!!!

Marissa — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:16:00 -0600

On August 9, 2010, Orchard Park Shopping Centre launched its Back to Fresh contest for the second year running.

The basics of the contest have remained the same since last year. Shoppers go online to generate a locker combination , and then go to the mall where they can try their luck at winning fabulous prizes.

However this year, one goal was to increase social media involvement, so we leverag...

In The News - July 22, 2010

Debs — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:30:00 -0600

TECHNOLOGY: Antenna woes fail to dent iPhone demand

Seeking to quell the fuss over reception on the new iPhone, Apple is applying a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem. The gadget-maker is hoping a $29 rubber and plastic case will put an end to the debate over the antenna on what Apple chief executive Steve Jobs calls "perhaps the best product we've ever made."

TECHNOLOGY: Netflix launche...

In The News - July 15, 2010

Debs — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:30:00 -0600

TECHNOLOGY: Canadians prefer paper bills: study

Online-savvy Canadians are comfortable paying bills on the Internet, but they don't want to read financial statements on a computer -- they like holding their bills in their hands. The reason is that most consumers "anticipate" a disagreement or mistake with their bill payments so they retain records as valid evidence.

TECHNOLOGY: Canadians avera...

Personal People Meter Results in Calgary

Scott — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:21:00 -0600

Who grew!?

JACK FM remains the number one station in market vs. Adults and Males 25-54, and grew nearly 1.4 share points in the March 10 release since R1-10 PPM reporting, to even attain the top spot vs. Females 25-54.

Q107 made some serious moves, increasing almost two full share points vs. R1-10 to attain T-3 with LITE 96 vs. Adults 25-54 and moving from 4th to 3rd ranked station with a 1.4 ...

Dinos Alive at the Calgary Zoo

Scott — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:34:00 -0700

Our long time client, the Calgary Zoo has a great new exhibit called Dinosaurs Alive happening now.

Some Triggerites made it out to the opening day and snapped some shots.

Mad Men Triggerites

Scott — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:41:00 -0700

Halloween this year we took a shorter walk and dressed as ad-people. Mad Men styled 60's ad people.

Back-to-Fresh Contest Wrap Up

Scott — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:18:00 -0600

For back to school promotion this year we helped our client Orchard Park set up a fun and engaging contest in the mall. The shoppers went online to generate a locker combination and then went down to the mall where they could try their luck at winning fabulous prizes.

Here's a few photos of the installation:

Brenda Talks Tigers on the Big Breakfast

Scott — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:18:00 -0600

Our very own Brenda Belcher talked tigers with the Big Breakfast.

Brenda Talks Tigers on the Big Breakfast from trigger communications on Vimeo.

Video: Social Media By The Numbers

Scott — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:40:00 -0600

Great video summarizing the power of social media for the modern corporate communications strategy.

Ice-Cream Thursday

Scott — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:43:00 -0600

Our Operations Director, Brenda Belcher brought in Marble Slab to cater us delicious ice-cream.

Tactics vs. Strategy

Scott — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:36:00 -0600

Seth Godin has a great post on the way we view tactics and strategy. We're certainly in agreement with his philosophy here at Trigger.

From Godin's blog:

Tactics are easy to outline, because we say, "I'm going to post this." If we post it, we succeed. Strategy is scary to outline, because we describe results, not actions, and that means opportunity for failure.

I recently heard our president say, ...

Behind the Scenes of CGA's New Campaign

Scott — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:41:00 -0600

From Associate Creative Director, Todd Blevins:

Burning the midnight oil for CGA Alberta, literally.

One of the best things about my job at Trigger: every day is different. In fact, aside from some of the more tedious routines, like time sheets and kitchen duty, being an advertising creative is probably one of the most random careers out there.

In the past 48 hours, I’ve gone from sitting at a d...

Bing On the Rise

Scott — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:53:00 -0600

We've been watching Microsoft's new search engine Bing since it's debut in June.

Bing has passed Yahoo! in almost all the site's Trigger monitors for traffic. In perspective that means it passed Yahoo! in about 60 days.

Today Microsoft and Yahoo! announced that Bing will power Yahoo!'s search.

Bing's got some interesting features. We like the preview pop-ups, mini site navigation, the way video a...

Best of Luck Wade!

Scott — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:49:00 -0600

Wade Harper, Scott Stewart and Brenda Belcher

Trigger sends congratulations to Wade Harper, who recently left the Calgary Zoo to join Travel Alberta.

Wade was Director of Sales & Marketing at the Zoo, and our team worked with him on marketing campaigns for six-and-a-half years.

We loved the fact that he truly respects the creative process, and also that he understood what our team was capable of....

Farewell Leanne Rutherford

Scott — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:07:00 -0600

Leanne Rutherford, one of our Account Managers, has decided to head back to school to complete her MBA.

Presumably she wishes to become our boss one day, of which she's very capable.

I'm glad I was nice to her while she was with us.

Farewell L2, we will miss you.

New radio tracking tool in place

Scott — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:09:00 -0600

Trigger is pleased about a new radio electronic measurement system that will prove invaluable for strategic media planning.

The Portable People Meter is being launched by BBM Canada in January 2010. With this new system, radio audiences can be measured anytime and anywhere. This will help both the radio stations and advertisers better understand their target audiences.

One of the great features...

Trigger Helps out at Chinook Centre Stampede Breakfast

Scott — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:41:00 -0600

Our team helped out Saturday at the Chinook Stampede breakfast. 65,000 meals served. Some of which had M&M pancakes.

Thanks to Todd Blevins, Saro "the mad" Ghazarian, Sara-Lynn Warwick, Joyce Van Zeumeren, Natalie Faulkner, Leanne "Spilly" MacKenzie, Mariana Aramburu, Debs Dawson and Cathy "C-Hawk" Hockenhull for slinging the city's finest grub.

Jason goes the distance

Scott — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:41:00 -0600

Trigger Account Supervisor Jason Morton ran the HSBC Calgary Marathon in an impressive 3:16:55 – qualifying him for Boston in 2010.

Jason placed 66 out of 1,040. It was his sixth full-marathon, and Jason shaved off almost 46 minutes from when he ran in Calgary in 2008.

All the hard training Jason put in clearly paid off, for he said he felt good and recovered quickly enough to go to the Lilac ...

Open Letter to Ad Rodeo

Scott — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:17:00 -0600

To the board of directors,

This letter is about the representation of interactive work at the show. We feel that while the traditional end of our craft is well represented, interactive is not. There is one category to cover the entire gamut of possible interactive executions and the credits in the submission process do not reflect the team members required to make them.

We think interactive could...

BBM Rankings for Calgary Radio Stations

Scott — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:57:00 -0600

BBM has provided its latest rankings for Calgary’s top radio stations, as listened to by the 24-54 age group.

VIBE 98.5 has the highest share of reportable hours/tuned – 11.4% – up by 5% over the past three months.
LITE 96 is now ranked #2 in this age group.
CJAY 92 ranks #3.
JACK FM ranks #4.
Country 105 ranks #5.

The overall trending shows rock formats as a category have fallen a total five points ...

Trigger Says Farewell to IE6

Scott — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:58:00 -0600

As of April 1st we'll no longer be including the cost of development and testing in Internet Explorer 6.

I look at the stats from site's we've done since I arrived in August of last year and I see a steady trend downword for use of IE6. Now with IE8 on the shelf that puts IE6 two versions behind the mainstream.

This isn't a decision we come to lightly. A large portion of our clients still use IE6...

Koalas are here!

sc0ttman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:21:00 -0700

Here are a few photos from this morning's koala exhibit grand opening at the Calgary zoo.

Custom PF Flyers Auction - Urban Youthworx

Scott — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:55:00 -0700

Our very own Shauna Luedtke placed a pair of custom painted PF Flyers Shoes up for auction with Urban Youthworx. A portion of proceeds going to charity. Shauna sold her unique shoes on December 4th to some lucky pedestrian.

Check out more of Shauna's work over at her site.

Farewell Rebecca & Sandra

sc0ttman — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:37:00 -0700

Trigger said goodbye to two friends last week. Rebecca Molina and Sandra Haniak. Good luck you two, we wish you all the best!

Little Gerry - Forbes' new friend - Boardroom

sc0ttman — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:39:00 -0700

Little Gerry - Forbes' new friend - Boardroom from Scott on Vimeo.

Cinco de Trigger

Scott — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Some photos from the Cinco de Trigger party. Congratulations on 5 years, Triggerites!

A shining beacon in the early morning

Scott — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:12:00 -0600

Trigger's new sign, illuminated in the early morn'.

Triggerites go the extra mile

Debs — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:10:00 -0600

Congratulations go to Diane Iwanchuk, Jason Morton and Cathy Hockenhull for showing their mettle in some challenging runs.

Diane – one of our graphic artists – set a goal of completing a half-marathon to celebrate her half-century year. And she did better than that – she ran two in as many weeks.

At the Okanagan International, in Kelowna, Diane came in at 1:54:54 – and 14th out of 114 for her gen...

So long Dave...

sc0ttman — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:40:00 -0600

Last night Trigger said goodbye to one of the best writers in the biz. David Delibato is headed back home to tDot, and we made sure we sent him home proper. Shauna made him some custom Slip-Offs for the for the road. Here are some pics from a night at the Wildwood.

Trigger Ping Pong

sc0ttman — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:51:00 -0600

Trigger's first annual ping pong tournament had Patrick Doyle pitted against Brent Mulligan. It was a close match, but Brent was victorious.

Media Blast: September 2008

sc0ttman — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:40:00 -0600

Welcome to our 4th Edition of the Trigger Media Blast!
This month we are highlighting Online Marketing and its ability to effectively target your audience plus track & measure campaign results ensuring good ROI.

There are many ways to target your audience online. Based on your objectives we can use multiple targeting approaches including:

Internet Protocol Address - uniquely assigned to a particul...

Trigger employee featured in Sneaker Freaker Magazine

sc0ttman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:19:00 -0600

Our very own Shauna Luedtke was featured in an article for popular shoe magazine and website Sneaker Freaker.

Cool Beans?

Kirk Cameron, Awesome Human — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:28:00 -0600

Cut Copy live at Richards on Richards = cool beans.

The internet presents: Bats like to party.

Kirk Cameron, Awesome Human — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:35:00 -0600

Hot damn. Those little guys have some crazy ears. I wonder if they’ve been using them to listen to Cut Copy’s new album “In Ghost Colours”? Most of them appear to be smiling so I’d assume they have been.

“How do I get down with smiling bats with big weird ears?”
Configure your computer machine to visit the following website address:

www.myspace.com/cutcopy

Namaste.

K.C.

CGA Guerilla Marketing Ideas Come to LIFE!!

Sheldon Lachambre — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:24:00 -0700

It is great as an agency when you are privilaged with clients that appreciate innovative creative work. We approached our client Certified General Accountants with a guerilla marketing idea that would appeal to their target audience within Calgary, providing an innovative and different way of reaching their demographic. Along with our media partner and our creative team, elevator door wraps we...

Congratulations Wade Harper!

Roberto — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:15:00 -0700

All of us at Trigger would would like to give a big CONGRATULATIONS to Wade Harper for being named the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Calgary Zoo. Wade is a great client, a tremendous person, and his passion for the Zoo is unparalleled.

So from all of us at Trigger - well done and much deserved!

Zoo boss plots a bright future for people, wildlife

David Parker
Calgary Herald
Tuesday, January ...

Go Trigger Production Team!

Sharole — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:57:00 -0700

I wanted to thank our awesome production team for staying late Friday December 21st. When most people were sneaking out early, they were here until the end! We had a ton of things that needed to go out that day so that all of us could take time off over the holidays. The studio worked very hard and stayed very late to get it all done so I wanted to thank Kathi, Jeff, Sarah and Cathi. It's much ...

November Trend Report

Sharole — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:25:00 -0700

Trendwatching.com has issued their November trend report with some surprising but a bit depressing trends on: GENERATION Z , BLANDASTIC , ECOFATIGUE , PET PASSE and TURQUOISE TRIUMPH .

HUMAN TETRIS!

Sheldon Lachambre — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:43:00 -0600

Halarious video on the human tetris game, take a peek!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84_QL1kEmH4

Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Give a man an exacto knife…

Roberto — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:09:00 -0600

I recently had the privilege of seeing at firsthand one of the greatest examples of customer service. As a Calgarian who has been living in this marvellous city for over 7 years, I have seen how our community has become accustomed to poor service – it’s simply expected . Whether you’re getting attitude from a server in a restaurant, ignored at a clothing store or ripped off from your local mech...

Playing with all the marbles

LERB — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:10:00 -0600

The 27 Marbles Briefing:

Strategy: Shamelessly exploit 27 Marbles clients for personal and professional gain
Objective: Make the girls rich
Tone of voice: Indulgent, adulatory, thrilled beyond words
Core Idea: 27 Marbles is worth every penny
Deliverable: 1-2 testimonials extolling the virtues of training with 27 Marbles. Can be between 2-4 sentences

The Trigger Endorsement:

Trigger Communications & ...

Piggy is a flying success!!!

Debs — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:01:00 -0600

A little piggy named Curly is capturing hearts in the Calgary market. Pigsback.com's cute mascot has been getting squeals of delight everywhere he's made an appearance.

Check out this City TV news bulletin.

Trigger has been getting great feedback on Pigsback.com. Here's a review from Calgarian Stacy Johnston:

I'm totally addicted to Pigsback.com. I check every day for new contests to enter and new...

Triggerites helping in the community

KMac — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:57:00 -0600

As part of her duties volunteering as Stage Manager with StoryBook Theatre, studio graphic artist Kathy Macovichuk takes The Emperor's New Clothes to the Alberta Children's Hopital for an evening of laughs and fun for the kids. It was a rewarding evening for both cast and crew.

Creative Agencies

Debs — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:39:00 -0600

Trigger was highlighted in the October 2007 issue of Strategy magazine as one of Canada's leading creative agencies. Others featured were Bos, Grip and TAXI in Toronto, as well as Extreme Group in Halifax.

Trigger Featured in Applied Arts Magazine

Sharole — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:42:00 -0600

TRIGGER COMMUNICATIONS & DESIGN, CALGARY: Trigger was born when it took over Parallel Strategies in 2003. Since then is has refocused its areas of specialty and client base to create a winning integrated marketing and communications company.

Prairie Boom Towns

Judging by its modernist lines and spacious Macintosh workstations, WAX partnership bears all the hallmarks of a top contemporary advertis...

Orchard Park wins top Canadian honours

Sharole — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:39:00 -0600

I received this email today from our client at Orchard Park:

We won! Last night, the Make Space campaign was recognized with the top
Canadian award for marketing in the shopping centre industry, the Maple
Leaf. Congratulations to Trigger!Orchard Park also won a Maple Leaf for the New Wing's design. So we were two for two last night and I believe the only center last night to win two Maple Leafs. N...

Talk Like A Pirate Day

KMac — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:57:00 -0600

Ahoy Mateys,

September 19 t'was International Talk Like a Pirate Day and Trigger came on board with festivities to make an old salty seadog proud. From treasure hunts to treasure cakes, we spent the hour of noon regaling fellow pirates with tales of ribaldry and adventure, over tankards of grog. Yarrrrrr - good, clean fun. Next year t'will be even better now that Triggerites have had a taste of ...

Pie Photo Contest Update

Sharole — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:46:00 -0600

Community Savings wrapped up their Summer Pie Photo contest with over 200 entries from members on their vacations. Photos were taken around the world, and displayed on Flickr.com so that members could see all of the entries. The idea was something Trigger developed as a fun alternative to doing just a summer branding campaign and the results show that Community Savings members have no problem t...

Shauna's Shoes on Ellen

Sharole — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:16:00 -0600

Just before starting here at Trigger, Shauna Luedtke got her 15 seconds of fame on The Ellen Show and in The Calgary Herald for her custom designed shoes she sent to Ellen for her Mother's Day Show. We're glad to have her on board and know you will be hearing more about her in the future.

Pie Photo Contest

Sharole — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:52:00 -0600

Trigger Communications helped put together a Summer Holiday Photo Contest for Community Savings. People are asked to submit a photo of themselves holding a piece of pie while on their holiday. The promotion ties in with their profit sharing theme "Everyone gets a piece of the pie" and runs all summer long. More updates and photos to come. The official contest information can be found here. We'r...

It's getting hot in here...

Kirk Cameron, Awesome Human — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:09:00 -0600

Rebecca sent this to me a while ago, such a cool idea. Check 'er out.

KC

Wallpapers.....so hot right now

Kirk Cameron, Awesome Human — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:43:00 -0600

Geeks United!

Mhairi — Mon, 28 May 2007 13:07:00 -0600

Sharole - don't worry about being a numbers geek. I am one too.

I would like to use a quote stolen from one of our clients..."Geek is the new black!"

My Fav Industry Quote

Roberto — Fri, 18 May 2007 10:59:00 -0600

"Safe advertising in the riskiest advertising you can do ."
- Bill Bernbach

Lost and Found on the Web.

Sharole — Fri, 18 May 2007 09:56:00 -0600

Yesterday Mhairi from our media department and I attended a presentation by Epiar sponsored by MRIA . The topic was the importance of Search Engine Optimization of your website. It was extremely interesting, especially given the stats that there are over 60 billion websites on the net and over 1.8 new users every week logging on. With so many new users and so many sites, people are relying heav...

Crusin' on the open road (or on a full ski hill... whatever!).

Roberto — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:08:00 -0600

Recently, a few brave souls from the agency ventured one very early morning to Sunshine Village to attempt what was to be a first for all of us. Yes, our Snowbike virginity was soon to be taken away from us on a beautiful Rocky Mountain Day. Even though we were all very tired from the previous nights festivities - we had warm sausage n' egg mcmuffins in our bellies and courageous smiles on our ...

Me in a nutshell (or a widget, I guess)

Tracy — Tue, 15 May 2007 11:23:00 -0600

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

PB&J

Kirk Cameron, Awesome Human — Mon, 14 May 2007 10:42:00 -0600

Went to check out Peter, Bjorn and John on Fri. night with fellow Trigger employees Sharole and Todd. It was a really good show. Most of the stuff they played was from"Writer's Block" but it was nice to hear some of their older stuff as well. I was stoked on the slower version of "Amsterdam". They gave the kids what they wanted and played "Young Folks" about half way through the set. Unfortuna...

Who I am!

Mhairi — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:55:00 -0600

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

ShelDogs ID

Sheldon Lachambre — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:45:00 -0600

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

What is your trigger?

Sharole — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:45:00 -0600

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

This is neat, you can create your own "visual DNA" http://dna.imagini.net

Try it and post yours using the "widget" feature

RRRRRADIO

Mhairi — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:41:00 -0600

So, I’m hoping by now most people are aware of the three new radio stations that have launched in our Calgary market. Early speculation would indicate that they are the talk of the town and are giving some of the long standing stations a run for their money.

First to launch was X92.9 on New Years day playing new rock hits. This station seems to be a hit with Men 18-34 as it shot straight into t...

Guerilla Marketing- 'Rip-Away' - Innovative Wild Postings that Encourage Consumers to "Take Home an Poster

Sheldon Lachambre — Tue, 08 May 2007 14:42:00 -0600

Great Guerilla Example

Sharole — Mon, 07 May 2007 14:49:00 -0600