Case Studies
Saskatoon Community Clinic
Strategy | Writing | Design
We were approached by the Saskatoon Community Clinic to develop a communications plan to enhance their image in the community. After meeting with senior clinic officials, we embarked upon a series of focus groups involving members, board, and staff to provide us with baseline information on the clinic’s reputation and overall image with its stakeholders. We supplemented this data with key informant interviews involving senior staff and healthcare professionals. We also reviewed all existing communications vehicles for the organization including its website, newsletters, brochures, annual report, posters, etc.
This information was analyzed and a number of communications issues were identified. The most critical was the separate identities that had been created by the downtown clinic and the Westside clinic, which lead to an overall weakening of the organizations’ brand. We created a strategic communications plan that was quickly endorsed by the communications department and senior staff as well as the board. We presented our findings at the annual general meeting and members agreed with the issues that were identified and the proposed solutions.
We are now in the process of working with the clinic to implement the communications strategy, which will result in a complete rebranding of the organization and its clinic locations.
2005 Canada Summer Games
Strategy
The 2005 Jeux Canada Games received funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage to develop and implement a Diversity in Sports strategy which would make the games a model for accurate representation and inclusion of diverse communities in Saskatchewan and Canada as a whole. This strategy would create opportunities for participation from several under-represented populations including Aboriginal peoples, official language communities, people with disabilities, visible minorities and multicultural communities, women, seniors, youth, and the gay and lesbian community. The overall intent was to create a better games through greater volunteer participation.
Benchmark Public Relations was contracted to develop the marketing and communications strategy for Diversity in Sports. This process included several brainstorming sessions with the staff and key volunteers to discuss the initiative and how it could be incorporated into existing games’ activities. It was vital that this strategy be part of an overall strategy for the games, which would support the existing games’ strategy and not detract from it. Benchmark staff conducted one-on-one interviews with individuals within the key stakeholder groups, such as the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan and the Canadian Paraplegic Association. We also met with officials from Canadian Heritage to ensure that the plan we developed would meet the department’s overall goals for this initiative.
Our plan called for a major media event to announce the Diversity initiative and a follow-up campaign featuring a mix of direct contact and mass media advertising concepts. It was generally felt that direct appeals to these under-represented groups would be more effective than passive advertising approaches. Advertising was directed at ethnic media and complemented by the mass market media.
The Diversity initiative was a huge success for the games and was incorporated into future games and the 2010 Olympic Games in Whistler, B.C. Aboriginal participation was greater than any previous Canada Games held in the country. The Host Society surpassed its goal of having 500 Aboriginal people sign up as volunteers and ensured that Aboriginal people were involved in every aspect of the Games. The number of volunteers with a disability was 283, and those who were from a visible minority were 449. These totals also surpassed previous games.
SOS Medicare Conference
Event Management
Benchmark Public Relations was contracted as the overall event organizer for the SOS Medicare Conference in 2007 — the largest Medicare conference in Canadian history. Approximately 650 people from across the country heard speakers from around the world. The conference attracted national media attention and explored the future of Canada’s health care system. It brought together leading experts to address the way health services are delivered and addressed the social determinants of health.
The event was hosted by the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Major presenters at the conference included Monique Begin, Minister of Health and Welfare in the Trudeau government; the Hon. Allan Blakeney, former Premier and Minister of Health in Saskatchewan; Stephen Lewis, former U.S. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa; former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow, and chair of the Commission of the Future of Health Care in Canada; and Arnold Relman, Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School.
Benchmark was responsible for overall event organization including marketing, branding and promotion; media relations; venue selection; sponsorship agreements; copywriting and editing; registration; and speaker arrangements.
Government and Public Libraries Forum
Event Management
In 2009, Benchmark Public Relations organized the first-ever Government and Public Libraries Forum: Finding Our Common Ground in Saskatchewan. This forum brought together representatives of the provincial government and members of Saskatchewan’s public libraries to discover their strategic alignment, to discuss how they can work together to achieve their common goals, and to form new relationships that would help to turn their dialogue into action.
Benchmark was responsible for booking and making logistical arrangements for most of the 23 presenters. This forum featured five breakout rooms, plenary sessions and an evening reception. We worked closely with the organizing committee and session facilitators to ensure that no details were overlooked. We were responsible for coordinating the trade show displays that featured booths from organizations that were located throughout the province. We were also responsible for maintaining a registration database for the approximately 150 participants and administering the registration process. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education was extremely pleased with the outcomes from this conference, which lead to new synergies between the government and public library system and the creation of new pilot projects.
Saskatchewan Safety Council
Strategy | Writing | Design
When the communications officer at the Saskatchewan Safety Council left her position, the organization felt it was the ideal time to commission a comprehensive review of its existing communications and develop a more strategic approach. Benchmark Public Relations was contracted to conduct the audit, develop the communications plan, and oversee its implementation.
We conducted four focus groups with both staff and the board of directors. A mailed questionnaire was circulated to all of the members with significant response rates. We conducted an environmental scan including a review of past and present media coverage, and how the organization was perceived among other safety service providers. We reviewed all aspects of their current communications program including the newsletter, website, media relations, program guide, brochures/flyers, and overall branding. We also considered how the Safety Council could use new and emerging technology in the development of email bulletins and their print publications.
The communications audit resulted in 13 recommendations, all of which were accepted by the staff and endorsed by the Council. Benchmark Public Relations used these recommendations to develop a communications plan and is assisting in its implementation.
Trade Team Saskatchewan
Strategy | Event Management | Media Buying | Writing | Design
Benchmark Public Relations was chosen to organize the first-ever Broaden Your Borders international trade mission into the United States. This was an educational trade mission developed by Trade Team Saskatchewan, a partnership of federal and provincial organizations including the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership, Western Economic Diversification Canada, Enterprise Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Business Development Bank of Canada, and the Canada Saskatchewan Business Service Centre. We provided all the logistical, administration and marketing support for a working group consisting of the partners’ representatives.
This trade mission featured a chartered bus, which left from Regina and stopped in North Portal to hear presentations from security personnel on both sides of the border. The mission continued into the United States and featured stops at a warehouse and distribution facility, and a sponsored welcoming reception. The next day featured presentations on international marketing, legal requirements, custom brokers, and opportunities in the American mid-west market.
Saskatchewan Trails Association
Strategy | Event Management | Writing | Design
The Saskatchewan Trails Association was established in 2004 to facilitate and promote trail development in the province including the Trans Canada Trail. In 2008 the association embarked upon a strategic planning process to create an overall vision for the trail community in Saskatchewan for all key stakeholders including government ministries, economic and tourism development agencies, trail groups, and trail users. As part of this process, the Saskatchewan Trails Association contracted Benchmark Public Relations to organize the first-ever Saskatchewan Trails Symposium to provide input into the draft strategy and to provide educational training and resources for the trail community.
Benchmark provided all logistical support; overall branding, marketing and promotion; critical path development and implementation; speaker sourcing and agreements; sponsorship agreements; venue selection; creative design services; copywriting; invitation list; media relations and registration.
The event was a major success with participants from every corner of the province representing every major stakeholder group. It also attracted people from outside the province including those from national organizations. The two-day session included a presentation by Michael Haynes, the foremost active transportation speaker in the country; as well as presentations on trail marketing, insurance, and best practices from our neighboring provinces.