The start of 2012 has brought many new clients to our growing Interkom family. After more than 3 decades in this business, I am pleased to report that it’s still a thrill to get to know these clients, earn their business and learn about their unique communication challenges and opportunities. Each new client is as rewarding as the last and they are all keeping me young at heart. 

We would like to welcome the following organizations! Let the journey begin.

• Bosch Rexroth Canada – Burlington
• Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences – Hamilton
• City of St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre
• Heart House Hospice – Mississauga
• Lansdowne Children’s Centre – Brantford
• Toronto Hostels Training Centre – Toronto

We can't wait to see what the rest of 2012 has in store for Interkom.

- Martin

When I get into my car to drive to the Burlington Interkom office, I adjust the mirrors, lock in my seat belt, and set the radio dial to a news station with traffic reports. While this may seem a self-defeating exercise in futility,  I only have a few short blocks to drive, which takes about as long as it does for the announcers to list just a few of the traffic snarls, fender benders, rollovers, and bumper-to-bumper jams throughout the Golden Horseshoe region.  

Every day, I breathe a sigh of relief that I am not standing shoulder-to-shoulder on public transportation or sitting stock-still in my car, an hour away from my workday and short on coffee.  

I have done many commutes in my life, including a 5-hour round trip commute to an office in North West Toronto (walk, Go Transit, TTC subway, TTC bus, walk, office) a 4-hour daily commute to an office in North-East Toronto (walk, Go Transit, TTC subway, TTC bus, transfer, TTC bus, walk, office), and an hour long commute to an office in North-Western Alberta, which was comprised of dodging deer, evading elk, avoiding rock-spitting gravel trucks, and giving a wide berth to jackknife-prone log trucks, all on an unplowed two lane highway.

Comparatively, a five minute commute is hardly worth warming the car up for.  

Mid-January marked the 58th Anniversary of Westinghouse President Herbert H. Rogge uttering the prophetic phrase “Golden Horseshoe” at a speech to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

“Hamilton in 50 years will be the forward cleat in a 'golden horseshoe' of industrial development from Oshawa to the Niagara River…It will run from Niagara Falls on the south to about Oshawa on the north and take in numerous cities and towns already there, including Hamilton and Toronto.”  

With that, Rogge defined a region, gave it a moniker, and a raison d’être.  

The Golden Horseshoe is a great place to live, and the 6.5 million residents – nearly 20 percent of Canada’s population – who live and play in over forty-five diverse communities, are constantly changing, as are the communities themselves.

Situated on prime real estate along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, the industrial, commercial, retail and recreational opportunities are as immense as the geography of the curved, lake-defined region itself.  

Geographically, the region is a host to many unique features, including hundreds of kilometres of the Niagara Escarpment, complete with dozens of waterfalls, unique landforms including the Cheltenham Badlands in Caledon and the Oak Ridges Moraine.  

Ecologically, the region features wetland meccas for waterfowl, uncommon areas of Canadian Carolinian and towering old-growth forests, rare species of amphibians, and a large stretch of Lake Ontario as a haven for wildlife.  

Like a horseshoe, the region often takes steps, both forward and back.  Since the economic downturn in 2008, the Golden Horseshoe, as well as much of Ontario, has been battered – but not broken – in many sectors of the economy, impacting everything from employment rates to housing markets to political campaigns.  

But the old adage of slow and steady sometimes really does win the race, and efforts from innumerable community groups, not-for-profits, public and private sector companies, advocacy organizations, and political groups have managed to keep the shoe on the horse, and the horse on the track, so to speak.  

Interkom has been privileged to work with many of these groups in helping to make this region one of the best places to work, live, and play in Canada, including the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre, The Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Young Drivers of Canada, and the Burlington Community Foundation.

So for those who are standing shoulder-to-shoulder on a subway or bus, or sitting stock-still in a traffic jam, there is some consolation.  

It’s a small price to pay to live in the Golden Horseshoe.  

- Mike 

Our client, Sheppard Centre Apartments website won the recent Federal Rental Property of Ontario’s 2011 MAC Award for Best Property Management Website for a Single Property!

Our over all vision for the website was to create a clean, vibrant and user-friendly interface which encourages prospective tenants to check out what the Sheppard Centre Apartments has to offer. We felt it is was important to establish a connection right from the start. The new website engages the audience in the new digital age of social media through outlets such Facebook and YouTube.

The website includes a state-of-the-art Residents Portal where tenants can interact, be informed, communicate with staff and pay their rent online. For example, an online Maintenance Request Form has given residents the ability to connect with property management staff from the comfort of there own apartment.

Check out the Sheppard Centre on YouTube.

To our valued clients – Merry Christmas from your friends at Interkom. We wish you and your family good health, peace and prosperity in the New year. We are very thankful to have the pleasure with working with such a tremendous group of people and are excited to see what 2012 has in store for all of us.

Have a great holiday season!

- The Interkom Team

]]> http://www.interkom.ca/happy-holidays-from-interkom/feed/ 0 http://www.interkom.ca/how-social-media-is-engaging-local-entrepreneurs/ http://www.interkom.ca/how-social-media-is-engaging-local-entrepreneurs/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:47:28 +0000 admin http://www.interkom.ca/?p=558

Did you ever wonder why our local entrepreneurs chose Burlington as a place to do business?

We had the same thought in mind. As a part of our engagement with the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, we set our team on a mission. Make Burlington stand out, be unique and embrace social media as an unparalleled medium for networking and instant communication.

We designed and developed a new website which promotes Burlington as a great place to live and work using bold imagery as a common theme. The best part? It is uniquely interactive. The BEDC engages in conversations via Twitter, promotes their efforts on YouTube and encourages people to attend events by easily registering online.

To launch the new state-of-the-art website, we had a party. The invitees included local business owners, high-profile executives, board members, the Mayor and councillors – Burlington’s ‘stars’.

Each Burlington star was given the opportunity to tell us why “Burlington is the best place to do business”.

Intrigued? Take a look at the first 5 BEDC Stars here.

Of course, Martin was asked to give his two cents. Stay tuned for his video launching on the BEDC website soon!

- Kayla

For the 4th consecutive year, Interkom is named one of the best in marketing effectiveness. Open to companies worldwide, the Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards recognizes effectiveness in advertising that successfully influences the consumer’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Interkom is honoured with this prestigious award as this initiate was named best of 544 entires from over 26 counties.

Interkom has won 4 summit awards for our work for Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, Brampton Library, Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Mayor Rick Goldring Campaign.

Way to go Interkom team!

Interkom knows your opinion counts! We are conducting a survey regarding taxi services and we would like to hear from you about your experience. The survey will only take 5 minutes to complete!

Take the survey by October 7, 2011 for a chance to WIN one of five vouchers (valued at $25 each) for your next taxi service.

Please click here to complete the survey!

Be the change! Canada’s dominant clean transportation industry association – Electric Mobility Canada – is asking fellow Canadians to step up and test out alternative methods of transportation. The conversation surrounding electric mobility has been going on for several years, slowly gaining momentum in Canada with the forming of EMC in November 2006.

The not-for-profit organization provides national membership to companies offering electric vehicle technologies and products. Over the years, their membership list has grown tremendously to more than 180 members, including Hydro-Quebec, BC Hydro, Nissan, Ford, General Motors, Canada Post, Purolator, General Electric, university research centres and much more!

EMC is dedicated to building an electric future, gaining strong government support and business networking opportunities. In order to do this, they have spanned their membership across various industries, energy providers, end users, non-government organizations and government agencies in strengthening their effect to drive Canada’s electric transportation industry to new realms of technology and change. Be the change, join EMC!

This year, EMC presents the EV 2011 VÉ Conference and Trade Show from September 26 to 28^th at the Allstream Centre in Toronto, offering unprecedented learning opportunities covering all aspects of electric drive. Close to 80 speakers from Canada, USA and Europe will discuss Building Canada’s Green Highway, automaker’s visions and plans for the future, the life-cycle assessment of electric vehicles and batteries, strategies for addressing climate change, and customer perspectives of electric vehicles. Moreover, the event will also host various OEM sessions that will allow vehicle manufacturers to highlight the vehicles they will be offering to Canadians in the upcoming five years, including Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota!

Public access to the Trade Show at the Allstream Centre in Toronto on Wednesday September 28, 2011 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM, is an opportunity for the general public to acquaint themselves with all things electric drive! It allows the public to check out the various electric vehicles at the trade show including the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi i-Miev, Toyota Prius Hybrid, A2B car from Project EVE, the Transit Connect van from Ford and Azure Dynamics and charging stations!

The Interkom Team is excited to be a part of EV 2011 VÉ!

Does music bring Chicago together? Or does it tear them apart? Depends on how you see it.

Everyone experiences music differently. That includes their feelings towards a gigantic music festival that sprawls over 115 acres of land, drawing in an estimated 270,000 people over a 3-day period.

Visiting Chicago and attending this year’s Lollapalooza music festival to celebrate our love of music was an indescribable experience. The massive crowds, loud music, screaming fans and endless amounts of greasy food made the experience unforgettable. But that reflects the view of an out-of-towner who expected to roam Chicago’s streets with no hesitation while Coldplay blares in the background. What about the local residents who must deal with excessive crowds, closed streets, increased traffic and obnoxious tourists?

Although Lollapalooza pays nothing to occupy the park and is exempt from the Chicago amusement tax, it brings in $85 million each year in tourism, attracting a record of 8.5 million people to the city over the course of its seven-year stretch. As one of America’s most bankrupt cities, Chicago maintains its image as a good music town and draws in a substantial amount of money to help its crumbling economy.

Millions of dollars are spent by the visitors over the course of 3 days. Having paid $220 for each wristband (pays off considering how many acts we saw), three times that for the hotel, endless dollars on food, drinks, attractions and more – but what happens when it’s all over? The festival packs up and the tourists leave. Who is expected to clean up the park?

Not the taxpayers that’s for sure. Lollapalooza is spending $2 million from its revenue on planting trees, building neighbourhood play lots, restoring Buckingham Fountain, landscape and green projects. The 2011 Restoration Project includes sod, new irrigation tubing and will cost approximately $400,000 (Fox Chicago News). Considering that Lollapalooza pays nothing in occupying Grant Park for 3 days every year, the least they could do is restore the park to its original state without relying on city funding.

No matter how muddy we got after watching Eminem and Foo Fighters, it’s an experience we’ll never forget. Wandering Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and visiting the Shedd Aquarium are stories that we’ll be sharing for years to come – now that’s priceless advertisement for the City and Lollapalooza. Looks like we’re buying next year’s ticket come spring 2012.

- Kayla & Nevena

Travel the world. That was my plan once I graduated from McMaster University last year. I wasn’t sure where, when or how I was going to get there but I was determined it would happen. The perfect opportunity came when my friend, Shannon, asked me to visit Greece with her. How can I say no to a beautiful island with sandy beaches and endless sunlight?

Planning a month long trip to Greece, Croatia and Ireland took some time. Always set a goal. Determine when and where you are going, what you might be doing and everything else in between will fall as it may. That was our motto. We knew where we were going but not really WHAT we were going to do once we got there. One thing was certain, I needed to feel the sand between my toes.

The Rhodes Island, Greece, a small island just southeast of Athens (mostly populated by tourists from around the world, particularly Scandinavian countries) was a great getaway. Its rocky beaches and cool, refreshing air make it seem like you’re a million miles away from civilization. To get the full island experience, we decided to rent an ATV and take it from there. As we visited the main town, Rodos, the locals let us in on some hidden beaches and fantastic restaurants nearby. For some night fun, we went out to a local bar and a few karaoke bars where we sang Spice Girls with fellow visitors from Sweden and the Czech Republic.

From there, we split ways; Shannon flew into Belfast and I continued my journey into Croatia’s famous Dalmatian coast. Visiting family is not really a vacation. You’re obligated to see relatives and eat an endless amount of food followed by numerous Turkish coffees. Regardless, it was something I was used to having, been raised in a traditional Yugoslavian household.

Zadar is Croatia’s best kept secret. Many people have never heard of it, and those who have, always come back. It’s a beautiful coastal town just two hours north of Split, that’s the perfect mix of a sandy beaches and ancient ruins. Just outside of the city lays a small village, Smokovic, with a population of just under 100 people. This small village is home to my self-sufficient grandfather who can make a rake out of wood and wire. He lives a life of perfect solidarity with an endless amount of grapefruit, figs, walnuts, almonds and snails.

After spending time with my grandparents, I decided it was time to catch up with Shannon. Flying into Belfast from London Gatwick was a painful experience. I waited three hours to get a passport check, to be told that my flight was delayed for another two hours. All I wanted was to see some roundabouts and left-sided cars.

My experience in Ireland was a colder one than in Greece and Croatia. Its rolling meadows and magnificent coast lines could not be captured by a lens – it’s something you must see and breathe for yourself. The grandeur of the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge were something else, but my favourite was spending time with the cows and sheep while Shannon and the crew went for lunch. This is where I learned my biggest lesson. Take time and enjoy what is in front of you. You want to travel the world? Do it. You want to take time off and cross the country with friends? Why not. We all go around once, enjoy it and take in all the beauty around you. Travel the world and watch cows. You might learn something.

Nevena