We drove in style to the annual Pattison party where we all enjoyed super hot sunshine, delicious BBQ eats, ice cold drinks and great live music!
The bus ride back into the city was filled with lots of laughs, crazy music trivia and excitement for part 2 of our Stampede filled day.

We all had front door, no line, no cover entrance to the famous Wild Horse Salon and what a great night we had… and for two lucky ZGM girls Garth Brooks tickets were awarded to them for being such die-hard fans… tears, screams and photos were shared and their party continued into the wee hours of Friday morning as they celebrated this once in a life time opportunity!!

ZGM STAMPEDE-ZONE was a success, as it was a very quiet Thursday morning as we all trickled in with sore feet, soft voices and dark circles – and we are excited to know it’s a long 360 days until the next stampede party!!

Our team had collected an overwhelming amount of a variety of items including: new & used clothes, kitchen equipment, books, food and toys which turned out to fill 3 cars (one giant SUV) with 6 passengers! We were very excited to knock on Rose’s family door with handfuls of presents and to share in her joy and amazement as we began to assemble their new family Christmas tree. She welcomed us with a warm hug, hot tea, smiling faces and her happy 3 year old boy. The amount of things we were able to donate was, when put into their apartment, quite overwhelming and it wasn’t long until Rose was in tears and cherishing our company.

Rose is a beautiful, vibrant and loving 26 year old woman from Afghanistan who moved to Canada 10 years ago with her husband and since then, she has been blessed with three beautiful boys under the age of 4. They all have had an unfortunate year struggling to find a stable full time job to afford a home in a safe neighborhood and to raise a young family. With potentially life threatening and high maintenance health conditions with each family member, regular hospital visits continue to be a major factor in hindering the employment opportunities available for Rose and her husband.

ZGM loved spending time with Rose so much that we have decided to “sponsor” the family for the duration of 2012. We will cherish their healthy days, celebrate their birthday’s, babysit for anniversary dinners and help out financially whenever and wherever we can. Look forward to progress updates and other amazing opportunities ZGM gives this incredibly deserving family in the coming year!

ZGM celebrated this holiday season at the Grande Rockies Resort in Canmore, AB this past weekend and what a great night it turned out to be. The weather was picture perfect, the food was delicious and the activities were definitely memorable. From the few images we gathered over the evening, you can see our journey was full of great music, drinks, laughs, friendships and holiday cheer!

The Christmas season gives us time to reflect on the past year, set goals for the one ahead and most importantly give thanks to those you love the most. We are all excited to say ZGM has had an incredible 2011 and 2012 will be no exception. This party is just the beginning to many wonderful years ahead!

“We want to stand out.”

“We want something original.”

“We want an idea outside the box.”

“We want lots of WOW factor.”

“We want something that says what we do, without saying what we do.”

“We want what no one else has done.”

“We want to show our customers we care.”

“And I want it to be brilliant.”

Sounds impossible, right? Well, not really. A mixed form of muli-media platforms can usually solve this type of wish list perfectly. It’s called non-traditional advertising and it’s a highly effective, financially rewarding mix of advertising strategies that represent a tricky, fine line between genius and tacky, smart yet easy, shocking yet subtle, attainable yet impossible, interactive yet perceptive, all while being simple AND impactful. Non-traditional advertising is my favourite medium because the applications have so many limitations and design challenges – space, cost, audience, participation, interaction and environment yet the ideas themselves have none at all and the options are ultimately endless.

When a non-traditional advertising idea is executed brilliantly, the message no longer seems distorted and paid for but a natural piece of environment allowing social association to the company to be subliminal and in turn become a long term investment into the product. By taking an everyday item or action, somehow strategically molding it into the company’s brand and message, targeting a specific product or scenario – it is incredible what the resuts can be.

Ads of the World (adsoftheworld.com), a highly recognized and competitive advertising website, showcases some of the most ingenious advertisements from all around the world in every medium and specifically a terrific group of non-traditional advertising examples. There are multiple times when you have to stop and think to yourself “wow, why didn’t I think of that?”

I love that feeling when I come across an advertising idea that in theory seems so simple and easy but you know it must have been anything but.

Hope you enjoy my most memorable and favourite set of award winning non-traditional advertisements that I promise will continue to inspire you to break boundaries, set new limits, think outside the box and enable you to create successful campaigns for years to come!

1. Tetley Tea – Break Your Routine
A sharp idea executed with brilliant humour, style and ease. The shoppers are unaware that this is part of an advertising campaign at all – Tetley Tea has completely immersed into the audiences world and gives life to altering the slightest parts of your routine for more fun!
Ads of the world – Tetley infusions break your routine

2. Fishermans Friend – Bank of Friendship
This campaign was an innovative and creative approach to Fishermans Friend brand message “never be without a friend”. The campaign was able to highlight the importance of connecting with others and how essential friends are in your life – and in turn, the significance of never being without a Fishermans Friend!
Fishermans Friend – Bank of Friendship

3. Toyota – A Glass of Water
I love the success and complexity of this campaign. The message was simple: use less energy and gas and be better drivers. The execution was simple: drive without spilling a glass of water. This campaign touched almost every advertising medium and allowed the glass of water to represent more than just water, but a promise from Toyota that with their tools you’re in good hands and you won’t spill a drop.
Toyota – A Glass of Water

4. The Deli Garage – Cheese Pencil
A combination of knowledge, tactic and fun enable this direct mail piece to create a unique and memorable user experience – that is sure to be talked about again and again with each recipe and at each meal!
The Deli Garage – Cheese Pencil

5. ArtCenter Printing – La Pizza
From concept to execution, it is evident this campaign was strategically tested, designed and implemented as it surely seemed to be a flawless message from start to finish. It stood out, it was original, it had lots of wow factor and said what they did without saying what they did. I loved this idea!
ArtCenter Printing – La Pizza

6. All Good Bananas: Listen to your Conscience
As technology evolves so does the user experience. This campaign is evidence that it is worth it to create a fantastic user experience full of personalized pieces, social media interaction and targeted messaging. It is just as important to know your message, brand and consumer as it is the technology that allows campaigns to elevate consumer response rate and thoughts. The financial results of this campaign are proof that listening and talking to your clients individually provide the greatest results.
All Good Bananas: Listen to your Conscience

How do you describe the wave of feelings your body goes through when you realize your hard drive has just crashed? The hard drive that has collected irreplaceable files and the hard drive that until today, you trusted with your soul.

You could compare it to the combined feelings you get when you realize you’ve run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, lost your keys after a crazy night out, put your phone through the washing machine, road off your car or realizing your wallet has been stolen. But honestly, for me, this feeling was way worse than any of those.

My treasured computer was now flashing a black and white image of a folder with a giant question mark like a beam of the devils eye into my brain and there was nothing I could do about it.

Now, for a moment, let’s imagine you’ve never invested in a backup external drive, filled your USB drives with the most up-to-date versions, registered for online storage or been shown how to create a time machine. Without any of these tools it’s all gone; your computer is completely empty.

Let’s bring to life the devastation this day brought me. I lost over 11,000 photos – including my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, my month long trip to Europe, singing tour in Mexico, 2 weeks in New York and California, 3 weeks in the East Coast, Family Birthdays’, Christmas’ and Baby photos, photos of my best friends Wedding, irreplaceable images of my best friend who passed away 5 years ago, over 7 years of design work, client files and award winning papers from University; I lost it all that day.

You’re thinking… what, you never invested in back up technology? I don’t feel sorry for you. That’s just stupid.

I know, I know. On the outside it seems like a simple solution and in hindsight it was a small investment that could have changed my life, however, if you don’t know, you don’t know… until one day, you just have to know.

So, let me share with you my top 5 ways I now save, transfer, send and duplicate my work to avoid this ever happening again. Technology can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. You can either plan for the worst, or wished you read this blog earlier. Happy SAVING!

1. External Hard Drive:

Watch the speed of transfer and compatibility to your particular year of your computer. Usually, the more expensive the hard drive, the better the speed and protection against viruses and power outages, however, don’t be scared you HAVE to invest a lot – something, at any cost, connected to your computer for back up is better than nothing.

2. Apple Time Machine:

This is only available on apple computers and is designed for personal, individual users; however, it is also the most amazing and easiest tool Apple ever created… if you know about it. You connect your “new” hard drive to your computer and activate the built-in Time Machine tool and your computer will automatically duplicated on your hard drive exactly as it is at that moment. Files, software, settings and photos can be easily restored using your Time Machine back-up hard drive – just in case – you ever have a failed internal hard drive.

3. Box.net – Online Storage:

This is helpful and most useful for duplicating and saving files when taking your external hard drive is not an option. You can save and download any files online to any computer at any time. This is also a great tool when your needing to send clients large files or show family multiple photos.

4. Dropbox.com – Computer File Sharing:

Is similar to online storage, however, it is a file folder embedded into your computers filing system that connects all of your computers and phone to each other. If you save a document, photo or client file to the dropbox on one computer, that file is automatically saved to the rest of your computers. This is a tool you can log into from any computer, anywhere around the world, to access your stored and saved files just as they look on your home computer. This becomes extremely helpful when meeting clients or showing family members as you can simply log on and connect to your file folders and send certain people direct links to your shared folder.

5. Archiving:

As archaic as it sounds, copying work onto a DVD is another additional reliable source of backup. If you’re a photographer, it’s as important to duplicate your clients photos onto CD and physically store them in another location to keep them safe in case of a fire or flood in your house.