FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Client: Major Development
Project
Challenge:
- Under financial pressure, private religious school decides
to sell property behind their main campus.
- A consortium of developers expresses interest in acquiring
the property.
- Alumni must be persuaded as to merits of plan.
- Next hurdle to prepare and present a redevelopment plan
that would be acceptable to the community at large.
- Win approvals at municipal councils.
Solution:
- An innovative communications strategy developed.
- Objective to reach the entire community, rather than just
the traditional rate payer groups.
- A major retailer was one of the developers and had a store
situated behind the piece of land acquired from the school.
- The store utilized to inform the community about the project.
- A video of the new development using models of the proposed
buildings was created and ran as a continual loop on a large
monitor at the store. - Brochures with a mail-in for anyone
with questions or comments about the development were also
available.
- Anyone who sent in questions and comments received immediate
response.
- Public meetings held, but not structured in the usual way.
- Stations with models, plans, reports and the appropriate
personnel (architects, urban planners, environmental engineers,
traffic consultants, environmental engineers, landscape architects,
etc.) involved in specific areas of the project set up around
the room.
- Available on a one-on-one basis to deal with questions and
comments from the public.
Results:
- Generally, the only people developers have dealings with
when planning a new project are people opposed to development.
- This strategy provided the developers with a way to identify
supporters of the project, which could be used if the development
went to an OMB hearing.
- It also provided a list of prospective buyers for their
housing units.
- The project received very quick approval at municipal councils.
CALLING INTERNATIONAL DESIGNERS
Client: A Government
Agency
Challenge:
- A major public project announced plans to hold large international
design competition.
- Intention to build awareness and sustaining interest in
the project and the competition.
- Agency asked to announce the competition and attract leading
designers from around the world.
- At the same time need to mitigate any criticism of non-Canadian
participation in the competition.
Solution:
- To announce the competition through the media.
- To support the announcement with advertisements in key landscape
and architectural publications around the world.
- To hold a major, high profile event to announce the competition
winner.
- Tactics included media announcements, press kits, advertisements,
event.
Results:
- Competition attracted interest from industry leaders including
Pritzker Prize Winner Rem Koolhaas who along with Toronto’s
Bruce Mau won the competition.
- A major event/announcement which occurred simultaneous with
the Walkerton inquiry, attracted all major Toronto and international
media interest. Widespread public approval for the plan and
the design team. Toronto’s Globe and Mail reviewed the
project this way: “At Last Some Urban Vision for Toronto”
