Here at St. Bernadine we encounter branding projects of all shapes and sizes. Over the years we have branded everything from packaged goods, beverages, and services, to restaurants, retail spaces and, most recently, a public space. A public space is hard to define, and it certainly does not fit into a box the way a pizza does. But branding can be used to help give a place a sense of space and make it feel special. Giving a place an identity can make an undefined or disparate place feel like more of a destination, heighten the experience, and ultimately bring more traffic to the area.

Ten years ago, Railspur Alley on the east side of Granville Island was re-developed and its industrial buildings were transformed into working artist studios. Today, Railspur Alley is home to a diverse collection of extremely talented artists and artisans who make treasures like sake, leather belts, bags, and custom jewellery. You have probably been to or passed through Railspur Alley and not even known you were there. And if you did visit, you’d probably be surprised at how quiet it is compared to the other side of the Island. To mark the 10-year anniversary of Railspur Alley’s redevelopment, we set out to create an identity for it that would bring more people to the area and, when they were there, help create a feeling that they were somewhere special.

We began by taking a closer look at Railspur and what it had to offer and comparing that against an exhaustive competitive set. From there, we determined its competitive advantage and used this as a basis for creating a brand blueprint. And with the research and strategy firmly in place, we began making changes.

To start off, we renamed the area Railspur District to encompass all of the businesses in the area rather than only those in the alley. We also defined it as a “shopping district” to give people a clear idea of what they would find there and position Railspur District as the best place in Vancouver to shop for truly unique and one-of-a-kind items. We then developed a logo and colour palette that complemented the Granville Island identity while still feeling unique to Railspur District. Using colour, we started to define the area by putting up street banners and we began work on a giant mural to direct visitors to the area that is being built by artisans from the District. When it’s finished this Spring, it will be pretty spectacular! We also created re-usable bags, door signs, and other collateral for the tenants to display and before you knew it, the tenants were excited and Railspur District was really starting to feel more like the special place it was – one that the artists and artisans already knew existed.

Over the coming months, more elements will be rolling out that continue to create a distinct identity for Railspur District. In the future, keep an eye out for vibrant purple light posts and maybe even purple benches so that you can sit and stay a while when you visit the Railspur District.

To view our recent work for Railspur District, check out our work samples.

It’s about that time when us 2.0 types take it to the blogosphere and reflect on the past year’s successes.  So with a belly full of chocolate (thanks for the gift baskets, everyone) we’ll sum up just some of the many highlights of 2011.

This year started out with changes…big changes! We moved from a tiny 1,000 square foot studio in Gastown, where we had spent 5 years shaping the Mission, to a much larger space in Chinatown. It took a lot of time with the help of Blue Fish Design in laying out our new space and Tercera to construct it. We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

We finally got a new website after 6 years!

Our friends at Mahony & Son’s opened their second location downtown at Canada Place. We celebrated with them at their private opening on Saint Patrick’s Day and potentially had one too many Irish Car Bombs. A night we won’t forget….and some of us don’t remember.

We discovered the power of coconut buns and their sugary rush helped us get through some tight timelines.

We celebrated Saint Bernadine’s Day and, sadly, no tattoos of our saint’s face appeared on anyone’s flesh, despite one or two serious enquiries.  Chickens, you!

We started working with several new clients such as La Scala, Connected Spaces, James Hotel, Mercator Minerals, MAC Marketing, Delta Lion Pub, Running Injury Clinic, Tanya King Photography, College of Registered Nurses of BC, and Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria to name just a few.

We helped launch a delicious new premium beer with our friends at Great Western Brewing Company. Original 16’s packing was found on blogs all over the globe and sales exceeded expectations within 4 months of launch.

We branded our first bike race and attended the UBC Grand Prix, partnering with Mahony & Sons and Original 16 as the title sponsor.  We’re already planning and looking forward to next year’s event.

WrapZone’s rebrand was launched this spring and we had some fun with promoting their new smoothie line.

We renewed our AOR contract with the lovely folks at Granville Island and helped them brand the Railspur District this year.

Total Graphics’ rebrand was also launched with an amazing stop motion video we worked on with the talented Bronwen Kyffin. We locked her in our cold, scary basement for over two months; thankfully, she survived.

Our summer boat party was a blast. We charted a boat around False Creek and the Burrard Inlet and a new apostle learned the dangers of flippy cup and how well the seasoned veterans can hold their booze.

After much anticipation on what would be located in the street facing part of our building, we revealed Kee’s Laundry Gallery. Our first exhibit featured the amazing collodion photography by Robert Kenney.

We experimented with LAZERS!! A direct mail piece for BC Hydro was given the holy treatment. See what I did there?

Our boler trailer was finally completed and we’ve never felt more VIP then brainstorming or holding a conference call in the all white leather lounge seats.

We partnered with the Vancouver Aquarium and helped promote Ocean Wise and Chowder Chowdown, which we attended and ate more chowder then we ever have in our lives. Yum!

Wave Comedy night arrived and, as always, was a blast. It was even more fun brainstorming the theme for the night, as a group of us spent hours laughing at the things we came up with in the boardroom.

All of this was on top of the regular work we do for all of our great clients and partners.

Then, the next thing we knew, it was Christmas time and we’ve devoured every goodie basket and box of chocolate in what seems like 10 minutes after it came through the door.

So many great things happened for Saint Bernadine Mission Communications in 2011…not to mention we survived not one but two judgment days! We’re looking forward to all the exciting things that are happening in 2012.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us at the Mission!!

Wave Sound Productions is Western Canada’s preeminent commercial audio house, having contributed voice, sfx, and music to countless award-winning campaigns over their over 25 year existence. For the last eight years, their main promotional vehicle has been to host an invitation-only party for their clients and voice talent, featuring standup comedy, food, and drinks. Wave produces great spots, whether they are comedically, dramatically, or musically driven – and this event vehicle allows them to own the comedy category.

For the last five years, the team at St. Bernadine have had the pleasure of helping with invitations, signage, and decor for the event. This year’s promotional theme was based on the insight that laughter produces a physical sense of well-being, a physiological truth that inspired the homily “laughter is the best medicine”. As our industry is known for high levels of stress and deadlines at the best of times, let alone during economically challenged ones, having a night that temporarily alleviates these symptoms is always welcome.

This year, Wave Comedy Night was reborn as a clinical trial of “Wave Comedy Nitol”. A save the date email was sent out as an invitation to a clinical trial screening questionnaire, with follow-up branded wristbands and a Wave Comedy Nitol brochure.

Posters and signage at the event promoted Wave Comedy Nitol, but also warned against possible side effects and overuse. Decor included helium-filled latex gloves, shooter syringes, and bedpan chip bowls.

Results are always great, with incredible goodwill for Wave Sound Productions, and a strong reminder that should you be in the need, the talented folks at Wave really do take comedy seriously.

Check out our work samples from Wave Comedy Nitol here!

Here at Saint Bernadine, we like snacks. Like… a lot. We’ve been known to have a healthy (or not so healthy) supply of chips in the office at all times.

Since moving to Chinatown, we’ve had to broaden our horizons in the snack department. No longer do we have a convenient grocery store nearby with an abundance of chip flavours. It was intimidating at first, but we quickly converted from our staple of Lime & Black Pepper Miss Vickie’s to warm and delicious coconut buns. A safe transition, sure. However, one apostle here at the Mission is braver than most. She’s consistently bringing back odd-looking munchies for trial. So we thought it would be fun to send her out in the streets of Chinatown to bring us back an assortment of treats for a good ol’ taste testing. Here’s what happened.

BC Hydro’s Power Smart program features a Compressed Air Optimization initiative that has them helping sawmills in British Columbia identify and solve system inefficiencies. Air leaks – which alone account for up to 30% of yearly energy costs – offer the biggest missed opportunity to optimize performance and save the facility energy and money. Along with Hemlock Printers and Arkwell Industries, we decided to utilize a laser cut technique to spell out the headline of the direct mail with small holes as a metaphor for the leaks in their systems. The technique makes the recipient look twice – encouraging the sawmills to do the same with their compressed air system.

The laser cut machine takes roughly 60 seconds to drill the 6,000 holes that make up the headline (watch the video). Technology like this wouldn’t have been so accessible just a few years ago. Looking for new techniques can offer unexpected solutions and exciting results during the creative process. We highly recommend using lasers to solve all your (creative) problems.

Check out more photos of the BC Hydro Sawmill direct mail piece in our work samples.

One of our disciples recently founded a non-profit organization called AdGirls- a mentorship network for women and girls in advertising. See, disciples really are good people.

Read on:

AdGirls: Ad Who?

“Recently I founded an organization called AdGirls. (Don’t google it. Only bad things come up.) We don’t have a website yet and even our Facebook page has less than 100 likes. But don’t count us out- there’s something happening here. Less than a month ago, I watched a documentary called “Miss Representation” which explores the media’s portrayal of women and the lack of women in positions of power. In between the bites of butter-soaked popcorn, I found myself relating. Before I knew it, I was clicking this little button that said, “Take the pledge to use your voice to spread the message of “Miss Representation” and challenge the media’s limiting portrayal of women and girls”. This lengthy little button carried a simple message: Do something. We all know this occurs, we all complain in the confines of our nearest Starbucks, and groan at the magazine stands but what are we really doing to help? As a woman in advertising, I think the solution starts with women. There ought to be more female mentors available to young girls and more networking among women within our industry. Who else is going to deliver the messages we want to be heard?

In February  2011, Strategy released its list of Top CDs in Canada. Of the 210, only 26 were women. Of those 26, only 2 worked in Vancouver. I don’t believe there aren’t talented women out there. I also don’t believe girls have enough motivation to be talented women. And so birthed the idea for AdGirls. It will be the city’s first mentorship network for young girls and women in advertising, run by some of the city’s most successful women in the business. If you like the sounds of that, get in touch at jmori [at] stbernadine.com and find us on Facebook. This isn’t about a glass ceiling, it’s about building a foundation for the next generation.”