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Bonfire contributed this Infographic to the excellent research done by our friends at Entrevestor on the state of Atlantic Canada's startup community. 

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Bonfire is Hiring a Content Creator

Content Creator 

Bonfire Communications is looking for a content creator to work with a team developing digital, print and experiential content for some of the best organizations on the East Coast.

Skills we like:

A great storyteller

A nice person who plays well with others

A social media fanatic

Pop culture aware

An independent worker

Comfortable making presentations and doing interviews

Deadline driven with amazing attention to detail

Good at juggling multiple tasks

Skills you need:

A great writer

A focused editor

Comfortable with social media and blogging platforms

Some video and photo editing capability would be a definite asset

Has a degree in Public Relations, Journalism or Marketing

New grad or up to four years' experience

How to Apply:

Send an email to donna@bonfirestories.ca with your CV and a link to your web site or samples of your work. 

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Bonfire is Hiring a Senior Graphic Designer

Senior Graphic Designer

Bonfire Communications is looking for a senior graphic designer to work with a team to develop strong creative for digital and print for some of the best organizations on the East Coast.

We are looking for a designer who embraces design, who loves everything that is design, from nature to architecture to furniture to tea towels.

You are always looking and loving and trying and doing.

Skills we like: 

Creative and strategic thinker

Creative doer

A nice person

Attention to detail

Great at juggling multiple tasks

Deadline driven

Collaborator

Design culture aware

An independent worker 

Proactive problem solver

Skills you need: 

University or college graduate

At least 2-4 years experience working as a graphic designer

Strong knowledge of InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator

Experience independently managing multiple projects from idea to completion.

Have a strong knowledge and experience with digital and printing procedures, photography, illustration and verbal and written communication.

How to Apply

Send an email to donna@bonfirestories.ca with your CV and a link to your web site or samples of your work.

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There is no other… place like home

by Donna Gates

Place branding is special. People have a deep connection to where they live. The residents of Quispamsis are no different. We feel fortunate to count ourselves among them.

Bonfire was selected as the Town of Quispamsis’ branding partner. The town with the unique name had a common problem: many logos created over many years that were being used inconsistently. The town wanted to streamline the visual identities into one, cohesive brand.

So we met with the staff, Mayor and Council and members of the community to get their thoughts. Good place branding comes from within. It lives with the residents – our job is to translate it into words, visuals and emotion. 

The first step is to articulate the brand promise:

Quispamsis is a forward-thinking community where families enjoy a safe, friendly and active lifestyle surrounded by a beautiful, natural environment.

This isn’t a vision statement. It’s what the experience should be of everyone who lives in and visits Quispamsis. After all, a logo is an empty container you fill with experience – then it becomes a brand. 

Rolling Hills. They define our landscape.

Sun. Our sunsets are stunning.

Trees. We are surrounded by nature. They also represent growth and upward momentum.

Trails. Recreation and active living are important.

River. Another important element in our landscape.

Tagline. Quispamsis as a name is unique, as is our combination of assets. (Seriously, there is no other Quispamsis in the world.)

So, no pressure to come up with the brand of your own hometown. We’re thrilled with the response from the Mayor, Council, staff and now our community. 

We would love to know what you think.

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This study from social influence marketing platform provider Crowdtap found millennials trust User Generated Content just as much as professional reviews. UGC is also 20% more influential when it comes to purchasing and 35% more memorable than other types of media. Marketers need to understand that the game has changed...

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Some good advice from Gary Vaynerchuck on how to create content optimized for LinkedIn.

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Bonfire's True Growth Story

Bonfire is based in the great city of Saint John, New Brunswick. It's our home and we are proud to work  and build our business here.

We had a chat with Ali from Enterprise Saint John about working in Saint John and how we focus on doing good work for our clients.

Check it out.

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Video is the dominant language of the digital world.

Every day, companies unleash “brand videos” to describe their mission, vision and values or “explainer videos” to showcase a product. But they have become, in the words of one smart writer you may have heard of, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” 

The ability to stitch together a string of visual clichés is not the same thing as telling the true story of your business or product.  This parody of bad corporate videos from stock footage company Disolve makes this point all too well. If it seems eerily familiar, that’s because it is.

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Online shopping site Shopify took a look at data from 37 million social visits that converted to 529,000 orders. They found that Facebook remains the top source of visits and accounted for 85% of sales. Pinterest and Twitter followed far behind Facebook. They also point to the growing role of nerd-herd site Reddit as a online shopping referral channel - it increased by over 150% in 2013.  

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The Branding Gap in #StartupEast

By Allan Gates

Marketing for startup technology companies can be a tricky thing.

Startups are usually launched by people with a technology background and, not surprisingly, the dominant focus is on building the product and finding funding. Marketing is generally an afterthought in these early days. That creates a branding gap that can have serious consequences for East Coast startups.

We’re not alone in this.

Recently a smart post from Israeli Venture Capitalist Michael Eisenberg made the rounds. In the post, Eisenberg notes that Israel produces many strong technology companies but they often don’t break out and reach their full potential. He blames this on the fact that many Israeli companies are “inept at messaging, branding and positioning.”

According to Eisenberg, the most successful startups have “great messaging and branding from the start. That great messaging inserts these early companies into key conversations and helps them self-fulfill their destiny. It makes them H O T. Hot companies get talked about and get invited to the right conferences and events and it is a positive feedback loop that helps propel these companies. Solving messaging and how you deliver that message creates a critical foundation for building leading and dominant businesses.”

Eisenberg lays out the reasons why he feels Israeli companies fail at branding. Reading it, some interesting parallels emerge with the East Coast Startup community.

In the same way, our startups’ branding may not be sufficiently aspirational in its positioning. Founders are in love with their technology and assume everyone else will be too. Yet there are thousands of startups around the world. If a startup isn’t going to blow things up and radically change the way something is done, why will people pay attention? Incremental change isn’t sexy.

Like Israel, in the Maritimes we are limited by geography, with even the short flight to Boston or New York creating a large psychological distance in the minds of many East Coast entrepreneurs. As a result we don’t often play in the echo chamber of buzz that drives conversations in the media and VC boardrooms of the North American tech hubs.

And then there is our “niceness.” Eisenberg writes, quite rightly, that, “Marketing requires friction and pissing some people off.” That runs counter to the more gentle sensibilities of those of us here on the East Coast.  We’re friendly to the point of being conflict-averse. Too often that leads us to settle for the bland rather than the polarizing. But remember, bland is forgettable, and forgettable is a bad thing for a startup.

While most startups don’t need to invest too much time or money in marketing, they do need to do some things right from the beginning. This is mission critical.

It’s easy to spend money in marketing, and in the cash-conscious startup world, every dollar spent on marketing is often viewed as a cost, rather than an investment in the company’s future. That prudence is wise, but it can go too far.

Branding for startups doesn’t mean an elaborate marketing program requiring lots of scarce cash. Few startups require full-on ad campaigns or big ticket sponsorships.

But every startup does need to be crystal clear in who they are and the problem they solve. They need a story. And they need to be relentlessly focused on delivering that precisely calibrated story at every opportunity across every platform.

This is a core strategic business decision, not marketing fluff. It’s one that should be made in the early days and not just when it is time to launch a product or make some other announcement. That brand positioning should be a competitive advantage for the business.

Yes it can be difficult when the product roadmap isn’t fixed and the threat of the “pivot” is never far away. No one said your startup was going to be easy.  But if you don’t tell your story, and tell it well, then it will only be harder to succeed.

(Crossposted at allangates.com)

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We're Hiring a Web Developer

Web Developer

Bonfire Communications is looking for a web developer to work with a team of professionals developing digitally focused marketing and communications campaigns for some of the best clients on the East Coast.

The ideal candidate is:

A nice person who plays well with others

An independent worker

Good at juggling multiple tasks

Proficient with web development tools (and constantly learning)

Able to create cross-browser compatible and standards compliant HTML, CSS and JavaScript

Knows his or her way around WordPress

Can perform usability and functionality testing

Active in social media

A new university or college graduate or up to four years’ experience

Loathes Nickelback with a passion some find unsettling

How to Apply

Send an email to donna@bonfirestories.ca with your CV and links to your own site and sites you have worked on as a student, staff or a volunteer.

About Bonfire

Bonfire is an integrated marketing and communications agency that tells stories for brands. Based in the Red Rose Tea building in Saint John, NB, Bonfire works with clients throughout Eastern Canada.

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The Year-End Ask

by Donna Gates

As 2013 winds down, there are ‘Best of’ lists, and ‘Worst of’ lists, and resolutions and reflection. There is also the deadline for charitable giving as the tax year draws to a close. In fact, the American Cancer Society is running a celebrity-filled ad to herald their accomplishments and a call to action for donors for December 31st.

The "Number"

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about how charities are managed, and specifically, the cost per dollar raised. This is just as it sounds, if a charity raises $5M annually and spends $1M to raise it, the "number" is 20 – or 20 cents to raise a dollar. 

While accountability and transparency must always be the hallmarks of any organization, non-profit and for profit alike, it's important for donors to keep in mind that comparing one charity's "number" to another can be apples to oranges. 

This is because there is no standard formula for this across the sector. Expenses can vary, i.e. some charities don't pay rent or are largely run by dedicated volunteers. Visit CRA's website to see a registered charity's expenses and revenue. This will also aid you in verifying if a charity is even registered (read: real). You can also see the number of staff and their salary ranges, often a major contributor to the organization's expenses. But keep in mind, like any successful operation, charities need a talented, motivated and well-compensated team of professionals.

Leadership is Leadership

There's been a Facebook post that I have seen making the rounds lately that warns donors not to give to well-known charities in North America since they pay salaries over $250K to their C-level executives.

I have a strong, personal opinion on this one. Running a non-profit is hard. You have all the responsibilities of a for-profit CEO in a very competitive space - HR issues, budget management, marketing (yes, this is necessary for charities too), and you report to a Board of Directors. Yet, top CEOs in business expect and demand (and are worthy of) six-figure salaries, based on success measures i.e. profit. So, too, are their non-profit counterparts. Leadership is leadership, no matter the sector. Do your research to see if the expenses seem reasonable to you.

Act like an Investor

Let's consider moving from charitable giving to social investment. As you would with any investment opportunity, do your due diligence. Meet the people involved, research who is on the Board, review their financial documents and audited statements. 

And look into how they are spending donor money - not just how much. Are they staying true to their mission? Are they measuring success in social outcomes? Are they funding programming in your community? What are the stories that resonate with you? What's the ROI?

Go with your gut.

Giving should feel good. You'll ultimately gravitate to causes that touch you. When you are investing in a start-up or buying shares of a 100-year-old blue chip company, you need to believe in the company's mandate, leadership, fiscal management and future. Place this same filter on your charitable giving.

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A Community Strong

St. George, New Brunswick is a wonderful town located between Saint John and St. Stephen. We had the chance to work closely with some outstanding volunteers with the St. George Business Improvement Area (BIA) group in developing a new brand for the community. Earlier this week we unveiled the brand and logo in presentations to the Town Council and members of the community.

At Bonfire we believe that good place branding comes from within the community. Our job is more like a translator, to interpret the community’s values and beliefs and present that in a tidy marketing package. So we spent a lot of time in St. George and talked to many local residents in focus group sessions and one-on-one meetings. We found that people in St. George really love their town – it’s a welcoming place, safe and nurturing, all surrounded by some of the best scenery in the Maritimes. In St. George, the idea of community means something special – people care about their neighbours and go out of their way to help in times of need. 

There is lots of meaning wrapped up in the logo. Note in particular the tree in the middle – that represents a tree in the Gorge in the centre of the town that has been there for generations, growing in sometimes harsh conditions.

Developing the new St. George brand was a truly collaborative process. The volunteers in the BIA gave freely of their time. The Mayor and Town Council offered their support and direction. People throughout their community took part in the focus groups and made important contributions. It was a great experience to work with people who believe so fiercely in their neighbours and community. 

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Bonfire picked up a Gold Ice Award recently for top logo and identity in a celebration of the best advertising and marketing in Atlantic Canada. It's nice recognition from our peers from outside the region who judged the work.  

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Say hello to Melanie McEwen, the latest person to join our team at Bonfire.

 A graphic and web designer, she’s a Saint John native who recently graduated from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. Melanie is already an award winner, having picked up the Charlotte Glencross Award for Excellence in Design while at the College. A web design fanatic with a soft spot for typography, Melanie will work closely with Lise Hansen.

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Bonfire was proud to be a sponsor of Saint John's Harvesting The Arts festival, organized by the great folks at Fusion Saint John. (And check out Lise's fantastic illustration on the poster.) A huge crowd of people enjoyed a brilliant fall day with music, food and arts. Congratulations to everyone at Fusion who worked so hard on the festival.

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Telling Your Brand Story

Storytelling has become the "trend of the moment" in marketing.

That’s unfortunate.  Business trends come and go but storytelling is much more fundamental to our collective society than any buzzword.

Stories have always been how people share experiences and try to make sense of the world around them. During the Mad Men era (1950s to the early 2000s), big brands didn’t have to worry much about telling stories.  In Western society content was limited and attention was abundant – there were a limited number of channels. Brands could pump messages out to captive audiences that would shape opinions (to some degree at least). 

Now that model is flipped on its head – content is abundant and attention is scarce. People choose what kind of content they want to consume. There’s no more force-feeding of messages. With social media, the web, and on-demand TV, fewer and fewer people choose to consume old-school 30-second TV spots or print ads. That is why storytelling has become so important to marketers.

But brand storytelling is more than just using the same old messages in new channels. Stories are not noise.  They must have significance to your audience and they must create emotional connections and build relationships.

That means the best stories are not linear. Think of your brand’s story as something you share with your audience. Your story should inspire participation. You want your audience to not only consume the story, but add to it, take it to new or different directions, make it their own. These stories are long-term conversations.

Your brand story needs to be a “choose your own adventure” for your audience.  Are you doing the right things to make them get involved?