Elettra enjoys a night out...

...at the Western Living Design Awards.

From BCBusiness magazine's The Social List:

The Future Lands Here

Vancouver International Airport's 2010 School Tour Program - The Future Lands Here - has launched.

Visit the YVR Connections blog to meet Elettra Communications' Siva Sivarajan, Heather Chang, and Emily Williamson, who will be guiding more than 2,700 Lower Mainland school children through tours of the airport this autumn.

BC's Best Young Designer

South Surrey, BC; September 28, 2010 – Organizers today announced the launch of the BC’s Best Young Designer competition. Participants will compete for the title and a trip to the design mecca of New York City by applying their creative design skills to decorating and furnishing newly built suites in the Morgan Crossing village.

Up and coming designers - both professionals and amateurs alike - are encouraged to upload a personal video to www.bestyoungdesigner.com explaining why they deserve to win the BC’s Best Young Designer title. The deadline to submit is November 30, 2010.

The public is encouraged to visit the website to vote for their favourite entry before November 30. From the top 15 entries, a panel of judges will then choose six finalists who will be given a $10,000 budget and five weeks’ time to decorate and furnish a one-bedroom + den suite in Morgan Crossing.

In early January, once all six suites have been decorated, the competition units will be available for public viewing and voting. The public will determine one “fan favourite” winner who will win a $2,000 cash prize. The judges will also choose one overall winner who will receive a grand prize package that includes the title BC’s Best Young Designer and an all expenses paid trip to attend one of the world’s premiere design events, the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City.

“We’re seeing a trend today with people from all walks of life becoming interested in and passionate about design,” says Michelle Hughes, Design Competition Director, Morgan Crossing. “Morgan Crossing is providing a blank canvas for those young designers who would like to experience decorating a residence with their own inspiration as their guide and a generous budget at their disposal.”

“Winning the title BC’s Best Young Designer will give a young interior designer credibility,” added Hughes. “To know that your peers and the public voted your design as the best will certainly provide an up and coming interior designer with an edge over others.”

The competition is open to all BC residents 30 years old or younger as of contest close on February 19, 2011. The competition is open to students, young designers, interior decorators, homeowners; anyone who wants to demonstrate their creativity. All entries must be creative, original and not violate copyright law.

Books for BC Babies in the Tri City News

by Diane Strandberg

Credit unions urge B.C. youth to 'be remarkable'

September 23, 2010
By Eve Lazarus

Vancouver-based Central 1, the trade association for B.C. and Ontario credit unions, has launched a $2.5 million marketing campaign in B.C. aimed at youth.

The "Be Remarkable" campaign includes an online media buy, guerrilla marketing, and a tent pole Facebook application all created by Noise Digital of Vancouver.

Noise Digital came up with the idea to ask Facebook users to help distribute $100,000 to local charities on Central 1's behalf. Each time program participants tag themselves or their friends in a Facebook photo in their region, $1 goes to a charity in that region. So far, more than 63,000 tags have been generated and the page has more than 22,000 "likes."

Noise Digital also had two ATMs placed on university campuses that, instead of dispensing money, played video games. The idea, said Reed, is to show that banks are not the only option for students.

The online and guerrilla work is supported by television ads from Wasserman + Partners Advertising.

Martin Reed, director of marketing and creative services at Central 1, said the year-long campaign targets 18- to 29-year olds and aims to differentiate credit unions from banks through their values.

While that age demographic makes up 27% of B.C.'s population, it accounts for only 8% of credit union members, he said. "We need to attract some youth."

Reed said research shows the values credit unions want to project–honesty, integrity, trust and loyalty–match those of younger people, as does their interest in community and local initiatives.

"We found that there is a lack of awareness of what credit unions are about and how they can match up with what youth are trying to achieve," he said, adding that youth tend to bank where their parents bank.

Facebook fundraiser through credit union

By Cameron Orr
Smithers Interior News

Sixteen regions in B.C. are going head-to-head to find out which online community will reign in a credit union fundraiser.

The province’s 45 credit unions are using the power of social media juggernaut Facebook to donate $100,000 to local charities.

Each region has two charities eligible to receive funds. The Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter in Smithers is one of the two for the North, while the University of Northern British Columbia is the other.

The trick is, people have to tag themselves in a photo album on the campaign’s Facebook page. Each community has their own photo. Just find the photo of the Alpine man, with the word Smithers written across it, and tag yourself.

Per photo only 50 people can be tagged but there are multiple Smithers images, just find one with a free spot.

For each person tagged in a photo a dollar will be donated.

The campaign launched on Sept. 7 and so far over 60,000 tags have been generated, while the page itself has been liked 20,000.

Northern B.C. was in third place as of last week with 6,663 tags.

The page can be found at www.facebook.com/beremarkable or visit www.beremarkable.com.

Tacoma Regional CVB Launches Online Housing Reservation System

Software expected to help region secure convention business

Tacoma, WA and Vancouver, BC: September 22, 2010 – Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) announced today the signing of an agreement with Meetingmax Systems to handle its online housing reservation needs. The CVB made the decision in order to meet the growing calls from meeting planners for a simplified housing solution.

“Meetingmax’s system has an excellent reputation within the travel industry,” says Shauna Lunde, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Tacoma Regional CVB. “Meeting planners have had positive experiences with the system in other destinations and have been requesting the service from us.”

With 87 hotels and 6,000 hotel rooms, the Tacoma Regional CVB was looking for a system that could simplify the process of reserving room blocks at a variety of hotels. Instead of having to use each hotel’s system to track bookings, a meeting planner can secure blocks of housing through the CVB and manage their bookings through one central portal. Conference attendees are sent a link which allows them to explore participating hotels and book their own rooms.

“In today’s competitive market, having an online housing reservation system is another service that CVBs can offer their meeting planners,” says Jeff Duncan, COO, Meetingmax Systems. “It’s a value added benefit that can help Tacoma and Pierce County attract business.”

Meetingmax’s system was selected based on its user-friendly interface and the fact that it does not have minimum booking requirements. The system has received positive feedback from other Washington destinations and is now used by CVBs in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Yakima.

Located just 18 miles south of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on the I5 corridor, Pierce County is an easy to reach destination for convention attendees. The region offers a wide variety of activities ranging from fine dining and harbor tours, to kayaking and hiking at Mt. Rainier. Visitors can easily explore Tacoma’s historic and cultural attractions on foot, including the Museum of Glass featuring the work of renowned glass artists.