Shikatani Lacroix

Beautifully designed corporate identities, innovative marketing strategies, and flashy ad campaigns are a waste of money if your stakeholders are not aligned to the overall direction for your brand. The journey to establish a brand position and identity is just as important as the end result. On June 6, Jean-Pierre Lacroix will discuss how to minimize the financial risk and maximize the ROI on your rebranding program at FEI Canada’s National Conference in Lake Louise, Alta. Discover how to avoid the financial pitfalls and ensure your organization’s branding initiative provides the right rate of return on your investment. In his presentation, Jean-Pierre will discuss:

• The importance of defining your value proposition and brand essence
• How positioning is the foundation for alignment and better efficiencies
• What to avoid in the branding process that can be detrimental to your organization
• The barriers to change and how you can effectively manage the anxiety
• What are the key steps and timing for a rebranding initiative

Kitted out in our denim attire, Shikatani Lacroix staffers celebrate National Denim Day on May 14th in support of breast cancer research.

The CURE Foundation established National Denim Day in May 1997, its main fundraiser. The event is held annually on the Tuesday following Mother’s Day. Businesses, organizations and institutions across Canada are encouraged to allow employees to wear denim in exchange for a suggested $5 donation.

The CURE Foundation is a national foundation that provides funding for basic and clinical research for breast cancer. Its mission is to work in tandem with women and men, health professionals, other foundations, and Canadian teaching hospitals to improve the outcome for those affected. The foundation strives to raise breast cancer awareness among Canadians and help explore all possible avenues in the fight against breast cancer.

Last night the Toronto Blue Jays took to the field at Rogers Centre for The Curve Ball in support of Jays Care Foundation. Shikatani Lacroix, a proud supporter of the Jays Care Foundation, was in attendance.

Established in 1992, Jays Care Foundation is the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays. It empowers children and youth in need to make positive choices and helps them realize their dreams by providing access to programs that support physical activity, education, and life-skill development. The Curve Ball event raises money to remove barriers in sport and education for children and youth in under-resourced communities across Canada.

More than 1,000 VIP guests, decked out in denim and diamonds, along with staff, players, coaches, and alumni, enjoyed an evening emceed by Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell and Evanka Osmak, with a musical performance by Soular, and live and silent auctions.

Shikatani Lacroix has been working with Jays Care Foundation since 2007 to build spaces for its Field of Dreams program, which provides funding for the development of safe youth spaces where kids can play, learn and grow.

Toronto academic health sciences centre Baycrest unveiled a new theatre in its Abe Poslums Auditorium last month. The Jacob Family Theatre was funded by Cineplex Entertainment president and CEO Ellis Jacob in memory of his mother Tryphosa. Tryphosa had a life-long passion for film and Jacob made weekly arrangements for her to visit movie theatres while she was a resident at Baycrest.

Shikatani Lacroix volunteered to design the theatre, which will be enjoyed by Baycrest residents, caregivers, clients, and families, and will feature Hollywood films as well as tele-health and tele-education programs.

Last weekend, more than 100 students from around the world competed for cash prizes, and bragging rights, at the Rotman Design Challenge.

Rotman Design Challenge brings together top talent from leading business schools to solve a business design challenge posed by the event’s top sponsor.

This year’s challenge? How to leverage TARGET’s Expect More. Pay Less® brand promise and its mantra “Design for All” to become recognized as a leader in sustainability.

According to its website, the RDC challenges students to put business design into practice using creative problem solving techniques and frameworks from the disciplines of business and design in a collaborative and nurturing environment where they are supported by academics, professionals and consultants from those fields. Shikatani Lacroix president Jean-Pierre Lacroix was invited to participate as a judge in the event.

Participating schools included California College of the Arts (CCA); Darden School of Business, University of Virginia; IIT Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology; McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin; Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD); Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario; Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC); and Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

And the winners are:

First Place: Team Meta (Institute of Design at IIT)
Second Place: We Almost Forgot Our Passports (MIT)
Third Place: P-TYPE (Rotman!)

Other finalists: Jamba Juice (Rotman) and #SFI14 (OCAD)
Honourable Mentions: The Misfits (Rotman) and APT (Rotman)

Galaxy Cinemas Pergola Commons features eight screens and 1,600 seats including Guelph’s first UltraAVX™ auditorium.

UltraAVX™ auditoriums offer a fully immersive cinema experience complete with reserved seats, wall-to-wall screens, surround sound and upgraded seats. In addition to traditional concession items, this new location also offers Cineplex Entertainment’s proprietary hot food offering, Outtakes. Shikatani Lacroix is responsible for the design and rollout of Cineplex’s Galaxy and UltraAVX cinemas and the brand identity, environmental design and branding of its Outtakes concession stand.

Galaxy Cinemas Pergola Commons is the second Cineplex location in Guelph.

Shikatani Lacroix has rolled out a second Second Cup cafe in Kuwait with the recent opening of its Avenues Mall location. SL has been working with the Canadian coffee company on its international expansion since 2007; rolling out inlines and kiosks across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the United States. Other international cafes that opened last year include Lebanon, Romania and Azerbaijan, with more Middle East and U.S. sites planned for 2013.

Colour plays a defining role in the design of Second Cup’s international cafes. Reds are the prominent colour palette for its Middle East locations, whereas blue is the predominant colour in the new Florida cafes to reflect their proximity to the ocean.

Shikatani Lacroix Design is pleased to announce the recent promotion of Diane Mullane to the position of Vice President, Client Services.

Since joining Shikatani Lacroix in 2006 as Senior Account Director, Diane has provided strong senior leadership to ensure Shikatani Lacroix’s clients receive the highest level of account service, project management and strategic insights.

“Diane has built the strongest account services department we have ever had here at Shikatani Lacroix,” says Shikatani Lacroix president Jean-Pierre Lacroix. “Under her leadership, responsiveness to clients has become one of the pillars of our brand.”

In her new position, Diane will continue to oversee the account services department while undertaking a more senior, strategic role as part of SLD’s management team.

Shopping is moving online faster than we think. According to our report on the state of the retail industry, time spent shopping online will double, and in some product categories triple, in the next five to 10 years. RE:STORE – Redefining Retail reveals the impact of current shopping trends on the future of retail and their effect on brand sales and loyalty by detailing the potential for sales erosion in traditional retailing. To learn more insights about the future of retail, join us on Wednesday, January 16, at 12pm ET for our webinar, Re:Store – It’s time to redefine your retail strategy. Register here for the free webinar.

We wish you all the best this holiday season.