Octopus Strategies is proud to release the first ever Social Enterprise Marketing Toolkit to support the enterprising work of leading social sector organizations in Canada.
To make this meaningful contribution to the emerging social enterprise sector, Octopus Strategies partnered with Enterprising Non-Profits to produce the Social Enterprise Marketing Toolkit, which we unveiled on November 5 at the first ever Social Enterprise Meetup in Vancouver.
Throughout Canada’s western-most Province of British Columbia, there are some 240 established social enterprises, each dedicated to addressing or supporting vital social and community projects and priorities. ‘Social Enterprise’ is defined as a traditional business, operated by a not-for-profit either to directly fulfill its mission, or to channel funds back into the purse of the not-for-profit itself.
In other countries, social enterprise is well established—especially in the UK, where it’s now seen as a vital priority for the national government. By contrast, it is a slowly emerging sub-sector in Canada. Yet in a context of economic constraint, and amid budget cuts to government funding for arts, cultural and social organizations, social enterprise presents significant opportunities.
Made up of five videos and a series of accompanying worksheets, the Toolkit introduces foundational marketing theory, and presents specific examples from BC’s social enterprises and some of Octopus Strategies’ proprietary tools. Some of these tools, such as the Value Spectrum™ and the Message Matrix™ involve approaches that have previously been available only to paying clients.
The Toolkit has been designed to make marketing and communications expertise accessible and applicable for social sector leaders who often have no training or background in marketing. They get pragmatic and actionable techniques they can apply immediately in their social enterprises.
The Toolkit has been launched as a ‘beta’ product and is available online at Octopus Strategies or at Enterprising Non-Profits. Feedback and suggestions for improvement or clarification can be sent to info@enterprisingnonprofits.ca or setoolkit@octopusstrategies.com.
Every now and then, a marketing idea comes along that is utterly inspired—either one of those things that leaves you wondering how you ever lived without, is totally compelling, or is utterly hilarious. Tom Tom’s latest addition may well be all three.
What if Darth Vader’s voice was in your GPS?!
It doesn’t hurt that the intro video is hilarious, either:
With the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games ongoing in Vancouver, it was timely that I came across this tremendous talk on defining ‘disabled’ by Aimee Mullins, an American athlete, actress and model, who happens to have had both her lower legs amputated as a child.
Victoria, British Columbia’s Inn at Laurel Point is the first BC hotel to go carbon neutral.
This is the latest in a long line of sustainability initiatives for the Inn: When a landmark Arthur Erickson-designed extension to the Inn was built 20 years ago, it included a seawater thermal heat and cooling exchange. This was “long before people were thinking about that sort of stuff,” notes the Inn’s General Manager, Ian Powell.
Other initiatives include paperless check-in, room keys made of recycled paper and printed with vegetable-dye inks, an organic herb and veggie garden, reducing waste and increasing recycling, bike racks, optional linen changes for guests and cutting back on use of lights when not needed.
The latest initiative, which the Inn is undertaking in partnership with Vancouver’s Offsetters, will initially support a general portfolio of carbon-offset projects. In the longer term, the Inn hopes to find a Vancouver Island project to support.
The Inn at Laurel Point is both a client and a service-provider to Octopus Strategies. We worked with the Inn’s executive and management team in 2008, helping to develop their ‘Stay Different…’ brand and marketing strategy. We have also hosted executive retreats there for other clients, and wholeheartedly recommend the hotel for its warmth, beauty, and exceptional service standards.
Congratulations to the Inn at Laurel Point from all of us at Octopus on being BC’s first carbon neutral hotel!
It was 7am on a dreary September morning, it was teeming with rain, and I’d been up for three hours already. The usual issues had plagued my night: Cash flow. Collaboration. Marketing. Not to mention my daughter kicking me in the head at 4am!
So there I sat, windscreen wipers slapping before my eyes, waiting for two people I’d never met to knock on my car’s window. Naturally, I was wondering what I was doing…. Then Jeremy showed up.
Backpack. Big hair. Firm handshake. Spitting image of my brother-in-law. And, like me, a bit bleary-eyed. Then came Josh: Tall. Easy to smile. Fresh into Canada from Germany. Another firm handshake.
Two strong first impressions. Two sharp minds. Two instant friends.
After picking up the bright and ambitious Annalea, we hit the road on an eight hour trip to Hollyhock, a magical place where hearts settle, souls run free, and minds are loosed to consider the great possibilities of what might be. This was the beginning of Social Venture Institute, a weekend that changed my world.
Businesses’ relationships with society are changing: The unmitigated race for profits is no longer to be tolerated if profits must come at the expense of people’s well being, or the planet’s preservation.
For decades, the corporate world’s thesis was that “the business of business is profit”—and nothing else. Yet for decades, an antithesis has grown, coming to be known as the ‘triple bottom line’ imperative: People and planet are as important as profit. Social and environmental preservation and enhancement are as important (or more so) than the relentless pursuit of financial gain.
Octopus Strategies is proud to release the first ever Social Enterprise Marketing Toolkit to support the enterprising work of leading social sector organizations in Canada.
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