Octopus Strategies is growing, and we’re looking for an experienced brand strategist to join our London office’s client-facing team. This individual will play a lead role on brand and communication consulting projects, and support the firm’s principals on larger, international engagements.

The ideal candidate will bring a strategic mindset, a passion for the emerging trends of social business, and at least three years direct experience leading brand and communication strategy projects. They will build positive and productive engagement teams, adapting project processes, while maintaining our core methodology, and upholding our values-driven approach.

View the full job description here.

Octopus Strategies is growing, and we’re looking for an experienced brand strategist to join our Vancouver office’s client-facing team. This individual will play a lead role on brand and communication consulting projects, and support the firm’s principals on larger, international engagements.

The ideal candidate will bring a strategic mindset, a passion for the emerging trends of social business, and at least three years direct experience leading brand and communication strategy projects. They will build positive and productive engagement teams, adapting project processes, while maintaining our core methodology, and upholding our values-driven approach.

View the full job description here.

No matter where they stand on the political spectrum, a great many Canadians were surprised at the results of this evening’s national election. The Liberal party’s profound drop in both popular vote and seats is unparalleled in their proud history, and far deeper than the polls indicated before election day. Conversely, the massive upward swing of the NDP was beyond the scope of any supposition: They were the true winners this evening, earning more than 100 seats in the House of Commons. And the Conservatives finally won the majority government they had sought since forming through the merge of the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties.

As Canadians wake up tomorrow and as their elected officials get to work in Ottawa and across the country, those who supported the parties of the centre and left will surely be casting about for reasons: How did the voter turnout remain so low? Why did youth not turn up in the massive numbers pre-election ‘vote mobs’ suggested? How did Liberals fall so far? How did the NDP rise so fast?

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London’s official foreign direct investment agency, Think London, has included Octopus Strategies among its 2011 listing of their greatest inward investment successes. This diverse list presents a collection of companies that Think London thinks have the “greatest chance of dominating London, European and even world markets.”

Octopus Strategies is named in the ‘Knowledge Champions’ category, along with Japan’s Panasonic Design Centre Europe and America’s LinkedIn. Octopus was selected for its strong track record supporting charities and NGOs, including Everyclick and Sentebale, a charity founded by Prince Harry.

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Mike Rowlands, Octopus Strategies’ President, is hosting a series of one-to-one and facilitated dialogues at the 2011 OxfordJam.

Scheduled to run in parallel to the 2011 Skoll World Forum, at which Mike will represent Octopus, OxfordJam is a three-day event that aims to nurture social enterprise and social finance around the world. OxfordJam’s ‘Expert One-to-Ones‘ sessions are hosted by recognized experts in diverse fields, and provide opportunities for attendees of both Skoll and OxfordJam to seek perspective, advice and insights that support their work and missions.

Social entrepreneurs and others will have a unique opportunity to ask specific questions and receive valuable advice on topics including brand strategy, communication strategy, corporate social responsibility, and to hear insights from Octopus Strategies work with a along and diverse list of social ventures, NGOs and for-profit enterprises.

If you’re attending Skoll or OxfordJam, connect with Mike via either website.

Octopus Strategies’ Mike Rowlands and Stephen Abbott presented a short primer on ‘Uniting Passion and Pragmatism to Brand Your Mission’ recently for Vancouver’s Enterprising Non-Profits. Twenty-four social sector leaders joined us to learn how to engage customers, staff, stakeholders and others in their missions. Mike and Stephen shared examples, insights and experiences, while helping participants identify ways to distinguish their organizations in a marketplace that’s increasingly conscious and crowded. Learn more at ENP’s summary of the event here.