Awarded on November 16 by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), a world-wide organization of executive administrators and advisors in corporate matters and a leading authority on compliance and governance, this honor rewards Aegis’ performance as one of the companies having met the highest standards of disclosure among 250 companies listed in the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 250).

Rewarding high standards for disclosure in company reports, the ICSA Hermes Transparency in Governance Awards are not open for nomination and are independently judged by the ICSA and asset management firm Hermes. Company and annual reports of all FTSE 250 companies are independently reviewed and only those which meet top standards of disclosure are shortlisted.

In awarding the Best Sustainability and Stakeholder Disclosure award to Aegis, judges commented that the Aegis Group 2010 annual report was chosen not just for its clear explanation of progress made over the year but also for its honesty and transparency on a range of sustainability topics and related challenges regarding its Future Proof programme.

Some of Aegis’ global accomplishments in sustainable development to which both Carat and Vizeum contributed include concrete in-office measures to reduce carbon footprint, participation in a variety of volunteer activities and the submission of local annual reports, consolidated by the head office on a yearly basis.

“We’re delighted to have received this award,” said Nigel Morris, CEO Americas and Chair, CR steering group said. “Our Future Proof strategy is about taking our responsibilities seriously and demonstrating to clients how ambitious we are.”

“It is testament to what has so far been achieved on our journey of consistently improving our sustainability disclosure and of taking positive action as a responsible corporate citizen,” concluded Morris.

The award follows a sector leading performance by Aegis in the 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) review and its best ever rating and continued inclusion in the responsible investment index FTSE4Good.

About ICSA
The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators is a world-wide organization of executive administrators and advisors in corporate matters and a leading authority on compliance and governance. Chartered Secretaries are high-ranking professionals with a broad base of skills unique among the professions. Trained in law, finance, accounting, strategy and governance, Chartered Secretaries provide a focal point for independent advice and guidance on the conduct of business, governance and compliance.

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Contact: 

Claudia Gervais,  Director, Velocity,  514.284.8465,  claudia.gervais@teamvelocity.com

Carat and SVY&R were awarded the media concept of the year award thanks to their contribution to Réno-Dépôt’s “Knock on Wood” campaign, featuring as well the collaboration of experiential marketing agency Velocity.

Carat took home the Grand Prize in the Nonstandard category – non-media approach for this same campaign. The concept, deployed in 2010 for Réno-Dépôt, which is a sponsor of the Montreal Canadians, was designed to root for the hockey team during the NHL Eastern conference semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Carat was also awarded a prize in the digital media category – unique approach for the Reebok Zigtech campaign and another prize for Reebok Hockey, in the magazine category thanks to its cover execution in the Hockey News magazine.

The agency was also awarded a prize in the consumer insight use category, which recognizes the work undertaken in its comprehensive CCS study (Consumer Connection Study).

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Contact: Claudia Gervais, Velocity, 514.284.8465, claudia.gervais@teamvelocity.com

The SMAs, presented this afternoon at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s annual conference in Toronto, recognize companies that have maximized their investments in sponsorship marketing by developing innovative strategies that drive business results.

RONA won Best of Show and a Gold Award in the special 2011 category “2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games” thanks to its five-year sponsorship program of the most recent Canadian Winter Olympics.

RONA’s media and sponsorship agency, Carat, advised and represented the company over the life of the program, from the onset of negotiations for the Vancouver Olympics in 2005 to sponsorship implementation and activation during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

“RONA is honoured to receive today these special awards, which recognize the value of our sponsorship investment for driving brand, business and community results,” said Claude Bernier, RONA Executive VP, Marketing and Customer Innovations. “As a truly Canadian corporation, we are proud to have been part of the Olympic movement in Vancouver and to have helped our athletes and our fellow citizens win gold at home. This great adventure allowed us to team up with a remarkable group of athletes who share the same values of passion, discipline and determination just like the RONA team.”

All SMA entries were evaluated according to four major criteria categories including attainment of partnership objectives and sponsorship selection, maximization of sponsorship marketing investment, results, and case quality. RONA clinched the top honour and a Gold Award thanks to a carefully crafted strategy that rested on supporting Canadian athletes, helping build the Olympic venues, training at-risk youth and engaging RONA employees.

RONA became a National Partner of the 2010 Winter Olympics when the company teamed up with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee (VANOC) in 2005. During the last five years, RONA set out to achieve and surpass two key objectives, which were to increase unaided Olympic advertising recall from 2% in 2006 to 10% in 2010, and to be among the top ten Canadian companies in terms of corporate reputation. RONA surpassed by 10% its advertising recall objective and finished fifth in the prestigious company list.

Some of the impact and lasting legacy behind RONA’s Vancouver Olympics sponsorship include 21 medals won by RONA athletes out of a total of 26 Canadian medals; the transformation of Olympic facilities, for which RONA donated materials, into 150 permanent affordable housing units; the reinsertion of 64 at-risk youth who graduated and have ongoing employment; and the participation of one of the largest corporate delegations at the Games.

About RONA
RONA is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. RONA operates a network of more than 950 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of various sizes and formats. With close to 30,000 employees working under its family of banners in every region of Canada and more than 17 million square feet of retail space, the RONA store network generates over $6 billion in annual retail sales. For more information, please visit www.rona.ca.

About the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada
Formed in 2004 under the auspices of the ACA, the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada was created to advance the development of best practices and accountabilities in the field of sponsorship marketing.

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Media Contact:
Claudia Gervais
Velocity
claudia.gervais@teamvelocity.com
514.284.8465

“As a result of our extensive media review process, we are very pleased to announce the Canadian media planning and buying responsibilities for The Walt Disney Company will now be handled by Carat. This includes all Canadian divisions of the Walt Disney Company including the Studio, Parks & Resorts and Disney Interactive Media Group. Transition is now underway to Carat.”
 
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Contact :

Barb Matheson
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada
Barb.matheson@disney.com
416.204.7206

In the market research division, David Béland, Director of DeepBlue, a consumer insight consulting Aegis Media agency, welcomes Élodie Maillard (formerly at Lagardère Publicité, Paris) as Media Analyst, DeepBlue. Finally, Diane Patenaude, Creativity & Sponsorship Director and Event Communication Leader, announces the appointment of Nadine Azer (formerly Media Buyer, Carat) as Creativity and Sponsorship Consultant, Carat, and Claudia Gervais (formerly at the Montreal Impact) as Account Supervisor, Velocity, an agency specialized in event management and public relations.

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Further information:
Claudia Gervais, Velocity, 514-284-8465, claudia.gervais@teamvelocity.com

– 11,000 Canadians Surveyed on Media Consumption in their Daily Lives -

TORONTO, ON, November 24, 2010 – Aegis Media and its media buying agencies Vizeum and Carat Canada today released some of the findings from its Consumer Connection Study (CCS), which delivers a far better understanding of Canadian consumer’s communication behaviours.

The largest media receptivity study in Canadian history explored 70 different media touch points, asking 11,000 respondents (8,000 English and 3,000 French) on how, when and why they consume media in their daily lives. Most interestingly, it turns out Canadians are far more receptive to advertising in various forms than previously believed.

“We were surprised by how much this study bucked the traditional belief that people, especially younger adults were tuning out advertising,” explained Jennifer Clark, Vice President of Consumer Insights for Aegis Media Canada. “Whether we like it or not, consumer advertising is a part of our common culture. This study gives us a better understanding into how we consume media.”

Caroline Gianias, SVP, Director of Media Services Aegis Media & Managing Director of Carat Toronto added, “So, for example, advertisers who want to reach younger adults need to find ways to provide interest, entertainment and most importantly, useful content.”

Going well beyond standard media usage data, CCS drills down deeper to examine consumer segmentation, media usage, channel planning, media involvement, attitudes to advertising, social media segmentation, brand loyalty and a “Day in the Life” of specific types of consumers.

“The fact is most marketers today are working with consumer data that only tells a small part of the story and has them guessing on how best to reach their audience,” said Annette Warring, COO of Vizeum Canada. “This study takes us to a new level of understanding of the Canadian consumer and will allow advertisers to engage people when they want to have a conversation.”

While marketers may know that young people are highly involved in social networking, CCS quantifies the need to integrate campaigns through a variety of marketing channels (including social media). Some of the most interesting data points include:

• 38 per cent of 18-24 year olds find ads on TV interesting as they give them something to talk about. In fact, 18-24’s are 17 per cent more likely to agree with this statement than all respondents.

• 40 per cent of 15-34’s will search for more information on the Internet after seeing something interesting on TV (15 per cent more likely than all respondents).

• 28 per cent of 15-17s agree that online ads can improve the way they perceive a brand and they are 58 per cent more likely to agree that online advertising can increase their purchase intention.

• 18-24s are 89 per cent more likely to have used their cell to interact with a digital billboard if the ad is interesting.

• 61 per cent of 18-24s visit Facebook, but only 13 per cent visit Twitter at least once a week.

• 18-24’s openly declare their interests and are 87 per cent more likely to become a fan of a brand/TV show/film/celebrity.

The study goes much deeper and has been rolled out globally in 30 countries to over 180,000 respondents. The data is proprietary to Aegis Media and its clients which include adidas, Alberto Culver, Black & Decker, Corbys, Kohler, Mattel, Nokia, Panasonic, P&G, RONA, Sobeys, Subway and many more.

About Aegis Group plc:
Aegis Group plc is one of the world’s fastest growing independent marketing communications groups. It operates in media communications with Aegis Media, which includes Carat, Vizeum, Posterscrope, Isobar and iProspect. Aegis is listed on the London Stock Exchange. More information can be found at: www.aegisplc.com.

About Carat:
Carat (www.carat.com) is a global independent media communications network, with over 100 offices in over 80 countries. As part of the Aegis Group plc, Carat provides a full range of services – including media and market research; communications planning; media planning and buying; multicultural communications; corporate trade; branded entertainment; direct and digital marketing; experiential and sponsorship services; and marketing analytics and consulting.

About Vizeum:
Vizeum (www.vizeum.com) is an independent media network and part of the Aegis Group plc. Launched in June 2003, Vizeum has more than 61 offices in 50 countries globally. Vizeum challenges conventional media thinking by combining an understanding of consumer motivation with profound media expertise to create stronger connections between brand and consumer.

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Contact:

Andrew Findlater
SELECT Public Relations
afindlater@selectpr.cal
(416) 659-1197

The accessibility of digital platforms dramatically changes how media is handled:

• Mass media become less efficient as consumers gain greater access to a wider variety of media
• Mass audiences migrate towards greater and more specific targets
• The consumer now decides when to listen to a given message as the media increasingly lose this power

As the revolution gathers pace, the traditional mass media and message driven approach delivers less for more.

Exclusive to Carat, the ICP planning process takes us down a path towards a new way of thinking and navigates us through a more complex media landscape.

The purpose of the Integrated Communications Planning framework is to help us develop consumer led, digitally ahead communications programs with a measurable impact on our clients’ business.

The consumer is at the heart of our experts’ strategic thinking process for each and every client.

Integration and specialisation is the way we achieve a strong strategic plan, brilliantly executed on the ground.

The ICP process is designed to be used by our client teams and it also enables our specialists in strategic media planning; media execution and planning; digital strategy; social media; sponsorship and media creativity; event marketing and public relations; branded content; sustainable development; and consumer insight, to contribute to the thinking process to better integrate our clients’ communications planning.

Montreal, October 28 – Carat announces new hires to its interactive and strategic planning teams. Geneviève Guay, Director, Carat Interactive, appoints Emmanuelle Rougeot as project manager, and Michèle Savard, Vice President, Communication Planning, announces the appointment of Pierre-Olivier Brault and Florent Halbout, both as Assistant Media Planners, Communications, Carat.

Further information:

Michèle Savard, Carat, 514-284-4537, michele.savard@carat.com

Geneviève Guay, Carat, 514-284-8425, genevieve.guay@carat.com