Four Years Falls Fast at Niagara Parks

Oh... So that's what it's like to spend four years working in a mansion that overlooks Niagara Falls.

Last month marked four years since coming to Niagara Parks as Senior Manager of Marketing, overseeing all branding, marketing strategy and communications, Travel Media and Influencer Relations, and so much more. With so much done, so much to do, and still more to go, time has totally flown by.

I came to Niagara Parks in 2014 after spending two and a half years as a Marketing Communications Specialist at Factor[e] Design Initiative (now Parallel).  Between the people, beer Fridays and office dogs, I loved my time at Factor[e] but as I came up on two years I was starting to think about how to move my career forward.

Also, as anyone who has worked agency-side can attest, and especially as someone who likes to be purpose-driven in their job, the fleeting nature of projects, spontaneous starting and stopping, a lack of creative control, can begin to wear away at enthusiasm, no matter how much you enjoy the place. 

Our 102 year old Whirlpool Aero Car.

So here was this job with a Provincial Agency, a sibling to the ROM, the AGO, the RBG and more. Here was a brand that had existed without a comprehensively flushed out identity since 1885, and boasted culinary, heritage, golf, retail, gardens and attractions experiences, with a large-scale brand redevelopment project as the most immediate task under this job’s portfolio.
A brand that represented one of Canada’s foremost travel destinations, with one of the world’s foremost natural wonders, with the ability to build a team and operate like an internal agency.

Essentially, it was 56 km, outdoor adventure museum, and we would get to head the project that redeveloped its identity and told its stories in a naturally and culturally authentic way. One that would likely contrast most people’s memories of the area, no matter how fond.

Imagine being tasked with reinventing the identity of Banff, or the Grand Canyon, or any international landmark. In fact, a common candid refrain of the marketing team when talking about how to truly position this international landmark with the respect it deserves was/is “WWETD?: What Would the Eiffel Tower Do?”

This was exactly what we were being tasked with. No matter what perception you have of Niagara as a region, or the falls specifically, this is one of Canada's foremost travel destinations.  It was now our duty to reinvent its brand, and position it in among these international treasures. Moreover, to make it distinctly different from either lasting impressions or existing perceptions of the areas that are distinctly not Niagara Parks (i.e. Clifton Hill, wax museums, etc.). To make sure that as many people's first true touchpoint with Canada, it represented that true north nature, culture, and experience in an authentic and exciting way.

Namaste Niagara at our Journey Behind the Falls attraction.

Across that time we’ve tackled, developed, or launched anything from the three year Brand Redevelopment Project (with support from the awesome Scott Thornley + Company), health and wellness series like Namaste Niagara, concert series like the Polaris Prize supported Niagara Stage, revitalized focus on digital marketing, enhanced travel media and influencer outreach programs, and as part of the broader Niagara Parks team, amazing culinary initiatives, new heritage stories better detailing narratives of diverse identities, national and international campaigns.

As a team (whether the extremely talented marketing team or the broader Niagara Parks team) we've had some amazing successes and innovative projects across that time, including:

• Substantial increases in visitation and revenue (we are a self-sustaining agency)
• Massive increases in digital community engagement (in 2014, Niagara Parks had approximately 10,000 likes on it’s Facebook page, less on Twitter, and no Instagram. We are now the regional social leader in travel/tourism, and among the top ten in Canada, and through our strategies have seen huge growth of over 2000% on our Facebook page, now standing at 270K likes with fantastic content and engagement all produced in-house)
• Enhancements in experiences we provide which have lead to provincial and national award recognition
• Comprehensive refocusing on local stories, from the culinary experience in our Feast On certified full-service restaurants (currently nominated for the Ontario Culinary Tourism Leadership Award), to Audubon certified golf courses, to the unique diversity in historical stories in the region, whether related to indigenous culture, European colonization, Underground Railroad, and more 
• Comprehensive wayfinding project updating all signage across our 56 km
• Extensive web-development (with support from Cinnamon Toast) and e-commerce work that has drastically enhanced our online presence and sales
• Working with the renowned Polaris Music Prize on a summer concert series, the Niagara Stage, that showcases the diversity of Canadian talent and identities
• Niagara Never Stops - a Niagara pride brand of apparel, produced by Niagara Parks with proceeds going to horticultural conservation work
• Draft Public Art Policy and initiated public gallery and large-scale art installation pilot projects
• Unique Travel Media programs like Culinary Crawls and Buffer Festival excursion days
• Compilation of an inventive Three Year Sales and Marketing Plan inclusive of individual Annual Plans
• Our beautifully in-house designed annual Visitor Guide
• And so much more with so much yet to come...

And that's exactly it, there is so much done, and never not something to do. As I look ahead to the next year I already see even bigger more exciting projects on the horizon, including large-scale infrastructure and development initiatives. As I start my fifth year and think about the future of my career, whether here or beyond, I know the experiences provided by Niagara Parks, whether marketing, strategic, natural, cultural, or culinary related, have contributed to my professional development, skills, and vision in a way I could never have predicted.

Cheers to four years!

The Darcy's, warming up for their Niagara Stage concert on Canada Day 2018.

Facebook is Doing Just Fine

This article, titled "Facebook is Doing Just Fine," I wrote for the FACTOR[e] On The Floor blog.  It was published on February 12th, 2014.

We consistently underestimate Facebook.  We underestimate how much it has, and continues to, change communication, society, and indeed, the world.  Moreover, we continue to underestimate its performance, identity, and future as a company.

I have written before on my skin-crawling revulsion for people’s claims of Facebook’s decline, or premature declaration of death.  It.  Is.  Always.  Bunk.  

It is the social media reporter/researcher’s equivalent of being the “boy who cried wolf.”  It is grandiose, and attention-seeking.  And as I advised in the piece in which I decried this phenomenon, this sort of prediction is typically made by someone whose skills and expertise are also bunk.

Shockingly, in mid-January, Princeton University also joined this canon of misguided critics, by releasing a scathing study stating that Facebook will lose 80% of its users by 2017.  As a result, for at least the next 48 hours that followed, anyone who wanted to baselessly appease an audience was more than happy to report it as a valid headline (I watched, disappointed, oatmeal bowl in hand, as CBC Newsworld broke the story first thing in the morning). 

I will not go into why the study was flawed.  Particularly when Facebook did it better than anyone could by using the same mistaken methodology to prove that by 2021, Princeton would lose 100% of its students.  Suffice to say, Princeton was wrong.  

However, being the venerated Ivy League institution that they are, they can be forgiven.  They are not the first, and will definitely not be the last to make such a claim.  And for those who would like to in the future, I would like to offer a couple contemplative points of consideration on the social network’s past, present, and future.  My hope is that perhaps this will give pause before one decides to ring the old Facebook death knell.  

Past 

Mark Zuckerberg had no vision.  

Now this is not a jab at him, it is just me being sensational.  What I mean is that Zuckerberg had no idea of the greater significance of what he made, when he made it, and particularly its implications and the potential for what it could become, whether in communication, business, tech, politics, or society.  

Really, who could?  It would be like expecting the inventor of the wheel (or at least a medieval wagon-maker) to be able envision a combustion engine.  

Certainly he has greater vision now, but remember that this also due to the multitude of brilliance that surrounds him, is employed by the company, and is driven by the very fact that Facebook is a social endeavour that, by and large, the world has bought into, participates in, builds, and guides on its way.  

So, to those considering making a claim on its longevity, remember that Zuckerberg beat you to it, and he has since proven himself wrong.

Present

Ironically, while facing the claims of decline, or losing 80% of its users by 2017, in late January Facebook still pulled in record numbers (stocks at an all-time high, $2.6bil revenue, and continued overall growth).  Although traditional business metrics may not be the most accurate representation of a company’s future, they certainly present a position that is difficult to argue with.

Additionally, a frequent claim is that despite its continued increase in users, Facebook is declining in popularity among youth, particularly teens.  This is true, but as Mashable reports, it is also levelling off.

Moreover, this points to Facebook’s adaptability.  It is always worthwhile to note that while Facebook is trailblazing, it was not a trailblazer.  It asserted itself because it was able to read the failings of companies that came before it.  As a result of that foresight (derived from other’s hindsight), and now given its current size and resources, it is able to read, grow, and evolve from its own mistakes. 

In regards to the youth, and services that they may be going towards. Sure, SnapChat, and WhatsApp exist, but they are merely components of the broader services that Facebook does, can, and could provide.  If anything, what they expose to Facebook are merely gaps to fill, and when they cannot fill them by acquiring them outright (as Facebook did with Instagram, and has tried with SnapChat), they can just look to provide a similar service that renders the "offender" all but irrelevant (as Facebook did with FourSquare).

Future 

I really don’t know where to begin here, and could go on for days.  

So let’s say, Warren Buffet.

Warren Buffet will not buy into Facebook, because for him, simply put, it is “unproven.”

However, that’s also the key to why Facebook will not decline, because it simply can’t be proven.  Being the leader in an industry that both shapes, and is directly shaped by human interaction and behaviour, makes you less a business than it does a living, breathing, evolving organism.

Facebook has shown this capacity to evolve, moreover, that this capacity is born out of the participation of people worldwide, the production of content, the creation of data, and the desire to share.  Original iterations of the site recalled platforms popular among youth of the day (MSN chat, ICQ, email), on mediums that were equally as popular (desktop PCs, laptops).  Now, we already see Facebook moving to encompass current communication trends (focused circles, privacy), and on prevailing mediums (mobile).  

Facebook is a company, but it is also an entity, much like Google, it is something that cannot be defined (i.e. Google is NOT a search engine), as such, is incredibly difficult to identify as a “prudent investment” by traditional financial means.

More importantly, Facebook is not “social media,” and for that matter, neither is social media a “thing.”  We need to stop thinking this way, Facebook IS social, and social media IS human communication.