“Pattison Outdoor Advertising is proud to be an industry leader,

and we work hard to stay ahead of the curve so that we can always deliver state of the art products, while being ever conscious of improving our ecological footprint,” says Nicoletta McDonald, director of sales for Cal-gary and southern Alberta. “We are constantly working with our partners at Calgary Transit and the Calgary Airport Authority to create new and beautiful products using mobile and interactive technologies integrated with our static and digital products that will deliver truly groundbreaking advertising solutions for our clients.”

Pattison Outdoor’s products include everything from billboards and transit advertising to speciality niche products such as vinyl appliques and digital advertising networks.

The company has 25 sales offices in cities across Canada, and with the parent company, Jim Pattison Group of Companies, supporting Pattison Outdoor, company leaders are able to explore technologies that are changing the nature of outdoor advertising.

For example, Pattison Outdoor has been the principal supporter and champion of the unique arts and

culture initiative, Art in Transit, for the last seven years.

The only program of its kind in North America, Art in Transit transforms public spaces through arts and cultural programming and has featured more than 60 projects within Toronto and across the Canada giving millions of Canadians the opportu-nity to engage with contemporary art and culture in public spaces across the country.

“Vision is critical,” says McDonald. “You need to know where you are going and what you want that future to look like.”

She also says embracing risk has been critical in the firm’s past success and will continue to be in the future.

“Nothing great is ever achieved without risk,” she says. “We believe it’s important to be constantly innovating and changing and there is risk in that, but if you have good support behind you, conviction and a clear vision, you can be willing to fail and learn from it.”

She says the goal for Pattison is to continue to grow and innovate add-ing new inventory, partnerships and technologies.

“We are focused on growing our

market share and continuing to develop our products so that we can provide the best choices for our clients.” She says, “For example, the upcoming new terminal at the Cal-gary International Airport is going to be a stunning world class facility and will be a showcase for state of the art advertising. ”

McDonald says that while Pattison Outdoor is the largest out-of-home provider in Canada, the company is

very focused on local markets. “Calgary-based businesses are who

we serve and it’s imperative that we understand the needs and chal-lenges that our local clients face,” she says. “Calgary Economic Develop-ment helps us do that by providing invaluable information on Calgary’s growth and prosperity CED keeps us connected and tuned in to what’s happening on the Calgary business landscape.”

Focus on LeadershipA s p e c i A l s e r i e s o n cA l g A ry’s b u s i n e s s v i s i o n A r i e s

A sponsor-content publ icat ion of the Calgary Herald in par tnership with Calgary Economic Development

Pattison is transforming the way audiences engage with advertising in their daily lives outside their homes

This sponsor content was developed by the Calgary Herald’s Special Projects Department in collaboration with Calgary Economic Development for commercial purposes.

Last year, Enbridge Inc.’s enterprise-wide community investment reached

$14 million, and the company provided support to more than 750 charitable, non-profit and community organizations.

“We believe investing in our com-munities is an essential part of being a good neighbour and is a contributing factor in maintaining our social license to operate,” says Brent Poohkay, vice-president & chief information officer, chief privacy officer and rider ambassador with Enbridge. “We focus on support-ing organizations that contribute to the economic and social development of the communities where we live and work.”

Of course, with so many needs, it is essential to develop a strategic and sensi-tive approach to allocating support.

“Our perspective is holistic,” says Pooh-kay. “During the past decade, Enbridge has invested more than $50 million in a diverse spectrum of initiatives aimed at strengthening our communities.”

Enbridge structures community investments around three focus areas – community, wellbeing and environment. Community investments contribute to social, cultural and education enrich-ment; wellbeing investments contribute to safety, physical health and disaster relief;

and environment investments contribute to environmental stewardship, energy conservation and awareness.

“At Enbridge, we believe a community belongs to everyone who lives there,” says Poohkay. “And no matter who we are or where we live, all of us want to make life better for our families, our friends, our neighbours and ourselves. We want to make our communities, safer, healthier, smarter, greener and more inspiring. It’s part of our responsibility as a member of the community.”

The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is an example of how the company lives out its corporate values in the community.

The two-day, 200-km cycling event is hosted in provinces across Canada to raise money for cancer research, and since its inception, it has raised more than $220 million for cancer research, treatment and care.

Enbridge first sponsored the Ride in 2010, and is now a title sponsor of the Alberta, Ontario and Quebec legs of the ride.

“Like everyone, as employees we worry about illness, how we’ll cope and who will be there for us,” says Poohkay. “And just like everyone else, we also want to see a cure in our lifetime.”

The pipeline company is also a conduit for community investment

The Sketching the Line exhibit captivated international travelers at the Calgary International Airport as well as some commuters last spring.

An international exhibition of 78 sketches drawn by 13 artists from around the globe featured brief impressions of fellow commuters on Pattison Onestop’s digital screens in Toronto subway stations, the Edmonton LRT and the Calgary Airport. The exhibit also featured a special series of drawings of the Alberta Prairies as experienced during a daily car commute on a Calgary north digital billboard.

Sketching the Line was part of Pattison’s ongoing Art in Transit program.

“Exhibiting sketches of commuters, by commuters, in the environment where they were made reminds us that we are not anonymous or invisible when we move through public space, and that the constant sea of humanity around us is actually made up of individuals,” said Sharon Switzer, national arts programmer and curator at Pattison Onestop.

AT A GLANCE

Sometimes leading means taking risks and sometimes it means transferring

risk.For example, for decades it has been

standard practice in the banking industry to require a personal guarantee from customers for business loans.

The guarantees allow the lender to claim personal assets if a customer is unable to repay the loan.

This meant small business people were often putting everything on the line, including their homes, for their businesses.

“We are saying, ‘no more’ to that practice and are returning personal guarantees to thousands of ATB customers across the province,” says Wellington Holbrook, ATB’s executive vice-president of business and agriculture. “Just because something has always been done one way does not mean it always should be. You have to be willing to change even if no one else is doing it. That’s what being a leader is about.”

ATB is working with existing busi-ness customers with loans of more than $250,000 to review their portfolios and potentially have their personal guarantees returned or significantly reduced, and in most cases, new business clients won’t be asked to provide a traditional 100 per cent personal guarantee for those loans.

“You need people who believe in you, believe in your vision and are there to help you along the way,” says Holbrook. “This is one of the ways we can say to our business clients, ‘We believe in you.’”

Holbrook says connecting with Alber-tans, understanding and anticipating their

needs and concerns and being preoccupied with the wellbeing of clients has always been what sets ATB apart.

“We’re unique because not only do we serve Alberta, and only Alberta, but also because we have a dream, and it’s quite sincere, that we can change the world for people by putting them first,” says Holbrook. “One of the ways we are trying to do that is by reducing stress for small business owners and addressing some of the stuff that keeps them up at night.”

ATB Financial is also making efforts to ensure that Albertans, including entre-preneurs, are armed with the information they need to make good decisions for their futures.

ATB is releasing a regular economic forecast specific to Alberta, and its eco-nomics team is now making its quarterly forecasts, which were originally created to provide ATB team members greater insight into the province’s economic condi-tions, public.

“The more voices adding to the range of economic forecasts, the richer our understanding of the risks and opportuni-ties that lie ahead,” says Todd Hirsch, chief economist at ATB Financial.

ATB is also keenly interested in working with partners like Calgary Economic Development that share the institution’s vision for the future of the province.

“Calgary Economic Development is out there doing great work to promote Calgary, and we know that when Alberta business succeeds, we all succeed,” says Holbrook. “That’s why we do what we do.”

Leading change for small business owners

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“You need people who believe in you, believe in your vision and are there to help you along the way,”

— Wellington Holbrook, ATB

ThE ENbridGE ridE To CoNquEr CANCEr bY ThE NuMbErS

◆ The 2013 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer brought 8,463 cyclists together to raise more than $32.9 million to fight cancer across Canada.

◆ Since its inception in 2008, the Ride has raised more than $220 million to support world-renowned local beneficiaries across Canada.

◆ About 300 Enbridge employees, friends and family members raised more than $1 million in support of cancer research.

◆ More than 160 of Enbridge employees, family members and friends also participated as volunteers.

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“We believe investing in our communities is an essential part of being a good neighbour and is a contributing factor in maintaining our social license to operate.”

— Brent Poohkay, Enbridge

— Photos: Wil Andruschak

Nicoletta McDonald, director of sales.