Thomas Cook ready to PUNCH out in 2010

Great news! PUNCH Canada has been named Agency of Record for Thomas Cook Canada solidifying its position as THE travel and leisure Marketing Communications firm.

Thomas Cook ready to PUNCH out in 2010

Thomas Cook has named Punch Canada its agency of record, ending its seven-year relationship with Brainstorm Group.

The company began an agency review last autumn when it altered its vendor policy, making it necessary to regularly review third-party relationships. Brainstorm was invited to defend the account along with Punch and three other unnamed agencies.

Paul Larcher, senior director of marketing for the travel brand, said he was "perfectly happy" with Brainstorm, but ultimately opted for Punch.

"We were immediately drawn to the energy and creative thinking that Punch demonstrated in the selection process," Larcher said. "The agency has strong travel credentials and they made the connection between creative ideas and strategic thinking that we were looking for."

Punch has done work for Emirates airlines and managed the "It’s Better In the Bahamas" campaign.

During the review process, Punch was assigned a separate project organizing a media event for Thomas Cook’s newly launched travel insurance services.

"We kept it separate from the RFP," Larcher said. "Perhaps in going through that process, it did give us a little insight into their agency and more confidence in selecting them."

Larcher initially invited Punch to the review because of an existing business relationship with Erin McNeill, the agency’s vice-president, group accounts.

"I left [Thomas Cook] in 2000 for six years, and while I was away I worked [at Echo Advertising] with Erin," Larcher said. "I had heard she was at Punch, and knew they did work in our category, so I contacted them."

Thomas Cook has a 14-member internal marketing team that handles most of the creative, media buying and public relations work across its multiple brands. (The company’s consumer-facing brands include Sunquest and ALBATours, while its business-to-business ventures include Fun Sun Vacations, Encore CruiseEscapes and The Wholesale Travel Group, among others.)

Punch will "augment" the internal team’s work, handling overflow as well as consulting on long-term strategy and advertising plans and serving as an events and public relations team.

Punch is currently working on two assignments for 2010.

The Out Islands of The Bahamas

Check out the latest slide show from TripAtlas.com profiling the beauty and splendor of The Bahamas Out Islands. Featured are Bimini, Andros and Long Island. Gorgeous weather included.

From the melting pot into the fire

I just returned from the media preview for From the Melting Pot into the Fire at the Gardiner Museum and it is -- in a word -- extraordinary.

The exhibition of conceptual work by Israeli ceramic artists that explores the issues of land, identity and home in contemporary Israel. The exhibition does not endorse any single political, social or artistic point of view. Instead, visitors are encouraged to reflect on the work and form their own opinions about the issues it raises. Notably, the labels that accompany each work, usually written by an exhibition curator, were written by the artist and provide an intensely personal response to the complex issues addressed.

The intimate and personal nature of this exhibition provides visitors with an individual rather than a political perspective of the issues that have and continue to shape life in contemporary Israel.

From the Melting Pot into the Fire has its origins in the Fourth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics that was organized by the Ceramic Artists Association of Israel (CAAI) and hosted by the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv in 2007. (The CAAI is a non-governmental, non-profit professional organization that supports ceramic artists in Israel.)

Yael Novak from the Ceramics Artists Association of Israel acted as that group’s curatorial liaison to the Gardiner Museum, and was on hand this morning. She recounted beautiful, intimate and sometimes sad stories about the pieces. Here is her piece below.



She has created the Israeli landscape with her pottery, using negative space as well.

I was also drawn to Avner Singer and Varda Bar Shamai's The Building Blocks of Memory / Monument for the Hebrew Language. There are 30 cubes: 27x27x27 cm each. I wasn't aware that the Hebrew language wasn't a spoken language until relatively recently -- about 200 years.




I found the whole experience moving. Perhaps it was because of Yael's personal tour... Regardless, From the Melting Pot will surely encourage discussion and maybe get you to think of ceramics a bit differently.

IT’S ALL CHILD’S PLAY AT THE GARDINER MUSEUM IN 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IT’S ALL CHILD’S PLAY AT THE GARDINER MUSEUM IN 2010

TORONTO (January 7, 2009) – The Gardiner Museum invites children and families to unearth their artistic muses at one of the museum’s exciting array of kid-friendly camps, classes or special events in 2010.

2010 Winter and Spring Clay Classes
Under the guidance of the Gardiner Museum’s education team, children registered in one of the two-month clay classes can create water fountains, birdhouses, balcony and patio pots to enhance their outdoor space. Register soon – these classes fill up quickly.
• Saturday Winter Kids Clay Classes
$200/$170 for Gardiner members’ children and grandchildren
January 9 to February 27, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Saturday Spring Kids Clay Classes
$200/$170 for Gardiner members’ children and grandchildren
April 24 to June 12, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

March Break at the Gardiner Museum
Every day during March Break (March 15 to 19), from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., kids can keep busy at the Gardiner Museum with crafts and scavenger hunts. Kids can make a family tree, find the hidden rabbit and enjoy a visit to the Gardiner Museum. These programs are free with the price of adult admission and children must be accompanied by an adult. As always, children 12 and under are free.

March Break Clay Camps
Kids can get their hands dirty at the Gardiner Museum’s March Break Clay Camp. This half-day camp is a fun, active way to learn about art and human history. They explore the museum’s permanent collection and special exhibits with a hands-on clay experience. The camp runs March 15 to 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and costs $250 ($215 for Gardiner members’ children and grandchildren).

Family Days
On the second Sunday of every month (with the exception of Easter), the Gardiner Museum will host Family Days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extra fun with hands-on crafts, scavenger hunts and more. The schedule is as follows:
• January 10: In conjunction with the exhibition Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey and the Medallic Art Society of Canada display in the lobby, children will make their own big badges, for themselves and for their deserving friends and families.
• February 14: Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year! Make dragons and Valentines and enjoy fortune cookies and chocolate!
• March 14: In conjunction with the exhibition, Family Matters: Love, Marriage and Maiolica in the Italian Renaissance, children can learn how to make their own paper and pipe-cleaner family trees of life!
• April 4: Easter Sunday chocolate egg-hunt through the Museum. Paper crafts and music!
• May 9: Make special presents for mothers and grandmothers on Mother’s Day. Create and decorate a frame for a photo taken on the spot.

Also, on January 23 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Gardiner Museum welcomes guests to The Kaleidoscope of Tea at the Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street West). The Orient Dance Company will perform traditional Chinese dances at the Isabel Bader Theatre followed by a light buffet dinner at the Gardiner Museum’s Terrace Room. This special family event will cost $30 for adults, $15 for children under 12.

The Gardiner Museum continues to host its Drop-in Clay Studio, Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Suitable for clay enthusiasts of all levels, this drop-in clay studio allows you to try various techniques in a studio setting. Two professional ceramic artists are on hand to guide you. Costs are: $10 for adults / $8 for Gardiner Members, seniors and full-time students / $5 for children 12 & under / $5 firing fee (per piece). Studio enrolment is limited to 40 participants per class.

Registration for all Gardiner Museum events can be done online (www.gardinermuseum.com) or by telephoning the Gardiner Museum at 416.586.8080.

Finally, post-secondary students receive free admission every Tuesday (with valid ID).

ABOUT THE GARDINER MUSEUM
The Gardiner Museum offers an intimate look at one of the world’s oldest and most universal art forms -- ceramics. The collection spans continents and time, giving a glimpse into the development of ceramic processes, decoration and form. Year-round the Museum mounts special exhibitions, events, lectures and clay classes to complement its permanent collection.

The Museum also features a café that serves delicious local fare prepared by Jamie Kennedy Kitchens as its executive chef, and the Gardiner Shop, which specializes in artist-designed, artist-made merchandise. More information about the museum and its exhibitions can be found online at www.gardinermuseum.com

Members of the media can register to access the Gardiner Museum’s online media room (www.gardinermuseum.com/mediaroom) where they may review and download images and additional media materials.

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For more information, contact:

Mary-Margaret Jones
PUNCH
416.360.6522 ext. 241
marymargaret@punchcanada.com

Danna Barak
PUNCH
416.360.6522 ext. 240
danna@punchcanada.com

The Total Wedding Show Kicks off the 2010 Wedding Season

Toronto’s biggest show features everything bridal

December 17, 2009 – Toronto, ON – Brides-to-be, excited mothers and even bridal parties can kick start their wedding planning this year with the city’s BIGGEST bridal show, The Total Wedding Show.

Taking place January 2^nd and 3^rd, The Total Wedding Show features more than 350 exhibits featuring the best wedding merchants and service providers in Canada. The show is the best place for brides and grooms to be to say, “I do” to the perfect tuxedo, DJ and décor.

Bright eyed brides will say yes to the perfect dress as the top gowns for 2010 are featured in daily fashion shows. Hunting for the perfect frock is easy at the Total Wedding Show with this year’s collection of gowns the biggest to date. The selection is so extensive that Ballatt’s Bridal Outlet will be giving away a free bridal gown every hour, on the hour, for the duration of the show.

The Total Wedding Show features informative vendors eager to help brides choose that great band, select the perfect honeymoon location or avoid stress on the big day. Bridal Bootcamp classes can whip bridal parties into shape, with the latest tricks of the trade for getting those picture perfect silhouettes.

The Total Wedding Show has anything and everything you could need to plan any type of wedding, from a lavish Cinderella affair to a quiet destination wedding. The show is the first stop and the total experience for all things wedding.

What:

The Total Wedding Show

Date/Time:

Saturday, January 2, 2010 – 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 3, 2010 – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Where:

International Centre

6900 Airport Road

Mississauga, ON

(Hall 5 Entrance)

Cost: At the door: $15 (cash only)

Children under 12 years: FREE with an adult

* Parking is FREE

Website: www.totalweddingshow.com

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Media contact for The Total Wedding Show:

Danna Barak

T : 416-360-6522 ext. 240

M : 647-261- 0644

E: danna@punchcanada.com

Football fans set to have a ball with Emirates' fan-tastic 2010 FIFA World Cup™ packages

TORONTO – December 16 – An unforgettable sporting experience of a lifetime awaits Canadian football fans, following today’s launch of Emirates’ 2010 FIFA World Cup™ travel packages.

As an Official Tour Operator for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa, Emirates, is offering a number of tailor-made travel packages that include flights, accommodation, ground transportation and match tickets.

The award-winning airline also unveiled its unique ‘follow-your-team’ component of the tour package, which is testament to the airline’s commitment to the beautiful game and its followers. Emirates packages guarantee fans gold-dust tickets for each of their team’s matches, right up to the final on July11th.

Canadians can book a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ package inclusive of match tickets by selecting the team they want to follow and a hotel in South Africa. Emirates will fly you there, transport you to your hotel and provide transfers to and from the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ stadiums.
“We are pleased to offer our first-class expertise in travel services to football fans in Canada and around the world,” said Mary Heron, Manager Canada, Emirates airline. “To support your team at a World Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many supporters and we aim to make sure it is an unforgettable experience for them.”

Canadians will travel from Toronto aboard the Emirates A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft to Dubai then connect on one of five daily flights into South Africa, with the options of travelling to Johannesburg, which hosts 15 matches including the opening match and final; Cape Town, host city of eight matches and Durban, which is home to seven FIFA World Cup™ matches.

In Canada, Emirates Travel Packages to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa will be exclusively distributed through MYESCAPADES.ca.

Thierry Weil, FIFA Director Marketing Division, said: “At FIFA we are confident that our partner Emirates will offer FIFA World Cup™ fans with the perfect travel solution to be in South Africa to support their team.

“The FIFA World Cup™, which kicks off at South Africa’s Soccer City Stadium in 177 days time, is one event that should not be missed and there is surely no better way that to travel to the tournament than enjoying the world class hospitality and service on board Emirates.”

Emirates’ partnership with FIFA began at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ when it became the first airline to be a sponsor of the prestigious sporting event. Following on from the success of the tournament in Germany, Emirates then cemented its status as an Official FIFA Partner up to and including the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.

For more information on booking your dream ticket to the ultimate sporting extravaganza, visit emirates.com/fifa or emirates.com/ca.

Top 10 Beaches in the Bahamas -

We at PUNCH know some of the best beaches in the world are found in the beautiful Islands Of The Bahamas. Turns out, we’re not alone. Check out Canoe.ca as they showcase some of the top beaches on The Bahamas…pink and white bleached sand and gin-clear waters included.

http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/Caribbean/Microgalleries/bahamasbeaches/