Following a request for proposals issued by Hydro-Québec to major web agencies in Quebec, w.illi.am/ has been selected to deliver professional design services and to produce web communication products. All of w.illi.am/’s areas of expertise will go into guiding this new partner. The company’s digital strategy, interactive marketing, social media, user experience, design and technology production services will all have a hand in projects for the public corporation.

“The entire w.illi.am/ family will be very much involved in this adventure,” said Matyas Gabor, Vice-President of Consulting at w.illi.am/. “Being the digital partner to the largest organizations in the country is one thing, but collaborating on promoting sustainable development and helping build the Quebec of tomorrow is what excites our teams.”

Hydro-Québec is a flagship of the Quebec economy and an international leader in research and production of renewable energy. “Through this new agreement, w.illi.am/ continues to demonstrate its leadership in developing and executing customized digital strategies,” concluded Damien Lefebvre, Co-president at w.illi.am/.

w.illi.am/ has moved to another stage in the growth it has been experiencing since its creation with two new appointments: Mike De Luca and Matyas Gabor have both been promoted to Vice-President, Consulting.

“w.illi.am/ is constantly growing, so we have had to adapt its structure,” Damien Lefebvre, Co-president, said. “My and Annie Levesque’s appointments left an operational level on the management team that had to be reinforced.”

Annie Levesque, Co-president, added: “We are very happy and proud to increase Matyas’ and Mike’s role in working with us to drive w.illi.am/ toward new objectives. They are talented and visionary strategists and managers who have been a big part of w.illi.am/’s success.”

The two new Vice-Presidents of Consulting each have over 10 years of experience in the digital realm, Matyas Gabor in marketing, interactive marketing and consulting, and Mike De Luca in creation, design and consulting. In addition to leading their respective teams, they will work closely with Damien Lefebvre on the company’s expansion in the rest of Canada and internationally.

Matyas Gabor joined w.illi.am/ at its beginnings as Director of Marketing to propel the company’s brand image on the market. According to Annie Levesque, “w.illi.am/ is as strong as it is today in part because of Matyas.” He was also behind the interactive marketing and social media service offerings. He heads up one of the largest teams of experts in strategic consulting in the country, guiding large organizations on these new platforms. In addition to wearing both of these hats, Matyas naturally gravitated toward another role: “Winning new major accounts is no small task, but since joining w.illi.am/, Matyas has created new partnerships with Cascades, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Loto-Québec, Hydro-Québec and others,” Damien Lefebvre said.

“I am just a lucky guy with a dream who is surrounded by talented people,” Matyas Gabor said. “I can wish for nothing more than to work closely with my colleagues at w.illi.am/. We are building a big success, our passion for digital technology regularly infects large organizations and our family continues to assert its innovative approach.”

His motto: First and foremost, dream! And then do it! Improve over and over again! And above all… keep persevering!

Mike De Luca has been with w.illi.am/ for a little over a year as Director of Business Design. His mission was to form a new design team and to develop its service offering. He succeeded in this challenge by bringing the creative department to the next level, with mandates for customers such as Mary Kay (Worldwide), LeRenard, TechnoMedia, Astral Media and Spacial. “Mike has two major assets that he combines admirably and that make him invaluable to a company like w.ili.am/,” Damien Lefebvre said. “In addition to his creative side, he has extensive experience in consulting for large companies.”

His work experience at Publicis, Cesart and Blue have given him a honed understanding of business needs and prompted him to put avant-garde work methods in place in his team: co-creation on projects with other areas of expertise, particularly user experience. The man behind w.illi.am/’s business relationship with Mary Kay, Mike designed and put in place the elements necessary for this large American company to enter a new phase of its growth.

His motto: My goal is to keep working in partnership with our customers and to push innovation and creativity ever further, mandate after mandate.

Biography of Matyas Gabor, Vice-president Consulting, w.illi.am/

With over ten years’ experience in the field, Matyas Gabor is Vice-President, Consulting for the digital consulting and development firm w.illi.am/. He oversees the organization’s activities and develops expertise in strategic consulting and interactive marketing (SEO, SEM and SMM). He helped establish the firm’s reputation in Quebec in less than three years.

Matyas has spent almost four years developing digital strategies for Enterprise 2.0, for customers such as Bombardier, Cascades, Hydro-Québec, Loto-Québec, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Astral, Guerlain and BAnQ. Featured in Marketing Mag, Les Affaires, La Presse, Infopresse, Convergence and Le Lien Multimédia, he is also a regular conference speaker on the topics of innovation, social networks and ROI from interactive communication, in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Matyas is a digital strategist who is passionate about integrating new communication platforms in large organizations. He brings added value to projects that he and his teams are involved in. He combines a honed understanding of new media with creative perfectionism, an accurate vision of marketing issues and an extraordinary store of cultural knowledge. The fourth generation of a family of internationally renowned graphic artists, his sensitivity in creation combined with his determination and sociological understanding allow him to create innovative, high-quality strategic plans. He is a weapon of choice for his clients in marketing their products.

Related links

http://w.illi.am/blog/author/matyas-gabor/
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/matyasgabor
http://twitter.com/matyasgabor
www.slideshare.net/mgabor

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Biography of Mike De Luca, Vice-president Consulting, w.illi.am/

A communication and marketing expert, Mike De Luca is a passionate militant of digital commerce with more than ten years of experience in arts and technology. He is an expert in increasing revenue, creation, development and producing brand marketing and communication strategies to start a conversation with consumers. He manages B2C and B2B efforts in communication and marketing for:

• Making an impact on the visibility, profitability and performance of brands through expert orchestration of marketing efforts and channel management targeting a variety of audiences
• Building strong brands and managing consumer relationships that lead to sales
• Creating top performing teams with the leadership, resources, and motivation to achieve goals
• Implementing advanced analytical and creative problem-solving skills to identify and effectively address business and operational issues

Specialties

Strategic Marketing, Brand Management, Market Research & Analysis, Consumer/B to B/Internal, Supplier Selection & Management, Team Building & Management, Budget Building & Supervision, Offline/Online Marketing, Lead Generation & Management, Push to Purchase, Project Management : Advertising, PR, Promotions, DM, Event/Sponsorship, POP, Media.

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Marco Dodier is proud to announce the appointments of Annie Levesque and Damien Lefebvre as Co-Presidents of w.illi.am/. Following numerous successes since the creation of w.illi.am/ in Montreal and Toronto, the new co-presidents’ responsibilities include ensuring the company’s continued growth and expansion in the Canadian market by leveraging its expertise and seizing new business opportunities.

Annie Levesque and Damien Lefebvre succeed w.illi.am/ founder Dodier, who remains President of w.illi.am/ Group Management Company, as well as Chairman of the board of w.illi.am/.

“We have accomplished an enormous amount of work in recent years and the success of w.illi.am/ is largely attributable to the leadership of Annie and Damien and an extraordinary team,” Dodier said. “I am very proud of this appointment and fortunate to have been able to rely on the work and enthusiasm of these two great champions of the web for more than 10 years now. The dynamism and professionalism that they have instilled in the team will enable us to continue to develop and grow w.illi.am/ in the coming years.”

The two Co-Presidents each have more than a decade of experience in web strategy and development. They previously participated in the success of CESART, one of the fastest-growing companies in the web industry, which was acquired by Bell Canada in 2005. They also contributed to the creation and success of w.illi.am/ with the establishment of offices in Montreal and the acquisition of customers in Toronto, Ottawa, Dallas and Quebec City.

Lefebvre has held several senior positions during his career. He was most recently Executive Vice-President, Consulting Services, until his appointment as Co-President of w.illi.am/. In this role, he will be responsible for commercial activities and new digital services.

“We have been able to differentiate ourselves and provide expertise that meets our clients’ needs and business realities,” he said. “Pursuing our multiplatform business strategy – web, mobile and television – is an important factor for our long-term growth and for the future success of w.illi.am/ here and across the country.”

Levesque has also held several management positions in recent years. Until her appointment as Co-President of w.illi.am/ she served as Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development. In her new position, she will be responsible for company operations.

“The entire w.illi.am/ team is committed to an approach focused on supporting our customers combined with a proven methodology that integrates interdisciplinary digital expertise and the development of innovative solutions that benefit users,” she said.

About w.illi.am/

w.illi.am/ offers digital consulting, development and implementation services. Recognized for its expertise in enriching the user experience, the company has also developed strong capabilities in multiplatform digital marketing solutions as well as website analysis and optimization. Its ability to develop solutions that meet the specific needs of clients and its interdisciplinary approach ensure companies receive top-notch support.

w.illi.am/ is working with prestigious companies on projects that are both varied and exciting. For example, the firm developed the PT6 Nation concept for Pratt & Whitney Canada, a virtual world created using the web and social networks. It is currently revamping the e-commerce and corporate websites of cosmetics giant Mary Kay. w.illi.am/ also produced a content management system for Yahoo that automatically generates flash banners by integrating RSS feeds selected by the administrator. Yellow Pages, among others, selected w.illi.am/ to carry out user tests for its mobile application. Finally, w.illi.am/ experts developed multiplatform interactive communications for Bombardier’s Corporate Social Responsibility report. For more information, visit the website http://w.illi.am/.

w.illi.am/ is owned by Square Victoria Digital Properties Inc.

Printemps w.illi.am/ and Events

On May 19, w.illi.am/ gathered customers, partners and employees for a cocktail party full of colour and flavour celebrating the return of the warm weather.

Over 100 people descended on the company’s offices for Printemps w.illi.am/. It was also an opportunity to introduce a new artist exhibited On w.illi.am/’s walls; in addition to displaying his works, Joël Proulx Bouffard created a happening with an entire evening of works by Jackson Bollock, an articulated arm of his own invention that paints by randomly imitating human movements. 

Thanks to everyone who took part in the celebrations! Take a look at the photos from the event: Album 1 and Album 2. If this is your first visit to the w.illi.am/ Facebook page, don’t forget to Like the page to access its content and be part of the conversation.

In an article about the migration of television toward the Internet, Martine Turenne, journalist for Les Affaires, quoted Damien Lefebvre, w.illi.am/’s Executive Vice-President of Consulting, from his session La révolution de la télé passera par l'expérience numérique (the television revolution via the digital experience) during the Journée Infopresse on new television models.

Matyas Gabor, w.illi.am/’s Director of Marketing and Consulting, was in San Francisco for the fifth edition of Web 2.0 Expo, March 28 to 31. He gives his impressions of this major event in an article that appears on the Infopresse website: Web 2.0 Expo: "Le rendement sur investissement fait figure d'innovation de l'année" (web 2.0 expo: return on investment seen as innovation of the year).

On March 29, w.illi.am/ took part in the Journée Infopresse on public sector communication, which looked at key aspects of communication, crisis management in the era of social media and the advantages of mobility.

Just a few days after the announcement of its purchase by SalesForce, Radian6 held the Radian6 Social 2011 User Conference in Boston. Intended for Radian6 users, the conference is a forum for discussion about social media through sessions and case studies. Matyas Gabor, w.illi.am/’s Director of Marketing and Consulting, led a session entitled From Web Monitoring to Data Driven Strategic Management.

For the 10th edition of Intracom, Jean-François Deschênes, Bombardier Inc.’s Director of Web Strategy, and Matyas Gabor, w.illi.am/’s Director of Marketing and Consulting, jointly led a session entitled “Les 7 jours de la création d'un plan de communication utilisant les médias sociaux” (creating a communication plan using social media in seven days).

The second edition of Infopresse’s RDV_Web brought together more than 700 interactive communication professionals on April 14. In the morning, Matyas Gabor and Anastasia Simitsis, w.illi.am/’s Director of User Experience, offered speed consulting in their areas of expertise. Anastasia Simitsis and Mike de Luca, w.illi.am/’s Director of Business Design, gave a presentation on the importance of interdisciplinarity and how they have instituted it between their departments. We would like to congratulate Mathieu Fortin, the winner of our “Dis ton tweet” contest, who won an iPad 2 for his video that received 390 votes. Videos of six participants generated 6744 total views.

The 10th edition of Webcom Montréal took place on May 11, bringing together professionals in the digital communication and marketing industry. A loyal partner of this major event, w.illi.am/ was in attendance, and Damien Lefebvre, w.illi.am/’s Executive Vice-President of Consulting, gave a presentation on connected marketing and he was trending on Twitter :

Congratulations to the winner of the “Photographie-moi une expérience” contest, Bettina Forget, who won an Apple TV.

Later in the day, w.illi.am/ was at MosaiC/HEC’s 5@8 Créatifs for a presentation by Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto, which looked at the challenges of combining constant creativity and the need for success.

For the first edition of Salon eCom Montréal, held at the Palais des Congrès on May 18, Damien Lefebvre made the presentation Le marketing connecté : la révolution numérique en cours ! (connected marketing: the current digital revolution).

Our speakers’ presentation videos and documents are available on w.illi.am/'s blog.

w.illi.am/ mandates

LeRenard.ca: distinctive and memorable

Cyberpresse awarded w.illi.am/ the mandate for the design and web marketing of LeRenard.ca, launched at the beginning of May. This new group purchasing site gives users access to the best deals every day for cultural, culinary and leisure outings. To stand out from the crowd, LeRenard.ca offers high-end and highly-coveted products and services.

The w.illi.am/ team faced two major challenges in completing this mandate: having to shape an identity from A to Z and differentiating LeRenard.ca from competing sites.

w.illi.am/’s consulting, creative, technology and interactive marketing teams worked together through many discussions and joint work sessions using an interdisciplinary approach to develop the innovative and creative possibilities that could be technically achieved based on the specifications.

The LeRenard.ca identity is the result of a close collaboration between the w.illi.am/ and Cyberpresse teams to create a stylized icon that the target audience will recognize immediately. The fox was chosen to represent the intelligence of consumers, their taste for the good things in life and their cunning ability to unearth hidden treasure. Once the name was determined, the creative department had carte blanche to build the visual identity for LeRenard.ca. How do you go about designing a new site that stands out in a saturated market and bringing a new brand to life? “To create the fox logo, we used four criteria: appropriate (in terms of content and concept), pragmatic (easy to use in a variety of media), simple and bold, distinctive and memorable,” Mike De Luca, w.illi.am/’s Director of Business Design explains. The fox’s contemporary, friendly style is easy to identify, making it easier to remember the brand, which is adapted using a clean pallet. At the same time LeRenard.ca remains an abstract figure, a logo that leaves plenty of room for the products.

With LeRenard.ca barely online, Cyberpresse awarded another mandate to the w.illi.am/ team for phase 2 of its project. This one involves search engine optimization for LeRenard.ca and marketing it on the web and social media. “The whole team is excited about this new project. It allows us to create an ecosystem that puts the site at the centre of organic and promotional tactics on Facebook, Twitter and Google,” Matyas Gabor, w.illi.am/’s Director of Marketing and Consulting said. Using paid ads is common on Facebook and Google, but is new to Twitter.

“With interactive marketing, it’s all a question of optimization,” Damien Lefebvre, w.illi.am/’s Vice-President of Consulting said. “Our strategies all go under our experts’ microscopes to continually test each of our efforts and maximize results for our partner.”

Follow LeRenard.ca on social media:

http://www.facebook.com/LeRenard.ca

@LeRenardca

Yahoo!

w.illi.am/ has just completed a mandate from Yahoo! Canada for a new technology application. Yahoo!’s marketing team now has a digital tool that automatically generates the Flash RSS banners used extensively on their site every day. Automating the creation of these ad banners will free up the marketing team’s time and make producing and archiving Yahoo! banners easier.

This project mainly involved w.illi.am/’s development experts, drawing on a variety of specializations in HTML and PHP development. The challenge was to generate dynamic banners that are not too heavy using an application the Yahoo! team can use to choose the look and content of each one.

w.illi.am/ experiences a growth spurt with the addition of 6 new experts

In recent weeks, Jean-François Garneau, Johanne Ho, Eliseu Baldo, Adolfo De Paz Vela, Vanessa Bernard and Romain Ammar have swelled the ranks of w.illi.am/’s team in Technology, Consulting, Ergonomics and Design, increasing the excitement around the unveiling of the office expansion, which has been in the works for over two weeks. With an additional 2000 square feet, w.illi.am/ will have more elbow room to continue its adventure, which has so far lasted almost three years!

Jean-François Garneau (formerly of Nstein) is a web ergonomist with an unusual background that has given him solid, diversified knowledge of IT. He has 14 years of experience as a programmer, analyst and ergonomist, on top of a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Université de Laval and education at the graduate level. While at Nstein, he carried out mandates to customize content managers mainly for publishing enterprises such as Gesca, Imprimedia and Reed. According to Jean-François, “Computers should be a tool, not a puzzle,” so he adapts websites to the user’s needs. Jean-François’s technical background gives him a unique approach to digital project design.

After a bachelor’s degree in multimedia design from the Swinburne University of Technology’s National School of Design in Australia, Joanne Ho produced short films before returning to her first love: she has been a web designer for the past six years. She worked with large teams at companies such as Madman Entertainment and Deloitte OnLine, before becoming a freelance consultant working with Lonely Planet and Aeroplan. Joanne plays a special role at w.illi.am/, dividing her time between the Creative team as a graphic designer and the Ergonomics team as an interactive designer. She embodies the interdisciplinary spirit that defines w.illi.am/.

Eliseu Baldo (formerly of HIT Global) has joined the Technology team as a web integrator. With over 10 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree in business management and systems analysis specializing in multimedia virtual education from Brazil, Eliseu has worked on major accounts such as Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis and Bayer HealthCare. His achievements include designing the REACH Academy e-learning course for Pfizer and developing an e-detailing site, in web, iPhone and iPad versions, featuring Flash and 3D for Sanofi-Aventis. He is highly versatile and has expertise in programming, design and multimedia.

w.illi.am/ welcomes Adolfo De Paz Vela to its team as a PHP programmer. With two certificates from UQAM, one in computer science and the other in software development, Adolfo is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science and software engineering. With 10 years’ experience, Adolfo has worked for major companies, such as Bell and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, later going on to freelance for Université de Montréal.

Vanessa Bernard (formerly of LeMonde.fr) has joined w.illi.am/’s ranks as a business analyst, diving into a field that has always fascinated her: the web. She holds an MBA from EDHEC Business School, where she acquired expertise in marketing, market analysis and business needs analysis. Her five years of experience in marketing led her to product development for Lancôme, marketing coordination for JCDecaux―number two internationally in exterior signage―and customer management for Le Monde group’s Internet division, I-Regie. Interacting with people is an important part of her job, and she enjoys engaging with other experts and drawing on each one’s strong points to deliver better customer service.

A graduate of ESSEC’s MBA program in Paris, Romain Ammar has become an official member of the w.illi.am/ team after completing an internship as a business analyst. In university he specialized in online marketing and strategy and new communication technologies, gaining work experience in these fields.  As an assistant product manager at Microsoft MSN France, he helped develop the marketing strategy for Windows Live Messenger. At Orange, his role as a performance analyst provided him a firm grasp of measurement and evaluation tools for web platforms.

On w.illi.am/’s walls

“Adjuvants 2011”: Who creates the work?

That makes three! Joël Proulx Bouffard is the third emerging artist to exhibit On w.illi.am/’s walls. As part of its ongoing effort to promote Montreal artists, w.illi.am/ was fortunate to be able to host “Adjuvants 2011”.

This exhibition, put together by the artist specifically for the company’s offices, has two seemingly contrasting components that come together in an ongoing dialogue questioning the relationships and complementarities between humans and computers or robots. RGB and Jackson Bollock use techniques with entirely different origins that are underpinned by a single conceptual approach. To uncover the secrets of these works that play with the boundaries between the real and the virtual, calculation and randomness, watch the interview with their creator, Joël Proulx Bouffard.

Joël Proulx Bouffard is a “free creator,” a visual artist who works in a number of media: animation, 2D and 3D, video, photography, painting, projection on large surfaces (the image mill principle), reusing post-consumer objects and more. He has been part of the creation of a visual simulation enterprise, participating in the development of this area of expertise in Quebec.

Joël divides his time between contracts that require his talents as artistic director or teacher and his art projects. He has managed the creation of visuals for many bars in Las Vegas and Detroit, the multimedia show Zacatecas in Mexico, two Wagner operas staged by Robert Lepage at the Met in New York, The Garden of the Glaciers, Montreal DJ Misstress Barbara and collaborations with the artist André Fournelle. He is now working with Cirque du Soleil for its show on Michael Jackson.

For more information about Joël Proulx Bouffard’s professional and artistic work, read his CV and writing about his recent exhibitions: Tapisserie frelatée, the result of extensive exploration of the relationship between humans and the digital world, as well as Déflexions/interlude, on the theme of dependence.

www.joelproulxbouffard.com

All works displayed On w.illi.am/’s walls are available for sale. Contact the artist directly or Catherine Lafrasse at 514-448-4035, ext. 657

w.illi.am/ creates PT6 Nation for Pratt & Whitney Canada and wins a Webbie at the Flightglobal Aviation Web Awards

PT6 Nation is the digital incarnation of an incredible human journey that began in 1963 with the birth of the first PT6 aircraft engine―a legend that shows no signs of fading―developed by Pratt & Whitney Canada.

The turboprop engine’s many qualities have made it revolutionary since its invention, and it was quickly adopted for the vast majority of motorized aircraft of different sorts: commuter, corporate and utility aircraft, aerobatic trainers, agricultural aircraft, short takeoff and landing aircraft and the famous Canadairs. It has racked up over 350 million flying hours. To find out more about its many qualities, explore the new website PT6nation.com, particularly the sections About the PT6 and The Legend.

After 50 years of effective and loyal service and phenomenal market penetration, Pratt & Whitney Canada has decided to reposition its product for the future.

Destination: social media, a natural environment for the PT6

The success of the PT6 is mainly due to its extreme reliability, an essential quality for pilots, because it’s a guarantee that they will always arrive safe, sound and alive. Pilots with a PT6 powering their aircraft have complete trust in their engine; it’s a remarkable love story between man and machine. This is what the w.illi.am/ team discovered in working on this digital project with a highly developed social media component.

The Identification, Measurement and Recommendations (IMR) methodology developed by the interactive marketing team at w.illi.am/ makes it possible to perform in-depth analyses on web and social media influences for specific business needs. The IMR analysis and methodology turned out to be very revealing for the PT6. The most important discovery was the wide range of users of the engine (farm operators, businesspeople, parachuting schools, Canadairs, etc.) and their symbiotic relationship with this incredible machine, which they already talk about on countless web platforms. Every PT6 user has a story to tell.

w.illi.am/ demonstrated that people around the world were randomly and spontaneously publishing online the exploits made possible by their engines. These PT6 fans love sharing their anecdotes, discoveries, adventures and day-to-day activities with the PT6.

The idea of the PT6 Nation grew quite naturally from the desire to create a virtual nation where fans could meet through discussion and in person too! The Events section lets subscribers arrange get-togethers. The purpose is to offer PT6 fans a pleasant environment for discussion with like-minded folks, a sort of promised land where PT6 citizens the world over can get together and live their passion to the fullest.

The website allows fans to register as Citizens and post their incredible tales in the Stories section. This great idea had at its foundation the large community of bloggers who write about the PT6 and who were identified as influencers. They will be selected and spotlighted on the site one at a time.

PT6nation.com has a close relationship with social media. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are interconnected to the platform. After an in-depth analysis, we implemented Radian6 monitoring to listen to conversations and then join them. The goal was to redirect ardent PT6 fans toward content aggregation platforms. “This is a golden opportunity for Pratt & Whitney Canada to create their first collaborative CRM,” said Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting at w.illi.am/. “It’s the future of marketing!” w.illi.am/ has been Pratt & Whitney Canada’s digital partner for almost two years for marketing, development and interactive strategy. Beginning last August, every department at w.ill.am/ was involved in the PT6 Nation project, to establish strategy, initiate the conversation with fans and brand ambassadors and create the PT6nation.com website. To develop expertise in online community management at P&WC, w.illi.am/ has been working on-site at the international corporation to manage and implement business processes. w.illi.am/ is proud to support Pratt & Whitney Canada and its departments in a move toward Enterprise 2.0 that began one year ago. “From the outset, our experts have been very enthusiastic about and involved in this phased mandate,” Matyas Gabor said. “It will progress in an iterative manner with ongoing enhancements based on the actions and needs of users.”

Launched December 1, 2010, PT6Nation.com is already a success!

The company just took top honours in the Best Use of Social Media category at the Flightglobal Aviation Web Awards. The judges said: “PWC has successfully started the first OEM-run social network, stepping outside the bounds of the established networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but harnessing their integration. PWC has formed a niche community around its "PT6 nation" of 6000+ operators, by stepping past the traditionally conservative and risk-averse corporate culture that can slow the adoption of social media strategies. PWC has successfully developed a B2C tool to connect with its customer base in an open digital medium.”

May the PT6 legend continue to spread across virtual platforms so that everyone can appreciate the incredible stories!

w.illi.am/ pushes back the limits and expands its offices by 25%

Since w.illi.am/ has experienced growth of 35% between 2009 and 2010 and continues to grow, we are pushing the limits with an expansion plan for our offices to increase usable space by 25%. The user testing laboratory, or uLab, kitchen, shower and bike racks will stay put, but we will break down the wall between the office and the space next door.

"Facilitating discussion, creative energy and collaboration is what’s guiding this expansion” Annie Levesque says, Executive Vice-president exécutive Operations at w.illi.am/.

A conference room and work space that can accommodate 20 more team members will be added. Work is scheduled for completion at the beginning of spring, and we expect a second phase in the coming years…

Can’t wait for the new offices! w.illi.am/ recently welcomed Alberto Vazquez (formerly of Averna Technologies) as a business analyst to its team. Alberto first developed his digital expertise during his university studies, which began with web development in Mexico and ended with an MBA with a specialization in marketing and strategy from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business. During his career, Alberto has developed strategies, executed marketing campaigns and optimized websites. He also measured Averna Technologies’ social media presence. His favourite part of his job is providing invaluable assistance to customers and exceeding their expectations by achieving their digital objectives and offering solid new strategic solutions.

New mandate/ Loto-Québec

w.illi.am/ recently won the Loto-Québec mandate to optimize SEO, SEM and SMO practices for all of its websites.

The five experts from w.illi.am/ involved in the project are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this new partner to push boundaries in the field of analytics for social media and web and mobile platforms.

w.illi.am/'s Events

Campus Infopresse is the leading training program that specializes in interactivity for marketing and communication professionals, executives and managers. With theoretical and practical portions, the courses address specific themes in new digital technology. The trainers are recognized experts who are leaders in their field and who work at companies that are major players in the Quebec market.

On April 7, Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience at w.illi.am/, will offer the second part of the course Integrating Ergonomics to a Web Project. The course is intended for decision-makers and interactivity managers and explains the strategy for choosing UX partners. It covers how to evaluate ergonomics needs based on a company’s projects and evaluate the best avenues available. 

“w.illi.am/ is pleased to make its own contribution to the dissemination of digital knowledge in professional settings” Matyas Gabor says, Director, Marketing and Consulting Services at w.illi.am/.

w.illi.am/ has become involved in this innovative project by being the first to offer a bursary for one of the fall session courses offered by Anastasia Simitsis: Integrating Ergonomics to a Web Project – Strategy or Improving a Website’s Ergonomics – Operations.

Visit the web page http://w.illi.am/boursecampus/ to apply.

w.illi.am/ speakers

During the Journée Infopresse – Novae day Marketing and Sustainable Development on March 2, Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting at w.illi.am/, gave a presentation entitled Knowing How to Communicate Sustainable Projects via Web 2.0. The presentation integrated different aspects of corporate social responsibility into digital projects, mainly social networks, to increase the visibility of the company’s efforts.

These interactive platforms make it easier to start a conversation, form partnerships and demonstrate a desire for transparency with audiences and stakeholders. This ensures a return on investment. The rallying cry: “Reach them where they are!”

This presentation generated a great deal of interest on Twitter, and MSN Technologie wrote an article that provided an overview of the Journée Inforpresse.

Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President, Consulting at w.illi.am/, recently made two presentations about the digital experience and innovation as they relate to the transformation of the television market.

He first presented on February 24 at Montreal Web Video, a gathering of digital video industry experts exploring four major themes: the evolution of the media, legal issues for sites and social networks, video applications in companies and different business models.

Then at the March 9 Journée Infopresse on New Models for Television, Damien gave a presentation entitled The Revolution of Television Depends on the Digital Experience, in which he showed how television will succeed in its transition by integrating digital and interactive platforms.

Presentations and videos of presentations are available on w.illi.am/’s blog.

5@8 Créatifs de MosaiC/HEC

w.illi.am/ is proud to support MosaiC’s 5@8 Créatifs, a platform for discussion and knowledge sharing about managing creation made possible by HEC Montréal and its partners. Every month, major players in the Montreal industry share the latest experiences and innovations in their field to inspire new business models.

"Mosaic is an incredible discussion forum for people who want to take thinking about managing creation further. w.illi.am/ is proud to be associated with the 5@8 Créatifs", Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-president, Consulting Services at w.illi.am/.

The last 5@8 Créatif took place yesterday. Presented by HEC Montréal’s DESSCM, Patrick Beauduin, general manager of radio at Radio-Canada, shared his thinking in a presentation entitled “Radio: 20th century medium saved by creativity in the 21st century.”  Academic panellists will be HEC Montréal’s Pierre Balloffet, professor of marketing, and Jean-Jacques Stréliski, associate professor, research.

Professionals and students are warmly invited to attend and discuss possible avenues for business creativity. Next 5@8 Créatif : May 11th with Ubisoft
Space is limited. To register, visit the MosaiC website.

Mark it in your calendar

w.illi.am/ will be part of three major industry events in the coming weeks.

The w.illi.am/ team has the pleasure of welcoming you to the Journée Infopresse on public sector communications.

The theme of the 10th edition of Intracom Montréal is Negotiating the Move to Interactive Communication in Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities.

At this event, Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing at w.illi.am/, will collaborate with Jean-François Deschênes, Director of Web Strategy at Bombardier, on a presentation about developing a communication strategy using social media, its evangelization and its integration within an organization.

Anastasia Simitsis and Mike De Luca, respectively Director of User Experience and Director of Business Design at w.illi.am/, will be speakers at the next RDV WEB d’Infopresse. Interdisciplinarity is one of the cornerstones of w.illi.am/, and Mike and Anastasia have taken this concept one step further by developing a new method of working that combines their two areas of expertise. The idea is to break down boundaries, because the work of interface designers and graphic designers overlap. The goal is always to optimize the user experience by integrating the best quality graphical experience to it.

The largest team of social media experts in Quebec

With Vincent Emond, Antoine Montoux and Clément Trumeau joining the w.illi.am/ team, the social web and interactive marketing department has grown to be the largest in Montreal, with six experts who hold master’s degrees. 

Vincent Emond has joined w.illi.am/ to fill the newly created position of Interactive Marketing Project Manager, bringing a variety of new forms of expertise to the department.

Ardent about interpersonal relationships and relationships between consumers, products and information technology, Vincent has just completed a master’s degree in e-commerce management at the Université de Sherbrooke. He is a native of the web and an e-marketing enthusiast. Specializing in the social web, his expertise extends to social media marketing (SMM), search engine advertising (SEA), search engine optimization (SEO), web analytics and mobile marketing, as well as e-business process analysis and optimization.

While completing his master’s degree, Vincent carried out a number of projects as an interactive marketing consultant for companies that included Academia RFID, Liaison Can/US and Gonefashion.com.

Antoine Montoux, SEO and Social Media Consultant (formerly with SidLee), has been working in the web since 2005. After international studies in marketing and online strategy and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing from Australia, he specialized in Internet strategic intelligence at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, completing a master’s degree in strategic information management.

After a first successful experience in the industry, he became a trainer specializing in strategic intelligence for the French consulting firm KB Intelligence, where he trained and guided his customer’s marketing and communication departments in implementing intelligence cells and using social media.

As part of his experience in Europe and Canada, Antoine worked with major groups and public entities such as BNP Paribas, Orange, Air France Canada, Simons, Loto Québec, GDF Suez, France’s Defence Ministry and Budget Ministry, a number of chambers of commerce, and others.

Clément Trumeau, Social Media and SEO Consultant, (formerly with Rock & Social) comes from the world of public relations and holds a master’s degree in communication and public relations. A blogger since 2002, he soon moved into digital communication consulting.

Since 2007, Clément has been guiding large enterprises (IKEA, Panasonic, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Agence Française de Développement, the Fondation Cartier, Delsey, musiMe.com, Volkswagen) in their approach to the social web to define their online conversational strategy. After being part of the Paris agency Hopscotch Digital for over three years as a new media consultant, Clément crossed the Atlantic to settle in Montreal. Starting as a social media strategist at a Montreal consulting agency, Clément soon joined the firm w.illi.am/.

w.illi.am/ continues its interdisciplinary growth!

Since last December, w.illi.am/ has expanded with seven new additions who have a range of expertise that will maintain the interdisciplinary quality of the teams and offer customers fully integrated digital services. 

Sébastien Catoire, Artistic Director at w.illi.am/, is a creative and visual professional who excels at concept development and branding. He is fascinated by the organization of space, and while studying interior architecture in Brussels, he developed an interest in graphic design by creating presentation plans for projects. He enjoys sharing a visual interpretation of his world view and applying his sense of shape, volume and proportion to print and web projects, first at Douglas Wallace Architects in Ireland, and then independently in Quebec where he was one of the founders of the communication agency Ben&Lux. Sébastien has worked primarily in design, fashion and music. He has worked on the development of visual identities and was a finalist for Cirque du Soleil’s SafeWalls project.

With seven years of experience, Sébastien joins a design team of five experts.

Jean-Pierre Cyrenne, Senior Systems Administrator, has a B.Sc. in Computer Science and more than 12 years of experience in information technology, including nine years in telecommunications. Having been in turn an IT director, project manager and system administrator, Jean-Pierre has worked for small companies and large corporations, including Bell Canada and Imperial Tobacco. He made the move to round out his multidisciplinary expertise by becoming part of the w.illi.am/ team.

Yann Boisclair-Roy (formerly with Transcontinental Media) recently joined the development team as a Web Programmer specialized in object-oriented programming, application architecture and database diagrams and optimization, for which he obtained ZEND PHP 5 certification in 2008. He is passionate about programming, and his approach combines ingenuity, reliability, adaptability and curiosity.

Quality assurance is one of the pillars of w.illi.am/, because it guarantees the reliability of mandates delivered. This job now falls to w.illi.am/’s Carl Dumas, Quality Assurance Technician, who developed solid experience in the field at Transcontinental Media and Bell Web Solutions.

Events between now and the end of March

In 2011, w.illi.am/ will make its presence known at a number of digital industry events. Here is an overview of some upcoming dates to mark in your calendar.

We will kick off the season as a partner and conference speaker for Montréal web Vidéo. Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President at w.illiam/, will make a presentation entitled The Digital Experience and the Transformation of the Television Market.

This day of presentations will place you at the heart of the challenges of video, a growing medium that is an essential part of any digital strategy.

February 24 will mark the beginning of a collaboration with MosaiC’s HEC Montréal-affiliated 5 à 8 Créatifs, a platform for discussion and knowledge sharing in creative management. w.illi.am/ is proud to be a partner for the 2011 5 à 8 Créatifs.

Next Thursday’s 5@8, entitled Managing Talent at Cirque du Soleil, puts Bernard Petiot, Vice-President, Casting and Performance at Cirque du Soleil in the spotlight. The panellists will be HEC Montréal professors Patrick Cohendet and Laurent Simon.

We would like to extend a warm invitation for professionals and students to come discuss possible avenues for business creativity.

In March w.illi.am/ will be a weekly presence at Journée Infopresse. The firm’s experts invite you to start a conversation and take thinking further about corporate social responsibility, new models of television, web innovation and the user experience, as well as public sector communications. See our calendar for details.

Bursary w.illi.am/ Campus Infopresse

w.illi.am/ is pleased to announce a close collaboration with Campus Infopresse in the form of an exclusive training program for professionals, executives and managers in today’s communication industry.

w.illi.am/ is participating as a trainer for Cursus interactif. Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience at w.illi.am/ will offer a four-day course in ergonomics and user experience. w.illi.am/ also provides a bursary, the recipient of which will enjoy two days of training.

w.illi.am / Wins a Boomerang Award for Zeste.tv

The Zeste.tv site has earned a Boomerang Award in the Media Website category. Congratulations to the teams from Groupe Serdy and w.illi.am/! Thanks to Groupe Serdy for their trust.

w.illi.am/ welcomes twoo additional new arrivals!

w.illi.am/ is pleased to welcome Jacques Arguin to its team as Senior Project Manager. The project management department plays a crucial role in the firm’s success by organizing production to deliver quality mandates on time and on budget.

With more than 10 years’ experience in IT, Jacques, who headed up large teams at Mediagrif, knows the ropes of the profession and has the personal qualities of a born project manager.  His ultimate goal is customer satisfaction, and to achieve this he harmoniously coordinates each person’s skills by building close and trusting relationships with his team members and customers.

Jacques has a solid technical background. His interest and skill in management quickly led him to manage a team and then to become certified as a Project Management Professional. Jacques is excited both by IT and by interpersonal relations, which have continued to evolve with the new challenges in these fields.

James Allison, Senior Business Analyst, joins the w.illi.am/ Consulting team. A consultant for the past 11 years, James has been passionate about the Internet since 1983, before the advent of the web.

His education is anything but typical and is testimony to the richness of his knowledge, in addition to his experience in the web. He has a B.A in philosophy from Toronto and began a Ph.D. in jurisprudence and social policy at the University of Berkeley in California with the intention of becoming a professor. But in 1999, he went to live in Switzerland and began a career in digital technology after an internship at the United Nations Economic Commission, where he conducted a research project on Internet development in countries in transition (countries of the former Soviet Union).

James went on to become a business analyst, information architect and user experience designer in turn for a major Swiss agency. He then founded a web company that specialized in user experience and later worked independently. He most recently spent almost six years as a web producer at Concordia University.

James has the only recognized degree in web analytics: the Award of Achievement in Web Analytics from the University of British Columbia.

w.illi.am/ propels Bombardier onto the web for its corporate social responsibility initiatives

Bombardier, the winner of the Quebec corporate citizenship award the Prix québécois de l’entreprise citoyenne 2010, had published an annual report on its international subsidiaries’ social and environmental involvement. The company was then faced with the question of how to disseminate this information effectively, how to reach a large audience, and how to advance efforts by engaging in discussions with corporate social responsibility (CSR) experts and other organizations about this recent trend.

To accomplish these goals, the world leader in aerospace and transportation decided to develop a new website to make greater use of social media to reach target audiences. So Bombardier turned to w.illi.am/, its digital partner.

The microsite csr.bombardier.com was born, although the only thing micro about it is the name. It offers a unique way to consult Bombardier’s third CSR annual report and is brimming with information organized into six sections. More flexible that the corporate site, this platform allows Bombardier to reach corporate social responsibility specialists and the general public and to give them the numbers and data related to the international firm’s commitments: governance, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, waste management, volunteer efforts, donations, etc. The site’s launch was accompanied by web broadcast, AdWords and social media campaigns.

w.illi.am/ used its IMR methodology (identification, measurement, recommendations) to meet Bombardier’s needs and to develop a strategy focused on social media in the short, medium and long term.

Initially, two social media networks were identified to get the conversation rolling. At first, questions about corporate social responsibility were associated with the corporate branch of the existing Twitter account. Then a profile was created on the CSR platform justmeans.com, a social networking site that fits with Bombardier’s profile where users can keep up to date on the latest developments in CSR, learn from others to better manage challenges and have discussions. This strategy will allow Bombardier to be more proactive and transparent.

In addition to developing these platforms, w.illi.am/ will guide Bombardier in managing online communities and choosing the right tone for talking about the company’s commitments. The social media marketing experts from w.illi.am/ created a Twitter campaign to demonstrate the dynamism of CSR initiatives and give them an identity: “[…] Check! #OurWayForward” / “[…] C’est fait! #capsurlavenir”.

The microsite will evolve according to iterative strategies and alongside Bombardier’s new social responsibility initiatives.

“w.illi.am/ is particularly pleased to be working on this mandate, because we believe in Bombardier’s initiatives as a corporate citizen. Social media are highly effective at spreading the word about this type of commitment. Congratulations to Bombardier for its many awards in corporate social responsibility” said Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting at w.illi.am/.

A look back at November

November was jam packed with all sorts of web events, and a number of experts from the w.illi.am/ team had the honour and pleasure of participating in them. To help you picture it, here is a brief chronological summary of recent shows and conferences in Montreal.

On November 10, while Alphonse Hà, Social Media and SEO Consultant at w.illi.am/, made a presentation at the Journée Infopresse day on the mobile revolution, w.illi.am/ was taking part as a sponsor in the success of the first edition of WEB_IN, developed by professionals for professionals, which focused on digital tablets.

The next day was World Usability Day. This was a special opportunity, seized by Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience at w.illi.am/, to talk about a specialization that is still not very familiar to the general public. She and her team launched a usability microsite where you can watch a variety of videos and read informative articles about this fascinating subject.

webcom, the not-to-be-missed biannual Montreal “high mass” of the web, was held on November 17, and once again met the expectations of an ever growing crowd that is increasingly knowledgeable in the field. w.illi.am/ is a proud and loyal sponsor of this event and took an active part in it through a presentation by Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President, Consulting, who talked about his vision of true web innovation.

Working with one of w.illi.am/’s most loyal partners, Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting at w.illi.am/, made the firm’s final presentation of the year at the Journée Infopresse day dealing with public relations. He invited Michel Gagnon, Communication Advisor, Public Affairs at Bombardier, to present the results of the recent mandate carried out with w.illi.am/: a complete interactive strategy for Bombardier’s Corporate Social Responsibility site.

The month ended with a bang with w.illi.am/ attending the Canadian Marketing Awards in Toronto, which it also sponsored.

Mandates

Solidarity Fund QFL

The Solidarity Fund QFL’s new website will go online in 2011. The Fund QFL wanted to redesign its website to improve the user experience, make its products easier to understand and reflect the needs of the many and varied users (around ten different personas). “w.illi.am/ received the mandate both to better understand users and to guide the Solidarity Fund QFL in a strategic vision,” says Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President, Consulting at w.illi.am/.

The first mandate was an opportunity study to assess the need to reorganize the current website and evaluate the cost of doing so. The second mandate was to guide the Solidarity Fund QFL in every aspect of strategy. For this consulting mandate, the strategists at w.illi.am/ formed working groups to identify business needs in an effort to define the new strategy, identify new functionality, define a new tree structure and produce high-definition wireframe mock-ups and a complete functional analysis. To make sure the project is a success, many mock-ups were tested on users.
 
“w.illi.am/ has the good fortune of having its uLAB within its walls, which is a laboratory for testing the prototypes and mock-ups our firm creates,” says Mr. Lefebvre. “When we tested our mock-ups with the Solidarity Fund QFL, new elements emerged, and we were able to take them into account and correct their effects.”

The Cegep de la Gaspésie makes the move to social media

Recruiting more students and staying in touch with them by promoting the advantages of the Gaspé region and the Magdalen Islands for CEGEP students was Cégep de la Gaspésie’s goal in asking w.illi.am/ to develop a social media strategy.  Young people are big users of social media, so these platforms hold a great deal of potential for reaching them.

The CEGEP’s current website presents the special environment, the financial facilities and all the professional opportunities that this beautiful region has to offer. With a stronger presence on social networks, information will spread as if on the island winds!

The w.illi.am/ team keeps growing

Keeping up its momentum, w.illi.am/ welcomes four new experts: Jürgen Karir, A.J. Kandy, Gabriel Hernandez and Pierre Poirier.

Jürgen Karir is a programmer who specializes in Objective C and application development for the iPhone and iPad mobile platforms. After completing a bachelor’s degree in physics with a minor in computer science at McGill University, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at the École Polytechnique de Montréal.  With seven years of experience, Jürgen has mastered multimedia and 3D programming languages (Flash, ActionScript and C++). He was the head programmer for Ludia, a video game company, and worked for MCH Multimedia, a company that specializes in e-learning, where he created applications for the web and CD-ROM. 

w.illi.am/ is confirming the development of its expertise in mobile platforms by bringing Jürgen Karir and A.J. Kandy on board.

A newcomer to the ergonomics team at w.illi.am/, A.J. Kandy’s mission is to storyboard and optimize web, application, mobile and tactile interfaces to create an effective, engaging user experience.
A.J. holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Concordia University and has 20 years of experience in design, print and interactive design for software and the web. Most recently he was the senior user experience designer for P/S/L Consulting Group, which develops iPhone and iPad applications for medical education. Prior to that he worked as the creative director for the Stock-Trak Group and King Marketing for accounts such as Bell Sympatico and ExpressVu, Bulk Barn and Bally Golf.

Gabriel Hernandez joins the w.illi.am/ team as a JavaScript integrator. With three years of experience under his belt, Gabriel developed solid expertise working for Mediagrif and Canoe, and then on major mandates as a freelancer. Gabriel is passionate about integration and has a certificate in applied computer science, specializing in applied programming. Gabriel also likes to get involved in related disciplines such as design and PHP programming to better understand his role in the production flow.  

Pierre Poirier starts this week at w.illi.am/ as artistic director to strengthen the design team. With five years of professional experience, Pierre has developed solid expertise in a variety of positions: first as web designer for match.com, then as artistic director at Why Not Blue and then as online designer for Fidel Technologies. But his true beginnings in the digital world date back to 2002 when he single-handedly managed projects while studying. Pierre is a true creative professional who holds an attestation of college studies in multimedia, a college diploma in visual arts and a bachelor’s degree in design.

Three presentations by the experts at W/

Journée Infopresse : iPad, iPhone, the mobile revolution

Alphonse Hà, Social Media and SEO Consultant at w.illi.am/, will offer an overview of the iPad and other touch tablets, followed by his vision of how to integrate social media to this new technology as well as the need for a special approach to creating new iPad applications. The presentation will be shown live on our blog, so be sure to join us in the flesh or online.

webcom

Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President, Consulting at w.illi.am/, will share his vision of digital innovation and redesigning websites. He will end with a case study: the redesign of the Workopolis website and more specifically the Employer Brand Optimizer.  Once again, the marketing team from w.illi.am/ will feature the presentation live on its blog. It’s a date!

Journée Infopresse : Public relations: developing web strategies

How do you identify your influencers? How do you reach them to make them your brand’s ambassadors? These are questions that Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting Services at w.illi.am/, will address during his presentation Using personalized public relations to reach influencers. This specialist in interactive marketing and enterprise 2.0 will show how to adapt traditional method of communication to the new reality of social media.

The CAIJ or the optimized user experience

The Centre d’Accès à l’Information Juridique (CAIJ) wanted to redesign its website to standardize products and offer easier access. The role of the CAIJ is to provide members of the Barreau du Québec a search centre for legal documents and offer access to them through 39 libraries and its online database.

An ergonomic audit carried out by w.illi.am/ in 2009 led to a proposed first phase of design, after a series of user tests. The CAIJ’s acquisition of a meta-search application (single search or multi-product search) in 2010 launched the redesign to standardize its search products.

w.illi.am/ has an ergonomic and graphical mandate for this project. Wireframe mock-ups were approved in October and design approval is underway for the home page and the results page before variations are included in the wireframes. The CAIJ asked w.illi.am/ to take the opportunity of the redesign to integrate new tools to the site: online payment, explanatory entries on a topic and videos to introduce the CAIJ’s products and collaborative tools.

This project is the perfect illustration of the need to use ergonomic tools to place users at the centre of any web project to meet their needs and make their digital experience pleasant and efficient. We are impatiently awaiting the launch of the new site, set for 2011!

“w.illi.am/ has distinguished itself through its strategy of always putting the user first, which is its trademark”, says Isabelle Charron, the CAIJ’s communications advisor. “It’s a true pleasure to work with the people at w.illi.am/. They listen, understand business needs and offer multidisciplinary expertise and solutions for our unique reality.”

World Usability Day

w.illi.am/ is taking part in World Usability Day on November 11 with a contest and the launch of a microsite about the user experience.

We will soon release the URL where you can discover a wealth of information on a microsite that is bound to become an authority for veterans and greenhorns of the user experience. The entire ergonomics team at w.illi.am/ will take part in it via the blog, Twitter and videos. Interactive designers, usability specialists and ergonomics professionals will take turns sharing their thoughts about new trends in the field or letting you in on best practices for success digital projects.

The microsite also explains how to enter the contest and be eligible to win the book: Communicating Design, by Dan M. Brown (2nd edition)

Good luck and we look forward to receiving your reactions!

w.illi.am/ is growing, and how!

The w.illi.am/ name came into being two years ago, and this week we’re celebrating our anniversary! The agency grew out of the January 2007 merger of two companies that had been in business since 2001. Thanks to the talent of the original teams, the experts that joined on, the vision of our leaders and the confidence of major customers, w.illi.am/ quickly moulded its identity and hasn’t stopped growing since.

To further its growth, w.illi.am/ is now looking for experts to expand its team. Of the 10 jobs recently posted, four have already been filled. Visit the Careers page of our website to see the positions that are still open. And spread the word!

w.illi.am/ strengthens its technology and design offering

As part of its growth, w.illi.am/ is bulking up its design, IT consulting and interactive marketing teams with the addition of four new experts: Mike De Luca, Dominique St-Onge, Simon Bélanger and Vincent Guérin.

Mike De Luca has worked in interactive communications for close to 15 years. In the summer of 2010, he joined the w.illi.am/ team as its Director of Business Design with a mandate to further the development of the design department and enhance its service offering.

At CESART, a firm that was one of Quebec’s main specialists in interactive communications, Mike headed up the strategic group for major accounts such as Bell Canada, Aldo and Yellow Pages Group. At the beginning of his career, he launched the largest viral marketing web campaign ever produced in Canada (Fill your Flight for an Aeroplan-Bell partnership). Mike was also the director of interactive creation at Publicis Montréal, and in 2007 he took the reins of the strategic and creative unit of Blue Communications (whynotblue.com).

A web professional for over 10 years, Dominique St-Onge holds a master’s degree in organizational development and a BBA in operations and production management. As Director of IT Consulting Services for w.illi.am/, Dominique is a management specialist who gained solid experience through five years spent at TELUS managing a team of 48 responsible for developing and maintaining the Aeroplan site. At w.illi.am/, Dominique is taking the reins of the technology department to enhance and support the technology services offering and to put in place a maintenance offering. This added value will further consolidate the long-term partnerships between w.illi.am/ and its customers.

To round out the technical team, Simon Bélanger has been appointed Senior IT Architect. His role is to understand customer needs and address them in the form of technological solutions. With a bachelor’s degree in applied computer science and a master’s degree in applied science specializing in artificial intelligence, Simon has 10 years of experience, largely gathered at TELUS. He has worked on a number of major websites for the government and the Barreau du Québec, and contributed to the internal and external architecture of the Aeroplan site.

The interactive marketing group welcomes Vincent Guérin (formerly of Megavolt Design) as Social Media and SEO Advisor. Vincent will be expanding the team to continue developing the w.illi.am/ approach to enterprise 2.0 and to implement marketing strategies on new digital platforms.

With his first computer, acquired in 1996, Vincent immediately plunged into the emerging world of social networks. He holds a bachelor’s degree in writing and multimedia and has worked for Megavolt Design as a web strategies advisor and SEO, SEM and SMM specialist.

w.illia.m/ is rounding out its service offer with the addition of these four experts. Their knowledge brings added value to the team, and along with the expertise of the company’s other specialists, allows w.illia.m/ to covers all fields of digital expertise.

w.illi.am/: the food expert of the digital world

On the heels of ricardocuisine.com, nospetitsmangeurs.org and zeste.tv, w.illi.am/ has once again demonstrated its prowess in digital platforms for the food industry.

Nutrium entrusted w.illi.am/ with the creation of toutlemondeatable.org, its brand new website launched September 28. The site is the showcase, distributor and catalyst for the Extenso initiative, at the origins of the project and a portal for scientifically founded information on nutrition and diet, tied to the Université de Montréal. The goal of toutlemondeatable.org is to gather as much information as possible on eating habits across Quebec. The purpose is to find out how Quebec families with children under 12 plan, prepare and share their meals. For the first time, the interest is in behaviour around food rather than what’s actually on the plate. As part of this effort, a caravan is going on tour to talk to people across the province. The website will promote and introduce the project, disseminate information collected and track the tour’s progress. It also offers a chance for people who don’t run into the caravan to participate, and will be a venue for conducting surveys, posting videos of interviews and interacting with the public through a blog and social media.

This project was completed in three months by the w.illi.am/ team and involved several fields of expertise. Business analysts defined and validated the site’s functionality based on Nutrium’s needs. Every aspect of the design was developed by w.illi.am/, from the logo to stationery, not to mention the site itself. For development, programmers used the CMS built by w.illi.am/ and adapted it to the specifics of the mandate. Plus the Nutrium team was trained to enter data in the CMS daily to update the site with what’s new in the initiative. 

toutlemondeatable.org is a user-friendly project, with a mission to increase satisfaction with one of our most fundamental needs. So let’s sit down at the table and talk!

2 cities, 2 events, 1 microsite

While part of the w.illi.am/ team was participating as a sponsor of the Journée Infopresse on social networks, Matyas Gabor, the interactive marketing specialist at w.illiam/, was at Web 2.0 Expo in New York. The best way to connect these two events?  By creating a microsite!

The site http://w.illi.am/infopresse was thus born, and its content is uniquely web 2.0. It features a blog, an RSS feed and videos on social networks.  More specifically, one of the RSS feeds is the hashtag for the New York event (#W2E) and another is dedicated to the Montreal Journée Infopresse (#IPconfRS). Videos of interviews with experts from major web properties worldwide (CNN, Washington Post, Philips, etc.) were conducted by Matyas Gabor during the New York conference and can be seen on the microsite. 

Both through social media such as Twitter and Facebook and the comments in the blog, the microsite will be a go-to information hub. Take part in the conversation on the microsite.

w.illi.am / is booming!

We are currently seeking candidates for the following positions:

Business Analyst

Interaction Designer

iPhone and iPad Programmer

JavaScript Integrator

PHP Programmer

Quality Assurance Technician

Senior Architect

Senior Artistic Director

Senior Project Manager

System Administrator

Discover all the positions we offer in the Careers section

w.illi.am/ turns 2!

w.illi.am/ will soon be celebrating its second anniversary surrounded by its team and partners. This will be a great opportunity to celebrate its growth and remarkable track record, made possible by the quality of mandates for major clients.

Miniature camera for tests on mobile devices

Fall events

Mandates

Mashable Meetups: Social Media Day

w.illi.am/ support the Social Media Day and invite you to a gathering the 30th of June at 8:30 pm in the middle of the Festival Square in the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal.

A breath of fresh air for a site that’s all about fresh air!

After 10 years on the web, Groupe Espaces made a big splash with the May 20th launch of its new site, redesigned by w.illi.am/. Groupe Espaces is an essential site for Quebeckers who love nature, the outdoors and travel. It’s getting even closer to its audience and giving its website a brand new scope with a variety of content on its different areas of activity (reviews, festivals, guides, etc.). Groupe Espaces’ objectives are to increase the size of its community, by enhancing exchanges and initiating a conversation, and to make visiting this virtual planet even easier, by guiding Internet users as they explore the site, choose the right equipment and destinations and stay connected to the outdoors.
 
“With a wealth of information about the outdoors, espaces.ca was designed to optimize content dissemination and provide information about the different activities the group offers,” says Damien Lefebvre, executive vice-president at w.illi.am/. w.illi.am/ used its methodology to define needs and direct the work of the different experts involved. The front-end and back-end were completely rethought and reorganized.

New mandate/ iPad

w.illi.am / received the mandate to design an interface iPad by one of the largest 100 Canadian companies.

New mandate/ Just for laugh

Race against time for a funny contest!

What a challenge Just for Laughs has given to w.illi.am /: conceive and create 5 microsites for a competition designed to entice people living in Montreal and major cities nearby (Albany, Plattsburgh, Burlington, Ottawa) to participate in the next Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. The biggest obstacle to overcome was that  in less than three weeks, everything HAD to be online, as the festival will begin July 2nd. w.illi.am/ and  Just for Laughs, working in close collaboration, have achieved success, and the microsites are online as of 2 days!: ottawatohahaha.com, albanytohahaha.com, plattsburghtohahaha.com, burlingtontohahaha.com. The information will be broadcast through traditional avenues, and relayed on social networks. Vlogs will be posted on Facebook to promote the contest, and the information will also be Tweeted.

The participants must film the adventures of their "Road Trip" that leads them to the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, and post it online via YouTube. The winners will be selected through the votes of internet surfers, ie: the videos that receive the most "I Like" votes.

Good luck to all and may the best win!

May, abonding one month!

1 Numix + 1 Olivier award = way to go guys!

w.illia.m/ is particularly proud of having played a role strategically and technologically in the phenomenal success of an extraordinary web series. Contrat de gars has earned two awards in as many weeks, a track record that’s down to more than just virility! Over 27,000 Facebook page fans, a host of videos named YouTube video of the month, the winner of a 2009 Prix Olivier, and now in its second season… so what’s the secret to the success of this entertaining piece of satire?

This year’s Numix and two Olivier awards point to two of the series’ most important ingredients: humour and innovation, of course along with exceptional videos by Pierre-Luc Gosselin. The formula that has brought fame to Alex and John, alias Alexandre Champagne and Jonathan Roberge, whose careers are managed and creations produced by Comédie Shop, is a judicious blend of these elements to set off a chain reaction.

Three web platforms are working in synergy for Contrat de gars: a site with a simple interface (all the content is available from a single page) and an integrated YouTube API, combined with Facebook for the social networking aspect. The videos on YouTube generate viral marketing to drive users to the Contrat de gars site. Facebook disseminates information via social media. The exponential growth in the number of fans is the result of a variety of tactics put into play by w.illi.am/ and its coaching of the main players to produce high-quality content.

Contrat de gars is a high-quality web product that required more human than financial investment (thought, creativity, training, involvement). Developed for a highly targeted audience (80% men, 80% Montrealers, 70% between 18 and 35), it’s a role model of success, but take heed: “Not all products can have such addictive content,” Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting at w.illi.am/ says, revealing the final secret behind the explosive success of Contrat de gars.

Bombardier Inc.: Country Sites Nationaux and a web 2.0 strategy

The partnership that started over a year ago between Bombardier Inc. and w.illi.am/ keeps paying off! On the heels of the first consulting mandates—SWAT (assessment of infrastructures and management tools) and STRAT (3-year strategic plan), which involved defining high-level strategic directions for the aerospace and rail giant―w.illi.am/ is working on two more.

A Chinese site, launched last month, is the first in a long series of Country Sites Nationaux. A Danish site is under development and will be online next month.

At the same time, w.illi.am/ is supporting Bombardier Inc. in its social media presence and intelligence strategy, as Isabelle Massé mentioned in an article for Cyberpresse. Our team has the mandate to identify influential web entities and categorize, measure and map them to understand their influence on Bombardier Transportation and Bombardier Aerospace brands. This map is the basis for an interactive strategic plan.

Bombardier is already using the study to carry out real-time strategic intelligence for its brand and to evaluate the need to engage in conversations on the web and more specifically on social media.

The new Workopolis : a mega-project for w.illi.am/!

Counsulting, development, user tests, usability, information architecture and creation of the graphical web standards are the main expertises of w.illi.am / who have been involved in this project ...

Read More

Yellow Pages Group: find out what’s behind the redesign

On March 22, the Yellow Pages Group launched ypg.com, its corporate site. The group worked with w.illi.am/ for the redesign.

A lot of work went into consulting and usability before the redesign to define needs, objectives and best business practices. User tests were conducted in w.illi.am/’s uLab to ensure from the outset of the project that the new functionality would be useful and efficient. The information architecture was completely redesigned.

Once these stages were completed, w.illi.am/ went on to develop the site. A design created by Taxi, Yellow Page Group’s regular agency, was adapted to the new site.
A large part of this mandate involved programming a new CMS, built by w.illi.am/ developers using the modules of its CMS adapted to ypg.com.

w.illi.am/ also put in place new SEO practices to improve referencing.

“We are extremely happy with the results of the redesign of YPG.com. We believe YPG.com has found the perfect partner in w.illi.am/ for all its needs. The project had a very aggressive timeline and w.illi.am/ was able to deliver on time and on budget. Their commitment and professionalism showed throughout the project. We look forward to our new partnership”, conclued Carlos Carpio, YPG.com Site Manager.

Today is a red-letter day: the new Workopolis website, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Canada, is now online!

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The efforts of the Canadian leader in recruiting go well beyond a complete redesign of its site. They also include a new brand image developed by (name of the agency) and an internal reorganization done with the guidance of the IT consulting experts at w.illi.am/.

Read more

New presentation by Anastasia Simitsis

w.illi.am/ is a proud partner of RDV Web!

A new event from Infopresse this year, RDV Web promises to be a success and a date to mark on your calendar. The number of registrations has far exceeded organizer estimates, and many discoveries are in store with the rich programming being presented.
w.illi.am/ is part of this success: Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience, will lead a session giving her unique view of the user experience. Come hear a true authority in the field and stop by our booth to meet the team. It’s a date! We’ll be waiting for you… with a few surprises in hand.

w.illi.am/ in Quebec City!

w.illi.am/ will be exhibiting at the Salon des TIC in Quebec City on April 27 and 28.
Information and communication technology companies have a proven track record of dynamism. More and more, our companies’ know-how is being exported, testimony to their creativity and taste for innovation.

w.illi.am/ Recent accomplishments: Zeste.tv and YPG.com

March 22 marked the joint launch of zeste, the new cooking channel and website zeste.tv. To find out more: http://w.illi.am/zeste/

Yellow Pages Group recently simultaneously launched its new website http://www.pagesjaunes.ca/ and the new identity for its corporate website http://www.ypg.com/

w.illi.am/ New mandates

Ontario Telemedicine Network otn.ca
and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal osm.ca

These two para-governmental organizations have mandated w.illi.am/ to implement Google Analytics and train their teams to use it. w.illi.am/ is the first Canadian company to be certified by Google Analytics.

3vis 3vis.com

w.illi.am/handled 3Vis’ media placement with social media for the launch of an Autodesk event that took place on April 19.

Too know everything about Zeste.tv

Visit our page on the new project launched today: zeste.tv by w.illi.am/

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
BAnQ/ banq.qc.ca

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec is counting on the social networking experts at w.illi.am/ to develop an interactive strategy for social media.

Given the evolution of technology and the public’s habits, the BAnQ has decided to go where the public can be found. “Facebook just passed the 400 million user mark, with 50 million new users in barely two months,” says Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Consulting for w.illi.am/. “Quebec organizations know it and are acting accordingly, and we are here to offer them guidance and support.”

Over the next few weeks, w.illi.am/ will help BAnQ develop a precise vision of its market on social media. The team of experts will develop an interactive strategy that will meet this new customer’s needs. “With our W/IMR model, which stands for identification, measurement and recommendations and which we have already used for customers in a variety of industries, including aerospace, the hotel industry and ICT, we make sure we pinpoint the major influencers and where they can be reached, which ensures maximum ROI for the strategies we develop,” Mr. Gabor says.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec will definitely be dishing out a few surprises in the coming months.

Events

Confoo.ca

From March 10 to 12, w.illi.am/ took part in Confoo.ca, the largest gathering of web technology specialists in Quebec. Training, conferences and a job fair were on the agenda for the week. This first edition was a resounding success. Congratulations and thanks go out to the organizers for their welcome and the quality of the event!

One of the speakers was Sherif Zaroubi, a senior consultant at w.illi.am/, whose session was entitled Optimization of Web Applications: An Introduction.

Conference speaker at Journée Infopresse/Financial institutions: using the web to stand out

User Behavioural Analysis: The Key to Success Online is the title of the session given by two experts from w.illi.am/ for the Journée Infopresse on financial institutions that took place on February 24. Damien Lefebvre, Vice-President, Consulting, and Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience, demonstrated to a well-informed audience the importance of putting the user at the heart of web projects.

Calendar

Journée Infopresse : Communication and food

Wednesday 14th april 2010 / Hyatt Regency Montreal

New technologies, space in stores, consumer trends
w.illi.am/ will sponsor the event.

RDV Infopresse : RDV Web

Wednesday 21st april 2010 / Mont-Royal Center

The annual event for interactive communication professionals
w.illi.am/ will sponsor the event and Anastasia Simitsis will lead a session on ergonomics.

Salon des TIC

28th april 2010 / Convention Center of Quebec City

Organized by the Ministère du Développement économique, de l'Innovation et de l'Exportation
w.illi.am/ will sponsor the event.

Pratt & Whitney Canada/ www.pwc.ca
w.illi.am/ will support and advise Pratt & Whitney Canada as it develops a strategy for social media.
The international leader in powering flight has mandated w.illi.am/ to guide it in becoming a web 2.0 company. The first phase of the strategic analysis is underway.

Bombardier/www.bombardier.com
Bombardier will be consolidating its international presence by developing localized websites (language, products, facilities and recruitment). To carry out this project, dubbed Country Sites Nationaux, the air and rail transportation giant has partnered with w.illi.am/ to design and create a standardized platform (graphic standards, technologies, hosting), supported by a publishing process, the management of which will be shared by the parent company and the international entities, while respecting Bombardier’s brand image.

Guerlain/ www.cercleguerlain.com
Guerlain is enhancing and relaunching its exclusive line of cosmetics Orchidée impériale. Communication tools have already been put in place by the parent company in France. In Canada, Guerlain has mandated w.illi.am/ to develop a more sophisticated web component by starting a conversation with VIP customers through social media, creating a web community called the Cercle d’Exception Orchidée impériale.

Groupe Serdy
And last but not least! The Groupe Serdy has just announced the creation of a new Quebec Food Network for which w.illi.am/ is proud to create the web portion. w.illi.am/ is once again demonstrating its expertise in strategy and developing media and cooking sites (ricardocuisine.com, nospetitsmangeurs.org/).
Food for thought!

 This year, w.illi.am/ decided to celebrate the Holiday Season by offering to its most faithful clients and partners, the opportunity to participate in a draw and win original artwork by the artist Anthony Livet, aka Tone, currently on exhibit in its offices. 

“As soon as I saw Marie coming in the office with a big grin on her face, calling me Fée des Étoiles since I was the one who gave her the good news, I knew that she would provide a nice home for the piece”, remembers Catherine Lafrasse from w.illi.am/.

Ms. Marquis was welcomed by her closest partners at w.illi.am/ and by the artist himself, who introduced her to his work and creative approach through a guided tour of the creations on display . When given the choice, our winner selected  a 3-piece set in a calligraphic style over a different canvas that was also offered  for this truly valuable and unique gift!
 
Congratulations to Ms. Marquis, and  thanks to her for this great shared moment!

w.illi.am/ inaugurates the uLAB, its usability laboratory

A window onto reality

The concept of the laboratory is simple. Internet users selected according to specific criteria are placed in front of a computer with an assignment, for example, buying a specific product on a specific site. On the other side of a two-way mirror, the customer and w.illi.am/'s ergonomists and designers observe their reactions, movements, clicks and hesitations and how fast they achieve their objective.

uLAB, the new w.illi.am/'s usability lab, user centric

Quick and iterative, this type of test is incredibly effective, because in just a few minutes it reveals whether a solution is operating properly, whether it really improves a site's navigability or whether adjustments are needed …even if that means testing the site again!

Less risk, more value

Optimization = ergonomics + analytics

On October 15, w.illi.am/ took part in the Infopresse conference "The Web and Site Optimization" in Montreal. Anastasia Simitsis, director of user experience, and Humberto Valencia, director of optimization (real time from Google's offices in San Francisco) provided a two-faceted portrait of the ideal optimization, combining ergonomics (behavioural and therefore qualitative analysis) and analytics (quantitative measurement).

As Anastasia explained on her w.illi.am/ blog following the conference, "While web analytics is excellent for its ability to measure the performance of a site on a regular basis and target the main problem areas, web ergonomics is useful for its ability to explain problems and propose solutions." To read the entire article "Maximiser l'optimisation de votre website" (maximizing your website's optimization), visit w.illi.am/'s Blog.

During the soiree to celebrate its first anniversary, w.illi.am/ inaugurated an exhibition space with the pictorial work of French-born artist Anthony Livet, alias Tone. Tone’s urban, graphical and innovative style is the perfect illustration of w.illi.am/’s dynamism.

w.illi.am/ specializes in web development and consulting, which is why it has decided to exhibit artists whose work is part of the wave of new technologies and in the spirit of perpetual innovation that pushes the limits of the possible.

By exhibiting emerging artists from the Montreal arts scene, w.illi.am/ is hoping to provide a platform to show their work to a wide and varied public. 
Why offer its offices as a gallery? Because w.illi.am/ believes in people and their creativity. It believes in the power of art. The art movements that have marked our history have always been harbingers of events in the near or more distant future, as well as important witnesses of an era.

You are cordially invited to discover the work of Tone on display at w.illi.am/’s offices from October 1, 2009 to April 2, 2010, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

All of the works are available for purchase, and the exhibition changes regularly with the addition of the artist’s new canvases and older creations that have already been exhibited.

Read Tone’s bio

Visit Tone's Website

See Catherine Lafrasse’s entry on w.illi.am/’s blog

The WEBCOM MONTREAL forum will take place on Octobre 22nd, at the OACI office.

Over 400 persons will gather to participate in conferences, training sessions, case studies and debates, lead by 40 industry experts. In order to demonstrate the real potential interactive marketing can provide for a firm, various topics will put forward. 

On this occasion, w.illi.am/, the sponsor of this event, along with its Director of Marketing and Creation, Matyas Gabor, accompanied by Vincent Grenier, Vice President of StreamTheWorld, will have the pleasure of introducing the following topic: Branding and B2B, rethinking integrated strategies. Using the concrete example of StreamTheWorld, the experts will develop the B2B marketing aspect of Enterprise 2.0: integrating the brand image to Web sites, to different promotional deployments and to interactive strategy 2.0. This conference will provide a basis for thought to B2B marketing professionals by leading them to rethink the firm into Firm 2.0 and to bring some change toward new integrated strategies.

 For more information about the workshops and to register, visit the Webcom's website.

1st Annivesary of a William who became w.illi.am/

w.illi.am/ is celebrating its first anniversary, inaugurating its new offices - a move made necessary by the rapid growth of its team - and taking part in a number of industry events. Get out your agendas!

Wednesday, September 30: New Web Tools

w.illi.am/ will sponsor Journée Infopresse's "New Web Tools" and present its areas of expertise. The workshops will offer insight into how to use the many tools available to successfully execute online strategies. For more information about the workshops and to register, visit: http://www2.infopresse.com/content/conference-ip-2009-NouveauxOutilsWeb-1.aspx

Thursday, October 1: our first anniversary!

w.illi.am/ will celebrate its first anniversary in the company of clients, suppliers and partners and at the same time inaugurate its new offices at 400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West.

Thursday, October 15, 2009: Web and Site Optimization

w.illi.am/ will sponsor Journée Infopresse's "Web and Site Optimization" with two of its team members leading a session. Humberto Valencia, Director of Optimization, and Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience, await you at 10:45 a.m. to discuss "Acquisition, retention and conversion: optimizing your web site." For more information about the workshops and to register, visit: http://www2.infopresse.com/content/conference-ip-2009-WebOptimisationSites-1.aspx

Thursday, October 22: 7th edition of Webcom Montréal

The w.illi.am/ team will open the 7th edition of the international conference Webcom with its session "Branding and B2B: rethinking integrated strategies" and will share its knowledge of web 2.0 with e-marketing managers and specialists, strategists, communicators, developers, bloggers, decision-makers and other entrepreneurs. For more information about the workshops and to register, visit: http://www.webcom-montreal.com/

Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29: Media Relations and Public Communications

w.illi.am/ will take part in the conference "Media Relations and Public Communications," an activity organized by the Canadian Institute that addresses new media platforms. Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Creation at w.illi.am/, will present how web 2.0 is influencing the communication strategies of companies today. For more information about the workshops and to register, visit the page here.

The art of building loyalty… with w.illi.am/

At a time when experience trumps promise in marketing strategies, more and more businesses are reconsidering their message… and their communications tools. Such is the case with StreamTheWorld, which assigned w.illi.am/ the task of optimizing and rethinking its virtual space. The reworked and corrected version of streamtheworld.com, while superbly reflecting the company’s new branding, is more than just a storefront or business card. It’s a place where the media intersect with online content specialists. A place where interactive exchanges happen. And a place that works very efficiently.

“Our clients manage a number of radio and TV networks in North America and Europe. In these recessionary times, they’re looking for suppliers who are both solid and innovative,” explains Vincent Grenier, Vice-president/Marketing for StreamTheWorld. “Our new website had to reinforce our credibility, reassure our partners and convince everyone of our ability to generate added value. Clearly, w.illi.am/ understood our needs: they’ve designed a site that is very interactive and demonstrates our expertise rather than just talking about it.”

Building brand loyalty… online

Every day thousands of Internet users mention brands at websites, blogs or social networks. Consciously or unconsciously, they are shaping the general perception and/or level of awareness of companies, products and services, often more efficiently than any online advertising campaign could. The importance of establishing a dialogue with these people is obvious. Which is what w.illi.am/ did forStreamTheWorld: after identifying the best influencers on the Web, w.illi.am/ developed strategies and tactics aimed at sensitizing and motivating them.

Encouraging support for a cause

From website optimization to helping society as a whole was not such a giant leap for  the w.illi.am/ team when they offered to put their talents and competences to work for some charitable organizations. As a result, Entraide familiale de l’Outaouais (www.entraidefamiliale.com) and Maison Monbourquette  (www.maisonmonbourquette.com) now have dynamic new sites. And in Africa a virtual community dedicated to promoting film-making skills has sprung up at www.72heures-chrono.com. “These three projects are the product of the individual passions of our staff and the collective values of our company, which favours social commitment at every level,” says Florian Soleil, president of the Social Issues Committee at w.illi.am/.

About StreamTheWorld and the associations supported by w.illi.am/

Founded in 2005, StreamTheWorldis a Montreal-based streaming technology and services company. Its 75 specialists have, to date, deployed more than 800 commercial multimedia player systems for leading companies in the television and radio industries in North America and Europe, including CBS, AOL, Corus and Astral Media.

Located in Gatineau, Entraide Familiale de l’Outaouais is dedicated to fighting poverty by donating furniture, appliances, clothing and other items to low-income individuals and families in the Outaouais region.

Maison Monbourquette is a not-for-profit organization in operation since 2004. It offers resources related to bereavement: support services for the general public; training of volunteers, health care professionals and caregivers; and sensitization.

72HeuresChrono is a virtual community that promotes cinematographic techniques among young Africans, helping them to exchange ideas and share knowledge on the subject.

w.illi.am/ presents its approach to Web optimization and ergonomics at webcom

When faced with the prospect of improving their Web site, plenty of companies picture having to redo everything, recast everything, start everything over from scratch. They start to pale, even panic. And rightly so: in uncertain economic times, starting from scratch is expensive. Too expensive, according to w.illi.am/, a specialist in optimizing Web sites, which will present its approach to webcom participants on May 13. The objective: to bump up traffic on sites, but not the expenses!

w.illi.am/ on the bill for the webcom conference

Gathered in Montreal for the 6th international webcom conference, marketing and communication decision-makers and professionals can learn more about w.illi.am/’s approach to Web optimization and ergonomics. As a sponsor of the event, the Montreal firm’s contribution will include a session by Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience, entitled “Do More With Less,” and a cocktail party at the end of the day.
Details at www.webcom-montreal.com.

Ergonomics is good economics

“Our first reflex is to analyze the data gathered by the Web analytics tool to identify the pages and sections with a low success rate,” explains Anastasia Simitsis, Director of User Experience, who will lead the first session of the day at 8:50 a.m. on ergonomic optimization. “The information is then checked and explained from the point of view of ergonomics This approach makes it possible to do a quick assessment and make recommendations for very targeted efforts to increase the effectiveness of certain sections. A more thorough analysis of the site, including user testing, and a more user-centred design approach are often complementary efforts that are very useful.”

There’s no doubt about it: the days when companies launched a new Web site every year are behind us. Today, improving the customer experience—and Internet returns—involves precise, even surgical, intervention, intended to make the most of existing environments. It’s what you could call sustainable Web development.

INVITATION

At the end of the day, the Quebec Web community is invited to meet and share ideas at a cocktail party hosted by w.illi.am/, Tourisme Montréal and Allard Hervieu Communication.
From 6 p.m.
At the new Bar & Boeuf: 500 McGill St, Old Montreal www.baretboeuf.com

When you make return on investment a leitmotiv and a promise, capturing the attention of potential customers is easy. Even during a crisis. A specialist in optimizing Web sites, w.illi.am/ has just closed agreements with three giants of American industry—BROTHER (printers), DSW (shoes) and COVAD (communications)—who have awarded the company Web analysis mandates. Three big wins and major recognition for this growing subsidiary of Gesca Ltd.

w.illi.am/’s ante: + 25%

The only company in Eastern Canada certified to operate Google Analytics and Website Optimizer systems, w.illi.am/ is increasingly making its mark. “Thanks to our analysis and optimization measures, the conversion rates for our customers’ Web sites have increased by 25% on average, and up to 100% in certain cases,” Humberto Valencia, director of consulting services, said.

Betting on the Web is good. Betting and winning is better.

+ 100%. It’s a number that dreams are made of, particularly when the lines on charts are plummeting. That said, there is no need to be in the middle of extreme rationalization to move into analytics mode. Recession or no recession, w.illi.am/ encourages businesses that have transferred their investments toward the Internet to evaluate their user experience, measure the effectiveness of their site and adjust their aim if necessary. Humberto Valencia added: “The Web is no longer experimental terrain. It’s a proven vehicle for development, the performance of which can now be controlled with intelligent tools.”

w.illi.am/’s gift: an Infopresse day

On April 29, 2009, w.illi.am/ will be top of the bill as the sponsor of the Journée Infopresse devoted to Web analytics. On the agenda: sessions on issues of Web analysis, workshops for exploring new measurement tools and testimonials from businesses that have made their mark on the Web using this approach.

A fast-growing company, w.illi.am/ is making its presence felt in the industry and will be actively involved in the upcoming Montréal Web Vidéo 2009 conference, which it is sponsoring. Its executive vice-president of consulting Damien Lefebvre will explain the firm’s vision as part of a discussion panel on Web and television business models of tomorrow.

“I believe in convergence between television and the Internet,” Damien Lefebvre said. “The television interface of tomorrow will be very different from what we know today. It will be much richer in content and will fully integrate the Internet. But there are many challenges before that stage can be reached. Not only do we have to define the type of information to offer depending on the platform, but also we have to identify the business models that guarantee economic returns.”

Damien Lefebvre has over ten years of experience in the Internet and is currently developing a TV/Internet project for a major cable provider. He has worked on strategy for major customers such as the Yellow Pages Group, Orange TV and Bell.

Join us Thursday, April 2, at the École de technologie supérieure
Pavillon A (principal) - 1100 Notre-Dame St. W. (southwest corner of Peel), Montreal

3:55 p.m. - Panel discussion on business models
Is it necessary to use other platforms for a Web video business model to work?

The complete program for Montréal Web Vidéo 2009 is available at www.webvideo2009.tv.

February 27, 2009 | David Nathan, Marketing Magazine | Au Quotidien

The agency w.illi.am/ and Ricardo Media have designed and launched Ricardocuisine.com, Ricardo Larrivée’s Web site.

The chef, bilingual television host (Radio-Canada, Food TV) and cookbook author now has his own Web site, which he describes in an online video as being “a tool that is simple to use, practical and above all that helps you save time!”

Ricardo Media managed the content for the site and the brand image. w.illi.am/ consulted on strategy and developed the information architecture, navigation segmentation and the internal search tool.

“One of our main objectives was to make the site’s search tool as efficient and simple as possible,” Annie Levesque, Executive Vice-President at w.illi.am/, said. “Focus groups revealed that users were mainly interested in Ricardo’s recipes and tips.”

The site also offers a variety of interactive tools such as personalized menus, grocery lists that can be sent by email and a personal cookbook with the user’s favourite dishes.

Originally published in Marketing Magazine, February 2009

Already a certified Google Analytics consultant, w.illi.am/canalytics has just been certified by Google to use and market the Website Optimizer system. w.illi.am/canalytics is the only company in Eastern Canada to have certifications for both tools, and it continues to develop its consulting and Web development offer by adding tools and areas of expertise that meet customers needs.

Developed by Google, Website Optimizer is a new tool for optimizing Web site content, design and structure. It makes it possible to change content on one or more pages and measure the impact of those changes with:

• alternatives for each page for analysis
• the presentation of alternatives and measurement of results
• reports

 “The w.illi.am/canalytics service offer has distinguished itself even further with this new tool, which will be all the more appreciated by our customers because its results are measurable,” said Damien Lefebvre, executive vice president for w.illi.am/consulting. “Our consulting team uses its expertise to get the most out of these tools by offering customers recommendations that are in line with their strategy and objectives.”

Offered by the Consulting division of the Montreal office of w.illi.am/, the w.illi.am/canalytics service includes a range of innovative, high-quality Web optimization services, the main objective of which is maximizing return on investment. A number of customers have already benefited from this service, including StreamTheWorld and eFundraising.com.

w.illi.am/canalytics is the 16th company worldwide to obtain Google Website Optimizer certification and is one of 75 companies with Google Analytics certification.

Optimisation 2.0 : Un fort Potentiel de R.O.I.

For its fifth edition, on November 12, the international forum Webcom will feature key players in the Web, among them, Damien Lefebvre, Executive Vice-President of w.illi.am/ consulting, who will lead the session "2.0: Big ROI Potential.". Damien, a recognized specialist who has been working in the Web for the past 10 years, will identify the new opportunities offered by Web 2.0. He will focus on the return on investment promised by this environment.

« Identifying, prioritizing and integrating 2.0 components is a challenge for companies. » says Damien.

The presentation has two objectives:

• To share the scope of new Web 2.0 functionality with participants. Damien will also identify new strategies for integrating the new functionality.
• To identify the benefits of integrating this environment. Web 2.0 is a challenge that must be tackled and an opportunity to be seized, not only in terms of communication, but also in terms of profit.

Damien is responsible for strategy, business development and consulting services at w.illi.am/. He is also a member of the company’s executive committee.

w.illi.am/ a partner for Webcom Montréal 2008

« Through its partnership with Webcom 2008,w.illi.am/ is underlining industry efforts to raise the awareness of major decision-makers regarding Web investments.» says Matyas Gabor, Director of Marketing and Communications at w.illi.am/. « Since the Web has become a business centre for companies, it is important that ROI be the cornerstone of development strategies.».

For more information on the conference, please click here.

The prestigious Canadian Marketing Association will host the conference session “8 Simple Rules for Guaranteeing Usability, ROI, & Customer Satisfaction” by Tara O’Doherty, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. in Toronto. The experience of w.illi.am/’s Tara O’Doherty will provide the tools required for creating an effective interactive experience. She will also explore the latest trends in Web communication.

This session points to the interest in w.illi.am/’s direction, and the desire of its group of experts to remain at the leading edge of technology in Web usability.

The session has two objectives:

• Sharing new ideas in improving the user experience on the Web. Ms. O’Doherty, who has over 10 years of experience in the field, will tackle complex topics simply and effectively.
• In addition to information, Tara O’Doherty will provide a simple and effective framework for handling problems with customer satisfaction.

“We are making w.illi.am/’s participation in conferences and at round tables a priority so that we can track and help drive the evolution of the Web” said Tara O’Doherty, w.illi.am/’s Vice-President, Strategic Planning and User Experience.

With offices in Montreal and Toronto, w.illi.am/ focuses on quality services with the primary objective of maximizing return on investment. This is a commitment that a number of clients have already had the opportunity to benefit from, including Cyberpresse, Astral Media, Reader’s Digest, AT&T, Workopolis, Google and Cogeco Cable.

For more information on the conference, visit
http://www.the-cma.org/digital/

Montréal, October 2^nd, 2008. — We are today announcing with great enthusiasm that Génération Flash is changing its name to w.illi.am/. This new name underlines the important evolution of a company which has experienced a sustained growth and whose team has more than quintupled since its acquisition by Gesca Digital investments in January of 2007.

Marco Dodier, president of w.illi.am/ adds, “In two years we have built very solid foundations for w.illi.am/. First by attracting talented professionals and by refining our services, and then by creating a structure that responds to the ever-increasing needs of our clientele. We plan on pursuing this path by recruiting to our team new talent that distinguishes itself through its expertise in and passion for our field. This critical mass of resources will help us stand out from the competition, just like the results we obtain for our clients.”

Established in Montréal and Toronto, w.illi.am/ focuses on quality services, with the primary objective of a maximum return on investment. Several of our clients have already had the opportunity to appreciate this commitment, among others Cyberpresse, Astral Media, Reader’s Digest, AT&T, Workopolis, Google, and Cogeco Cable.

Marco Didier adds, “While the web services industry is still young and fragmented, we believe that a consolidation of the market is necessary, and we are ready to position ourselves at the forefront of this movement”.

To develop clients’ strategies and to carry out their projects, w.illi.am/ benefits from the expertise of an experienced team, under the leadership of Damien Lefebvre, executive vice-president consulting, Annie Levesque, executive vice-president development, Dominic Gignac, vice-president technology, and Tara O’Doherty, vice-president strategic planning and user experience.

About w.illi.am/

W.illi.am/’s mission is to define, develop, and optimize digital solutions that reflect your business objectives, maximize the return on your investment, and improve user experience.

W.illi.am/ offers a complete range of services in Montréal and Toronto, where our experts work together, always keeping the twin pillars of consulting and web development at the forefront.

Property of Gesca Digital Investments, w.illi.am/ is part of Gesca Ltd, a communications group and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW).

Get the latest headlines at all times on your computer, even if you are not on cyberpresse.ca. w.illi.am/’s team invites you to install the first Cyberpresse Widget.

To download the Widget, click on http://www.cyberpresse.ca/widget.

w.illi.am/ is pleased to announce the launch of Stingray’s corporate site, which you can visit at http://www.stingraydigital.com/.

Astral Media chose w.illi.am/ to redesign one its Web assets. The Canadian group selected w.illi.am/ to completely redesign RockDétente’s Website.

w.illi.am/ launches Cvendu.ca and encourages you to do your spring cleaning, clear your attic and put some unused articles for sale on Cvendu.ca!

Google becomes a client of Canalytics, a subsidiary of w.illi.am/. The head office of this U.S. giant refers us its customers with complex issues to be resolved during integration of Google Analytics.