Agricultural Institute of Canada
I am pleased to write a letter of reference for The Studios of Wendy J., Inc. The Studios of Wendy J., Inc. were awarded the contract to design a new brand and logo for Agricultural Institute of Canada (AIC) and implement a marketing strategy to move our organization from a federated structure to an individual membership-based organization. This contract was awarded in 2004.

For our organization, this was new and risky. We were embarking on changing the brand and structure of our organization, one that had been in place for many years, and tradition was highly valued by our members and staff.

The staff of The Studios of Wendy J., and in particular Wendy J. Miller, took on this task with a level of calm enthusiasm, taking time to get to know our needs, our expectations, and assessing our comfort level with risk and new ideas. Wendy’s consultative style and eagerness to reach out beyond the staff to chat with board members and other stakeholders was very valuable.

Throughout the process of re-branding, she was instrumental in helping us to set out timelines and tools to communicate our new brand and keep the project on time and on budget. The creative talents of Wendy and her staff were exceptional.

Wendy was always willing to help us in our quest to attract new members and encourage a renewed identity. In fact, with little notice, Wendy agreed to travel to Ottawa to help to oversee the official launch of our new brand where we hosted colleagues, government representatives, Members of Parliament and board members. Wendy’s expertise and flair helped to ensure a memorable launch. Her role included designing unique invitations, booking appropriate entertainment, and as general organizer and coordinator, providing great support to me as the communications staff.

The Studios of Wendy J. were able to keep our project on time, despite our inexperience in marketing and lack of good database infrastructure. I felt that we worked as a team, and I was in touch on a daily basis by email or telephone. Wendy’s ability to design, envision, sell, coach, and act made her and her firm the right choice for our needs. I have no hesitation recommending The Studios of Wendy J., Inc.

Jean Sullivan Agricultural Institute of Canada	[close testimonial]

Canadian Cancer Society
This is to confirm that the Studios of Wendy J., Inc. were contracted by the Manitoba Division of the Canadian Cancer Society to develop creative artwork, coordinate media buying, and act as a project manager for the “Quit Now Manitoba” Tobacco Cessation Mass Media Campaign held from January to March, 2006.

The “Quit Now Manitoba” Mass Media Campaign was a social marketing campaign designed, in a supportive and non-judgmental way, to encourage smokers to quit while providing information on smoking cessation options. This campaign was successfully implemented in Manitoba between January 15 and March 31, 2006. Evaluations and calls to the Smokers’ Helpline demonstrated that the campaign positively impacted its target audience.

As a result of this campaign, the public awareness regarding smoking cessation increased from 41.7% in November 2005 to 67.0% in March 2006. During the campaign months of January to March 2006, the Smokers’ Helpline also received an unprecedented 1,961 calls. This was almost double the number of calls over the entire previous year. A total of 1,102 calls were received during the 2004/2005 fiscal year.

The Studios of Wendy J., Inc. demonstrated that they were able to produce, place and execute effective media advertising consisting of a ten-week radio, television and newspaper campaign in English. In particular, the overall success of the campaign reflected the high quality of the creative materials.

Lorena Gerl Canadian Cancer Society	[close testimonial]

Cargill Limited
During March 2007, Cargill Specialty Canola Oil’s was seeking a communications agency that offered strong strategic abilities, creativity, organizational depth and public relations capability. The Studios of Wendy J has delivered on all of these and more. SWJ was not appointed until mid April, but the team quickly learned our unique business and identified key messages and communication strategies. Despite the short lead time, SWJ developed an effective multi-media campaign that supported Cargill Specialty Canola Oil’s significant business growth. In addition, the SWJ team organized an exciting customer and media event with the theme “Bright Yellow Future.” Attention to all detail, large and small, made this event a huge success.

SWJ is very creative, insightful and demonstrates excellent knowledge of our target customer. The print ads are the best in the trade and these coupled with radio, billboards, banners and attractive sales materials has successfully driven awareness to our Victory hybrid brand. In addition, the ad copy and messages are very straightforward and clear which is very appropriate for the target market. SWJ has also done an excellent job in enhancing our web design.

The SWJ anticipates our needs. As an example, when we met for the first time to discuss and plan our special event, I suggested that the next step would be to develop our theme. SWJ immediately pulled out three theme suggestions along with logo design. The decision for “Bright Yellow Future” was made that same day.

On our first meeting with SWJ, I recall Wendy saying, “We love what we do.” This is an obvious SWJ business culture. The SWJ team is highly engaged, work well together and are very focused on delivering success to their client. The SWJ team is organized, execute to plan and work within budget.

SWJ is an excellent business partner and has strongly supported our rapid business growth over the past two years. If seeking a creative, strategic marketing agency with a highly engaged team of professionals, then you will want to consider SWJ.

Gary Galbraith, P. Ag. Cargill Specialty Canola Oils	[close testimonial]

GAP Genetics
GAP Genetics of Winnipeg, Manitoba retains the services of The Studios of Wendy J., Inc. for the concept, design, and production of all advertising and promotional material for our company.

To date, they have been responsible for the design of a new company logo, various promotional brochures, magazine advertisements and a quarterly newsletter. Wendy J. has also produced several “one-off” marketing campaigns for us.

We have been very pleased by the creativity, and quality of work done for us. The timelines are always met, and the Wendy J. staff is always courteous and able to prompt us when deadlines for our draft copies need to be submitted. The Wendy J. staff has always been willing to meet in person to make sure all of our needs are met.

We have had numerous comments from the industry on our corporate look and logo. It has become a well-recognized logo by customers and our competitors.

John Sawatzky GAP Genetics	[close testimonial]

Manitoba Egg Producers
As the person responsible for Marketing and Communications at Manitoba Egg Producers, it gives me much pleasure to comment on and commend the excellent assistance afforded our company by the team at The Studios of Wendy J., Inc.

Wendy and her talented staff have helped us launch a number of highly successful, award-winning campaigns that have showcased our product, our organization and our producers in a positive light and with measurable results.

Working with Wendy is a pleasure. Her insight, creativity, good humour and plain common sense bring an added dimension to the task at hand. From outset to finished product, I have always found Wendy and her team to be available and supportive. They meet their deadlines and they care about your opinion and comfort at every stage of the process. As a client this is most reassuring. It is also important to know that Wendy is totally ethical and above board in her business dealings, and she understands about budget constraints and priorities.

The Studios of Wendy J., Inc. team is quick to grasp a challenge and meet the specific demands of the job with focus. Behind the doors to the Studio lies a skilled team led by an advertising and communications wizard.

I can sincerely say that this group is dedicated to doing the best job possible for their clients.

Brenda Bazylewski, APR Manitoba Egg Producers	[close testimonial]

Manitoba Pork Council
It has been my pleasure to be able to work with the team at The Studios of Wendy J. during the last five and a half years I have been employed as Manitoba Pork Council’s communications specialist. I also have the distinct pleasure to have known and worked with Wendy Miller for more than a decade as we have both changed positions and organizations.

From a client perspective, I have always been impressed with the ability of Wendy and her team to take the germ of an idea and develop it into a comprehensive program tailored to fit the specific needs of the client. They do this not only with creativity and flare, but take care to ensure the client is included at all critical phases of project development while at the same time ensuring that all parties meet the expected timelines. Their attention to detail, willingness to go the extra yard, regular follow-up and the top quality service they provide make working with them not just a pleasure, but a joy.

For Wendy and her team, the phrase “On time. On budget. On strategy.” is more than just a catchy marketing phrase - it is what they do and who they are. Any company would be lucky to have them as their agency of record.

Dwayne Marling Manitoba Pork Council	[close testimonial]

Pizzey’s Milling
Pizzey’s Milling has used the services of The Studios of Wendy J. for several years and has been very happy with the products they have supplied.

It is important to Pizzey’s Milling that the material we present is done professionally, as we compete in an international market, supplying customers like General Mills, Quaker Oats, Canada Bread, etc. Since Pizzey’s Milling is a small company, visibility and image are extremely important.

We have always been able to depend on Wendy J. to deliver the product we have needed in a timely manner. Very often we are working under very tight time lines, and they have never disappointed us. On occasion, Wendy has met us at the airport as we are leaving for an event, to deliver some promotional materials we have needed for the show.

I highly recommend Wendy and her team of professionals. They are creative, deliver on time, and always exceed our expectations.

Linda Pizzey Pizzey’s Milling	[close testimonial]

Stonelane Orchard
In 2005, Stonelane Orchard was fledgling nursery and market garden in need of a brand on which to build our future.

We have just completed our inaugural year with success, in which The Studios of Wendy J. played a significant role.

After thorough discussion, Wendy J. and her staff developed a look, feel and identity for our company along with a number of collateral advertising pieces. Being busy with the launch of a new company and the business of farming it was a pleasure to work with a company that was creative, responsive to our needs, and able to deliver on some very tight timelines. We also appreciated the fact that we did not have to follow-up to make sure things were being done; they were simply delivered on time, on budget and brimming with creativity.

The rapid response time of staff of Wendy J. was also appreciated and the regular communication and updates relieved us of the added stress of wondering about the progress of a project.

The Studios of Wendy J. are a creative, professional and client centric company. They were an integral part of the Stonelane Orchard team and will continue to be so in the future.

Kim Shukla, P.Ag., CAC Stonelane Orchard	[close testimonial]

University of Manitoba
I am pleased to provide a Letter of Reference for The Studios of Wendy J. Between 2003 and 2005, the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba contracted with the company to develop a marketing campaign for the recruitment of students into the undergraduate programs in the Faculty. In part, our interest in working with this company was because of the extensive experience they had in working with the agricultural community. They understood the agricultural issues and the challenges the industry faces.

This project involved focus groups with high school and university students, development of a marketing campaign with images, tag lines, promotional materials, and marketing approaches. This required several meeting with staff from The Studios of Wendy J. to define our marketing challenges, set the target group, develop marketing materials (displays, posters, printed resource materials, lapel buttons, and fundraising campaign materials), and outline a proposed marketing strategy.

The Studios of Wendy J. provided us a clear outline at the onset of the project on the process we needed to follow to identify the issues, define the message, and develop the marketing materials. They ensured that the process kept on track and completed their tasks on time with continual input from us. We had a limited budget to work with which required The Studios of Wendy J. to be very focused on the development of a modest campaign. We feel that they were able to accomplish this very well even though we had to continually put limits on the scope of the project because of budget constraints. They were always prepared to work with us in addressing our ideas or concerns. They showed great creativity in developing the visual look and message of the promotional materials and helped us understand much better how we needed to capture the interest of a younger audience. We are delighted with the look of this marketing campaign and the message conveyed.

Should we have need for other marketing projects, we would certainly like to work with The Studios of Wendy J. in the future.

M.K. Pritchard, P. Ag. Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Manitoba	[close testimonial]