Earlier this year, Thornley Fallis & 76design worked with the Office of Consumer Affairs at Industry Canada as Secretariat for the Consumer Measures Committee to design and develop a new online presence for the Canadian Consumer Handbook.

Launched in April 2010, the handbook provides users with a searchable and easy-to-navigate platform as well as the option to build a customized handbook that only contains information they are interested in.

The Handbook is intended to help users become better-informed and more confident consumers. It offers information on a wide range of topics such as online shopping, contracts, housing and home renovations, identity theft, collection agencies, and much more, to help users build their buying skills.

Along with consumer tips, the Handbook includes a directory of government and non-government contacts useful to consumers.

The Handbook was created and is updated by the Consumer Measures Committee. This Committee is a joint federal/provincial/territorial committee which provides a forum for national cooperation to improve the marketplace for Canadian consumers, through the harmonization of laws, regulations and practices and through actions to raise public awareness.

Thornley Fallis & 76design are demo-ing a Starbucks office coffee machine in our Ottawa office. For more info, go to www.betterofficecoffee.ca.

IT GRINDS FRESH BEANS FOR EVERY CUP!!!

So far the new machine (we currently have one from another company) is getting rave reviews. Here are a few of the comments we received when we asked our team in Ottawa what they thought:

• Best thing since sliced bread.
• It is the ray of sunshine that I look forward too while on the long bus ride.
• It’s like a triple rainbow.
• I selected “Max Buzz” 12 oz feature and I just stopped vibrating. My teeth—which are still humming—feel like I’ve been chewing coffee grounds most of the morning.
• I think we could use the starbucks machine as a hiring perk. It’s that good.
• It’s uber fantastic, and you know I mean business with a word like uber!

 Looks likew we’ll be keeping it and looking at getting one for our Toronto office.

Thornley Fallis & 76design CEO, Joseph Thornley, today announced the promotion of Keelan Green, Senior Vice-President & General Manager of the firm’s Ottawa office, to the position of President.

“When you join a company in an economic downturn, you have the opportunity to cower or to stand out. Keelan Green stood out from the beginning and he continues to stand out,” said Joseph Thornley, CEO of Thornley Fallis & 76design. “Keelan has always demonstrated a will to succeed. He demonstrates the truth that that good enough isn’t good enough. Work has to be great to be worth doing. Clients love him. And team members gravitate to him. Over the past two years, he demonstrated his leadership by bringing our Ottawa office through the recession, not only surviving but growing. So, I’m looking forward to working alongside him as he takes responsibility for the entire company.  I’m sure even greater success lies ahead for Keelan and Thornley Fallis & 76design.”

This announcement comes in the wake of several new hires at Thornley Fallis & 76design over the past few months, including Jo Langham, Senior Vice-President & General Manager of the Toronto office; Pierre Killeen, Vice-President, Public Engagement; Laurence Smink, Creative Director; Carrie Croft, Consultant; Eric Portelance, Consultant; Laura Townson, Account Manager; Brent Charbonneau, Senior Web Developer; Frank Carr, Senior Web Developer; and Samantha Hartley, Account Coordinator.

“This is of course a great and very exciting opportunity for me personally,” said Keelan Green. “But, I think what is most exciting is where our firm is right now and the tremendous opportunities I see for us in the months and years ahead.  While the past 18 months was a difficult period for our industry, our agency included, we have come through it with several new, high-profile client relationships, a strengthened team, and an improved and expanded our service offering. Thornley Fallis & 76design is definitely well-positioned to continue providing outstanding service to our existing clients and to take advance of the growing number of new opportunities we are seeing in the market.”

About Keelan Green
Keelan Green joined Thornley Fallis & 76design from the federal government 8 years ago as a Consultant. Since 2002, he held a series of progressively more senior roles until becoming General Manager of the firm’s Ottawa office in January 2007.  Keelan leads many of the firm’s top accounts, including Lockheed Martin, Ford, Enstream, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), a variety of Government of Canada organizations and the City of Ottawa. In 2008, Keelan led the firm’s Ottawa office to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award for Professional Services Firm of the Year and was selected as one of Ottawa’s “Top 40 Under 40” by the Ottawa Business Journal. He serves on several volunteer boards and committees, including the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom, the Salvation Army Ottawa Advisory Board and he is President of the Canadian Public Relations Society Ottawa/Gatineau Chapter. Born and raised in Ottawa, Keelan attended Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where he received a Bachelors’ degree in Business Administration. Keelan is an avid golfer at Rivermead Golf Club and plays on two rec league hockey teams. He lives in downtown Ottawa with wife Laura and son Peyton.

About Thornley Fallis & 76design
Thornley Fallis is an innovative, full-service public relations, communications and marketing agency that helps organizations reach, connect with, and build and sustain positive relationships with their communities through the integrated use of on-line and off-line communications tactics. 76design is a creative services and web development agency that conceptualizes, designs and develops brands, identities, print materials, website applications, widgets and tools that enable organizations to reach, connect with and create value for their communities.

Contacts:

Jo Langham
416-515-7517 ext. 340,  langham@thornleyfallis.com

LeeEllen Carroll
613-231-3355 ext. 231, carroll@thornleyfallis.com