Mushrooms matter. Not only are they a popular and versatile food, they're also a big business.
Adam Frank of Kitchener and Vil Louangxay of Cambridge, both students in the two-year Advertising program at Conestoga College, have each received $950 from the Canadian Mushroom Growers' Association (CMGA) for their winning efforts in an association-sponsored contest to rebrand the CGMA through development of a new logo and tagline.
The association was in search of an attractive, simple, vibrant look, easily recognizable and youthful in appearance. Louangxay designed the logo, a freeform brushstroke outline of a mushroom, and Frank developed the tagline: mushrooms.canada/ Fresh. Simple. Good.
The Mushrooms Canada new branding campaign will be launched this summer by CMGA via their website, packaging, promotional materials, billboards, advertising, point of purchase displays and association business materials.
The CMGA originally approached two colleges -- Conestoga and Sheridan -- with the idea of a rebranding competition. By the time of final presentations and selection, the association had received additional designs from a number of suppliers and professional firms.
Conestoga advertising students also took second place in the competition, with $350 each going to Nick Leblanc of Elmira (logo design) and Eric Effinger of Cambridge and Miranda Rowbottom of New Hamburg (tagline development).
Two other Conestoga students -- Amanada St. Marie and Brittany Stager, both of Kitchener -- have been hired full-time by the CMGA to coordinate implementation of the campaign.
Advertising is a two-year, diploma-level program at Conestoga's Doon campus in Kitchener. The program aims to provide students with strategic and creative, experiential opportunities. The course work is comprehensive and varied, covering topics such as concept development, production software, media planning, research techniques, new media and Web techniques.
CONTACT: Joe Romer, 519-748-5220, ext. 3792, jromer@conestogac.on.ca